Here's What Happened To Every Winner Of The Great Food Truck Race
If you've ever walked through a big city, been to a fair, or have taken a stroll through a large park, you've likely seen long lines of food trucks selling various different meals and treats to anyone who stops by. Despite always being on the go, it doesn't seem like food trucks are going anywhere anytime soon. They're a delicious staple for many busy city folks with short lunch breaks. There are a plethora of different food trucks out there, with many trucks often being in competition with the other food trucks in their area. "The Great Food Truck Race" has taken this fact and turned it into an exciting game show.
The show is hosted by celebrity chef Tyler Florence and features several food trucks competing against each other in challenges in order to earn the most profit. The truck with the least sales will be sent home. The show has finished 14 seasons since late 2010, while its fifteenth season is currently ongoing (via Food Network). With so many seasons, there have also been loads of food trucks that have claimed victory within the show, with thirteen current food trucks that have managed to place first within their respective seasons. You may be wondering what happened to those food trucks, so here's a list of each of "The Great Food Truck Race" victors and where they are now.
Grill 'Em All
The first season of "The Great Food Truck Race” saw many different competitors pitted against each other in the new, uncharted show. Ultimately, the winner of the season was Grill 'Em All, a burger and fries truck that beat the banh mi truck Nom Nom in the series finale (via Food Network). During the show, the truck was run by friends Joel Brown, Ryan Harkins, and Matt Chernus, who took their love of heavy metal, and combined it into their food truck, creating a victorious fusion of rock-and-roll and burgers. The friends cooked a smoky, delicious lineup of foods that helped lead this team to victory.
Grill 'Em All is still going strong, though it's not a food truck anymore. Now, Grill 'Em All is an award-winning restaurant located in Southern California (via Grill 'Em All). It has a long menu of burgers and fries and features a special burger each month, like the Pig Destroyer. The theme of heavy metal is still heavily present in the brick-and-mortar establishment, and upon stopping by the burger establishment, you may find yourself face to face with professional wrestlers and Rock and Roll legends who also go to Grill 'Em All. It seems like this particular food truck has only seen success after its victory, and you can still stop by and grab its burgers to this day.
The Lime Truck
Perhaps one of the most renowned food trucks that came out of "The Great Food Truck Race" was The Lime Truck. Not only was it the winner of the second season of the show (via Food Network), but it was also the victor of the all-star season of the show, which pitted some of the previous winners of the show against each other. The Lime Truck's chefs were Daniel Shemtob, Jason Quinn, and Jesse Brockman during the second season, and after that, Mark Esposito replaced Jason Quinn in the all-star season (per The Orange County Register), helping the truck receive its second victory.
After achieving its victories, The Lime Truck hasn't slowed down. It offers Cali-Mex cuisine with delicious tacos and caters events of all sizes (via The Lime Truck). Most recently, however, the lime green truck returned to the Food Network's food truck show. In the ongoing fifteenth season, The Lime Truck appeared in the second episode of the show as a special guest, with the team challenging the current competitors to attempt to beat them in sales for that episode (via Food Network). It seems like despite the success that this truck has seen in recent years, it hasn't forgotten the show that allowed it to flourish.
Seoul Sausage
It's difficult to cooperate with your brother, but during the third season of "The Great Food Truck Race," Ted and Yong Kim, along with teammate Chris Oh , proved that teamwork between siblings can lead to incredible things after they claimed the title of the third food truck to ever win the show (via Seoul Sausage). There was a lot that was working against the team, but despite not working in a food truck before, or even being able to make their namesake menu item, sausages, they managed to beat Nonna's Kitchenette in the finale, with a difference of just over $100 in sales (via Food Network).
Now, Seoul Sausage continues to operate a window restaurant in Los Angeles, which has been open since 2010. It continues to offer its spicy and Kalbi sausages, as well as Doshirak bowls with various proteins, vegetables, and other delicious ingredients. Though it's based in California, it delivers its goods globally via Goldbelly. The team also has plans to feature on the latest season of "The Great Food Truck Race ” once more, though not as competitors, but this time, as judges for the competing trucks (via Seoul Sausage). It might not have the classic hot dogs you find at baseball games, but it's still safe to say that Seoul Sausage has found success after its television victory.
Aloha Plate
The fourth season of this competitive food truck show saw a truck with a more tropical vibe at the top of the competition. The Aloha Plate food truck has been around since 1959 (per Aloha Plate), but it truly found success during the fourth season of "The Great Food Truck Race." According to the Star Advertiser, the truck is run by Shawn Felipe, along with brothers Lanai and Adam Tabura, who managed to best the Tikka Tikka Taco truck during the finale of their season. With this success, the Aloha Plate's time after competing on the show hasn't been without its ups and downs, but it has been positive for the most part.
