Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Sistrunk Marketplace fired up to find next great thing in food
In a mashup of “Top Chef ” meets “Shark Tank,” Sistrunk Marketplace & Brewery is hosting a contest for a new kiosk at the Fort Lauderdale food hall.
The up-and-coming cook/chef/restaurateur who wins the Fired Up Food Concept Competition gets a kiosk at Sistrunk Marketplace as well as help with startup costs and mentoring on food, hospitality, marketing and design strategy from the culinary hub’s owner, Society 8 Hospitality.
“We’re helping them with branding and startup capital for their opening, and to get food on the shelves,” says Steven Dapuzzo, Society 8’s director. “If they need equipment, we can help make sure we get that concept ready to open. Starting a food [stall in a food hall] can cost $10,000, $15,000 or more.”
For Dapuzzo, the question is: How do you get the next great thing?
“Instead of poking around and calling different cities ... why not put it out there and let the public say, ‘Hey, my neighbor is this great cook’ and ‘We went to this food truck and it is phenomenal.’ ”
Right now, you can vote online at SistrunkMarketplace.com/fired-up-competition to whittle down the field to 20 culinary concepts. Then the people behind these concepts get the chance to cook their way to the top during three live voting rounds:
■ Tuesday, May 17 — Taste is the next leg of the competition. Contestants present their concept and serve a sample dish to a panel of local culinary experts.
■ Tuesday, May 24 — Presentation is next. During this part of the contest, those who made it through present multiple dishes to the judges to evaluate taste and presentation.
■ Tuesday May 31 — Sales is last up for the finalists. Here, the public votes with their dollars.
The public can attend the standing-room events for free and purchase food there, but should register at Eventbrite.com. The winner is expected to be announced on Thursday, June 2. All events start at 7 p.m.
Sistrunk Marketplace is located at 115 NW Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale.
For more information, go to SistrunkMarketplace.com.
“This was more done out of a need to have more development, to expand our food community, and having the Marketplace as an incubator to try out a new concept,” says Dapuzzo. “I guess it’s the ultimate test kitchen.”
Dapuzzo — whose food and beverage stable includes Fort Lauderdale beach’s Wild Thyme Oceanside Eatery and Park & Ocean — adds: “The beauty of the food hall concept is that the infrastructure is really built in for them. It allows the food concept to really focus on the food. We’re really dealing with all the operations.”
That business model works for Juan Cobain, owner of The Empanada Bodega fast-casual eatery at Sistrunk Marketplace.
“It’s an international food hall that attracts a wide variety of not only culture and people groups, but also people from all walks of life, from young people to the more mature crowds — all the while being exposed to so many food options,” Cobain explains.
The publicity generated by the search for a new kiosk owner should also benefit the 14 businesses (including a DJ/music production school and a co-op boutique) already at the 40,000-square-foot, multiuse complex, Cobain says.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I hope this exposure will result in a flood of new consumers,” he says. “The more people who know about [Sistrunk] Marketplace, the more business we create, which then converts into more sales and fans of Empanada Bodega. With more locations being opened across Florida, we’d love to have consumers start at Sistrunk [Marketplace], then seek out other Empanada Bodega locations to get their fix.”
There are plans to open Empanada Bodega locations in Delray Beach and Orlando, as well as in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
The judges for the Fired Up Food Concept Competition will be: Matt Meltzer from Thrillist; Dana Rozansky from Miami Food Porn; Jesse Scott and Laine Doss, both with Miami New Times; Nick Pena with The Food-E; Joanna Wurmann with Mujer y Punto; Taylor Dante with TAYstyTravels; Andrea Grieco with Mixeats; Paul Aceto with Silver Spoon Events; and Mike Mayo with the podcast “Mike Mayo’s Lunchbox” (and former Sun Sentinel food critic).