Oliver James from Caffiend travels the world eating amazing food as part of his never-ending quest to bring new tastes and cooking styles to Cairns.

So you can imagine how excited we are to announce he has joined the line-up of street food vendors at Meet Eat Repeat this Saturday.

Here's our Q&A with Oliver to talk pop-ups, food memories and the incredible dish he's got planned for Saturday's event:

Favourite memories of pop-up foodie events?
Pop up events offer an experience that lasts only a limited time, sometimes only one or two nights, so they're often unique and exciting.
We teamed up with friends at Mama Coco and held several foodie Pop Up dinner events, mostly in the graffiti laneway at Grafton Street. These events were themed, well received and heaps of fun!
My earliest experiences were as a 10-year-old going to foodie events with my Dad in the Southern Highlands in NSW. Dad made pork, rabbit and tarragon terrine at one such event.
I can still clearly recall the cold, salty, gamey, rich, white meat terrine flavour with the tarragon so well cutting through and balancing the richness. Yum.

Why is it important for Cairns to hold events like Meet Eat Repeat?
Events like this make Cairns a more fabulous and fun city to be in!
For foodie's in the industry, it's an opportunity to be creative and experiment with new food concepts, and maybe for budding food entrepreneurs an opportunity to test the market with new ideas! More yum food for everyone!

What dishes will you be cooking at Meet Eat Repeat?
On a recent eating trip to Korea I learnt how to make kimchi, which solidified my obsession and addiction to it!
For this dish I'm recreating and interpreting Korean BBQ on brioche... It's pork two ways- slow cooked shoulder and BBQ pork belly, kimchi, aioli, iceberg and Ssam-jang - a Korean chilli and fermented soybean sauce. 

Caffiend is renowned and loved for its menu just as much as it is for its coffee - what makes your food offerings so successful?
Working with great people -the team at Caffiend are amazing and bring years of experience and ideas to Caffiend. Seeking and supporting suppliers of great produce and product. Plus I love eating. Like pretty much everything, everywhere I can.
Quantifying and comparing that experience and taking it back to the cafe kitchen really informs the food, coffee, plating styles, garnishes, ingredients and cooking techniques.
The greatest potential of a dish is its ingredients, including the people growing it, preparing it, cooking it and serving it.

Other highlights at the event include:

• tasty street-food style treats from Chef Wolfgang's smoked BBQ bistro, coffee and sweets from Sipping Duck, a Greek feast from George Karagiannis, Japanese-inspired treats from food truck So Hangry, gluten free and vegan treats from cook Graham Harris at Bake Free and more
• live acoustic tunes by emerging local singer-songwriter Jk
• bowls club prices for beverages
• fun lawn games and other surprises

Meet Eat Repeat was first devised at a think tank held by yRepublic last year, with a vision to support entrepreneurship, neighbourhood-activation and connecting like minded millennials.

TropicNow has a similar vision for our editorial content both online and in print, so in the spirit of collaboration the two organisations recently partnered up to deliver the event.

For a rundown of the venue, its history and its retro vibe, read our interview with the crew at West Cairns Bowls Club.

We'll see you there from 3pm this Saturday, November 5!