The Fritay Food Truck Specializes in Haitian Street Food

"I've been living in the U.S. since 2010. After the big earthquake in Haiti, I moved one month later," says Farah-Jane Jean Pierre, owner of Fritay Haitian Cuisine.

She and her family arrived in New York and found solace in the large Haitian and Caribbean communities scattered throughout the city. During that time, she reflected on her childhood in Haiti and how she loved helping her mom in the kitchen. Inspired by those memories, "I went to culinary school at Hudson Community College in Jersey City and got my associate's degree in culinary arts," she says. "Then I got my bachelor's degree in hospitality management."

After graduating, she worked mainly at hotels, but when she moved to Denver, "the lack of Caribbean cuisine and Haitian cuisine, it was like the passion came back," Jean Pierre recalls. "I started cooking Haitian food at home and bringing friends together, and that's when the idea of the food truck came up."

Living in Denver not only reignited her passion for Haitian cuisine, it also sparked a romance. "[Francois and I] met in 2020 through mutual friends. He played soccer, and I had some friends that played. We went to a match and we met there," Jean Pierre says of her now-husband, whom she married in 2021. "And then we started the truck together."

Before the couple made their dream a reality, Jean Pierre attended classes at the Mi Casa Resource Center to learn more about the mobile food business and develop a business plan. After honing her skills, she began sharing her food at the Denver Bazaar and other markets before officially launching the Fritay Haitian Cuisine food truck in December 2021.
"We had a small trailer at first, and then we closed in September last year because we have a ten-month-old now. While we were away, we got the truck. We needed more space to bring more dishes, to make it more fun and to go to more places," Jean Pierre says. The couple relaunched this business in March, and six months later, they are starting to find their groove. "It's a team, it's a lot of work. ... I mostly do the administration part. I do the bookings and then I cook. Francois handles everything with the truck and does inventory. It's a team effort," she explains.

"'Fritay' means fried food," Jean Pierre says. "It's the name of our street food in Haiti. Haitian cuisine is a mix. Our cuisine comes from African and French influences. It's a wide variety, and what I'm selling at the truck is only a small percentage."

One of the menu staples is griot, a popular dish in Haiti. "It's fried pork marinated in sour orange and our green seasoning blend called epis, which is the main staple of Haitian cuisine," Jean Pierre explains. "Epis is a blend of parsley, celery, green peppers, garlic and other spices. We use it in almost all of our dishes. We use it in our fried chicken and our snapper. We added fried goat to our menu last month. And then we do sides like plantains and herb fritters [marinad] as well as rice and beans."
When asked what her favorite dish is, she smiles and quickly admits it's the snapper. "Every time I go to Haiti, the first thing I tell my parents is, 'I need snapper.' I have to go to the beach and get fresh snapper. It's so fresh and so good, the seasoning and everything. ... It's amazing. And then that is what I bring here on the truck, and it's one of my best sellers as well," Jean Pierre says.

The couple is excited to bring their culture to the community with their new, larger truck. "For us, we want people to not be shy, to be open to try something different," Jean Pierre notes. "Haiti is always on the news for some negative stuff, you know, so when we bring our cuisine to an event or brewery, I want people to taste a piece of home and have another conception of Haiti like, oh, the food is actually good there."

For a taste of Fritay's Haitian cuisine, find the truck's schedule on its website. It will also be one of the contenders at the Shake + Brake Showdown on September 7, which is part of the Denver Food + Wine Festival. Tickets to the event are $70 and are available online.