The summer traditionally comes with many fun and original foods delivered by food trucks.
This year could have been different in many ways, but fortunately, the Estevan food truck family made it out to the streets and successfully started catering to the community on a daily basis and on special occasions.
The Mercury talked to the long-established Beatz Eatz Rolling Stove owner Riley Beatty and also met with business newcomers Elephant Ear Emporium. While everything has changed this year, both companies have seen a lot of interest and support from the community.
Elephant Ear started in mid-May, and ever since had a steady flow of customers. Even though this food truck is new to Estevan, the chefs cooking elephant ears every day are no strangers to the community.
鈥淲e always went to the fair (selling elephant ears) ... And this spring we decided to buy the trailer and we were actually going to follow the fair,鈥� said Christie Wigley, who makes elephant ears alongside her husband Dean and her mom Shirley Petterson.
The COVID-19 pandemic put an end to most of the travelling plans, and to many other events that both the Elephant Ear Emporium and the Beatz Eatz Rolling Stove had on their calendars for the season.
鈥淭he business has drastically changed for me,鈥� said Beatty, explaining that he usually focuses on catering events as opposed to doing road-side food sales, which definitely won鈥檛 be the case this summer.聽
Even though the season didn鈥檛 roll out as expected, the food trucks went ahead, which was really appreciated.聽
鈥淭he community support (is amazing),鈥� said Christie.
Running a food truck takes many more hours than one would think. For both food truck operators, days start as early as 5-6 a.m., when they get all the organization and prep work done. Elephant Ear Emporium usually starts selling at 11 a.m. and keeps going until they sell out at about 3 p.m. When in town they can be found parked by the old Box Car 54 lounge.
Beatz Eatz Rolling Stove caters to the evening crowd as they offer all types of different meats. They are usually open Wednesday through Saturday, 4-7 p.m. Their food truck has been known to the community for many years, and while it usually focuses on catering it now serves those who know a thing or two about meat on a daily basis while parked at 1624 Grundeen Crescent.
Not only has the pandemic affected their summer plans, but it also changed how they deliver the food, adding more precaution measures to their routine including distancing for people in line. Beatty also asks that people now text their orders and the pickup or delivery details instead of ordering in person.聽
And even though things are working differently now, it sounds like running food trucks is still the only way to go for these business owners. The mobility allows them to travel the province, and while most of the Beatz Eatz catering bookings were cancelled for this year, Beatty still has a few smaller events on his calendar to keep the stove rolling around.
鈥淲e go wherever we are asked to go, wherever we are needed," said Beatty.
And while there aren鈥檛 many activities happening, the Rolling Stove is treating the Estevan community. Most of the cooking is now done by the staff, but Beatty still smokes and does all special meats himself.
The Elephant Ear Emporium, on the other hand, is just starting. They are also introducing themselves to the surrounding communities as they went to Stoughton and are planning to travel to Weyburn and Indian Head in the near future. Travelling is what food trucks are made for and when it happens it鈥檚 working really good for them, but it takes a lot of paperwork to get a permit for each new town or city. The weather is another big factor.
鈥淚 catered a wedding in the middle of a thunder and lightning storm, and it鈥檚 not fun but the job has to be done still,鈥� recalled Beatty.
Access to power also affects where food trucks can go and what they can do. But despite some challenges, the business runners still hope to do more travelling as the summer proceeds and get back to serving more of their customers.
鈥淚鈥檝e been in this kind of business my whole life,鈥� said Beatty. 鈥淭he reason why I do it is when somebody eats something and then they come to me and say, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 the best thing I鈥檝e ever had in my life,鈥� that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 in it for,鈥� said Beatty.
And he鈥檚 been getting these complements quite often as they do the food the way grandma used to make it, paying attention to details, making everything from scratch, taking time, making it right and using the best quality product.
Elephant ears also attracted a lot of attention and compliments. It was something that nobody does around Estevan, and for the Wigleys it was a meal that they remember from childhood. But it turned out that there are endless ways of making and serving elephant ears.
鈥淗e grew up eating them like pancakes; they would eat them with butter and maple syrup on,鈥� said Christie about Dean. 鈥淲e always had them with cinnamon and sugar.鈥�
Petterson added that in her childhood they would put a little salt on fried dough and eat it as a side with soup. Many other international cuisines have similar meals but with a different twist to them. So the family decided to take their experiences to the next level and experiment, offering the community sweet and savoury variations of the treat. Taco elephant ears became one of their best-sellers, along with the pulled pork and apple and caramel. Their menu for the day is usually posted on their Facebook page every morning.
The Rolling Stove鈥檚 menu has been pretty consistent this year and one of their bestsellers was family meat platter that gives customers a taste of everything they offer.聽 And to make the season a bit more exciting Beatz Eatz decided to set an eating contest, which will take place on June 27 at 3 p.m. at the Hidden Valley. Beatty had the details.
鈥淲e are going to social distance every contestant and we are going to Facebook live it. They all are going to get the same amount of food by weight. We鈥檒l set the clock and within 30 minutes someone will need to finish that. And if nobody does, whoever finishes the most will be the winner.
鈥淚t鈥檚 my first time doing it 鈥� I鈥檓 in a lot of sports, we like watching sports events, and there is no sports around now 鈥� So I thought, 鈥榃hat kind of night can we do?鈥欌��
So the eating contest came into play as something that might be quite curious to see as the contestants will have to finish a full family platter that weighs six pounds and consists of one-half pound each of brisket, pulled pork and pulled chicken, one pound of dry ribs, one and a half pounds of French fries, eight ounces of beans, eight ounces of salad and one pound of cornbread.
And while it鈥檚 not exactly a sports competition it may spark the same kind of emotions for the spectators.
