You’ve made the decision to turn your love of cooking into a business, but how to make it a successful one? If like thousands of Australian chefs, passionate foodies and budding entrepreneurs you love the idea of joining our growing street food culture, it’s important to ensure that you’re making the best and smartest choices for your new venture.
First things first is getting the right base of operations – what you sell your food from is almost as important as what you’re serving. Your choice of mobile kitchen is going to determine what you can make, how you can serve it, where you can travel, where you can park and how you market your business, so nailing this is vital to your success.
Before you get into the nitty-gritty of how many stove burners you need and how you’re going to brand your vehicle, you’ve got one big decision to make – food truck or food van? Let Van Demons help you make the smarter choice for your new business. In this article, we’ll break down the advantages and disadvantages of food trucks versus food vans, allowing you to make a more informed decision.
Food trucks – convenient
The classic food truck. Seen everywhere from Sydney to Seattle to Singapore, it’s the choice of millions of mobile restaurateurs, and is an icon in its own right. It’s popular with good reason – they’re large enough to offer room for all of the equipment the modern chef needs without requiring a heavy vehicle licence. For that reason, they’re the preferred format for the new wave of gourmet food trucks slinging everything from falafels to tacos, chicken wings and curries.
Most are built from full-size truck or van chassis equipped with entirely new bodywork that extends the interior space. While adding more room to manoeuvre for cooks inside the van, it also makes the vehicle physically larger. The beauty of a food truck is that they are a great all-in-one option. You simply arrive at an event, park the truck and drive away again when the event is over. At most events a food van’s tow vehicle will need to be detached and parked off-site. Plus a truck is almost always easier to manoeuvre when compared to a trailer. The only real downside with choosing a food truck over a food van is the cost involved in purchasing the vehicle. However if this is of concern and your heart is set on a food truck, you might consider purchasing a cheaper second hand vehicle on which to have the food truck body built.
Food vans – compact & cost effective
Food vans are a great option for those wanting either something compact, or those who have a smaller budget. They also allow for different build designs outside of the standard box shape, such as rounded edge retro style vans.
The maximum size of your van will be determined by several things: first and foremost, the size and capabilities of your tow vehicle. You will need to check your vehicle’s towing capacity to ensure what load it can handle. Obviously the bigger your van is the more difficult it will be to manoeuver so you will need to take this into account too. The next thing that will help determine the size of your van (and this applies to food trucks too) is the amount of equipment required in order for you to run your business effectively and efficiently. It is important to keep in mind that space inside a food van is limited and you may not be able to fit all of the equipment that a regular commercial kitchen might have (which often means saying goodbye to the trusty dishwasher!). And last but not least, price! The bigger the van, the more expensive it will be.
Of course, with the right team and an intelligent fit out, you can make much more complex dishes in a smaller kitchen. It all depends on your needs and your ability. Oh, and your budget!
At Van Demons Vans, we pride ourselves on delivering exceptional street food vehicles for clients serving every kind of cuisine. Whatever you’re cooking, we want to be part of the process. Talk to us today about your vision for your food truck or van and let us help you make it a reality.