The Easy Vegan Wins The Great Food Truck Race

The Easy Vegan has won the sixteenth season of the Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race, which aired its finale on July 30. The grand prize of $50,000 was awarded to the Denver-based team, which comprises Easy Vegan co-founders Alexi Mandolini and Taylor Herbert, and Local Jones executive sous chef Matt Heikkila.

Filmed in Los Angeles, the eight-episode season, titled “David vs. Goliath,” differed from previous seasons in that four teams of experienced food truck professionals were pitted against five rookie teams that had never owned or operated a food truck. The Easy Vegan fell in the latter category, as did Khana, the other team that made it to the finale; its Pakistani-inspired street food pop-up is based in Detroit.

In episode six, Khana head chef Maryam Khan stated, “I would say that at this point, our biggest competition is the Easy Vegan. We keep coming neck-and-neck with them. They keep bagging challenges, and L.A. loves plant-based food.”

Some would argue that the Easy Vegan had the upper hand in episode six, which centered around family food — recipes passed down from generation to generation — with the caveat that they had to be plant-based. The challenge was inspired by Señoreata founder Evanice Holz, who re-envisioned her family’s Cuban dishes and was a guest judge for the episode. Her L.A.-based vegan pop-up won the second-most-recent season of The Great Food Truck Race.
Other episodes posed greater challenges for the Easy Vegan, like the second challenge, which took place at a little league ballpark. “We did not think we stood a chance against the other teams in a ballpark food challenge — you know, hot dogs, hamburgers, kids. But we immediately dropped the negative thinking,” Herbert told VegNews. “It was a great opportunity to remind viewers that things like French fries and deep fried Oreos are vegan.”

“I think at every level, every stage of this challenge, no matter what we were up against, we stepped up to it and we knocked it out of the park,” says Herbert in the championship episode. The finale kicked off with host Tyler Florence announcing the first challenge. He stated, “To succeed as a food truck, you have to know your competition. As the two of you try to take customers away from each other today, I also want you to take one more thing: Each of you is going to take one dish away from the other team’s menu and add it to yours.”

The Easy Vegan created a firecracker maitake mushroom sandwich, basing the recipe on Khana’s best seller, its butter chicken sandoori. The Easy Vegan menu also featured its signature pierogi plate, a tempura-fried vegetable basket, and its strawberry and red bell pepper lemonade.

When Florence introduced the second challenge, specific to cooking techniques, Mandolini selected caramelizing and tempura from the list of options. Introducing the dish in the final episode, she said, “We have decided to make a ‘not your average’ peas and carrots dumpling. It has a tom kha broth, caramelized carrot oil, as well as some tempura-fried shiso leaf. This is going to show off our culinary talent.”

In the all-in challenge, the Easy Vegan made what Herbert called its “secret menu item": pink tacos. “Our pink tacos are made from beetroot powder [and] some masa. They’re a beautiful pink color, filled with our carrot and walnut meat, some maitake mushrooms, lime crema, cilantro and pickled red onions,” explained Mandolini.

Though Khana won the first two challenges, pink tacos were a big win for the Easy Vegan, adding $200 to its cash till — which ultimately determined the grand champion of The Great Food Truck Race. In the end, Khana earned $4,058 after selling seventy units from its menu, while the Easy Vegan amassed $6,684 across 104 sold units.

“You are the second vegan team to win The Great Food Truck Race, and you have put vegan food on the map in such an incredible way,” Florence said to the Easy Vegan team in the finale.

“I’m just seeing so many doors opening for ourselves and our small business,” commented Mandolini.

The Easy Vegan plans to use its $50,000 in prize money to help open a brick-and-mortar in Denver. Herbert says, “We can't wait to share more about the concept that we plan on opening, which will be different from the Easy Vegan, but the Easy Vegan will continue on.”

Until its restaurant opening, the Easy Vegan’s pop-up tent will be posted up at the City Park Farmers Market on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the South Pearl Street Farmers Market on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Other scheduled events are listed on its Instagram, @theeasyvegandenver.