The Food Truck NZ - S03E12 - American Classics
The Food Truck NZ - S03E12 - American Classics
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00:00Chef Michael van der Elzen is taking to the streets of New Zealand for a tiki tour of
00:07taste buds.
00:08His goal, to transform some of the world's most popular fat-filled dishes into healthy
00:13gourmet truck food.
00:14Pretty out there, pretty out there.
00:19This time on the food truck.
00:21The patty has no flavour at all.
00:22Michael takes on the titan of takeaways.
00:25You can actually see the oil flowing.
00:27American fast food gets a tune up.
00:29I want to use a meat that is 60% less saturated fat.
00:33Is it good?
00:34Ha ha!
00:35And there's a food truck first at the rodeo.
00:37This is totally inedible, it's rubbish.
00:41Gut-wrenching.
00:42Can Michael's alternative American fast food satisfy hungry Kiwis in a hurry?
00:48Find out on the food truck.
00:57The global fast food industry takes in $160 billion a year, and there's one country that
01:03takes in more than half of that on its own.
01:05That's right, it's the United States of America.
01:11It's the home of fast food.
01:13We all know the brands, we all know the food, burgers, pizzas, doughnuts, shakes.
01:19It is the fastest of fast food.
01:24American fast food had its roots in fast cars.
01:28It began in the drive-in restaurants of the 1940s, where waitresses became roller-skating
01:33carhops.
01:34Drive-thru arrived in 1947, and this perfect marriage of food and convenience is now a
01:40global standard.
01:41The problem with American fast food is it's loaded with fat, it's got tons of salt and
01:47heaps of sugar.
01:48You know, there's so much wrong with it, I don't know where to begin.
01:53Michael needs to work out where to start soon, because in just a few days he'll be selling
01:57his take on American fast food at the Mid-Northern Rodeo at Maungatapere.
02:02But first, he's going to learn about American food from someone who grew up with it, and
02:07he's not even fat.
02:08Michael, Dick Hanson, nice to meet you.
02:10You too.
02:11Restauranteur Dick Hanson knows American food.
02:16He worked in diners as a teenager and went to school with Dave, the Wendy's guy.
02:20Hell, he even met the Colonel.
02:22I actually met him.
02:23Did you really?
02:24You met the man himself?
02:25I met the bearded man himself.
02:27Yeah, I'm old enough to remember when there wasn't McDonald's, and one of my favorite
02:32memories is leaving a football or a basketball game and going to White Castle.
02:37White Castle was the original American fast food chain.
02:41Established in the 1920s, it was the trailblazer for the mega chains like McDonald's and Burger
02:46King.
02:47And it started small, in more ways than one.
02:49It was a little dinner-sized roll with a little slab of meat, grilled onions, cheese, one
02:54pickle and tomato sauce.
02:56Five cents, you get a dozen of them.
02:58I thought that was sounding quite healthy until you said you get a dozen of them.
03:04What we called fast in those days might have been 15 minutes.
03:07It was good, fresh, put together in front of you, wrapped up in front of you, and you
03:11got it in your hand.
03:12That was great food.
03:13So how do our Kiwi franchises stack up against the American ones?
03:18Well, I think they don't pay as much attention to the detail.
03:21They lack a little bit of love and finesse out here.
03:24To test Dick's theory that modern fast food has lost the love, the boys sample some of
03:28the finest fast food Auckland has to offer on the menu, New York-style pizza.
03:33This is so simple.
03:34How many ingredients do you think should be on a typical American pizza?
03:37I have had these in New York exactly the same.
03:40If you order pepperoni, that's what you get, pepperoni and cheese.
03:43I think a lot of the American fast food chains have bastardised the food that was originally
03:49brought to the States.
03:50Is there such a thing as a healthy pizza?
03:51Well, I don't think so.
03:55You can actually see the oil flowing from one side to another.
03:58It's quite outrageous, actually.
03:59I don't think this is Mike's healthy-style eating.
04:03Next up, it's fast food courtesy of Kentucky's favourite son, Colonel Sanders.
04:07They may have removed the word fried from their name, but whether it's KFC or Kentucky
04:12Fried Chicken, the taste remains the same.
04:15The flavouring and everything still tastes much the same as it did 30 years ago.
04:19And it's still just as unhealthy as it was 30 years ago?
04:22I would think so.
04:23But you've got to admit, there's got a bit of flavour in there.
04:25Do you think the Colonel himself would approve of this?
04:28Chicken's not moist, it's dry.
04:30He'd probably have something to say about it.
04:32He's pretty pedantic about the way things should be.
