Meet the Teams from The Great Food Truck Race: Season 16

Tyler Florence hosts an all-new season of The Great Food Truck Race, where food truck pros compete against talented up-and-coming rookies. Let's meet the new batch of food truck teams!

Shelly Flash is the culinary captain of 2 Girls Jamaican Tacos, using tacos as a vessel for the classic Jamaican dishes she ate growing up and the melting pot cultures she came across in New York City. She met Bri Laboss at a food festival and they quickly became friends and work partners. Along with Elijah McPhie, a budding culinary arts student, this team pours their heart and soul into their unique award-winning dishes and they are ready to bring their take on Jamaican cuisine to the streets of LA.

Head chef, team leader and mom-of-two Brandi Artis is passionate about modern Creole cuisine, specializing in dishes like salmon croquettes, po’ boys and shrimp and grits. Along with her wife Brittany Artis who left her corporate job to support Brandi’s food business, they run a brick-and-mortar space and can’t wait to take the food truck world by storm. Zendrix Berndt-White runs the front-of-house and the trio are so close he sometimes feels like their third child.This team cooks from the heart and can’t wait to bring Creole flavors to the west coast.

Da Bald Guy is a family business run by James Martin with his cousins Missy Rabaino and Ali’i Pukahi. Started by James and his father as a brick-and-mortar restaurant, he eventually took over the business as it evolved into a food truck. Their award-winning dishes reflect traditional Hawaiian comfort food with a twist, including pan-fried poke, marinated kalbi ribs and blackened salmon. While these cousins may bicker sometimes, they are all in agreement that they are in this race to win.

Jose Carnot started working in restaurants in high school and worked his way up from dishwasher to head chef in Puerto Rico, where he met his fiancée Janshanic Santos. After Hurricane Maria destroyed their restaurant business, they moved to Miami to pursue their dream of serving their take on traditional Puerto Rican street food. Joined by Janshanic’s lifelong friend pastry chef Louis Del Rio Rubio, they are ready to showcase their culinary skills while paying homage to their culture.

Maryam Khan grew up eating traditional Pakistani food and she now specializes in making those dishes with a fresh modern twist, like her fried butter chicken sandoori, chili cheese fire fries and chana masala tacos. She is a fierce leader who also wants to have fun — she met teammate Al Jane on a club dance floor and they have become like family. With Maryam’s passion for food, Al’s background in the food industry and Jake Nielsen’s kitchen experience, this team may have what it takes to cross the finish line.

Lisa Thiffault was born in France and her family’s crepe recipe has been passed down for generations — that recipe is now the cornerstone of the café and food truck she opened after retiring as a Navy helicopter pilot. Her head chef Miranda Moore has not only worked in the culinary industry for over fifteen years, she is also a master at parking a food truck. Joined by young cook Ally Marlow, this team’s talents go beyond crepe making and know their food can draw big crowds on the road.

Recent college grads Matthew Minichiello and Ryan Palmer opened Paisani food truck less than a year ago, inspired by the Italian comfort food they grew up eating. Their crowd-pleasing dishes like drunken parm, arancini and caprese melanzana quickly made an impact in the Boston food truck scene. With Ryan’s childhood friend Tommy Southwick acting as a big brother to keep the guys in check, this team wants to prove to their families that they are on the path to huge success.

Terry Anthony left the corporate world in 2015 to enter the culinary world, and he has never looked back. He opened his Indianapolis restaurant not only to serve the Urban American cuisine he loves, but to provide a space for the community to come together. He met Carl Harris when they catered the Indy 500 race together and their menu of classic dishes with urban flair includes everything from burgers and wings to blackened salmon and lamb. Add in Crystal Kilgore’s energetic personality, and this team is a force to be reckoned with. They pride themselves on having something for everyone — The Block is for every block in the country!