After the initial excitement of a new event or booking, there follows some planning to ensure that you will have both the ideal amount of food to serve and cash to deposit!
Some research is required before your events. Some events are more casual and you can flow with the “we are here until we sell-out” mentality. For other events, especially larger events, you will want to be intentional to avoid selling out too early or having a bunch of leftovers that you can’t repurpose. (Picture winged dollar bills flying out the window.)
Initially, some of this can feel overwhelming. It does get easier with each event as you get more practice and are better able to predict what to expect and learn from some mistakes. Check out these 10 steps to feel confident and prepared for your event.
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One of the main differences to consider between food truck events is their size. You don’t want to show up with a fully stocked truck to find that your wacky ex is the only one waiting.
The first thing you will want to know is the expected turnout.
The event organizer should provide you with these details along with current ticket sales, if applicable. You could also connect with some other friendly food truck owners that have been at similar past events (hopefully you have read Food Truck Lineup’s etiquette article to increase the odds that people like you and want to help).
If you are partnering with a local bar/brewery, they should be able to tell you their typical turnout. During the week of the event, you may also want to consider the weather forecast in your predictions. If other food trucks will also be at the event, be sure to take that into consideration.
This isn’t an exact science, but you should be able to get a decent ballpark figure to plan your menu.
Follow John on his journey as a new-to-the-game food trucker.
| Meet John. John’s knife skills and ability to work 16 hour days impress his boss and also his grandmother. But, John has dreamt of food truck freedom and is ready to hit the road with his famous grilled cheeses. John is in his first season and was stoked when his request to partner with a local live music venue was accepted (even though a country band is performing that night). John asks a few questions:How many people attended this band last time? [around 250]Are there any other food trucks? [Yes, 1 other truck]How many tickets have you already sold? [125] John moves on to his next step… |
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Credit: Iryna Tysiak
There are a few things to consider when comparing to past events. At some events, food is the main feature and people come ready to loosen their belt a notch. At other events, food trucks are a complement to the main attraction. Everyone may not be planning to eat and those that are may be looking for a snack, rather than a meal.
Look for past events that are similar and check out your notes. You may have sold out of fries way before your sandwiches, or maybe you had 50 extra orders at the end of the day. This can help you to predict the food required for your upcoming event.
| John checks his notes, which he keeps in his handy FTL weekly organizer. He reviews a couple of decently comparable events. At one event of 400 people, John recorded 70 orders. There were 6 food trucks total. He checks over a couple of events and reads that he ran out of ketchup at a similar-sized event. He also had a surplus of his blue cheese and prosciutto sandwich but he sold out of his gouda and ‘shrooms option after 90 minutes. He had also made a note to schedule an extra employee to help service run smoothly. John was glad he took notes because his memory is not as sharp as his cleaver. |
Sometimes this is simple, like when you are the only food truck at a luncheon for 67 people. Other events require a little more brain activity.
You’ve done all the legwork in the previous two steps and you are ready to ballpark the number of orders you can expect at the event.
| John contacts a fellow food truck owner to ask about his experience at this particular venue. He learned that about 80% of the attendees purchased food. John feels confident planning for around 100 customer orders. Predicted attendees: 250Predicted hungry attendees: 80% = 200Divided by trucks: 2Predicted customers: 100 |
Naturally, you will want to consider the event and customer demographics when planning your menu. You will want to consider the type of foods that would sell well at your event. If you are serving at a tequila tour, it might not be the best time to market test bolognese. If you are attending a family-friendly event, make sure you have an item that average kids won’t immediately reject.
Consider the other food trucks that will be in attendance. It may not be the best day to try tacos if the town’s hottest Mexican-fare will also be available.
Plan items that will complement each other and sell fairly equally. For example, if you are attending the monster truck rally and offering cheesesteaks and vegan zucchini noodles you are probably going to sell out of one quickly and leave other potential customers upset. (I will let you predict which item will flop.) On the other hand, leave that cheesesteak at home when you set up at the Earth Day Eco-Fest.
