Healthcare faux food truck rolls on with UK-style fish ‘n chips, plans for awesome monthly themes

Tara Fitzpatrick

Toward the end of 2021, a year that was relentlessly tough on foodservice, Chef Nazim Khan of Bryan Health hatched a plan with Director Mike Dixon for a food truck scaled way back. Pre-pandemic, Khan had imagined a real food truck to travel between the healthcare facility’s campuses. When that became financially unfeasible, the Faux’d truck was born out of a cardboard façade and a whole lot of culinary imagination.

The first “road trip” for the “truck” resulted in some amazing street tacos.

And now, as the Bryan Health foodservice crew kicks off the new year, the truck is getting revved up fast, although labor issues remain a burden.

Chef Nazim Khan, ready to roll in front of the Faux’d truck.

“The Faux’d concept is going really well,” Khan says. “Because of tight labor, we can do just one theme per month for each campus.”

The menus, although not actually on a real truck, are compact, clever and designed to offer the most options to customers with the least amount of ingredients.

This vibrant chalkboard, set up near the “truck,” details what customers can order.

When the truck rolled up to different campuses with fish ‘n chips served in a very authentic British way (minted mushy peas!), new fans and customers began following the truck. Earlier this month, an Asian theme brought classic miso soup, a choice of protein (pulled Korean barbecue beef, teriyaki chicken, ginger-glazed salmon or braised jackfruit) and a choice of slaw (power-blend ginger slaw or sriracha-mayo slaw).

Next up, Khan lists some tantalizing themes for the new year, many of which are focused on the popular bowl: In February, a New Orleans bowl (gumbo, jambalaya, etouffee); in March, a New York City-style street gyro bowl; in April, a Cuban bowl (ropa vieja, red bean rice, fried yucca).

We’ll be sure to stay tuned as this faux truck keeps on truckin’!