Jacksonville's Fusion Food Truck

Falafel Pocket with fries

Talking with Chef Ashley Amin about Fusion Food Truck

1. Tell us about Fusion Food Truck

Fusion is all about mixing together diverse cuisines. Fusion Food Truck features elements of Indian, Thai and Mediterranean cooking, which are my 3 favorites. We feature classic recipes from each cooking style but with a twist of our own.

2. Can you describe how you fuse these cuisines?

One example is with our Mediterranean Gyros. I prepare the Gyro the traditional way but then add a little mint chutney, which is an Indian sauce, to give it a unique burst of flavor.

3. Have you set your menu?

I’ll have a number of staples that will always be on the menu and then I’ll add daily specials. I have nearly 100 dishes I want to serve so I’ve got to rotate things in. But there will be about 5 staple items I’ll carry everyday.

4. How did you decide on the core menu?

I wanted to have a few Indian dishes that were popular but not overpowering for people who were new to Indian style cuisine. I wanted people to get a good taste of what Indian food is all about without being too spicy or having too strong of a curry flavor. The same was true for our Thai and Mediterranean offerings. I’ve noticed that there aren’t a lot of food trucks serving ethnic foods, so I thought there was a chance to serve something a little different but without overwhelming people.

5. Where did you get your recipes?

I made them up myself. My recipes start with doing the basic things really well. For example, I noticed that a lot of Indian restaurants use milk instead of cream, and it just doesn’t give that depth of flavor. A lot of places will cut back on the number of spices too or use prepared spices. I make my own spices. Garam masala is an Indian spice that’s a blend of about 50 different spices. It’s a lot of work but it makes a huge difference when you grind your own spices.  Once I have the basic dish done how I want it then I’ll add in my fusion element.