Date: 14-15 April 2017
Venue: JLN Stadium

Food trucks are the latest trend in Delhi NCR food scene and it attracts the city people specially youngsters. Its a functional thing in the west but a neuve cool concept in India. For sure, food trucks save a lot of money as one don’t have to buy and maintain a property and given the crunch of space in the capital, they are just practical. Although we already had unnamed vans serving desi greasy Chinese for the longest time in Delhi but the branded food trucks have taken it a few notches up by adding different cuisines, better branding, glamour and staff dressed in uniforms. Consequently the prices of food items are higher than these humble Chinese vans and almost comparable to the restaurant dishes but Delhiwalas don’t mind paying a little extra if the food is tasty and served well. We had a glimpse of the food truck culture at recently held Delhi Food Truck Festival at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The festival was held on 14-15 April.

Many of the new and established Food trucks participated in the Delhi Food Truck Festival. We frequently visit JLN Stadium for many events like The Grub Fest, Bollywood Music Project, Comiccon and street food festival. Initial impression of the Delhi Food Truck Festival wasn’t great given the terrible weather and some issues with authorities and food bloggers/media on the first day but second day when we visited, the festival picked up specially in the evening.

The entrance of the festival wasn’t very impressive as the branding and decor left a lot to be desired. The entry area looked spartan and we felt there was definitely room for improvement. A little walk inside and we saw a host of food trucks lined up with some temporary sitting arrangement in the open. Apart from food trucks we also noticed some stalls by regular restaurants and cafes.

We discovered a new frozen chicken snack brand Swiss Naturen and tried some of their grub. Herb Salaami, chicken nuggets and barbecue wings were all very good in taste and quality. We were told that the snacks are launched by a brand from Ludhiana that has been supplying chicken to big brands like KFC , Dominos and McDonalds etc.

There was a stage erected for contests, musical performances and other gigs. Since it was scorching summer, most of the visitors came in the evening. Witlinger was the official pouring partner for the event and their stall was strategically placed close to the rain dance zone. Chilled beer provided as much relief to the visitors as the rain dance. No wonder Witlinger stall was over flowing with folks who wanted their lagers to chill out with buddies and shake a leg at the make shift floor.

What worked for The Delhi food truck festival was its mass appeal. A relatively affordable entry ticket ensured everybody could join in, not just the privileged ones from the posh localities that anyway have no dearth of food trucks and cafes. It was a great leveler and we saw people from all walks having a good time on this weekend evening.