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Meet Mamacita’s – Mexican Food On The Move

WORDS: PHOTOGRAPHY

For this couple, a lifestyle between working music festivals, surfing and food became their life venture. Having spent years in the family’s kitchen creating the authentic tastes, they added love and the courage to bring this food truck lifestyle from LA to the GC. Now, it’s time to put their plans into play.  

 

After gaining recent attention Baja, Mexico has become the home to many tourists, expats and anyone else who carries a surfboard, camera or even the slightest interest in food. This to its demise has given rise to a loss of much of the traditional culture that once oozed from every crack in the mud-made walls or between closely knit colourful tiles. If you’re still searching for such a civilization, you do not need to invest in a time machine but simply travel 20 minutes south of the California border to Popotla, Mexico. A rugged fishing village that is known for its fresh caught fish. Even Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservation’s dedicated an episode to proving that Popotlas dishes far exceed the fear of reports of peppering violence. Shirtless cooks effortlessly command over oil-drum grills that cast a smoky fog under the orange veil of the sunset. Directly off the 3 man pangas (small boats) from the Pacific Ocean and onto the grill all sorts of seafood char and sizzle on the flames. If that isn’t fresh enough, take off your sandals for a stroll on the sand where locals present you with whole snappers, clams and sea urchins. Give them a nod and in comes the machete to fillet it. Cooked with recipes passed down from generations the fish is smothered with the common dried chillies concoctions and fresh produce from the hills in the brightest of reds, greens and yellows.Popotla is now driving down the Gold Coasts M1. How does a fishing village travel across a two-lane highway that most cars struggle to make their way across? Presenting to you – Mamacitas Food Truck. Owned, operated, marinated and loved by Trish and Marty ‘Martin is too formal for my liking’ Allen. Trish tells ORM, “After helping open a local Mexican Restaurant on the Gold Coast five years ago, we both came away believing that Authentic Mexican Cuisine is best expressed through the traditional Taco Truck style” Starting with the same raw ingredients, Trish creates all the stocks, marinades, salsas and sauces herself. She so humbly says, “just like in Popotla we eat directly from the earth. The produce trucks drive from the hills onto the hard-packed sandy beach daily, when the boats arrive at the same time with the treasures from the sea”. If not from her own chilli collections she turns to the local farms surrounding their home in Cudgen, NSW. This then inspired the trucks motto and mantra “Farm to Truck”. You’ll often see Trish’s face pop out of the window enticing you to try her mouth-watering sauces ranging from mild but bold, ‘I’ve never had anything like this’ to ‘oh wow that’s HOT!’ Pairing the perfect spice to sweet and savoury is where the magic of the taco really lies. Like any Taco Stand from California and Baja, the couple agrees, “the salsa decides whether we eat there or not…if the sauce is spot on, you know its authentic.” So, they have the ingredients. But now let’s put their skills to the test. The couple many years ago bought a home in aforementioned village of Popotla, where their initial love of lifestyle including surfing, cooking, sunsets and bonfires thrived.

 

Unfortunately for many who fancy themselves a cooking connoisseur, it takes more than a good meal to run a business. Starting with Marty’s lifelong passion for shaping surfboards allowing him to travel and work the eclectic hospitality Industry he learned more than could never been taught in the classroom. Ingenuity, creativity and passion. Trisha has had a worthy career, from working in a range of management roles at Toyota Sales in the United States to maintaining her personal training and passion for physical well-being for 25 years. All combined, this has placed them in the advantage of understanding how to prepare, set up and commit to a fast-paced work environment and still have fun. We asked Trish how the idea came about, and like any good idea started with a classic late night. In 2012 Marty and Trish went back to her hometown of Escondido California when her dad’s health took a turn for the worse. Marty and Trish’s brother Matt had the thought “A Taco Truck in Aus…we need this!” One week later, Marty and Trish were driving the 8 meter long empty shell made from aluminium rattlebox down the entire coast of California. The Chevrolet P30 is a standard vision in the US as FEDEX, UPS or Frito Lay delivery trucks. Trish and her step mother, better known as Grammie, worked several years in the family’s kitchen creating the authentic tastes that they grew up with. Through Trish’s dads final years, the taco truck was designed and love was poured in. They scraped enough courage, determination and capital to ship this beast from the Port of Los Angeles to the Port of Brisbane May 2017 where it was time to put all their plans into play. The couple’s charisma and way of life truly lights up any room. Trish’s eccentricity, warm heart and passion for feeding her loved ones coupled with Marty’s creative, ‘mad-scientist’ approach has given way for the Mamacitas lifestyle to truly flourish. The couple has taken the common food truck scene and added their lifestyle and vibe to create those magic environments where the lighting, music, decor and food send you right into siesta. Private catering and large events are the staples to Mamacitas business plan. Being able to offer large crowds authentic food at a fast pace is what the Food Truck business is all about. I would normally end by saying something along the lines of the ‘mouth-watering dishes will leave you needing more’ but this is not the case, as Trish and Marty pack in plenty to keep you full for the day. As Marty proudly says, “We make our serves the same as where we come from… breakfast burritos the size of your forearm”. Mamacitas – trendy enough for your Instagram feed and more than satisfying who just want a good clean feed.

 

www.mamacitas.com.auintsagram foodtruckmamacitasfacebook mamacitas @goldcoasttacotruckTrish Allen – Owner/OperatorMamacitas Feisty Mexican FoodDba: Mamacitas Mobile Catering 04 22 655 561 Mobile