9 September 2009 - Aaron Craze comes to town...

So... Mr Aaron Craze, Fifteeen graduate and ex owner of The Cock Inn came down to the van to see what's going on. He was filming for his new show that comes out on UKTV Living called Rudeboy Food and was looking for some tips from the original rudeboys (and rudegirl) on how to make burritos for his poker buddies.


He did us a wicked velociraptor impression!


And then they got some AWESOME shots of the back of John's head and his neck.


Luardo's arch enemy, El Mathematico turned up and tried to steal the show with a sexy pole dance.


But, luckily, Aaron was more interested in listening to John talk about his views on the perfect burrito. A pretty serious topic..

Loyalty Cards - Skull Duggery

You can get one of these!! All you need do is ask. Then just keep buying burritos until your card is full of skulls and we'll give you a free burrito. It's sooo easy!

Jesus likes Jesus - Christmas 2008

So, a friend of mine, called Jesus, took some pictures of the van with his expensive camera and sweet photography skills. I love them. You can make them bigger by clicking on them. Thanks Jesus!

Luardos Mexico Trip - January 2009

So... 2 years on and , via some serious engine trouble, some angry farmyard incidents and some bleak trading times, Luardos has somehow found itself with a Monday-Friday pitch at Whitecross Street Market and a with a wonderful bunch of regular customers.

And I guess then it was time to go to the motherland and see how its really done!

Here's a few highlights:



Knocking up some tacos. These guys had skills... his hands didnt stop moving - flippin and filling tacos whilst moving that pile of meat and onions around (all with his hands). She was busy plating up and taking orders and cash off the customerinos.



Sweet lord they were good! This was in Oaxaca and those things in the middle were fried spring onions, cooked slowly until they were sweet and juicy. You can rip 'em up and add them to the tacos, along with a big squeeze of lime. I ate them at a little table they had by the stand.



It's pretty mad out there... like, noone has tumble dryers cos they dont really need them cos it's so hot and your colourful pants dry really quick in the sun, if you hang them up. In the street. Like these guys did!



Me and Legoton enjoyed a few Margaritas..



... and ate a few chaupalinas (fried grasshoppers!) ...


The ONLY burrito I came across in Mexico was in Maccy D's! I didnt have time to try it. Good. I looked rank!



Finally... awesome grilled meat stand in the undercover food market in Oaxaca (I spent a lot of time there). You pick your raw meat and they grill it for you on open flames. It comes served with guacamole, pico salsa, cactus leaves, fresh lime and a pile of tortillas. A. Mazing.

16 May 2007 - Live!

Ok.. Luardos is Live-O.

Had my first day trading at Brick Lane about 4 weeks ago and have since traded at Greenwich Market on Saturdays and Brick Lane on Sundays.

My first day: Sunday 22nd April.

My first day was ridiculous. I had done a few practice runs cooking for friends and family and all had gone really well. I have a chargrill in my van which is basically a gas burner below some charcoals and a grill. It's like a bar-b-q. I didn't have an extractor fan fitted.

Imagine having a bar-b-q in your kitchen.

People were outside the van looking hungry... I got my marinated chicken and steaks and slapped them on the chargrill. It started getting a bit smokey. When they were cooked I took them off, sliced them up and put them in fresh quesadillas and tacos. They were delicious and people loved them... so I cooked some more. Everytime I put some meat on the chargrill flames would leap out fuelled by the oil and spices in the marinade. My eyes were streaming and the van was filling up with smoke. I heard orders coming in but couldn't see from where. "Who said that?". Some fella ran up to the van - "I think you're on fire mate! Want me to call the fire brigade?"



It was the most stressful day of my life but incredibly rewarding in the end. Luckily I had my girlfriend Lianna there to help who was brilliant and who I would have been lost without. We realised that certain things weren't working and changed them around and in the end just about broke even. Learnt a hell of alot for the next time.

The next time was a party in a bar called Corbet Place... the "Bent and Blessed all-dayer" - It was wicked! Here are some photos:





Thank you John and Selina for the outstanding cooking and table service skills.

