Andrew is keeping the sustainable food movement mobile, with enthusiasm befitting the operator of a food truck. Those two words, 'food truck', certainly bring to mind the image of a fanatical gastronome, especially considering the festivals and competitions that have sprung up across the country to celebrate what comes out from behind those engines. What is that draws people so fervently to a four-wheeled meal? Well, in Andrew's case, it's memorably delicious food with a mission we have all felt like shouting about, at one time or another.
When did you know that you wanted to work in food?
When I was little I used to make crazy concoctions with every ingredient in the refrigerator and let them sit outside to see if they would transform. Slowly this process became more refined and my mother set me to the task of marinating meats, veggies, and anything else I could get my hands on. My mother worked a lot so I began reheating meals and soon after was cooking dinner for me and my sister and sometimes a lucky babysitter. It was this magical process of transformation from raw ingredients to delicious cuisine, this alchemical process that sparked my fascination with food.
I began working front of the house at 15 and made my way into the kitchen by 18. I loved the excitement, new flavors, and interesting situations that the restaurant industry afforded. I fell for the lifestyle and the sense of satisfaction I got calling myself a chef, but my true passion for food came from my desire to support the local sustainable food movement and preserve positive relationships with our land, food, and producers through the medium of gourmet cuisine.
Cooking in a restaurant was not always fulfilling due to the lack of connection with ones audience, waste, long hours, and unsustainable nature of the industry. The desire to devote my life to supporting these values in urban environments through the mobile food sector was based on my goal of demonstrating how small scale artisan food producers can support local sustainable agriculture and food access while being economically profitable. And food trucks seemed like the best way to test this assumption.
How did you get your current good food job?
I got my current good food job by working in the industry, getting a masters in Gastronomy and Food Communications from the University of Gastronomic Sciences, by working hard, following my dreams, and through the aid of so many helpful mentors, teachers, friends, family. I was inspired and guided by so many individuals and groups like the YFM (Youth Food Movement), Slow Food, PASA (Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture), The Food Trust, other food truck operators and so many others.
How did your previous work or life experience prepare you for a good food job?
Everything that Strada Pasta strives for is based on foundations that I have acquired from working with inspiring chefs, food activists, nonprofits, and for-profit organizations and individuals who share the common goal of supporting local sustainable agriculture through food, community, action, awareness the creation of a communal voice and resource sharing to tackle food issues globally and in our local communities.
What was the greatest obstacle you had to overcome in pursuing your Good Food Job dream?
The biggest hurdles in a small food business are Health Department, License and Inspection, and of course organization. As an owner you need to juggle everything and I am not always the most organized human being. Another obstacle has been trying to prove to to others, and at times myself that my ideas, goals, and desires are attainable. Don't let the bastards get you down, strive for what you believe in and it will all come together (but never in the time you think, so patience is a virtue, and this is coming from a very impatient man). The struggles are vast, but matched with the joys of small successes and the knowledge that all your hard work pays off every time someone take s bite of your food and smiles.
What can you identify as the greatest opportunities in food right now?
Definitely small artisan produced foods: FOOD TRUCKS FOOD TRUCKS AND FOOD TRUCKS. The restaurant is dead; alternative eating spaces, collaborative shared spaces, pop up dinners, and small entrepreneurial food businesses will change the way we eat.
If you could be compensated for your work with something other than money, what would it be?
LOVE.