You can’t have enjoyed a day trip anywhere in Ireland of late and not have noticed just how much Ireland’s food truck scene seems to have upped a gear.
Head to any hilltop, crossroads, or cliffside and there seems to be a pop-up on wheels serving everything from finger-licking buttermilk chicken burgers to artisan fish tacos.
Even my native East Cork seems to have more food trucks than Williamsburg these days.
Fry Guys, Trawler Boys, Coleman’s, Captain’s Catch, and the Spice Genie are just some of the options wooing me on my doorstep.
Not only are these food trucks satisfying our appetites, they’re also enhancing our leisure experiences adding the perfect addition to a coastal walk, or town visit… often becoming destinations in themselves.
This week, I spoke to John Mount of one of the region’s latest mouth-watering options: The YS Supper Club.
“All of my life I’d wanted to open a restaurant and have a food truck,” John, a Liverpool native turned Lismore local, tells me.
His acclaimed restaurant, The Bakers Table, was one of the most exciting additions to the west-Waterford food scene in the last couple of years, but increasingly challenging market conditions led John to make the hardest of calls this month.
“The crippling costs of running a business along with the unpredictability since covid meant I had to take the very hard decision to close our restaurant last month which was heartbreaking.
But, I’ve worked as a chef since I was 14 and wasn’t prepared to give up my career. So, I set up The YS Supper Club food truck.
“We sourced the perfect vehicle, given my hometown we painted in honour of the Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’ and we hit the road so to speak.
“The food truck has enabled me to offer restaurant-quality food to our customers at a cheaper price as the overheads aren’t there,” John explains. “Our ethos is that we will only ever use the best-quality produce like our Irish meat and fish while our menu adapts to our environment, be it a venue, functions, or our pop-ups.”
With that comes some delicious options which are already drawing queues.
“Hands down, our two most popular dishes are our calamari soaked in buttermilk and lightly floured, tartar sauce and pickled cucumber as well as our beef burger topped with BBQ pulled pork, sriracha mayo, crispy onions on a lightly toasted brioche bun.”
Just a few weeks in and John’s food truck venture is already covering road — he even scooped the Newcomer and Street Food of the Year at the YesChef all-Ireland takeaway awards held in Athlone last month.
Having started out with one location in Cappoquin, popular demand has seen the truck become a regular weekly fixture in locations in Youghal, Midleton, Fermoy, and Mitchelstown (you can check their Instagram for the latest updates).
“It’s been no easy task, but with our great food together with our excellent team and strong ethos, I think we’re bringing another exciting flavour to the local food scene.”