04:35And let's not forget the sweeter varieties of deep-fried faves, the unhealthiest nuts
04:40money can buy.
04:42They really are the ultimate American treat, aren't they?
04:45Oh, yeah.
04:46Fat pills.
04:47That's what my father used to call them.
04:48Really?
04:49Yep.
04:50Could I make a savoury donut?
04:51No.
04:52Not where I come from.
04:53But everyone knows the ultimate American fast food is the hamburger.
04:57The Germans may have invented it, but the Americans now consider themselves king.
05:01Here we go.
05:03Can I have two Whoppers, please?
05:06Oh, yeah.
05:07So really, to you, what makes a great burger?
05:11It's the freshness of it, it's the wholeness of it, it's a real good meat patty that's
05:16not got fillers or whatever else in it.
05:19While the patty has no flavour at all, there's actually lots of onions and tomato and lettuce.
05:24To me, it's a reasonable burger.
05:29With a bulging belly and a swirling head, Mike's date with Dick comes to an end.
05:36Spending the day with Dick was great.
05:38It reminded me that even though a lot of American fast food isn't exactly healthy,
05:43it's still iconic.
05:44And what's the ultimate icon of American fast food?
05:47The burger.
05:49So I want to do burgers, but I want to do something a bit more fun.
05:52So this time, I'm going to do my take on sliders.
05:56Little tiny burgers.
05:58And these are going to be sliders with a difference.
06:04The next morning, Michael heads to Manukau City,
06:07home of big shops, big offices and also big appetites.
06:11It's the perfect place to road test tiny burgers.
06:14I want to make some different patties, try a few different combinations,
06:17see what people like, see what they want in a burger.
06:23Michael has two different slider patties planned,
06:25including one made from one of the world's most popular meats.
06:29And it's not chicken.
06:31I want to use a meat that is 60% less saturated fat.
06:34What is that, do you think?
06:36It's actually goat.
06:38Goat meat is tremendously healthy compared to beef.
06:42Goat has so little fat, Michael adds some ice cubes
06:45to cool the meat and help the patties bind.
06:47I think it's going to be really interesting to see
06:49if people can taste the difference between this and a beef patty.
06:52So slider number one will be acting the goat,
06:55while no animals were harmed in the making of Mike's second slider.
06:59I want to make a vegetarian slider.
07:01So I'm going to go down the obvious track.
07:03Of tofu.
07:04The thing with tofu is it doesn't have a lot of flavour itself,
07:06so you need to add flavour to tofu to bring out some character in it.
07:10Fat flavour begins with onion, garlic, shiitake mushrooms and carrot.
07:15OK, now to this we have some smoked paprika, some Dijon mustard,
07:20I've got some freshly roasted cashew nuts, chickpeas, green thyme.
07:27So these patties are completely dairy free, gluten free, wheat free, meat free,
07:33and I'm going to give them away for free.
07:39Each slider will have one of two sauces.
07:41A dollop of Mike's homemade aioli.
07:43Beautiful thing about making aioli as opposed to mayonnaise,
07:46aioli will stay on top of something hot like a patty and won't slide off.
07:50Or Mike's homemade tomato relish.
07:52Michael has the makings of two great burgers, but who's going to taste them?
07:56The car park looks mostly empty, except for that girl on roller skates.
08:04Chef Michael van der Elzen is taking on the fastest food in the West.
08:10Could I make a savoury donut?
08:12No, not where I come from.
08:14In just a few days he'll be rebooting American fast food
08:18for the crowds at Mangutapere's Mid-Northern Rodeo.
08:21But right now he's parked up in a Manukau car park,
08:25where he seems to be very excited about trying out his mini burgers, or sliders.
08:30Today I've got a little trick up my sleeve
08:33that's going to bring the America out of my sliders.
08:44Michael's little trick hoves into view like a pink flamingo coming in to land.
08:49It's as if she just skated right out of 1950s America.
08:55Hi Niall, how are you?
08:57How's it going?
08:58Good to see you.
08:59Fantastic.
09:00You do too.
09:01My name's Niall and I'm an entrepreneur.
09:03When Mike called me and told me about this job, I just had to do it.
09:10Now Niall, I've employed your services today
09:13to help me take my food to the people and just bring back feedback.
09:18I want to know what they think of my food.
09:20Sounds good.
09:21So here we've got two red meat burgers.
09:23So this one is goat sardine snow pea cheese.
09:26This one is goat veggie tomato.
09:29Good luck.
09:31Like any good entrepreneur, Niall is not afraid of risk,
09:34which is good because serving meals on wheels is not easy.
09:40After a few false starts, Niall offers up the meat that dare not speak its name.
09:44Let's just call it red.
