It’s a sunny March day and Melbourne-based chef Shane Delia is moments from unveiling his latest Biggie Smalls ‘kbab’ outlet. It’s just like his ‘shop’ in Collingwood, but there’s one small difference: it’s on wheels.
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter wheels to be precise. He’s about to give away 300 of his signature ‘kbabs’ to hungry visitors to Queen Victoria Market, but before he does, he pauses to reflect on how much work went into fitting out the Sprinter to his standards. ‘I was involved in the layout of the kitchen, the size of the equipment and made sure it had all of the features we need,’ he says.
‘Even though Biggie Smalls is a street hip hop brand, it’s premium,’ Delia says. He worked with the team at Mercedes-Benz Vans to figure out every detail, including WiFi facilities to support the Biggie Smalls point of sale system and speakers for the Hip Hop beats. ‘When we sell a menu item here, we can reconcile it with everything back at the shop. It’s all integrated into the mothership,’ Delia explains.
Don’t expect his food truck to pull up on any old street corner. ‘It’s not going to follow the traditional food truck routes,’ he hints. It’ll appear at major events such as football matches at Spotless Stadium and the Grand Prix.