Chatting with the Great Food Truck Race's Tyler Florence

Premiering on the Food Network this Sunday, August 15 is The Great Food Truck Race -- a six episode series that pits seven food trucks against one another, vying for a $50,000 prize. As the food truck trend continues to grow in urban areas across the country, these mobile units will have to travel to locations outside their comfort zone and try to win over a whole new client base, before rolling out to the next stop.

Slashfood spoke with the show's host Tyler Florence (Tyler's Ultimate) about the concept behind The Great Food Truck Race and the economics and cultural impact of food truck culture.
This sounds like The Amazing Race meets food trucks.

TF: There's a lot of great crossover-there's a little Apprentice in that, because it's not necessarily an elimination based on three people's judgment, it's about can you survive in a climate that's not your backyard, not your clientele and with a very limited budget. It's about survival of the fittest.

What are the challenges like? Is someone eliminated each week?

Yes-someone gets eliminated each week, based on a denomination value. We roll through each city and in that city, there's a competition. It starts on a Friday night and each truck is given the same amount of money, so each truck is on a level playing field. We go into each truck and strip it clean, except for one ingredient they brought with them. They're all given one ingredient, but after that there's absolutely no rules whatsoever. They can buy as much or as little food as they want with their capital, they can use whatever corner, they can use social media to get the word out. The crowds show up in their hometowns, but how does that work in a community where no one really knows them? We're going through some really great small towns, so it's interesting to see how that plays out. They have 72 hours, they battle the elements and it's really interesting to watch them struggle. There's rain storms, snow storms, sand storms; the trucks break down, their refrigerators break down, their relationships break down. It's not so much a competition show, as it is a documentary about what it's like to be in this situation.

Obviously, there's a lot of mechanics involved-besides the emotional and psychological toils, but also having to worry about the breakdown of engines.

TF: These are their own trucks that they bring across the country. A lot of these trucks aren't designed to drive 3,000 miles. We travel with a mechanic on set so to keep these situations healthy, but some situations there's very little you can do.

Food Trucks have become very popular over the last several years- why is this?

TF: It started a couple of years ago, when the economy took a downturn. There's a lot of talented chefs and restaurateurs out there that were just looking at the numbers-- for $2 million, which I can't seem to raise for my life to try and open up a brick & mortar business, or for $25,000, I can be in business next week. Let's do it. So, you talk about people in the act of their backs up against the wall, and they're saying, "look, I'm a chef, I cook, this is my craft and I'm going to take it to the people." It's been a very interesting phenomenon based on economic survival.

The operational aspects behind these things have, to be harder than it seems. The way I look at it, there are the trucks that cook right there, on site. But there's a lot that obviously have two different spots, where one is where they do the production and then bring to the venue so to say. Logistically, it could be tricky in that regard.

TF: Logistically speaking, some big companies are realizing the popularity of this, to take this on as a secondary, mobile unit, that also acts as advertising. But other people are doing this as a single unit, where it's the refrigeration, the prep kitchens and the business in one. Small companies are starting to break this, large companies are starting to break this, the great thing about it is, it's an equalizer and its all about the product. These things that usually take large investment are out of the way. People are getting really creative and it really boils down to sensibility and price point. For $3.50, you can get some really tasty bites of food from someone who knows what they're doing.


As a chef yourself, what do you think is the hardest part about cooking in this environment?

TF: I think the hardest factor that I saw is getting the word out. The products are great. All the people we captured for the show has great, phenomenal stuff. But some people would fall back to their usual strategies. All of a sudden, they're in a community where no one knows them. So it was about survival; some people did really well, some had a hard time surviving.

Do you think this trend is going to last?

TF: I think it's here to stay. Corporate America is jumping on in a big way. Food Network even has a food truck. They take it around and pass out cupcakes; it's huge marketing, the same way cabs have marketing on their cars, they're out there trying to get the message out. The great thing about a truck is the sense of independence-you're kind of shaking some things that brick and mortar stores have to deal with: physical location and things that weigh you down. You can be in three places in one week. There's a lot of great aspects of having four wheels over having four walls.

Would you ever do one of these?

TF: We're doing a restaurant in Napa, and it's called Rotisserie and Wine. We're shooting for the best rotisserie in the country. Roasted chicken, roasted duck and lamb, and we're going to take that on the road.