Streetcube is a pop-up street food company dedicated to producing high-quality, sustainable street food, all while keeping carbon emissions at 0 and getting rid of plastic waste altogether. The company even promises fully organic products, all while claiming to sell “delicious, diverse, [...] Street Gastronomy that is affordable to all.” But how can so many promises be achieved in our time, where society, and especially the food industry, is increasingly profit-based? 

 

Pascal Gerrard, the founder of Streetcube, told BBC Radio London that “[...] Because most of the other [food] chains, it's buy for as cheap as you can and sell for as high as you can.” The company then is clearly not interested in making a maximum profit, and these sustainability claims aren’t just a clever advertising tactic to lure in young people who are becoming increasingly passionate about climate change. However, the quality of the food remained to be seen (or tasted).

 

To find this out, I headed to Streetcube’s Wandsworth venue, which is made up of two “Streetcubes”, each Streetcube being made out of half a shipping container and having just enough space to fit a kitchen and two chefs inside. The whole cube is solar-powered and allegedly produces no emissions whatsoever. The food is all local (produced within 100 miles) and organic, and the installation of the cubes seems to have attracted a few non-streetcube vendors nearby, including burrito and curry stalls, which all add to the “market day” ambiance. 

 

However, the main reason people come to a street food stall is of course the food. In this case, the food is prepared quickly (as you’d expect) and most of the process is visible from the outside, providing entertainment while you wait for your sustenance. The food is delicious, although this may vary depending on the stand (Streetcubes being run by independent chefs) and of course your taste.

 

As with all good things in life however, there comes a price. The monetary value of this price is not that elevated considering the organic, sustainable and local nature of the meals, although a Tesco meal deal will definitely be kinder for your wallet than the planet-loving and zero-waste street food from the Cubes. 

 

This however is not my main grievance with the Streetcube system. For me, the problem lies not in the food, the service or the almost suspiciously planet-friendly food, but rather in the only factors the Streetcube cannot control: the weather. 

 

Although the past few days have been warm and sunny for those in the London area, for at least six months of the year, the weather is unfortunately not so kind. The stereotypical rainy day in London often prevails over the 2-day spring “Heatwaves” that we all appreciate while they last. And although Streetcube brands their semi-permanent kitchens to be “weatherproof”, their clients are not. Street food is best enjoyed outside on a warm sunny day, which unfortunately limits the potential visiting days to roughly 30 a year (the remaining 40 or 50 being spent away somewhere sunnier - on a good year).

 

In short, the food is good for you, your taste buds, and the planet. However, the planet doesn’t quite seem to return the favour.