Window of opportunity for Melbourne food trucks, but there's one small snag

Only the best food trucks will make the cut. Photo: Simon Schluter

In what surely sets the scene for Australia’s latest foodie reality television show, more than 500 food truck operators have already applied for one of just 17 permits.

So how will the lucky operators be chosen? Will there be a taste off? Can the public vote?

Will MasterChef’s Gary Mehigan be rolled in to cull the mediocre from the masterful?

Possibly not.

Vendors will be chosen by a panel of five Melbourne City Council staff (at this stage, we know little about their burger-tasting credentials).

However Melbourne lord mayor Robert Doyle said there would be set criteria to decide on the winners.

“We want it to be healthy food, we want it to be fresh, we want them to be sustainable businesses,” he said.

Lord mayor Robert Doyle wants the food to be ‘healthy and fresh’. Photo: Steven Siewert

Food trucks with great presentation and a strong media following will also be given priority.

“We appreciate good food in Australia’s culinary capital which is why we will be only accepting 17 of the best food trucks we can identify,” Cr Doyle said.

The culling process is set to take a number of months, with food truck sites to open by March next year.

They will be located in front for the National Gallery of Victoria (near where current trucks operate), on Peel Street at the Queen Victoria Market and at three fairly-desolate sites on Flinders Street near the Yarra River.

Rent for the food trucks will range between $200- and $1700-a-month depending on the location.