For Brooke May, cooking is truly a family affair. May and her husband opened Hecho en Queso food truck in Salado, Texas, on Small Business Saturday four years ago, and the duo just launched their first brick-and-mortar spot, La Luncheonette Craft Food. But the inspiration sparked long before that.
“As a child, I would watch my grandma make fresh tortillas every morning. I always helped her as much as I could (as she would let me) in the kitchen. When I was a teenager, my dad and I used to play ‘cooking show’ by cooking in the kitchen and talking to the window over the sink, our audience, as we prepared dinner,” she says. “Once I went out on my own, I really wanted to cook. I talked to my grandma one day and for the hundredth time asked for her tortilla recipe. She finally looked at me and said, ‘Brooke Amber, you just have to feel it!’ And that was it.”
Today, May’s oldest son, Drew, is her inspiration: “He LOVES empanadas and biscuits. He calls Pillsbury biscuits ‘big boy biscuits,’ and we always have a can in the fridge. Every time we go to a family member’s house for a holiday or just to stop in, there’s a can of biscuits ready for me to make snacks, breakfast or something to hold everyone over until dinner is ready.”
The winning Black Bean and Corn Biscuit Empanadas with Jalapeno Yogurt Sauce consist of Pillsbury™ Southern Style Frozen Dough Biscuits and a veggie filling loaded with fresh flavors in a flaky, fold-over format. Served with a tangy sauce made using Yoplait® Nonfat Plain Yogurt that packs an additional jalapeño punch, the mixture infuses one of the food truck’s most popular tamale recipes (naturally, inspired by a salsa that May’s mother adores).
Other fresh-made food truck favorites include the best-selling beer-braised brisket, whether in taco, street corn nacho or quesadilla form. Popular sauces and salsas are regularly requested by the jar. And tamale season always brings in crowds and fans; Hecho en Queso will begin producing them year-round with seasonal ingredients. May notes, “the food truck is known as Mexican fusion…worldly inspiration to give people something they know but with a no limit-twist.”
A busy mom, business owner and constant social media poster, May is a fan of General Mills’ products at work and at home; her fridge and freezer are always stocked with Pillsbury puff pastry, biscuits and crescent dough and she enjoys Yoplait yogurt, cake mix, flour, Motts fruit snacks and granola bars for her kids. She adds, “One night I couldn’t sleep and went to check out the Pillsbury website for new inspiration because family was coming into town and I wanted to try something new that could possibly work at the restaurant.” That’s when she learned about the Neighborhood to Nation contest “and here we are! #thankfulforasleeplessnight,” May adds.
A board member for Keep Salado Beautiful and the Sirena Festival and Parade, May is currently fundraising for a public all-abilities playground. She loves posting flyers about local events and donates meals for organizations in need. She even has a Christmas tree in the restaurant (in July!) to help raise funds for Foster Love Bell County which helps meet the needs of local foster children and those who support them.
“I am very involved in the community and often donate or discount for the schools, charities, fundraisers and other local events,” May says. “My involvement has been a huge asset as people get to see and sample our food and know that our hearts are in the right place to give back when we can and know that we are all in it together.”
As a Regional Recipe Winner in the Neighborhood to Nation contest, May will receive $5,000 as well as $1,000 to share with a local nonprofit. She has chosen Foster Love Bell County.
Notes Address: Salado, Texas Website: Facebook.com/hechoenqueso Facebook: @HechoenQueso