Weddings on Wheels: an Interview with Komodo

A couple weeks ago I tackled one of TheKnot.com's predicted wedding trends for 2011: Man Caves. This week, I'm capitalizing on #8 on that list: Food Truck Weddings.
 

Waffles, tacos and dumplings -- oh yes! If you have a hunger for 

gourmet food trucks, embrace it wholeheartedly by requesting 

makeshift sidewalk carts during the cocktail hour or food 

trucks for the wedding after-party.
-TheKnot.com

The Groom Says actually called this trend in July of last year when we did our profile of LA's most mobile sensation, the Komodo food truck. Komodo's been named the hottest food truck in Los Angeles by nearly everybody, and rightfully so. Their gourmet fusion street food pleases both low- and high-brow clientele, giving food truck fans a range of burritos and tacos and a basket of Truffles Fries that make all those little voices disappear.

photo by MK3 Photography

And on top of it all, Komodo does weddings (as well as private parties, fine dine catering and craft services), offering a full wedding menu including appetizers, three-course dinners and "after-hour munchies." Their selection of entrees, hors d'oeuvres, soups, salads, sandwiches, sides, pastas and platters is as diverse as it is delicious.

I had an opportunity to sit down with Eric Tjahyadi, Director of Marketing and Events for Komodo, pick his brain about the Food Truck Wedding trend and bribe him for a free burrito.

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ERIC -- SO YOU AND YOUR BROTHER ERWIN (EXECUTIVE CHEF) ARE TWO OF THE CO-FOUNDERS OF KOMODO. EVER THINK YOU'D BE AN L.A. SENSATION?
Never in our wildest dreams. Erwin has always been super talented, and he knows his palette, so I knew people were going to love the food. However, we never thought it would be such a hit. We actually entered the food truck industry fairly early in the game when there weren't as many trucks out there -- with the intention of eventually opening up a restaurant -- so this was a delightful surprise.

AND NOW WE'RE WATCHING TRUCKS COMPETE ON TV.
I think food truckers are creative, resourceful and passionate hustlers, so if you mix them together, there's bound to be exciting moments. We definitely enjoyed watching The Great Food Truck Race. We were originally scheduled to be on it, but due to scheduling conflicts we had to withdraw our involvement. Looking back ... we would have had so much fun competing.

WHEN DID YOU GUYS BEGIN TO CATER AT WEDDINGS?
One of our first big events was a wedding actually. It was at a beautiful home in the Hollywood Hills with tons of stars and celebrities. It definitely catapulted our popularity within the Hollywood community.

MOVIE STARS ARE WHORES FOR BURRITOS. HOW MANY WEDDINGS ARE YOU DOING THESE DAYS?
Weddings are seasonal events. We've been noticing that we do more from late spring to early winter. During our busiest season, we do 1-2 weddings per week. Not all of our weddings are the same, either. We've been to some interesting and non-traditional events in the past, so it's been a learning experience. One wedding we did was in a beautiful home overlooking the Malibu beach. There were a ton of Indonesians in the wedding party, so it was fun serving Indonesian-inspired cuisine to real Indonesians. 

photo by Bantigue Photos

YOU MUST HAVE PEOPLE MAKING TWO, THREE - EVEN FIVE TRIPS OUT TO THE TRUCK DURING THE RECEPTION.
Sometimes we use the venue kitchen to cook, depending on the facility and the wedding party's preference.

WHAT BOOZE GOES BEST WITH KOMODO FOOD?
Great pale ale beers and chilled white wine.

SPEAKING OF THE MENU ... ANY FAVORITE ITEMS? ANY MUST-HAVES?
Grilled Thai-spiced duck with cucumber salad. And Peruvian ceviche. 

THE PERFECT KOMODO GROOM CAKE?
White vanilla frosting with dark chocolate sponge cake and layers of wild berries. 

OKAY, SITUATION TIME: A GROOM RUNS UP TO THE TRUCK MINUTES BEFORE THE WEDDING, PANICKED, LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO HIDE. CLEARLY HE NEEDS A PEP TALK. ANY WORDS OF WISDOM? OR DO YOU GIVE HIM A DOGGIE BAG AND SEND HIM RUNNING INTO THE WOODS?
We would tell him to man up and personally escort him to the altar. Life is full of twists and turns -- you can't be afraid to take risks. That's been our philosophy since we started our business, and we never regretted it.


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You can check out Komodo online at komodofood.com and follow them on twitter (@komodofood) to find out when the truck will be in the neighborhood. For booking and catering inquiries, call (310) 498-7606.

Venues with Speed Limits

In the spirit of non-traditional weddings, I thought we should take a minute to celebrate venues and vendors who have no permanent address ...

... it also gives me an excuse to talk about our new infatuation, LA food trucks. There's a special place in 2E's heart for meals on wheels.

the magic school bus

So aside from the handful of buses that were maimed in a tornado, school buses are a sweet, chic option for guest transportation. They've got more character than your traditional charter buses, and I guarantee there's a stash of Big League Chew under one of the seats toward the back. I don't know -- there's just something too-perfect about 40 relatives in formal-wear crammed into seats intended for eight-year-olds. And if you supply the milk and cookies for the ride back to civilization, you'll totally be the coolest kid on the block. 

show-off

  

Call me crazy, but I've always envisioned a wedding ceremony inside a glass display truck. Granted, 200+ guests might find the glass enclosure a bit claustrophobic, so I imagine a much smaller wedding would be more successful. If it's feeling a little "blah," then throw some art direction in there: rig a snow machine on the ceiling of the enclosure, drive through Manhattan at the height of a blistering summer, and get hitched in your own private winter wonderland.

(And if you're dreaming bigger than your budget, you can always sell some ad space to help kids read good or stuff.)

 mobile eats

For those who've spent the last X number of years on house arrest, take note: when we talk about "food trucks," we're no longer referring to those painfully plain white box trucks that you'll see parked outside construction sites and occasionally in front of high-traffic office buildings, serving hoagies wrapped in plastic and Lays potato chips.

These days, food trucks offer cuisine -- chef-created dishes in sleek trucks designed to grab your eye from the road and send you on a manhunt for the nearest parking meter. And lucky for you -- most trucks are available for private events. Your guests will thank you for having a little creativity, and those who aren't sold immediately will be pleasantly surprised when it's not sliced turkey with a single-serve packet of Heinz.

Check out my handy mobile eats link on twitter, and scope out our new favorite truck, Komodo, pictured above.

the vintage getaway

Brides, you've got to meet us grooms halfway here. It's true -- nothing will ever top the classiness of an antique, late '60s, checkered taxicab, but what says A Lifetime of Marriage like a DeLorean DMC-12, a vehicle that can literally take you into the future, or the past, where you may very well get hit on by the teenage version of your mom.

Plus, it's got gull-wing doors. They open up. That's crazy.

the even better getaway

Thanks to the film industry, we actually have vehicles like these at our disposable (and I'm not blowing smoke up your ass -- I've actually rented one before). How'd you like to drive off in a '54 Kaiser, or an original Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, or a 1957 Jaguar XK-140 Drop-Head Coupe. 

Yeah, that sound you just heard was your groom's mind exploding. 

Check out local film car rental companies (like the NYC-based FilmCars.com and Creative Film Cars) for available cars and pricing.