jozl
Active Member
Street Food blues
Every so often events at city council expose the mindset of some of the most woefully inept and unimaginative bureaucrats and politicians that run this city. The latest street food vendor fiasco is one of those events. It's been over two years since the province cleared the way for Toronto to allow a more varied choice of foods to be sold by street vendors. The plan was embraced by the general public, food vendors, and the the tourist industry. The goal was simple and clear and the path was laid out. But, of course, the soul destroying, anti people, anti city, anti let's enjoy life, safety first, bureaucracy that actually runs this city got involved. The plan has now been reduced to a pilot project involving 8 vendors. EIGHT VENDORS!, in a city of 2.5 million people.
Read on, from the Star, March 18.
JOHN SPEARS
CITY HALL BUREAU
Close, but no lawful falafel.
Many wannabe cart owners' faces fell in their soup when they saw the city's list of restrictions for the new street food program.
Topping their menu was the daunting demand that owners must be on hand for 70 per cent of the cart's hours of operation. Others cried "fowl" over the requirement that street food must be prepared in a commercial kitchen, a demand that slams the cupboard door on at-home cooks.
And complying with its nutritional rules is one of the "guiding principles" for cart-based meals, vendors were told when applying for permits. (It's not clear how the city's current army of hot dog vendors gets around this.)
A taste of some other rules:
Carts, costing up to $28,000, must be purchased from the approved supplier.
Forget fresh omelettes. "A raw egg is a hazardous product and will only be allowed on the cart if it is precooked and reheated on the cart."
Freshly cooked meat is also out. "The only raw food that can be cooked from the raw state are foods such as corn on the cob, potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams."
The owner must be a "sole proprietor who must work on the cart 70 per cent of the cart operating hours" each week. (No such requirement for hot dog vendors.)
Factors are weighted in evaluating applications. The taste of the food counts for only 12 per cent of total points. The business plan counts for 7 per cent, "environmental considerations" for 10.5 per cent, and food safety for 14 per cent.
"Advertising other businesses, products or events on carts is not permitted."
Soy margarine is permitted on the cart "provided the margarine is non-hydrogenated."
If the food they offer isn't selling, vendors who want to switch to different foods must "apply to the Medical Officer of Health to have your menu reconsidered."
In the end, too many were scared away and Torontonians reaped a paltry harvest, with only eight vendors stepping up. Chinese food and Latin food vendors did not make the cut.
"It's not because they do not have great street food. It's not because Toronto isn't full of fabulous Chinese, Latin and South Asian cuisine," Councillor John Filion said.
"We didn't convince them to apply and we'll have to work harder the next time around," which he hoped would be in the fall.
Scores of potential vendors attended the city's information sessions. In the end, only eight made it through.
We'll never know how many people wanted to bring their food to the streets.
Every so often events at city council expose the mindset of some of the most woefully inept and unimaginative bureaucrats and politicians that run this city. The latest street food vendor fiasco is one of those events. It's been over two years since the province cleared the way for Toronto to allow a more varied choice of foods to be sold by street vendors. The plan was embraced by the general public, food vendors, and the the tourist industry. The goal was simple and clear and the path was laid out. But, of course, the soul destroying, anti people, anti city, anti let's enjoy life, safety first, bureaucracy that actually runs this city got involved. The plan has now been reduced to a pilot project involving 8 vendors. EIGHT VENDORS!, in a city of 2.5 million people.
Read on, from the Star, March 18.
JOHN SPEARS
CITY HALL BUREAU
Close, but no lawful falafel.
Many wannabe cart owners' faces fell in their soup when they saw the city's list of restrictions for the new street food program.
Topping their menu was the daunting demand that owners must be on hand for 70 per cent of the cart's hours of operation. Others cried "fowl" over the requirement that street food must be prepared in a commercial kitchen, a demand that slams the cupboard door on at-home cooks.
And complying with its nutritional rules is one of the "guiding principles" for cart-based meals, vendors were told when applying for permits. (It's not clear how the city's current army of hot dog vendors gets around this.)
A taste of some other rules:
Carts, costing up to $28,000, must be purchased from the approved supplier.
Forget fresh omelettes. "A raw egg is a hazardous product and will only be allowed on the cart if it is precooked and reheated on the cart."
Freshly cooked meat is also out. "The only raw food that can be cooked from the raw state are foods such as corn on the cob, potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams."
The owner must be a "sole proprietor who must work on the cart 70 per cent of the cart operating hours" each week. (No such requirement for hot dog vendors.)
Factors are weighted in evaluating applications. The taste of the food counts for only 12 per cent of total points. The business plan counts for 7 per cent, "environmental considerations" for 10.5 per cent, and food safety for 14 per cent.
"Advertising other businesses, products or events on carts is not permitted."
Soy margarine is permitted on the cart "provided the margarine is non-hydrogenated."
If the food they offer isn't selling, vendors who want to switch to different foods must "apply to the Medical Officer of Health to have your menu reconsidered."
In the end, too many were scared away and Torontonians reaped a paltry harvest, with only eight vendors stepping up. Chinese food and Latin food vendors did not make the cut.
"It's not because they do not have great street food. It's not because Toronto isn't full of fabulous Chinese, Latin and South Asian cuisine," Councillor John Filion said.
"We didn't convince them to apply and we'll have to work harder the next time around," which he hoped would be in the fall.
Scores of potential vendors attended the city's information sessions. In the end, only eight made it through.
We'll never know how many people wanted to bring their food to the streets.
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