Meet Trinity Kitchen Leeds

Trinity Kitchen brought street food to the shopping centre with huge success and rotates six new street food vans every eight weeks, offering visitors the chance to experience various flavours and cuisines under one roof.

We caught up with Trinity’s Food and Beverage Manager Josie Towing to find out more about how the food and beverage offering has flourished at Trinity Leeds.

How did it all start, how has TK developed and did anything surprise you about this?

When Trinity Leeds was built 10 years ago, the traditional shopping centre food court didn’t seem to sit right amongst the rest of the scheme, with its modern aesthetics and in demand brands. Trinity Kitchen was the answer to finding something on trend and ahead of the curve of many other retail destinations. Back then, street food venues were very few and far between, with Trinity Kitchen being one of the first in the UK.

Trinity Kitchen was unique in opening up the side of a shopping centre to scissor lift street food vans onto the first floor of the shopping centre, initially every 4 weeks! This eventually expanded to every 8-9 weeks as feedback suggested guests were keen to enjoy their favourite traders for a bit longer before changing over.

The most recent change was the design and purchase of our very own street food vans which act as pop-up, flexible use kitchen spaces. There were many drivers behind the project, one of which being the access to talent that was opened up. There are some seriously talented chefs out there, who aren’t ready for their own van but can certainly show us how its done using one of our vans!

I was initially cautious about the change for those who were already used to their own set ups, but these traders were instrumental in ensuring the design of vans were fit for purpose and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from all sides.

Have you seen changes in the street food industry along the way?

Street food has been really gaining some momentum over the past 10 years, establishing itself as its own sector within the hospitality and catering industry. COVID-19  was a real catalyst in the next generation of street food traders. Chefs who were on furlough gave street food a go, some of them then making it a full time business after success on takeaways and delivery platforms. It’s been interesting to see chefs diversifying and creating multiple concepts such as making ready meals, or meal kits to make at home to complement their street food operations

How has retail changed in the time that TK was established to now?

Retail is an ever evolving industry, but I think that the biggest point of change we have seen is the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Our guests reported that they had missed out on the experience of in store shopping and socialising with friends, experience of being out and about is something that cannot be replicated with online shopping or food delivery to your home. It seems that experience really is key!

Have you seen the TK traders grow their businesses since they joined you? Has TK given opportunities to people starting out in street food?

Trinity Kitchen offers pop up flexible spaces for traders just starting out. It means new young businesses who can’t quite afford their own truck yet, can still have an equal opportunity within a busy street food environment. It’s been really rewarding to see a few traders like this develop over the past year. The exposure that traders get in Trinity Kitchen means that they often get booking for weddings or parties on the back of a positive experience in Trinity Kitchen.

What is your policy on sustainability?

Zero waste to landfill and no single use plastics. We have recently converted the vans to run as electric only, which is kinder to the environment. There is a lot going on behind the scenes of Trinity Leeds as a whole to work as sustainably as possible. The introduction of the Trinity Kitchen vans has improved sustainability all round too, with a reduced scale in operation and offering local traders the opportunity to trade in two places at once.

What are your plans for this year? Where would you like to see TK in the future?

We are actually booked up until early 2024, but looking ahead I’m keen to keep welcoming new traders, its amazing how much new talent is appearing on a regular basis!

What advice would you give to someone thinking of introducing a street food offering to their space?

Do your research and make sure that there is demand for what you are planning to offer! Street food by its nature can appear quick and easy to rustle up, but there is actually a lot of organisation and administration that goes on behind the scenes!

What do you look for in traders?

A 5* food hygiene rating and an active NCASS membership! We pride ourselves on having great quality, hand picked traders with delicious, authentic dishes. A tough part of the job is getting out and performing the taste tests!

What do you love most about TK and about street food?

The availability of several different cuisines available 7 days a week, run by people who are passionate about food. The combination of indie traders in the vans alongside the permanent residents means that we can keep consistency despite changing out indie traders every 8-9 weeks.

What do you love about Leeds? Has the indie / street food sector grown as a whole there?

The Leeds/Yorkshire street food scene is amazing! Can’t believe we have so much great talent on our doorstep. There is an abundance of traders popping in Trinity Kitchen and Chowdown to name a couple, and I really enjoy seeing street food pop ups at breweries and pub kitchens.

How can readers find out more about TK and how can they apply for a residency?

Interested traders can contact [email protected] to run through some basic screening questions and then go from there!

Stay up to date with news about other food halls across the country here.