A moveable feast
Food trucks satisfy cravings for cuisine and community
HAILEY HAYES SHARES HER CAJUN HERITAGE with Kentuckians by taking it on the road—in the family’s purple, green and yellow trailer. You can find the Hayeses in the parking lots of factories, hospitals, grocery stores and businesses in and around Glasgow and Bowling Green. They serve etouffee, jambalaya, beignets and other Cajun classics made with their own family recipes, which they love to share with customers and which, in some ways, make the business as much about connection as cuisine. Hayes says, “We thrive on bringing the community together.”
Hayes grew up in Louisiana before moving to Kentucky, where, she says, “We fell in love with the people and the land and decided to stay.” Cooking was a big part of their family culture and at some point, “We thought bringing Cajun food to Kentucky would be a wonderful thing.” That impulse led Hayes, her sister and their mother to open Pirogue’s Cajun Food Truck.
Pirogue’s serves etouffee, jambalaya, beignets and other Cajun classics.
Hailey gives beads to Sadie Simmons, who is being held up by her mom Tiffany Simmons of Logan County. Photos: Joe Imel
They are among the growing number of entrepreneurs operating food trucks in Kentucky and beyond. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of Americans employed in mobile food services was over 44,000, or “about 10 times its 2000 level, an increase of 907%.”
The potential for food trucks to help bring people together is well understood by the folks who sponsor events of all kinds throughout the state. Tim Ross is public events director for the City of Owensboro, which organizes more than 60 events in the city’s revitalized downtown every year. “The food trucks are an important piece to each event by providing potential attendees more reasons to say, ‘Yes, I want to go to see that,’ and giving attendees a better experience while at the event,“ he says.
Among the vendors who’ve served food at Owensboro events are Romie and Diovy Hernandez, who opened Mangkok Filipino Cuisine in 2025. Prior to opening, Romie says, “We were scared—how are we gonna do it?” But so far, it’s going well. “We meet a lot of nice people,” Romie says.
Romie and Diovy Hernandez prepare to feed hungry customers. They opened Mangkok Filipino Cuisine in 2025. Photo: Leslie Barr
Among the most gratifying things he hears is customers who tell him they drove 45 minutes just to order their lumpia, pork adobo or the Hernandezes’ signature creation, Mangkok Fries (see sidebar.) “We love it.” he says. “Every meal we serve is made from love.”
Photo: Leslie Barr
There’s also a kind of fraternity among food truckers, a theme that comes up again and again in conversations with vendors across the state. One focal point of that spirit may be the annual Kentucky Food Truck Championship.
Now in its sixth year, the championship invites food trucks licensed to operate in Kentucky to gather in Mt. Vernon and show judges and about 10,000 food lovers what they have to offer.
Jessica Blankenship, who oversees the festival, has observed people making strategic decisions about how to sample the most food from the roughly three dozen vendors.
“You’ve got four friends—each of them goes to a different food truck. They come back and taste each other’s food,” she says. “It’s really a party atmosphere.”
Taking care of business
Of course, it takes more than the love of sharing food and community to make a food truck operation work—it also takes strategy. “You’ve got to be great at social media,” says Central Kentucky restaurateur Ouita Michel. One of Kentucky’s most preeminent chefs and a 10-time James Beard Award nominee, she recently filmed a television series exploring Kentucky’s food culture.
“I’m very pro food truck,” she says. “It’s a way for chefs to live out their dreams of owning a business,” and many go on to open brick-and-mortar restaurants. They should just remember, she cautions, “Cash flow is the dictator of your working life.”
Toa Green, whose Lexington Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream shops started out with a mobile operation, also has a cautionary word. “Food trucks are a great way to get started in the food industry,” she says, “but you have to have a heart full of hustle. Be prepared to work when other people are having fun.”
Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream has opened a summer pop-up at The Stave in Millville. Photo: Crank & Boom
Maximizing the potential of a food truck involves strict accounting, along with an understanding of how to create an efficient workflow and maximize storage in a confined space where food and equipment have to be packed with a degree of efficiency that rivals what you’d find on a NASA spacecraft.
Syree Boutiette, communications director for the Louisville Food Truck Association, has heard colleagues brag about selling out their food supplies. She’d advise them to consider, “You could have (made) $1,000 more if you’d have just thought about your refrigerators a little bit better.” Still, even with the challenges food truck work presents, Boutiette says, “It is fun.”
If you wonder whether there’s sufficient appetite in Kentucky to sustain a food truck with menu items like Jackfruit Quesadilla and vegan Black Power Tacos, the answer appears to be yes. That’s been the experience of Desaepa and Zirconia Vansauwa of Hopkinsville. Vansauwa’s Tacos and Vegan Eats has been in business since 2018 and Desaepa says they like going to smaller towns, rural areas or just about anywhere they can give folks a new food experience.
The Vansauwas, who won the 2024 Kentucky Food Truck Grand Champion prize, even put a bell on the front of their truck and invite potential customers to take what Desaepa calls “the first-bite test.” That means, “Take your first bite with us,” he says, “if you like it, ring the bell.” And they do.
Desaepa and Zirconia Vansauwa’s food truck confidently offers a “first bite test.” Their business won the 2024 Kentucky Food Truck Grand Champion prize. Photos: Vansauwa’s Tacos and Vegan Eats
So much so that, “For eight years, my food truck has carried my family of four,” Deseapa says. The Vansauwas are looking to expand, possibly to open a sit-down restaurant. He says he’s grateful for the people he’s met and appreciates the support he, his family and his food truck business have received: “Kentucky’s got a lot of love.”
A food truck sampling
In many Kentucky communities, food trucks provide a much wider array of options and types of cuisine than might otherwise be available outside of the larger cities. Food trucks also provide an opportunity for aspiring chefs to innovate and to honor the culinary traditions from around the world. Here’s a sampling of menu items you might have a hard time finding anywhere but on these Kentucky food trucks.
Mangkok Fries
Mangkok Filipino cuisine, Owensboro
Food truck entrepreneurs Romie and Diovy Hernandez developed this dish after observing their customers’ never-ending appetite for french fries. So they started with a bowl of fries and added pork adobo and candied bacon, along with barbecue, tare and sweet chili sauces. It’s been a hit. “Every time, we run out,” Romie says.
Chimney cakes and bourbon chicken
Chimney’s Food Trailer, Paducah
Some food truck owners offer dishes made from traditional family recipes or from their ancestral culture. Others build their business based on YouTube videos. Eric and Tracie Reimer were planning to open a restaurant and “looking for a unique dessert,” says Tracie. That’s when they stumbled on videos detailing how to make a type of traditional European pastry that has different names (including the German “Baumstriezel”) and often involves wrapped dough cooked over an open flame. The Reimers adapted this, tweaked the recipe to include the savory and the sweet, and Chimney’s Food Trailer was born. Among their biggest sellers: Bourbon chicken.
Tlayuda Mixta
Taqueria Familia Tomás, Morehead
Sure, tacos are a classic. And you can get those at Taqueria Familia Tomas, where entrepreneur Miguel Tomas says, “I love to feed people well.” That means offering food both for those customers who want the familiar, as well as those who want to try something more adventurous.
That’s why their food trailer’s menu includes traditional Oaxacan fare like the Tlayuda Mixta (pronounced tla-YOO-dah MEEX-ta). The dish can be served flat, almost like a pizza, or folded over. It contains meat, cabbage, radish, black beans, quesillo, onions and avocado. For extra kick, ask for what one recent customer described as “a fantastic red salsa that will punch you in the lips, but is well worth it. Highly recommended.”
Facebook: Taqueria Familia Tomás
