Watch Toughest Summer Jobs on WTXL ABC 27 Wednesday at 11 and vote for who you think has the Toughest Summer Job. Watch July 29th to see who takes home the trophy for Toughest Summer Job.
TALLAHASSEE, Fl. (WTXL) - Chopping, sizzling, and sweating. Three common parts of the typical day of a food truck worker. During the summer afternoons, conditions get rough quickly!
Rebecca Kelly, head of the Tallahassee Food Truck Association and owner of the Street Chefs food truck says, "I joke around with people, I'm like 'We're working in a big toaster basically'. It's a big metal box."
And inside that metal box, the mercury rises like a rocket.
"It gets at least one hundred thirty, one hundred forty degrees. And it's small", said Lincoln Rich, owner of the Valhalla Grill food truck, "You're caved in in there."
The reason it gets so hot is because of the summer heat outside, the appliances inside, and the general lack of air conditioners in the trucks. And that means frequent breaks aren't recommended. They're essential.
"We try and rotate people who are cooking on the grill or in front of the fire, make sure they're not there for more than twenty of thirty minutes," said Kelly.
"I tell my crew, I make them drink water," Rich said, "If I see them drinking cokes, I tell them to put down the cokes and drink some water."
As the day moves on and customers begin showing up, the rush makes the searing environment even more stressful. "Basically its like working at any other restaurant, you work through your rush, pull your tickets out as fast as you can", said Kelly, "Try and make the food and get it out to the guests as quickly as you possibly can."
And it's because of the immense heat, the cramped spaces, and the constant rush to serve customers delicious food, that Lincoln Rich, Rebecca Kelly, and the rest of the food truck workers of the Association are in the running for the title of "Toughest Summer Job".