09:46Would you like to try a red meat slider?
09:48We would love to.
09:51The meat is very tender and it tastes a bit like lamb,
09:54and I'm not sure if it is lamb, is it?
09:56It's goat.
09:57Is it really? Is it goat?
09:59What would you say if I told you that it was goat?
10:01Goat.
10:03The meat's quite nice and tasty.
10:04What type of meat do you think it is?
10:06Lamb.
10:07Well, if that's what goat meat tastes like, I'd buy that every day.
10:10Goat.
10:11Tastes good.
10:12Tastes good?
10:13It's real nice.
10:14Did you tell them it was goat?
10:15I did.
10:16And what did they think?
10:17They absolutely loved it. They wanted another one.
10:18So, so far, I think that goat is a winner.
10:20So is there another one?
10:21Absolutely.
10:22So this is a vegetarian tofu patty with beetroot and tomato,
10:25and this one is pickled cucumber and garlic aioli.
10:28These are two of Mike's healthiest sliders,
10:31but will the tofu satisfy?
10:33Honestly, it is really good.
10:35Yeah.
10:36What do you think the patty is?
10:37Tofu.
10:38Got it right.
10:41Can you tell me what's in this patty at all?
10:43Chicken.
10:44Chicken.
10:45It was tofu.
10:46Oh, nice.
10:47So do you like that, Ben?
10:48Yes, absolutely.
10:49Okay.
10:50Tofu can be a little bit hard, but, yeah, it's nice.
10:53Yeah.
10:54As a chef, I said, thank you, and I enjoy it.
10:56Okay.
10:57So, two sliders down, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
11:01Can I have your number?
11:03Um...
11:04Maybe too positive.
11:06Okay.
11:07So nothing negative at all?
11:08They asked for my phone number again.
11:10Really?
11:12Barring one or two quibbles,
11:14Michael's unorthodox sliders have been a crowd pleaser, more or less.
11:18This is grunty.
11:19This is good.
11:20That's what I like.
11:21They really, they just enjoy the patties.
11:23They just love them.
11:24Whether they're vegetarian, goat.
11:25But what, if anything, are people willing to pay?
11:28$2.
11:29$2.
11:30$3.
11:31Probably about $4.
11:32$4.
11:33Yeah, probably $4.
11:34$4.
11:35For a slider.
11:36It's quite generous.
11:37$4 a pop might just cover Niall's wages for the day.
11:40How much am I paying you again?
11:41$50 an hour.
11:42$50?
11:44The great part about today is that they love the goat.
11:47And I'm stoked about that,
11:49because the goat, for me, is the one that I love the most,
11:52and it's a damn healthy meat to use.
11:55So I really want to go with the goat.
11:57The thing is, there's so much more to American fast food than just burgers.
12:01There's milkshakes, there's donuts,
12:03there's so much more that I need to bring to game day
12:06to make this a true representation of American fast food.
12:11Back at the garage, Michael has been circling the next menu item.
12:15Donuts.
12:16I'm going to make triple blueberry donuts.
12:19Normally, a triple anything donut would result in a triple bypass,
12:23but Michael's donuts will be baked, not fried, and full of fruit.
12:27This is a super rich, really intense blueberry flavoring,
12:30which I'm going to put through my dough.
12:32White flour is partly replaced with coconut flour.
12:36At first, Michael's colorful dough
12:38resembles something no one would want to eat.
12:40But after a little surgery and some manipulation,
12:43his donut is ready to be baked.
12:45Here we go.
12:46For my second blueberry flavoring,
12:48I've just got some frozen blueberries.
12:50I'm just going to reduce that right down,
12:52and then I'm just going to puree them.
12:54And that's it.
12:55Blueberry jam.
12:56100% natural, 100% gluten-free,
12:59100% gluten-free, 100% gluten-free,
13:01100% gluten-free, 100% gluten-free.
13:04100% natural, because that's all that's in there is blueberries.
13:08Once baked, the donut receives another fruit injection.
13:12Then we take our blueberry jam,
13:14and then you just run the blueberry jam around.
13:18And a final blueberry coating,
13:20courtesy of Michael's magic dust.
13:22Fresh-dried blueberries that have been pounded up into a powder.
13:25And there we have it, one triple blueberry donut.
13:30It's so soft on the inside, it's so moist.
13:33The outside has that little crunch.
13:35Now I just need to make a whole lot of them.
13:37But Michael also needs to make something else
13:40to up the American in his menu.
13:42I can't do an American food episode
13:44without doing some sort of a milkshake.
13:47But I can't just do any old milkshake.
13:50I'm going to do a vegan milkshake.
