What Happens Behind the Scenes in a Food Truck?

Many people wonder what goes on behind the scenes in a food truck. It is common for people to have misconceptions about food trucks. They romanticize the idea. But operating a food truck is challenging work.

As soon as a food truck parks, people start knocking on the windows to see if the food truck is open. What they don’t realize is that food is not magically ready. A small team of people needs to prepare the food to get it ready to be served.

Preparing Food in the Truck

A food truck is a commercial kitchen on wheels that can serve hundreds of people per day. Depending on the size of the food truck, the owner and workers may prepare the food in the truck on the day of the event, at a commercial premise nearby, or at home.

The truck has refrigeration and freezers. There are also coolers, ice packs, and other cooling setups retrofitted inside the food truck.

What about Water?

Where do food trucks get enough water to keep things clean if they serve hundreds of people each day? Food trucks retrofit clean and dirty water tanks attached to a plumbing system. This gives them cold and hot water. Most food trucks also have spare water tanks with clean water. They are able to refill these using water that the event organizer provides.

Never-Ending Grocery Runs

Food trucks are built with food prep in mind. You can’t buy food in bulk like you would for a standalone restaurant. This means that employees or owners are running back and forth to stores buying what they need for their restaurant multiple times during the day.

Why not just take the truck to the grocery store? Because most food trucks only get 7 miles to the gallon in gas. That short jaunt to the local grocery store can be quite expensive.

What It Is Like Working in a Food Truck?

New employees usually wait on customers. This is the easiest part of the job. Eventually, newer employees start to take orders and move out to the prep table.

When orders come in, they get posted on the line and handled by what is considered to be the hardest job in a food truck, which is working on the grill. If you work on a grill, it is up to you to see that the meat gets prepped and cooked. It is up to you to keep up with incoming orders and to get the food pushed out in a timely way. Multitasking is the key to success.

Working in a food truck is fast-paced. Getting orders out in less than 90 seconds means that stress can build up. Being stuck in a small space with other people can lead to some short tempers. However, if you can handle the stress, working in or owning a food truck may be right for you.