You will also want to consider what menu items could be used the next day if needed. Assuming you have the storage space, this could allow you to shoot a little over to avoid selling out. Your guacamole would be risky, but packing extra potatoes for your fries could be a safe bet. Shelf-stable and repurposable ingredients are important considerations if you are not feeling confident about the turnout of an event.
| John knows how country fans feel about whiskey (or at least he has overheard in some lyrics) so he is planning to serve his candied-whiskey-bacon grilled cheese creation as one of his features. He also has a brunch event the next day where he plans to use any extra bacon on his salad item. The other food truck at the event serves Italian-inspired fare. John is going to let his marinara and meatball sandwich sit this one out. |
It may be tempting trying to simply eyeball your portion sizes. This is not ideal and could result in running out of peanut butter way before the jelly.
Have you ever made a return trip to a favorite restaurant that specializes in gloriously overstuffed burritos to find yourself heartbroken at the sights of your understuffed burrito order? Consistency is important for customer satisfaction. Make sure that you know the weight or volume of each ingredient of your dishes. If you haven’t already made the investment, consider getting your hands on some volume-specific disher scoop tools for easy portioning. This also helps ensure that your employees will be plating in uniformity.
You can also pre-portion when appropriate and store in small containers and bags. You will want to make sure that you double-check your math so that you are purchasing and cooking the proper amount of food.
You may also have a dish that you want to prep using steam table pans. This can be a great time-saver, just make sure that you are calculating accurately so that you have the right amount of food. Here is a reference chart:
| Hotel Pan Size Chart | ||||
| 2.5″ | 4″ | 6″ | 8″ | |
| Full Pan | 250 | 464 | 704 | 992 |
| 1/2 Pan | 136 | 208 | 352 | 460 |
| 1/3 Pan | 96 | 140 | 212 | None |
| 1/6 Pan | 44 | 64 | 90 | None |
| *volume in ounces |
| John has 2 grilled cheese sandwiches that he will be serving at his event: one featuring bacon and the other mashed potatoes (don’t knock it ‘til you try it.) The first is pretty simple- he just needs to count his bacon (100 slices for 50 orders) and cheddar cheese (200 slices). For the second, he does need to determine how many ounces of mashed potatoes he will use for each sandwich. John decides that a 4-ounce portion is about as much starch that he can get away with and will be utilizing his #8 disher. His sous chef, Charles, is heavy-handed so this scoop is valuable. John does the culinary math:4 ounces per sandwich x 50 sandwiches = 200 ounces =12.5 poundsJohn knows that his scooper ounce tool is volume and not weight, but he also can reasonably predict that for this recipe, the math will work out. John adjusts his recipe when shopping so that he will have enough to whip up 14 pounds of mashed potatoes (he is rounding up in case Charles is feeling generous again). John also has tomato bisque that he will be serving. He is going to use a ½ pan and he knows that he can fill it to 6” deep and that will provide him with 352 ounces or 44 servings at 8 ounces each. |
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Credit: Evan Tang
You have likely enjoyed nature’s magic trick of sauteing spinach. You don’t want to get caught at an event cooking with ingredients that are susceptible to shrinkage. You will also want to make sure that you order enough to fill all of your anticipated orders.
If you are trying out a new recipe with some unfamiliar ingredients, you will want to test it before an important event. Your customers would not be thrilled about biting into a mushroom swiss burger and finding just 2 dinky shrooms.
| John has a stroke of genius and decides to add beef brisket to his mashed potato and cheese. If John wants to add 4 ounces of brisket to each sandwich, he needs to plan for significant loss when placing his order with the butcher. He estimates a 50% loss after shrinkage and trimming and makes the following calculations: 4 [ounces per sandwich (cooked)]X 2 [accounting for loss]= 8 [ounces (raw)] 8 [ounces (raw)]X 50 [sandwiches]=400 [total ounces] Now he determines how much to order: 400 [total ounces]÷ 16 (ounces in a pound) = 25 (pounds) If John had just estimated the cooked brisket weight, he would not have enough to fill half of his orders! He knows he needs to order 25 pounds and his butcher will hook him up with a round-up. |
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Credit: Diego Marin
Imagine a parent sending their 10-year-old back to your station for more supplies. You watch in horror as this helpful child energetically pumps the ketchup 20 times, splattering a solid quart of it on your stand. The child grabs enough napkins for the entire festival and cheerfully reports back to proud parents.
