The Campus Activities Board gave students a delicious reason to stay on campus Friday with the Food Truck Festival event. Students were given the option of four different food trucks. 

Charcoal Mafia BBQ, local to Ashland, offered students a brisket sandwich with baked beans. Junior Jenna Marsh, who tried nearly all of the food options, said that Charcoal Mafia BBQ was her favorite.

“Charcoal Mafia BBQ was my favorite because of the friendly people and great tasting food,” said Marsh. 

Another option that had students lining up was Premiere Crepes owned by Jane Tucker and her daughter Kimmie Davenport, whose distinguished career as a chef took her to the 10th season of Hell’s Kitchen. 

“Our crepes are unique because they aren’t the soft crepes most people expect,” said Tucker. “They are hard which makes it easier for holding in your hand. We also have more than just dessert crepes. We actually have a lot of savory ones. Our most unique is probably the Twisted Granny, which has chicken breast and granny apples. It is a good mix of savory and sweet.” 

For students hoping to find Premiere Crepes out and about, Tucker explained that her Facebook page “Premiere Crepes” is the best route. 

“Typically I post where we are going to be on Facebook for our daily locations, so students who want crepes can check out our Facebook page and they should be able to find us.”

Altered Eats was yet another food truck at the festival that drew in the hungry hoards of students. According to Anne Massie, one of the truck’s owners, Altered Eats prepared 300 pounds of pork for the festival. 

“That’s a lot of pork butts,” said Massie. 

Massie also explained that for her, the food truck business is first and foremost a labor of love.

The last stand to open, and the stand that had the longest line throughout the event, was The Donut Lab. As all who waited in the long line noticed, the Donut Lab had a unique method of food preparation. Owner Matt West was able to run the Donut Lab all on his own. 

“The fryer is similar to a machine I saw when I was a little kid,” said West. “The idea to make a mobile doughnut operation came to me as a eureka moment and then I set out to find a machine of my own. My machine is actually pretty close to what industrial doughnut companies use to make theirs…just a scaled-down example.”

West has had the opportunity to work some impressive events with his mini doughnut lab, and though President Carlos Campo was at the Food Truck Festival, West has had the opportunity to make doughnuts for celebrities with even more star power such as Jennifer Garner.

“She had me come to their last day of filming Draft Day in Cleveland as a treat for the production crew. I got a call from her personal assistant and actually met Jennifer, as well as getting a check with her name on it,” said West. 

That’s not the only noteworthy event West has catered.

“I even had someone inquire about having me at their grandfathers’ funeral because he ate a doughnut every morning,” said West. 

CAB Executive Board Member John Benko was very happy with the turn out at the event. 

“I was expecting a decent amount of people coming to get food and leaving,” said Benko. “But it was nice to see people coming to get food and staying to play games and actually enjoy [the event].”

Between tasting all the food the trucks had to offer, students were able to play lawn games such as life-size KerPlunk, ladder golf, can jam and lawn twister. Some students even did yogalates. CAB also worked very hard to make the area between CFA and Founders a cozy hang out.

“The lights and mason jars made the event more cozy,” said Benko. “It made it more than just an event. It was an atmosphere that made people want to stay rather than just to come get food and leave.”

According to Benko, it is likely the Food Truck festival will be a recurring event. In the future, Benko hopes to feature more food trucks that offer a wider variety of foods to students.

“I would want to get more variety in terms of organic things and to accommodate to people with dietary restrictions,” said Benko. “It would also be good to have more diverse food options such as Mexican, Asian, Thai, and maybe even Grecian if there is a food truck like that.”

If one thing was made clear at the Food Truck Festival, it is that the Ashland Eagles know how to have a good time and eat good food.