Helsinki To Host Carnival Honoring World's Best Street Food
On March 21 and 22, the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre will host a new street-food carnival called Streat Helsinki, honoring some of the world's best street food. In addition to some serious street eats from more than 30 Finnish street vendors and international guests, the festival will feature guest speakers from all over the world who will discuss business development strategies and upcoming trends.
American chefs who will speak at the festival include Eric Demby, co-founder of Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg; Chris Ying, editor-in-chief of Lucky Peach; Geetika Agrawal, business development manager of La Cocina; Caleb Zigas, executive director of La Cocina; and Binita Pradhan of Bini's Kitchen.
Other international speakers will include South Africa's Luca Castiglione, chef and co-owner of Cape Town Food Trucks; and from the U.K., Yianni Papoutsis, founder of MEATliquor and Cynthia Shanmugalingam, founder of Kitchenette.
The event will include Streat Helsinki EATS, a free food festival on Mar. 22 in the Tori Quarters in Helsinki. Tickets for Streat Helsinki PARTIES, a nighttime food festival on the 21st, are available for €38.
"We are looking forward to a non-conventional conference with great talks and conversation with a rock-and-roll attitude," said Ville Relander, head of Helsinki's Food Culture Strategy. "I am especially happy to help very different organizations to dive deeper into the world of street food."
Karen Lo is an associate editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @appleplexy.