What The Flip!

He has been told by a former employee that Gordon Ramsay has nothing on him. He has been known to use some slightly dodgy methods to further the cause of a suburban market, but “What The Flip’s” owner and operator, Islam, is a warm, intelligent and empathetic human being with nothing but the community’s best interests at heart.

When he comes bounding out of his “kitchen”, which has a cooking area of no more than 1m square in size, you can feel his energy and warmth even from an appropriate “social distance”. A term that Islam detests!

Islam was born in Algeria, where he was adopted at birth. He spent the first seven years in Algeria and then moved to Bordeaux in France, where he went to school. At 17, he was reunited with his biological family, some of whom still live in Algeria and others in Paris.

Islam has lived in Australia, specifically Perth, for 15 years now. He originally wanted to move to Melbourne to study English for two years before returning to France. Still, his research revealed that in 2005 Perth was the most affordable city in Australia, so Perth it was. Ironically, six months later, Perth became the most expensive city in Australia with the mining boom, and Islam regretted not choosing Melbourne. He is, however, like most people who live here but don’t come from here, in love with Perth and thinks it’s a great city.

An inner-city local, Islam is a real people person and a hard worker who has worked in hospitality all his working life. He worked at Must Wine Bar for five years and later owned and operated the Alchemist Cafe. He has held and operated “What the Flip” for almost a year. Before this, he worked for the previous owner and built his brand, which he is highly passionate about.

Before going into the food truck business, Islam operated a bakery at the Subiaco and Mt Claremont Markets. The bakery was owned by WA’s most celebrated pastry chef, Emmanuel Mollois, who passed away in 2017 from aggressive bone cancer. Islam purchased Emmanuel’s business when he became too ill to continue working.

Islam is passionate about markets, and he instigated the campaign to help save Subiaco Market, managing to stall the closure for 18 months. Owning and operating the bakery was a huge workload, and Islam realised that even though he had money, he wasn’t happy and felt burnt out. Following the breakdown of a nine-year relationship, he left Australia and travelled overseas to Mexico and Indonesia.

He returned to Perth and started working for the previous owner of “What the Flip”. The van was then situated at the Crimea Reserve, where they didn’t feel they were attracting the right demographic for their wares. Two years ago, they got their foot in the door and set up in Hyde Park for a limited number of hours in the afternoon while still setting up at Crimea in the morning.

“We were doing ok...this whole business became me, it was my personality, it was my menu, so if I were to walk out of that business, there would be an empty shell without the value.”

Almost all the equipment belonged to Islam, and about 50 weeks ago, he made a contract with the previous owner to purchase “What the Flip”. Islam paid the owner more than the business was worth because he wanted to start on a good note and maintain a good relationship.

There was “a s@## storm” from the moment he took over. Islam says they were abused and attacked by food truck owners already using Hyde Park as their base.

“I have had a lot of trouble with some of the competitors that have been in the park who have been running this park a bit like a mafia, not letting anyone new coming in. We had to sort all this out and had a lot of trouble with the Council, with our permit and things like that. But the crowd has always been very supportive and petitioned to get us back and called the council and the mayor. We had become like a tourist attraction for the area.”

Eventually, the council gave “What the Flip” a permit to set up in the park every day. They were given a position overlooking the lake, and every morning they parked the van and set up the covered shelter with the tables and chairs. With the Covid19 restrictions, they have not been able to set up tables and chairs lately. The brightly coloured van is there rain, hail or shine, pumping out funky tunes and creating delightful delicacies for the community.

One of “What the Flip’s” specialities are the 300-year-old Bordeaux sweet cake, the Canele. Islam bakes them the traditional way using copper cooking moulds, and they are a personal favourite of mine.

According to Islam, when asked about crepes, who speaks with a strong French accent.

“Crepe, from a gastronomical lexical word in the English language, is not a yummy word.”

So he changed the name from crepe to galette, which is the Brittany style crepe made from buckwheat flour. What TheFlip! Makes galettes for all dietary requirements, including vegan and gluten-free. Islam likes to think he can cater for everyone from “coeliac, vegan, animal intolerance to the most cannibalistic of the cannibals!”

The size of the van has brought with it the challenges of having to create delicious food in such a small area. He makes everything in small portions; for instance, he can only make ten pizzas per day, around eight burgers and 20 toasties. He prides himself in making everything from scratch and having a fantastic variety which makes the food truck quite unique.

I can vouch for the toasties. They are delicious, and in the words of Islam, “a toastie is not just a toastie!”

The foods that come out of the tardis-like space include fresh juices, coffee, vegan ice cream, regular ice cream, homemade icy poles, cakes and a range of meal choices.

When Islam is asked how he does it, he always replies with his infectious laugh, “It’s not the size that matters; it's how you use the space.”

Islam feels that his van attracts a specific demographic. The people who stop and order food are not those who eat at fast-food restaurants.

”You can see many people walk past; they don’t pay attention. The people who stop are a bit curious, not hippies, but they like the colour, they like the music, they are more sensitive to the external world.”

The way the van is parked at an angle overlooking the lake is made to trigger people into turning around to say hello. Islam says it's never about the money. He is trying to keep his staff working during this difficult time. One of his staff, Lucy, also from the north of France, has been with the food truck since the beginning, and Islam relies on her to keep him organised and on track.

He has noticed a distinct fall in customers, around 45%, since the Covid19 outbreak, and people no longer want to try the food samples he offers. His passion for the environment comes through when he declares that we have all but forgotten about the environment because we are using more plastic and takeaway than ever. He sometimes feeds people who are less fortunate and never insists on people paying that 50 cents that they might be short. For as long as he is able, he will continue to set up the van because he wants to be there for his staff, customers, and community.