José David Luzardo from Arrecife always wanted to have his own hospitality business, but the necessary investment was very large until he was presented with the opportunity to acquire a food truck, a truck to cook at events all over the island.
Since the last Carnivals, his ‘Brasas y Humo’ truck has been present at numerous events throughout the island where he serves smash burgers and gourmet hot dogs made with Canarian products. In an interview with the radio program Más de Uno Gourmet, he tells his story and his future plans.
- Tell us about yourself, who is José David Luzardo?
I am from Lanzarote, from Arrecife and I have worked in hospitality since I was little. I had always wanted to have a business or restaurant, but it involved a lot of investment... until I was presented with the opportunity to buy a food truck.
- You had experience in service in hospitality, but... what about cooking?
I had never worked in a kitchen and I have discovered that serving and cooking in front of people is very rewarding, feeling the satisfaction of the customers.
- What food can we find at Brasas y Humo?
We saw that the smash burgers thing was very fashionable, so we went for it, but with Canarian products, we have them made of black pig and goat.
We also make hot dogs with black pig sausages and cheese inside. We add a green mojo mayonnaise, goat cheese from La Villa and a pickled red onion also from the island.
- Tell me about the pickles you work with...
We make cucumber pickles for the burgers and red onion for the hot dogs. We also make some smoked and caramelized onions for the burger. We also include burrata from La Palma, which gives it a fresh flavor.
- Do you remember the first day with Brasas y Humo?
It was at the carnivals this year, the first day I was shaking. (Laughs). The first few days we didn't sell anything until word got around and people started coming and coming...
- In what other places on the island have you worked?
We have been at a Tacoror event in Puerto del Carmen, at the Billy Capers fair, now we are also every Sunday at the Teguise market in the local product area, and at Arrecife en Vivo, where we have Creole chorizo tacos with vegetable escalivada and smoked mayonnaise.
- And what are your future plans?
We have bought another larger food truck to see if we can place it in a fixed location because many people have asked us if we have a place to go to eat every day.