Hodge Podge Says Goodbye — The Great Food Truck Race

By: Sarah De Heer
hodge podge truck

Jacquelyn Romanin, Chris Hodgson, and Catie Hodgson as seen on Food Network?s The Great Food Truck Race Season 2.

Photo by: Eric Haase ©2011, Television Food Network, G.P.

Eric Haase, 2011, Television Food Network, G.P.

The second season of The Great Food Truck Race hit the road with eight new food trucks and a grand prize of $100,000. Every Sunday, we saw each truck pull out all the tricks to stay in the game. But, ultimately, one truck said goodbye each week. Sunday night, it was down to the final two: The Lime Truck and Hodge Podge.

Both battled multiple Speed Bumps, but it was the Truck Stop that changed this competition for good for team Hodge Podge.

FN Dish: First of all, congratulations on making it to the finale. What was your ultimate strategy for getting there?

Chris: First of all, it was important that we work together as a team. We also found it rewarding to team up with

friends and restaurateurs around the country -- it allowed us to stay connected and find supplies faster. It seemed like we were able to find someone in the Certified Angus Beef family all across America.

FN Dish: Do you think the fact that the Lime Truck cooks up beach cuisine for a living gave them an advantage in Miami?

Chris: No, not really. We can cook or adapt to any situation that we have to. I don't find it difficult to make a ceviche.

FN Dish: You killed the first Speed Bump, recovering your truck in just two short hours, but lost the Truck Stop, which gave Lime a huge advantage. Was that your ultimate downfall?

Chris: Losing the Truck Stop was our downfall, no doubt about it.

FN Dish: It's obvious that Lime can't pull in customers as well as the girls can. You also have a great system of taking orders curb side and producing food fast -- is that your marketing strategy back home?

Chris: We have a lot of great people here on staff, a lot of great cooks and a lot of great order takers. We train the staff to remember people's names and what they like -- it makes it more personal. Cleveland is a small town and everyone seems to know each other; we can also our family. In fact, you can find my sister, Catie, on the truck every day.

FN Dish: My heart was racing at the end, so I can't imagine what you guys were feeling. Talk to me about those last moments, running up on the beach and seeing Lime. Did you see the truck first or the team?

Chris: We saw Lime first. It was disappointing. We knew we had reached the $15,000 mark, but we just weren't as fast.

FN Dish: What will you take away from this competition? I'm sure the dynamic of the teams relationships has changed.

Chris: I definitely put more faith in the girls. For the first couple of episodes, it was a one man show. Towards mid-season, the girls really stepped up. From now on, I'm going to put more faith in the people that are there to support me.

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