Lots of Gourmet Food Truck news this week.

The Great Food Truck Race

First of all, let’s talk about Food Network’s newest show, The Great Food Truck Race hosted by Tyler Florence. 7 gourmet food trucks from across the U.S. come together to compete against each other in a race for the best food truck. Four teams are from Southern California: Nom Nom Truck (Bahn Mi Sandwiches), Crepes Bonaparte (Crepes), Nana Queens (Wings and Banana Pudding) and Grill ‘Em All (Burgers).

Let’s catch everyone up. The other teams are The Austin Grill Press (Paninis), Rajin’ Cajun (Cajun) and Spencer on the Go (French). All 7 trucks meet in Los Angeles and meet Tyler. There, Tyler tells them they will be competing with each other and that each week, the truck that makes the most money wins. The truck that brings in the least, goes home. Simple and to the point. Each week, the truck starts out with no inventory and they will be given a designated amount of money for each challenge and they will need to find their supplies in whatever city they end up in. In addition, Tyler has a few “truck stops” along the way. Truck stops are mini-challenges meant to further the competition between the truckers.

Since 4 of the teams are from Southern California, it wasn’t fair to the other trucks that the SoCal trucks knew all the purveyors in the area so off to San Diego they go. There they have 36 hours to purchase, cook and sell. The first show we find that Nana Queens didn’t bring in enough money to stay in the competition. The winner? The Nom Nom Truck with their awesome Bahn Mi sandwiches! Congrats!

This week, we are in Santa Fe, New Mexico and the remaining trucks come together once again. This week they only have $300 for food and that’s not alot of money. On the drive to Santa Fe, the teams are on the phone trying to make partnerships and find out where to buy food, hoping to get some kind of advantage. So they are off and Tyler has a Truck Stop challenge. On the 2nd day of selling, Tyler calls each truck and tells them that they have to integrate Chiles into the menu and have a special. All the trucks scramble to make a special except one. The Nom Nom truck has been doing so well in sales, that they have decided not to participate in the challenge – big risk. The team that has the best Chile dish gets immunity in this week’s elimination.

So how did it turn out? The three remaining Southern California truck came out on top this week. Nom Nom, won this week bringing in almost 2x more income than the 2nd place winner. Congrats to Nom Nom, Crepes Bonaparte and Grill ‘Em All.

Next week they travel to Ft. Worth Texas. Good luck all!

OC Foodie Fest is Just Around The Corner

Next Saturday is an awesome event that you can’t miss! 50 Gourmet Food Trucks from all over will be in ONE PLACE this Saturday, August 28 at the Honda Center in Anaheim. It’s the OC Foodie Fest! This is YOUR chance to sample food from one of the widest varieties in one place. Come and support the trucks and have some great food while at the same time, raise money for some local charities like ChildShare, Pretend City’s Children Museum and Cart for a Cause.

But you know what?? You can win a pair of tickets to the OC Foodie Fest, but hurry, the contest ends on Monday, August 23 at 11:59pm. On Tuesday morning, the winner of the 2 tickets will be announced! So visit this link and enter the contest!

If you don’t win, know that your admission fee goes to help some great charities! We’ll see you next Saturday!

Tickets Prices:
General Admission (Pre-Sale)
Adult – $12.00
Child Under 12 – $6.00
Child 3 & Under – Free

Family 4 Pack (Pre-Sale)
2 Adult + 2 Child (Under 12)
General Admission Tickets
Price: $30.00

VIP Admission (Pre-Sale)
Adult – $50.00
Child Under 12 – $8.00
Child 3 & Under – Free

At The Door (Available if the event has not sold out)
General Admission – $15
VIP Admission – $60