Meet the former salesman turned chef, now feeding the masses on the streets

Overlooking Burmarrad sits a 1960’s turquoise Morris van fully equipped to satisfy the cravings of meat aficionados. Specialising in barbecued and smoked food, the EAT food truck is a popular hotspot on the island pulling huge crowds practically every day. BUSINESS TODAY spoke to former salesman turned Chef, David Gove, the brains behind food truck outfit EAT

Chef, David Gove
Chef, David Gove
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What inspired you to start your own food truck?

Cooking has always been a big part of my life, I’ve always had a sort of love affair with food and cooking in general. However, prior to EAT, I had never worked in catering. I used to work in sales, selling off appliances, then four years ago I took a big leap forward. I bought this vintage Morris truck which in the past used to be a pasta delivery van, converted it into a mobile kitchen and started off this meat sizzling operation.

What was your biggest challenge to date?

I think that my biggest challenge was always leaving my full time paid job and starting off my own business.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of operating from a food truck?

The biggest advantage is mobility. If you’re not reaching your desired audience you can quickly move off to another designated area. Obviously, on the downside, you are very limited in storage and preparation before and after each working day is time-consuming. And as you can observe, every morning we have to practically plan for the following day preparing the meat which is slowly cooked throughout the day.

How has the food scene changed?

Yes, definitely. Food trucks with a similar operation to ours had been popular in the United States for years. Five years ago Europe finally followed suit. This is also changing locally when we first started people would look at the menu and walk off. They weren’t ready to pay €5 or €6 for a burger. I think local people are starting to appreciate more food which is genuinely prepared and cooked.

Looking forward, where do you see your venture going?

I’m very happy with the way our operation has progressed, and we plan to expand in the nearby future.

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