Beep beep, here come food trucks to serve a feast

Chennai

Out of everything that Rupert Grint could have done, he chose to buy a 1974 Mr. Whippy Bedford van, and drive around selling lollies and ice creams to kids in nearby villages. He’s even said to have driven up to the Harry Potter set on the last day of filming, and while the crew was having a barbecue party, handed out some goodies to everyone present. 

For long, many children in Chennai dreamed of an ice cream truck driving up and down their street as well; it looks like their craving can finally be satiated! A Chennai Food Guide initiative, the city’s first ever two-day food truck and music festival, is being held on East Coast Road. With over fifteen-plus stalls, carts and wagons to choose from, those who attended and hosted Day 1 of the carnival say they were spoilt for choice.

“We were completely sold out by just 7 pm,” says an enthusiastic Vikram Pandian, whose Wagon 007 serves savoury waffle cones. Launching his brand for the first time, he says he wanted to try something unique so this dish was born after an experiment! “I’ve always liked innovating and have been passionate about food for long. One day, I was wondering about why a waffle cone can’t be savoury so I made a crispy chicken dish, mixed it with some sauces and served it inside a waffle cone!” says the software engineer. His wife immediately loved the dish, so Wagon 007 decided to give people a taste of it. “We make all the components fresh from scratch. And no, the brand’s name has nothing to do with James Bond; it’s the pin code of where my home is in Madurai,” he quickly adds.

While meat lovers heartily dug into this dish, the vegetarians were given plenty of choice too. After a family came across a poster of this festival, they were fully geared up to eat. “Suddenly, it struck us that we could put up a stall of our own,” says Bhuvaneshwari, part of the Sun, Sand and Saivam team. While the brainchild was her friend’s, who came up with the concept and recipes of purely vegetarian coastal food of South India, she hopped on board to lend all the support she could. “This is a family-and-friends-run venture,” she grins. 

Sweet tooths could be seen flocking towards Bharat Jaiyanth’s ice cream van called The Tickle Truck; Crepe Canteen run by Khushboo Madhnani was another frequented stall. “The response has been overwhelming,” she says to which Bharat adds, “We were initially hesitant if the people would accept the unique flavours we have to offer like buttermilk popsicles and activated charcoal and coconut ice cream, but since youngsters are open to trying different cuisines, it was a wonderful experience treating them at this festival.” Unlike cupcakes that arrived with a bang and fizzled out equally as fast, these two confectioners are sure their products will survive in the future too.

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