Ever since its victory, the Hawaiian food truck has been doing private catering for events in its home state. Unfortunately, Shawn Felipe lost his grandfather to COVID-19 (via Facebook). The food truck is still trying to go strong, however, as The Aloha Plate featured in the All-Star season of "The Great Food Truck Race" and managed to place in the final four. Furthermore, the Hawaiian food sellers have plans on reopening in the first week of July in Waikiki after competing on the show once more, all in a fully renovated food truck.
The Middle Feast
Shawarma, falafel, and pita wraps: These are but a few of the items that feature on this next food truck's menu. The Middle Feast Food Truck won season five of "The Great Food Truck Race." The team was made up of leading chef Tommy Marudi, Hilla Marudi, his sister, and their friend Arkadi Kluger (via Food Network). When they came back for the all-stars season, the team consisted of Tommy, two newer competitors, Daniella Marudi, and Gabriel Villagrana (via The Orange County Register). While it didn't win the all-star season, its victory in the fifth season proved just how spectacular the Middle Eastern food truck could be, and continues to be.
Since their victory way back in season five, the three original victors have split and begun to pursue their own paths. Tommy Marudi still continues to operate the Middle Feast Food Truck, offering Mediterranean foods wherever he goes (via The Middle Feast). Meanwhile, Arkadi Kluger has gone on to become the executive chef for the East Bay catering company Olive with his wife, Elinor Nahmani (via The Jewish News). As for Hilla, she isn't in the food or restaurant business anymore, but continues to work to provide for her kids (per Facebook).
Pho Nomenal Dumplings
During the sixth season of "The Great Food Truck Race,” the winning food truck claimed a phenomenal victory — or, in its words, a Pho Nomenal victory. Pho Nomenal Dumplings was the food truck team co-owned by Sunny Lin and Sophia Woo. They operated their pink and black food truck together, and as two college graduates, their business and finance knowledge helped them hold up against some of the tougher competition. Along with their close friend, Becca Plumlee (via Pho Nomenal Dumplings), the dumpling duo won the sixth season of the show as the first all-female team to claim the title.
While Becca isn't a part of the Pho Nomenal Dumpling staff anymore, Sophia and Sunny continue to operate in the food industry. According to Technician, after claiming victory, the duo had no plans to expand their food truck business and instead wanted to look for a brick-and-mortar location to sell their food in. Fortunately for them, they were able to do so through MOFU Shoppe, which offers Asian-style cuisine in Raleigh, NC, and continues to operate to this day, doing its best to serve its patrons interesting, yet comforting foods (per MOFU Shoppe).
Grilled Cheese All-Stars
While grilled cheeses are easy to make at home, there's something incredible about getting a hot grilled cheese from a restaurant or food truck. In the seventh season of "The Great Food Truck Race," the winners took the concept of a classic grilled cheese and brought it into the competition through their Grilled Cheese All-Stars food truck. The truck was run by twins Charlie and Michael Kalish, along with their friend Bryce Adams (via Food Network). Charlie and Micheal had competed in Food Network's "Chopped" three years prior, according to IMDb, so coming back to win the food truck competition was something of a redemption arc for the twins.
It is unknown what Bryce Adams chose to do after the seventh season, but in regards to the other two victors, we know that even after their victory, Charlie and Micheal, dubbed "The Cheese Twins," still really love cheese. They travel across the country spreading their cheese knowledge and promote their cheese expertise (via Cheese Twins). They specifically work to educate cheese lovers about the food industry, especially regarding food safety (as per Marcella the Cheesemonger). Even though they aren't operating out of a food truck anymore, it's safe to say that for these successful twins, their future is filled with cheese.
Braised in the South
The winners of the eighth season of the food truck competition operated the food truck business known as "Braised in the South." The Southern-inspired food truck, with a team consisting of Nick Hunter, Steven Klatt, and Brandon Lapp, went toe to toe with Mr. Po' Boys in the finale and claimed victory after successfully selling its dishes from a pedicab and coming out on top in the other final challenges (via Charleston Culinary Tours). After its victory, the business was met with even more success, managing to open up an actual restaurant in South Carolina after the surge of popularity that came with the show, according to Carolina Eater.
More recently, however, the Southern-style restaurant released a bittersweet post on its social media pages. On June 16th 2022, Braised in the South posted a status on Facebook thanking its patrons for their continuous support, but stated that after spending 20 years in the industry, with a few of those solely dedicated to the food truck and restaurant, the owners wanted to spend more time with their families and step away from the food business. While their incredible lunches, dinners, and desserts will likely be missed, it's clear that the owners are very excited about what's in store for the future — especially when it comes to their families.
Just Wing It
The ninth season of "The Great Food Truck Race" saw the "Just Wing It" food truck team claim their victory. The team at the wing truck consisted of Steven Crowley, Kevin Pettice, and Sharon Shvarzman, who actually knew each other from competing on another Food Network Show together called "Worst Cooks in America" (via Foodsided). Their victory in the food truck show proved this trio were not the worst cooks, however. Thanks to its iconic, delicious wings and success throughout the challenges that drew in sales, Just Wing It managed to soar to success.
