Philly Spotlight: 2014 VENDY AWARDS Recap

The Vendys (currently celebrating 10 years) are like the Golden Globes for Street Vendors – fun, informal, plenty of alcohol, good eats, and at the same time, a very coveted honor!

The competition takes places in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, however, Philly joined in just 4 years ago.

If you follow Tinsel & Tine you know last year about this time, I started a Food Truck series, where I profile Food Truck Owner/Chefs by asking these 5 questions:

1) How long have you been in the food industry? And When and Why did you decide to start a food truck?

2) Best elevator pitch – What sets your food truck cuisine apart from others? And what’s unique about your truck itself?

3) We always add a little Tinsel into our Tine, so what’s your favorite movie genre and favorite movie from that genre?

4) Who’s the most famous person to come up to your truck? And/or at what events do you do the most business?

5) What do you wish the city would change about food truck vending in Philadelphia? 

The last question fits in with what The Street Vendor Project and The Food Trust, organizers of The Vendy’s, are trying to accomplish. Philadelphia has a long tradition of street vending, and yet Vendors here still face many obstacles, including harassment from law enforcement officials, archaic laws, and exorbitant fines.

In addition, the Vendys not only celebrate the best in Food Trucks/Street Food Culture, but The Food Trust uses the proceeds to help provide access to healthy and affordable food for Philadelphians.

And the Winners Are…

Congrats @PieStand314 for winning the 2014 Vendy Cup! #Philly #VendyAwards
— Vendy Awards (@vendyawards) June 14, 2014

A big congrats to @cowandthecurd for taking home the People’s Choice Award for the 2nd year in a row! #vendyawards #cowandthecurd
— Vendy Awards (@vendyawards) June 14, 2014

Congrats to our Rookie of the Year @OinkAndMooPHL! #bbq #rookieoftheyear
— Vendy Awards (@vendyawards) June 14, 2014

And finally a big congrats to @BonjourCreperie for winning Best Dessert! #bonjourcreperie #bestdessert #crepes
— Vendy Awards (@vendyawards) June 14, 2014

Felicia D’Ambriosio, Lily Fischer, Danya Henninger, Ann Karlen, Nicole Woon

I knew Debbie Dasani of Samosa Deb was going to be in attendance, she and I have been trying to get together again since hitting it off during her interview for Tinsel & Tine.  But of course, as Philly is such a small town, it just so happens that she’s good friends with long time friends of mine, Walton & Tamara Van Winkle, in fact, Tammy helped Deb serve her amazing Indian cuisine to the Vendy attendees, and we all had a nice time catching up at the event.

Walton & Tammy Van Winkle & Debbie & PJ Dasani

Here’s a few more pics from The Philadelphia Vendy Awards 2014 – See below slideshow:

Comments are welcome on the facebook page on the post.

Tinsel & Tine: Philly Film, Food & Events Blog