A day in the life of a food-truck owner: ‘Influencers, bleh. I’m too old for that shit’

At 9:15 on a Friday morning, Jacques in ’t Veld is unloading his food truck in Haarlem’s Kenaupark. The ProefPark Haarlem food festival will not open until 4 p.m., but organizers required trucks to arrive by 9:30.

In ’t Veld, 51, left Rotterdam shortly after 7 a.m. His colorful Hungry Jack truck serves American street food, including smash burgers and hot dogs. He originally trained as a butcher, but grew tired of customers asking for “a hundred grams of minced meat” and began working as a barbecue caterer.

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Every company that respects itself wants a food truck these days.

For a decade, he demonstrated Weber barbecues and led workshops. Seventeen years ago, he bought his first food truck after watching another operator open a service hatch immediately while he struggled with tents, pallets and a barbecue in the rain. He now owns two trucks and travels around the Netherlands for festivals, company parties, business lunches and private events.

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At a company, you make an agreement. At a festival, you are there all day and just have to hope you make enough turnover.

Corporate work pays better, he says, because the fee is agreed in advance. At festivals, operators spend the whole day hoping sales will be strong. Inflation has also reduced festival turnover because visitors have less money to spend. Still, he says the business can be profitable: one truck provides a decent income, while two profitable trucks can generate real earnings. After costs and his own salary, he says he keeps €100,000 a year in profit.

Before the festival opens, he adds plastic plants, a red toy bus and a bearded figurine of himself to the counter. He calls the figure Jack, his avatar. Blue-lettered white tiles spell out Hungry Jack, while colorful illustrations and American street signs help the truck stand out and draw people in.

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What many food-truck operators say is: one food truck is fun. Then you have a nice income. If you operate two, and both are profitable, then you can make money.