STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
With three to four feet of snow on the ground, there wasn’t much sticking up in the way of fresh greens to be seen in downtown Hailey.
Until Sloan Storey pulled her new food truck into the parking lot of Sturtevants in Hailey, that is.
She opened the window of the truck as her longtime Nordic team colleague Jackson Long fired up the stove inside. And minutes later she was handing Jackfruit Tacos made with mushrooms, jackfruit, pickled red onions, cilantro and jalapeno aioli out the window to hungry customers who had come out for her Wylde Beet’s grand opening.
Storey hopes her vegan food truck is the beginning of bringing “plant-based homemade goodness” to her home town of Hailey.
“People don’t realize how much creative plant-based food is out there and how affordable it can be,” she said. “I’m trying to make it approachable for all.”
The Wylde Beet, as she’s named her food truck, will set up shop outside Sturtevants from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Storey also plans to set up shop at Rotarun Ski Area’s Free Ski Night on Wednesdays, at the Boulder Mountain Tour and at other local events.
This week she served up Eggy Sando, with sauteed pepper, mushroom onion and siracha aioli and a Sweet Potato Lentil Curry served with rice and cilantro, in addition to the Jackfruit Tacos.
In the coming weeks she plans to rotate in such dishes as barbecue and macaroni and cheese, wild rice and mushroom soup, tofu scramble, a Wylde Beet Burger and even biscuits and gravy made with mushrooms and vegetable broth.
All topped off with Lex Carey’s chocolate espresso vegan cookies and date balls.
“Lex is a phenomenal baker,” Storey said.
Storey grew up in a mostly vegetarian family, thanks to her mother who fed the family Indian curries, lentils and risotto.
The plant-based diet served her well. A product of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, she went on to become a five-time All-American Nordic ski racer at the University of Utah and race in international competition for the United States.
She stoked her passion for food at the University of Utah by getting a major in Health Education and Community Development with a minor in Nutrition. And, after working at a handful of organic farms, she ran the summer food program for The Hunger Coalition for four years, preparing and handing out between 50 and 100 lunches a day from the Bloom Food Truck.
“I’ve always been passionate about cooking, about food and how it makes you feel. The foods I eat make me feel so much better, they give me so much energy. And I’m such a big animal lover and environmentalist. I feel strongly about sustainability and our connection to the land and to animals,” she said.
Last fall Storey took the plunge and bought a food truck. She named it Wylde Beet, in part after her nephew Wilder.
“It’s the idea of taking care of the planet for him and future generations,” she said. “Also this is pretty different for this town, so it’s a different beat. And the beet itself is a super beautiful vegetable that’s super high in nutrition.”
Elizabeth Jeffrey and her sister Buncy showed up at the opening in support of Sloan, whom they had volunteered with at The Hunger Coalition.
"I mostly eat vegetarian but am trying to go a little more vegan," said Buncy of veganism, which abstains from animal products.
“We need something like this,” said Mary Sauerbrey, as she joined the opening day crowd. “The food is so good. My husband is a carnitas lover, but he tried the Jackfruit Tacos, and he loved them.”