Nowadays, you'll find that the food truck team has split, and are no longer operating the truck together. For the most part, however, they are finding successes of their own. While Kevin Pettice stopped updating the Twitter status of the Wing It food truck in 2021, Sharon Shvarzman has continued to pursue a career in all things cooking, and opened Keshet Kitchen in Philadelphia to offer his Israeli-inspired dishes in the form of takeout (via Jewish Exponent). As for Steven Crowley, he has gone on to start a podcast called "Nice Boy Things," which can be viewed on YouTube. Though they all might not be making the same wings they were when they competed on the show, it seems like the sky's the limit for these three men.
NOLA Creations
The next season of the food truck competition saw the first all-black food truck team come out on top. NOLA Creations was made up of Chef Darrell Johnson along with his wife, Aunna Johnson, and Terrell Gaskin (via Shreveport Times). What might come as a surprise about this team is that while Darrell Johnson was the one who led the team to its victory, the team never would have come together had it not been for his wife's persistence. According to Atlanta Black Star, Darrell had participated in "Cutthroat Kitchen" in 2015 but didn't come out with a victory. However, his wife applied to compete in the tenth season of "The Great Food Truck Race," which saw the chef find himself on the winning team.
Nowadays, you'll find Darrell and Aunna with their feet still in the business and food industry. Darrell still operates the food truck in Florida, serving delicious New Orleans-style food, including po' boy sandwiches and sweet beignets (via Facebook). He and his wife were also recently interviewed by Femi Magazine, and within the interview, the couple described their experience in the food industry. They also offered advice to rising culinary chefs and students, advising them to start from the bottom washing dishes and getting experience under the best chefs they know.
Big Stuff
The 11th set of teams in "The Great Food Truck Race” competed in a holiday-themed season that lasted four episodes, making it the shortest season of the show to this date (via Food Network). Because of how short this season was, you may have missed it when it first aired. Regardless, these next victors are just as deserving as the others. The Big Stuff Food Truck consisted of professional chefs Brad Brutlag and Eddy Cumming, along with their friend Mike O'Neill, who had experience in marketing.
The team faced off against the other four trucks, and with their burgers, sandwiches, and fries, the team managed to snag a winter win. After their victory, the trio featured on Fox 31 and showed off their Colorado-based comfort food. They got a new food truck, and have been going on tour with their truck ever since. They have a schedule of the venues they'll be at up on the truck's website, along with a menu of all of the foods and drinks that helped them make their mark during the series. According to Colorado Community Media, the team hopes to expand their brand, create a chain of their trucks, and sell their delicious burgers and sandwiches to more people across the country.
Mystikka Masala
Mystikka Masala won the 12th season of the food truck show with a team that sold an Indian-Tex-Mex fusion of foods. In its winning season, the truck's team consisted of chef and drag queen Navin Hariprasad, whose alter ego is the name of the truck, as well as his husband, Andrew Pettke. The two, along with their friend Sarah Hartshorne (via IMDb), brought a blend of different food cultures through their dishes, which made their food truck menu all the more appetizing to customers during the show. The pink food truck managed to beat the other finalist team, The Lunch Ladies, and returned to compete in the all-star season with other victorious food trucks (via Food Network).
After claiming victory within "The Great Food Truck Race," the food truck had to close its operations during the pandemic in order to ensure the safety of both the chefs and customers (via Foodsided). Fortunately, however, the team managed to return for the all-star season 14, in which they placed seventh overall. While it is not known what Sarah is doing at this time, Andrew works as a comedian, entrepreneur, and podcast host, Navin lists himself as a director on his Instagram page and is quite active in posting there.
Tasty Balls
The 13th season of the show saw the first all-black female team claiming the title of "The Great Food Truck Race" victors. The Tasty Balls Food Truck team, which was made up of Misti Buard, Nadia Ahmed, and D'Ambria Jacobs, braved the chilly Alaskan climate, which came with frozen hands and iPads, making it difficult for them to take orders (via Chron). Despite never having worked on a food truck before, the team's crab cakes and other foods carried them to victory. After their victory, the girls found lots of success in their various pursuits, which don't just include working on a food truck.
Misti Buard went on to work on her own company, Brand Appétit, with a focus on partnering with food trucks and brands to help get them out in the field. She also hosts her own talk show and promotes other chefs and their skills (via Brand Appétit). Nadia went on to have a kid and owns the Green Roots Kitchen, a brand focused on promoting food education and a plant-based diet. As for D'Ambria, she's been working with her company, Sophisticated Delights, which caters weddings, corporate, and social events. In general, these women have seen loads of success since their victory in the food truck.