The Gourmet Street Food Revolution: Why veggie is leading the way in the UK
Tuesday, 2nd September, 2014
Street food is not a new phenomenon. In Norman times, stalls sprung up in York and Leicester selling hot finger food; in Ancient Rome street food vendors made hot food accessible to those who could not afford a kitchen – in fact, evidence of multiple street food vendors was discovered during the excavation of Pompeii! Although in 2007 the UN estimated that 2.5 billion people across the world were eating street food every day, unfortunately in India, where the street food scene has always been a part of daily life, franchise ‘chain food’ is now in vogue. 
Luckily for us in the UK though, street food is enjoying a resurgence in popularity in Britain and the United States, partially due to the arrival on the scene of ‘gourmet’ street food. At both outdoor events and new indoor street food circuses like the Trinity Kitchen in Leeds, people are now demanding something way beyond the usual burger and sausage vans, and vegetarian food is proving to be a big hit. What makes Britain’s street food scene so fantastic is our multicultural society. People from all over the world have brought the recipes for their street food and snacks with them to the UK, providing a wealth of different dishes and flavours.
A key part of vegetarian Gujarati cuisine is our ‘roadside snacks’ which you’ll see on the menu at Prashad. Dishes like our ‘special chaat’ (a cold, layered, chickpea and samosa treat with tamarind sauce), are hugely popular but in a restaurant setting, we have to adapt them to meet diners’ presentational standards. We’ve always believed that these dishes should be served as they were intended – straight from a disposable container with a wooden fork – and that is exactly the concept that we’ve introduced through our new Leeds city centre venture, Bundobust.
Bundobust is a collaboration between Prashad and Bradford’s popular European Bier Café, The Sparrow. It is a craft beer bar and Indian street food kitchen that has really shaken up the food and drink scene in Leeds. A few years ago, we would have had trouble persuading pint swilling beer lovers to even try veggie food, but the Bundobust street food concept has gone down a storm – and no-one even questions where the meat is!
We caught up with Mark from Bundobust, to tell us more about how he and Mayur, Bundobust’s Operations Director and Kaushy’s son, are introducing veggie street food to city dwellers:
What does street food mean to you?
Taking the formality out of dining out with healthy fast food. It’s social and informal, you can pop in for a drink and a snack, or stay longer and have a big meal. We love eating out in a loose and relaxed atmosphere so that’s the vibe we wanted to bring to Bundobust.
People choose to eat street food for many reasons: to experience different ethnic cuisines, for a taste of home, for reasonably priced fresh food, and for the sociable and informal atmosphere it’s served in. What do you think is that keeps people coming back to Bundobust?
The combination of great food and a quick turnaround. You don’t have to commit to hours sitting down because we’re not a restaurant. You can grab a quick fix or you can stay and have a few drinks, it’s totally up to you. We don’t see Bundobust as being somewhere you visit on special occasions, it’s about visiting whenever you fancy some delicious street food quickly!
Why do you think veggie Gujarati dishes work so well in a street food setting?
The combination of all the different flavours and textures. We think it’s working so well in Leeds at the moment because it’s a fresh and unusual approach – in North Yorkshire and Leeds there aren’t that many genuinely Gujarati places to eat (except Prashad of course!) so we’re serving dishes that many people have never even heard of.
What’s your desert island street food dish?
Pau Bhaji! It’s not on our menu at the moment but we served it at lots of events over the summer and I really miss it!