13:52Vegans don't drink milk.
13:54So Michael's got a problem he's going to solve using his nuts.
13:58So what I've got here is I've got almonds with their shell on,
14:01which I've soaked overnight.
14:03I then blend them all together,
14:06strain out the almond pulp,
14:08and we have almond milk.
14:10I want to make something that's going to sell.
14:12So what's the most popular of the milkshakes?
14:15Chocolate.
14:16Michael adds cocoa to the silky almond milk,
14:18along with banana to thicken,
14:20and an unusually fruity sweetener.
14:22Fresh dates.
14:23But will the good citizens of this dairy nation
14:26go for milk that's come from a nut instead of a teat?
14:29I think they're actually going to like this more.
14:31Well, I hope so anyway.
14:33I'm feeling really good about the menu today.
14:35I think the goat sliders, they work.
14:37The doughnuts, they're just great.
14:39The shake's packed full of goodness.
14:41But the challenge for game day has to be speed.
14:43This is American-style fast food.
14:45I've got to be fast.
14:47And that, honestly, scares the jibblies out of me.
14:54Chef Michael van der Elzen has American fast food in his sights.
14:58I want to use a meat that is 60% less saturated fat.
15:01Honestly, it is really good.
15:03Brimming with confidence,
15:05Michael's on his way north to Mangatapere.
15:08It's the night before the Mid-Northern Rodeo,
15:10and he's determined not to be thrown off
15:12the bucking bronco of public opinion tomorrow.
15:15Oh, now that's not a good place.
15:17But first, he really has got a truckload of food to prepare.
15:21Man, I've got some serious work to do.
15:24I've got seven kilos of goat mince.
15:27Beautiful.
15:28Then I need to turn into my little slider patties.
15:30We are going to a rodeo,
15:32so I've just made a Cajun seasoning mix.
15:35294 little patties.
15:38God, I hope they sell.
15:40Man, it's going to be a long night
15:42because I haven't even started on donuts.
15:44The dough's going to take ages to prove,
15:46and then I've got to shape them, reprove them
15:48and try and make them with a hole in the middle.
15:51The Mangatapere Mid-Northern Rodeo is a two-day event
15:55attracting the best cowboys and cowgirls
15:58from all over New Zealand.
16:00This is no country for old men,
16:02so how's a fancy-pants Auckland chef
16:04going to do pushing pretty, healthy food
16:07to people who prefer it rough?
16:10Michael conducts a quick survey of the competition,
16:13both the beef that's bucking and the beef that's not.
16:16It's a pretty good price.
16:18$4 for a steak sandwich.
16:20The competition is hot,
16:22but Michael has a more immediate problem.
16:24I'm still waiting for my buns to arrive.
16:26Hopefully they turn up.
16:28It's getting on, people.
16:30There's not much of a slider without a slider bun.
16:32When his buns finally arrive,
16:34Michael's relief is short-lived.
16:36They're barely bite-sized.
16:38I was planning on selling these for $4,
16:40but I can't sell that for $4.
16:42They've got steak sandwiches down there for $4,
16:44and I'm going to give them this for the same price?
16:46Fortunately, Mike has a simple solution.
16:48I'm going to do two for seven,
16:50because I just feel they're too small to give one.
16:52And how do you price one small slider?
16:54So you give two for one set price.
16:56Hopefully, the pricing is spot-on,
16:58because Michael's spelling is not.
17:00Triple blueberry doughnuts, kids.
17:02Actually, how do you spell triple?
17:04One E.
17:06You can spell better than me.
17:08OK, and finally, because it's a hot day,
17:10chocolate shakes.
17:12OK, hit me.
17:14Can I have four Cajun goat sliders, please?
17:16Four of them?
17:18OK, here we go.
17:20How fast is this going to be?
17:22Go away, be free, eat goat.
17:26Michael's exotic Cajun goat sliders
17:28are an instant hit.
17:30I like the lamb.
17:32Oh, the goat.
17:34Yeah, it's nice and lean.
17:36Absolutely awesome, mate.
17:38Really nice.
17:40I've never had goat before,
17:42but it tastes quite good, actually.
17:44And it's not just the exotic meat.
17:46The Cajun spice, it's very nice.
17:48Gives it that kick.
17:50It's hot enough without being too hot.
17:52But there's one ingredient in all Mike's food today
17:54that pretty much no one likes, time.
17:56How long have you been waiting?
17:58An hour.
18:00Barely?
18:02I'm still too slow.
18:04Look at the queue.
18:06That's unreal.
18:08Michael's going as fast as he can,
18:10and it's starting to show.
18:12I've just spilled two sliders
18:14in front of that lady.
