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WSF DIALOGUE 2013

Preserve- tell, sell, promote, educate, create, celebrate and harness this great heritage of flavours and tales of the land
Professionalize – take the craft into the next level of operational finesse. Utilize and exercise best in class techniques and thinking.
Possibilities for tomorrow are limitless, because it’s the world greatest food culture.

We had speakers from 10 countries including China, India, USA, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Denmark. They touched on a host of topics, ranging from the inspirational to the aspirational and the root problems and solutions to the ills and woes of this trade.

We heard success stories and about meaningful street food social enterprise operations. Vietnam has no official street food regulations, yet have such a famous street food culture. India needed to recognise 10 million street vendors and Indonesia was sharing about their “Beyond Sate and Soto” food culture. Singapore’s regulators of their famous hawker centres told about the challenges they face in the light of the lack of structured continuity in the hawker food trade, as they plan to build 10 more such food centres.

DAY 1

08:30
Welcome Reception and Registration
09:00
MC Opening
09:05
Opening performance (Budak Pantai)
09:20
- MC introduces Seetoh
- Followed by Keynote 1 (Seetoh)
09:45
Keynote 2 (Anthony Bourdain)

Guest-Of-Honour
10:10
By Minister in Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry, S
Iswaran
10:30
CCC (coffee – circulate – connect)
10:50
Bondan Winarno, William Wongso and Iwan Tjandra
Topic : Indonesia: Beyond sate and nasi padang; The great flavours from the land of spices (bondan
20mins), selling Indonesia flavours and a quick fire demo (Wongso 20mins), new generation food
courts and the story of Eat & Eat – the food court business operation model. (Iwan 10mins)
11:45
Prof Simon Tay (Singapore Institute of International Affairs)
Topic: Insights and world view on trends, social impacts, environmental influences and effects on
comfort and street food culture at-large
12:15
Lunch (90 mins)
14:00
Johnny Chan
Topic: The story of China food – as seen from the most dynamic food host on cable TV in China.
Coast-to-Coast to land and the flavours and craft that inspire thoughts and ideas. Johnny’s journey as
a food adventurer. To share on Hainan.
141:35
Brett Burmeister (Food Carts Portland)
Topic: The Portland food cart phenomenon; It’s culture, operation policy, government and public
partnerships and concerns
15:10
Culinary School Panel Discussion
Topic: Challenges and aspirations the schools face in creating a new comfort & street food syllabus
for tomorrow’s industry and instituting opportunities

Panel: Culinary Institute of America/ Eve Felder, ITE/Denise Tan, at-Sunrice/ Chef Chris Megel and
SHATEC/ Margaret Heng
15:50
CCC Break (15 mins
16;10
PaulineLoh (Managing Editorm The China Daily)
Topic: China’s effort at reviving a lost and fading traditional food culture in her quest to modernize
16:30
Panel Discussion WSFC Council Members
Topic : introduction of the WSFC council and sharing on what are the problems now and the vision for
tomorrow’s world of street food culture
17:15
Anthony Bourdain
Topic: Street food: Why It Matters
17:55
Close

DAY 2

09:00
MC Opening
09:05
Richard Tan, ( Director of Hawker Centres Division, National Environment Agency)
Topic: Challenges, expectations, goals, management and the future of hawker centre street
food culture in Singapore
09:25
James Oseland (Editor-in-Chief, Saveur Magazine(US) and judge on Bravo’s Top Chef)
Topic: Challenges of the non-mainstream comfort ethnic food publications. How to connect
with the populace in America…insights and experiences
10:00
CCC Break (15 mins)
10:15
HawkerSpeak:Mr Wee Toon Ouut (Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice)
Topic: Wee Nam Kee; From passion to success to succession
10:35
Hawker Panel Discussion
Theme: The trials and tribulations, problems and joys and what they aspire…continuity and
what the future holds for them

Panel: Dario Wolos (Mexico), Charles Thomas (US) , Gulab Singh (India), Afdal Fitra
(Indonesia), Abdus Salam (S’pore), Jennifer Tan (Malaysia)
11:25
Bryant Ng (Owner/Chef – The Spice Table, LA )
Topic: Getting back to roots, connecting with comfort heritage street food in LA. Why, what
and the journey of celebrating comfort street food culture
12:00
Lunch (90 mins)
13:30
Arbind Singh Nasvi(National Association of Street Vendors India)
Topic: 350,000 members, NASVI’s quest to legitimise 5 million street vendors, what’s next , and
its future potentials; The vision of the National Association of Street Vendors of India
14:00
Vo Quoc (TV show host, publisher, restaurateur and advocate)
Topic: Vietnam: One man’s effort at capturing and keeping alive the “illegal” flavours of its
street and the opportunities and potentials in Vietnam.
14:30
Daniel Wang (former Director General of Public Health and pioneer officer who set up hawker
centres in Singapore in 1970s)
Topic: The conception of hawker centres in Singapore , why and how, and stories of how
itinerant hawkers were persuaded to roost in hawker centres
15:00
CCC Break (15 mins)
15:15
Claus Meyer (co-owner of Noma restaurant, Nam Nam and Gusto)
Topic: The Melting Pot Foundation and its aspirations: Growing an organic street food
movement in Europe. Nam Nam and Gusto in Bolivia.

Media Panel Discussion
1600
Theme: The challenges and approaches on how media uses this layman food culture to sell,
connect and create loyalty.
Panel: Johnny Chan (TV host), Brett Burmeister (Blogger), Denise Tan (Gold90.5FM), Jaime Ee
(BT) and KF Seetoh (Makansutra)
16:45
Ian Kittichai(Iron Chef Thailand)
Topic: From 3-Michelin Star to 5-star Kuey Teow Neua
17:30
KF Seetoh (creator and curator of the World Street Food Congress)
Close, encapsulate, invite for next year, announce next year’s theme