'Food Truck' Craze Hits Provence
Popular street food concept makes its way across the Atlantic from the US
If you come across a car park in Provence, around about noon, with several 'food trucks' parked up then it is definitely worth investigating!
These are not the same greasy spoon truck stop snack shacks that you might expect in a lay-by somewhere in the UK, or a burger van that you might find at a festival...these are instead a new concept of food service that began several years ago in the United States. The idea - a new twist on street food - is now all the rage in France! Marketing and restaurant duo Gregory Goulard Lacam and Christophe Odoux have started up their own 'Food Truck' station in the suburb of Les Milles in Aix-en-Provence. And these are not snacks on wheels, Gregory confirms "There is a real attention to taste and products, the idea is to have home-made, or rather 'truck made' good food."
This inventive way of cooking good quality street food had been well received by both customers and producers who struggle to find kitchen facilities. Once you have your fully equipped truck you are in business! Offering a variety of foods in once place from vegetarian cuisine, Asian, Italian and of course French. Food Truckers from America were asked about the potential of loosing business to the other trucks and in fact they said that the opposite happened, “The more great food that’s together, food has gravity and people come to it,” said Francia of Julio's taco truck in Idaho. Their customer base increased and in fact diversified from the original 'hungry dude food' customers to ladies coming by for lunch to grandma's coming by each week for their fix of food.
Gregory and Christophe are hoping to expand on this idea by setting up truck stations across France and encouraging more great and inventive cooking of street food, thus giving customers the chance to come and eat without needing reservations or even having to decide in advance what kind of food you would like! Each week may offer a different selection of trucks and a different selection of food...
So next time you pass a car park and see some food trucks, go and check them out or check out this website to see if you can find a Food Truck near you!! Or for the original experience head to Les Milles and see what is on offer.
