Held twice per year, the food development session gives participants the opportunity to cook their signature dish and receive feedback on flavour, execution, workflow, costings and operational viability.
The session is led by McCain development chef Louis Hines, who brings expertise from fine dining, independent kitchens and running his own street food business.
Hines said: “Street food requires creativity and precision. My role is to help participants understand how their ideas translate into high-volume, real-world trading.
“A dish must be delicious, but it must also be consistent, scalable and commercially sound. Street food is where new ideas surface first. You can see genuine cultural expression in these dishes, and that’s what makes the programme so exciting.”
Participants now move on to preparing pitch decks, which determine whether they will be invited to the programme’s upcoming panel day. Selected entrepreneurs will pitch their business concepts to industry judges for the chance to receive up to £10,000 of McCain investment to support their launch.