You can pre-portion your sauces in souffle cups and use packaged condiments. You could also keep your paper goods and silverware in your truck and pass out with orders. Make sure to give appropriate amounts of napkins to match the messy factor of your dishes so your customers don’t find this frustrating! And of course, be polite and accommodating when extras are requested.
| John uses the ketchup dip and squeeze pods. Customers appreciate the convenience and John always asks to make sure the customer wants the ketchup before assuming that it is a required pairing when he serves french fries. John also considers condiments and paper goods when pricing his items, especially when he features a sandwich that includes a typical dipping sauce, such as his reuben. |
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Credit: Nathan Dumlao
The general rule of thumb is that you should be around 32% food-cost. (Multiplying by 3 is a simple way to calculate.) There are some exceptions, but you want to shoot for your items to average themselves out. For example, french fries (low food-cost) can even out your steak sandwich (high food-cost).
| Rather than guessing a number that sounds good, John lists out all of his ingredients along with their cost to calculate what he will charge his customers. For example, his candied-whisky bacon and cheese sandwich looks like this:.24 – Cheese.41 – Bread.20 – Butter.02 – Napkin2.40 – Candied whiskey bacon=3.27x 3= 9.81 John rounds up to $10 and checks his math to make sure he is close to his goal of 32%. (He is, since 32% of 10 is 3.2). |
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Credit: Joel Muniz
Make sure you aren’t your local raccoons’ favorite food truck by re-using your leftovers safely. Each county’s local board of health has its own set of food safety regulations so you will want to familiarize yourself with your local codes. If your foods that require time/temperature control are out of the danger zone and always properly stored, you can reuse them at your next day’s event.
If you don’t have an event and were short on selling predictions, consider donating to a local food pantry or other organization that would welcome any of your leftovers with sincere gratitude. You can even share your generosity on social media: customers appreciate when business owners give back!
| John is extremely careful about temperature control after he personally experienced food poisoning and still has nightmares about it. John ended up only selling 40/50 of his anticipated mashed potato and brisket sandwiches. John uses his leftover mashed potatoes in a fried tater-tot recipe at his brunch event the next morning. He has also prepared some extra mash while prepping, which also saves precious time. (John is not a morning person). |
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Credit: Kari Shea
Phew! You busted it on the line all evening and you are ready to crash. But, you know you need to make a couple notes so that your next event will run as smoothly as possible.
Document:
| While Charles drives, John documents in his checklist and copies it into his weekly organizer- all from his phone. John is satisfied and notes:-40/50 Mash & Brisket sold-90 Sandwiches total-Sold out of bisque at 6:40 (70 minutes into)-Sold out of fries at 7:30. (120 minutes into with 60 minutes left)-Don’t take route 2 -Bring earplugs |
Follow these 10 steps to help minimize the number of mistakes that you will make as you learn your way around food truck event planning.
Here is John’s cheat sheet for this event:
| Event: Music Event: Whisky Heroes Playing | Date: 05/10/2021 | |
| Event Prep Checklist | ||
| Step | Check? | Notes |
| #1) Research the Event | ✅ | 250 Total, 1 other truck |
| #2) Review my Records | ✅ | 70 orders for similar ratio, extra employee needed |
| #3) Predict Customer Count | ✅ | 100 |
| #4) Plan Menu | ✅ | Whisky-Bacon, Use for Brunch |
| #5) Plan Portion Tools | ✅ | #8 Disher for Mash, 6″ in a 1/2 pan for Bisque |
| #6) Calculate Orders | ✅ | 25 LBS of brisket for 50 Sandwiches |
| #7) Condiments/Paper Goods | ✅ | Keep in truck, 200 Ketchup Pods |
| #8) Calculate Food Cost | ✅ | $10 for Bacon Sandwich |
| #9) Plan for Leftovers | ✅ | Mash for brunch Tots |
| #10) Document [After] | ✅ | -40/50 Mash & Brisket sold-90 Sandwiches total-Sold out of bisque at 6:40 (70 minutes into)-Sold out of fries at 7:30. (60 minutes left)-Don’t take route 2-Bring earplugs |
| Event: | Date: | |
| Event Prep Checklist | ||
| Step | Check? | Notes |
| #1) Research the Event | 𝥷 | |
| #2) Review my Records | 𝥷 | |
| #3) Predict Customer Count | 𝥷 | |
| #4) Plan Menu | 𝥷 | |
| #5) Plan Portion Tools | 𝥷 | |
| #6) Calculate Orders | 𝥷 | |
| #7) Condiments/Paper Goods | 𝥷 | |
| #8) Calculate Food Cost | 𝥷 | |
| #9) Plan for Leftovers | 𝥷 | |
| #10) Document [After] | 𝥷 |
