Q&A WITH DAWN COWAN
Food truck catering costs, considerations depend on size of event, crowd and budget
Q: What advice do you have for finding the right truck for an event?
A: You can talk to them and try their food when you find them out at events, look up their menus on social media, or just ask around about their reputation. Word travels fast in the food truck world. Oklahoma City has quite a few fantastic food trucks that have been around several years, but also has some awesome new trucks that have been in business only a few months.
Q: How do you know how many food trucks you need to feed everyone?
A: It depends what kind of event you are hosting, how many people you want to feed and what your budget is. A general rule is one food truck can feed 100 to 150 people, depending upon serving times. It’s very important that the event planner have a good idea of how many people will be attending the event.
Q: How expensive is it to book a food truck?
A: It depends on the nature of the event. Scheduling a truck at your workplace on a weekday is different than having one for a wedding reception on a Saturday night. Like anything, the more popular the truck, the more it will cost. Most food trucks want to generate at least $300 to $400 for a lunch, but will want double or more for a weekend night.
Q: What are the biggest misconceptions about booking a food truck?
A: When you go to a huge event like Heard on Hurd, it looks like the food trucks are making tons of money, but those kind of events usually happen only once or twice a month. Some event planners think that if they book a lot of food trucks, they’ll have a bigger turnout for their event, without giving much thought that the trucks not only are there to serve, but also need to make a profit. Many of the food truck operators are willing to work incredibly long hours because of their passion for food, but must make a daily profit to pay their bills just like anyone else.