The Food Truck follows Michael Van De Elzen, owner and head chef of Molten Restaurant and Liquid Molten Bar in Mt Eden, Auckland, as he attempts to create healthy, restaurant-quality alternatives to New Zealand fast food favourites from the back of a 1970 Bedford truck.
Fast Food is quick, cheap and convenient, but it's a contributing factor to our ballooning waistlines. With one of the highest obesity rates in the world, it's time kiwis watch what they eat. But there is a time and a place for fast food, and we all know takeaways can be delicious, so as the saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
In The Food Truck, Michael, a secret admirer of fast food himself, uses his 25 years of experience in the kitchen to try his hand at creating healthy and delicious alternatives to some of the nation's most beloved takeaways; from fish and chips, to hamburgers, pizzas to pies.
While he sometimes draws on the resources of his restaurant, for the most part Michael's forced to cook within the constraints of his 1970 Bedford truck fitted with an everyday domestic kitchen, leaving little room for mistake.
Each week Michael samples and learns about a different fast food then attempts to put his spin on it. He's not trying to change what's on the market, but instead asking whether kiwis want to try a healthy variation and whether they are ready for more challenging flavours.
Michael's cooking experiments are often done in public with feedback from ordinary kiwis playing a key role in deciding his menu. Some things he tries are outrageous, others simple, but all of them with one common goal; healthy takes on familiar classics, with just a sprinkle of restaurant fancy.
The climax of the show comes when Michael takes The Food Truck to a different event or gathering with hundreds or even thousands of people, from campsites to sports events, concerts to festivals. Here he gets to find out whether kiwis really want his healthy creations when they're asked to decide with their wallets.
Part cooking show and part factual series about the fast paced, highly competitive world of fast food, The Food Truck is essential viewing for the whole family and a perfect accompaniment to Sunday night takeaways.
