Street food has become one of the most dynamic entry points into hospitality, offering a platform where creativity, culture and commercial insight collide.
But for individuals facing barriers to employment or traditional routes into the industry, turning a home-grown idea into something commercially viable can be especially challenging.
The McCain Streets Ahead Programme, powered by KERB, exists to support those individuals - working with people referred through UK charities to help them take the first steps toward building a street food business. As part of the programme’s structured development journey, each cohort participates in a Food Development session, held twice a year, giving emerging traders the opportunity to put their dishes under the microscope.
It’s at this stage where concepts are tested, refined and challenged, helping participants understand how their ideas translate into real-world trading conditions.
Presiding over the session is McCain Development Chef Louis Hines, whose career spans both high-end kitchens and hands-on street food trading. He has worked in kitchens operating at Michelin level, run his own street food business, and spent years refining his understanding of flavour, structure and dish design under a series of influential chefs across the UK.
This combination - classical technique paired with the agility of street trading – gives him an unusually rounded perspective on what makes a dish both delicious and commercially viable.
Hines recalls the early discipline that shaped him. “I spent months doing the same task day after day – picking herbs, prepping ingredients, watching how dishes were built. That level of repetition forces you to understand consistency. In street food, consistency is king. If you can’t deliver the same quality at speed, you’re going to struggle."
During the Food Development session, participants cook their hero dish and present it for constructive feedback. Hines examines everything: the balance of flavours, the layering of texture, the workflow behind service, the practicality of the chosen vessel and the cost implications of each component.
“Every detail tells you something about the business,” he explains. “If a garnish slows the dish down, if a marinade is too expensive, if the packaging collapses under heat – these are all signals. My job is to help participants look beyond the dish and see the operation behind it.”
One thing Hines highlights about this cohort – and many before it – is the individuality embedded in each concept.
“There’s a depth of cultural identity in the dishes people bring. You’re tasting family recipes, regional techniques, traditions adapted for street trading. It’s incredibly exciting to see flavours that aren’t yet part of mainstream hospitality.”
He points to an example from the recent session: a double-fried chicken technique inspired by Jamaican home cooking, involving a water dip between coatings to create an exaggerated crisp finish.
“It’s not something you’d find in most kitchens, but on the street? It’s genius. It’s personal. And customers respond to that authenticity.”
Although street food is often associated with spontaneity, Hines notes that the most successful traders are those who pair creativity with rigorous thinking. “It’s not just about what tastes good. It’s about whether the dish can be produced consistently, quickly and profitably. You’re asking: can this be a Monday-to-Friday lunchtime success? Or is it a destination dish that needs a different setting?”
Following Food Development, participants revise their dishes and prepare pitch decks that outline not only their concept, but also their operational plan, pricing, margins, narrative and vision for growth.
These decks determine whether they are invited to Panel Day, the programme’s high-stakes moment where selected entrepreneurs pitch for up to £10,000 of McCain investment to help bring their business to life.
Hines approaches Panel Day with clear expectations. “I want to see that the feedback has been absorbed – that they’ve tightened their pricing, sharpened their portions, thought through the customer journey, and can demonstrate why their dish deserves a place in the market. Progress matters more than perfection.”
He believes programmes like Streets Ahead are vital for strengthening the wider industry. “We’re not just helping individuals – we’re supporting the ecosystem. Developing new operators means new flavours entering the marketplace, new stories being told, and new ideas feeding into the menus of tomorrow.”
As this cohort moves into the next stage of the programme, Hines reflects on what keeps him committed to Streets Ahead. “Helping someone take an idea they’ve held onto for years and turn it into something real – that’s an incredible feeling," he says.
“You see confidence grow. You see skills sharpen. You see people start to believe this could be their livelihood. It’s a privilege to play a part in that.”
For McCain, the programme reinforces its long-term investment in the future of foodservice – developing the next generation of entrepreneurs, strengthening the talent pipeline and ensuring the industry continues to evolve through innovation at its roots.