18:16But, you know, it's just going to have to be
18:18as fast as I possibly can go.
18:20Unfortunately, not everyone agrees
18:22the food is worth the wait.
18:24We had to wait an hour just for one milkshake.
18:26To be honest, I don't think
18:28I would rush back to get another one.
18:30Michael's armoured milkshakes are challenging
18:32the palate of those expecting a classic
18:34chop shake.
18:36I like flour, and I thought, oh,
18:38this is a bit rugged.
18:40The almond milk's even challenging Michael.
18:42My glass jug just broke.
18:44Bugger. That's all gone.
18:46Thankfully, plenty of punters
18:48love the shakes.
18:50Lots of banana in there.
18:52You can't really tell that it's not made from dairy.
18:54I used my life savings on this thing, man,
18:56and it's good. It's really worth it, eh?
18:58Beautiful, man. Mean, mouldy, mean.
19:02Hey, can I please get a triple blueberry donut?
19:04Good choice. Thank you.
19:06The donuts are absolutely flying out the door.
19:08Michael's blueberry donuts
19:10are proving popular, not because
19:12they taste like great donuts, but because
19:14they taste like something else.
19:16It tastes like a healthy blueberry muffin,
19:18so it just tastes so good.
19:20This is really good. It's really sweet.
19:22But by late afternoon,
19:24the doyens of donut
19:26are dissenting.
19:28That donut that I just had
19:30really needed sugar.
19:32I spent $4 on that.
19:34It was a waste of money.
19:36What do you think?
19:38It's like bread. Bread with
19:40blueberry in it. It's definitely
19:42not a donut.
19:44I'll give you the money back for those.
19:46And it seems this is not simply
19:48a matter of taste.
19:50It's just totally inedible. It's rubbish.
19:52Ouch. I don't know how anyone
19:54has got the nerve
19:56to actually charge money for it.
19:58There's a lady that's complaining about the food.
20:00That's putting it mildly.
20:02It's dry. It's got no flavour.
20:04It's a horrible
20:06taste.
20:08Just like Michael's donuts, the truth is not
20:10sugar-coated.
20:12I'd be ashamed to make something like this
20:14in front of somebody.
20:16Do you want your money back? Yes, please.
20:18This is a food truck
20:20first, and it hurts.
20:22Here you go.
20:26After initially wowing with their fruity freshness,
20:28the staler leftover donuts have let
20:30the team down. These are the ones that
20:32I cooked last night, and they've dried
20:34out. It's gone like
20:36bread that's a day old. It just gets
20:38that certain dryness. So Michael
20:40makes an executive decision.
20:42I'm going to pull the donuts off.
20:44I'm not happy with these. It's a real shame.
20:46I hate to fail, because
20:48you put so much effort into making that dough
20:50and rolling the donuts last night,
20:52and to have
20:54to pull them off, it's just
20:56gut-wrenching.
20:58The donuts may have disappointed
21:00some, but the sliders and the milkshakes
21:02have been a huge success.
21:04That is my last milkshake.
21:06Awesome. The milkshakes have been a
21:08huge hit. They're all gone,
21:10and now we're just on sliders. We're just
21:12selling sliders, sliders, sliders, sliders.
21:14Honestly, I've made 300, and I must
21:16be down to, I must say, 40 left.
21:18Pretty good, really.
21:20Michael's American fast food
21:22was more food than fast,
21:24and while not everyone appreciated
21:26his alternative Americana,
21:28scores of the locals now have a new respect
21:30for goat meat, not to mention
21:32the humble almond and its nutty
21:34milk. I think all in all
21:36today went pretty damn well,
21:38apart from the donut. That's the
21:40first time in food truck history
21:42that somebody has brought the food back
21:44and I've refunded their money.
21:46I should have baked them
21:48this morning fresh.
21:50I've learnt from that mistake, but
21:52you know, the sliders were a huge success.
21:54I loved making them. I loved serving them.
21:56Thank you so much.
21:58And the fact that I could give them a chocolate milkshake
22:00that they liked, knowing that it was
22:02healthy, gold.
22:04Next time,
22:06Pho. Pho. Pho.
22:08Pho. No.
22:10Michael grapples with Vietnamese.
22:12Crunchy. Runchy. Runchy.
22:14Yeah, very runchy. Runchy, raunchy.
22:16This is the new hot dog.
22:18Vietnamese style.
22:20Steaks melt in your mouth food
22:22to the next level.
22:24Yeah, look at that. It just looks
22:26great. It's beautiful.
22:28It's full of flavour. It's
22:30fantastic. That's next time
22:32on the food truck.