Since then it's been hard.. last weekend it rained constantly and trade was quiet. This weekend looks looks like it's gonna rain again. What happened to global warming?? I'm gonna start leaving the tap on when I brush my teeth and stop recycling. And wash all my pants on separate cycles. (Easy Ken.. not really).

I'm actually going to start temping to get cash to pay my rent while I work out somewhere to trade during the week. I reckon more trading days is really the only way of eliminating the gamble with the Great British weather.

On the plus side though I've got another festi booked in June called the Charlbury Riverside Festival (www.riversidefestival.charlbury.com) and a spot in the Whitecross Food Festival (www.whitecrossstreetmarket.co.uk) in the first weekend of June. Check it out, looks amazing! Plus there's another Bent and Blessed all-dayer on Sunday June 3rd. Praying for another sunny day. Waiting for confirmation on another festival called Bloom (www.bloomfestival.com) in August which looks like a winner.

Massive thanks to all my friend who have been unbelievably helpful and supportive. Special thanks to Insa for all his genius.

19 February 2007 - I'm gonna have a cuppa now.

Oh Hello,

Sorry, far too long for a blog. Check out my ESSAY!

The Festivals! -

Spent a fair portion of the last 6 weeks looking into festivals, writing to organisers and sending off applications. Was incredibly daunting to start with.. I had no idea whether any of them would be interested as the van isn't actually ready and i'm still yet to trade anywhere. The response i've had has been quality though! Have been accepted into two so far and am waiting to hear from lots of others.

I've decided to steer clear of the massive festis that charge high prices for pitches. At the moment, the first one i'm doing is a tiny one in Hampshire which has 1000 people attending and only 3 or 4 food traders. The other one is a 15,000 person 7 stage rave up in Suffolk! My back yard. Definately gonna take my white gloves, glow sticks and luminous postman's jacket and invite all my toothless 3-fingered friends and relations (of which I have many).



My dad.

Other Trading Spots -

I've spoken to a lady down at Brick Lane about the Sunday market. She seemed very positive and fingers (all 3 of 'em) crossed i'll be allowed to trade there once i'm ready. Been thinking about getting local artists/ local school kids to paint my weekly menu. I'd give them the food description, prices and a colour scheme... they do the rest. Will have to see if this can work but i reckon it can.

Midweek?? I LOVE the idea of rocking up to an "out of the city" spot like Hackney and selling office people their lunch. It'd need to be advertised right and done in a way where I sell alot in a short space of time (I think you only get 20 minutes in one place by law). The alternative is markets but they can be difficult to get into. Need to work this one out.

I've spoken to people who organise H van rally's and I'm going to do a couple this year. I'll be able to trade as well which is a bonus. There's one 11-13 May in Dorset which may well be my first gig.

The Van -

Good and bad news. I drove Jesus H Van to Chepstow to meet her maker. He's called Mark Haynes and he and his son Max convert vans. They're called Embers (www.http://www.emberscatequip.com/) and are based in Chepstow. It's a long drive and I was worried that Jesu might not make it. I shouldnt have been, she did amazingly! Made it all the way there for Mark to check her out and back to Colchester. Then back to Chepstow the following weekend to be converted once i decided to use Embers.

Driving her is a bit like being in a small aircraft but much slower. If you shout, you can just about have a conversation with the person in the passenger seat. Earplugs are essential. Lorries went past me in a blur. I overtook a broken down vehicle and one that had crashed, that was it. Lots of people smiled and waved. Some swore at me. I got egged in Reading by children and screamed at in Marlow by drunk girls. None of this is the bad news (I consider most of it very good!).



The bad news is that my van poisons me with carbon monoxide. The exhaust pipe runs underneath the body and the fumes get sucked up in air currents and enter my cab through the side window. I had the side window open the whole way.. cos i could smell fumes ;o) I didnt die or anything but it screwed me up for a couple of days after the second drive. Memory was shot to bits and I felt delerious and paranoid. Wierd. Luckily it'll be fixed in Chepstow and should be fine after that.

The good news is basically everything else. I went to see the van this weekend just gone and she's looking sweet. Mark and his son seem to take great pride in their work and they've made good progress on the conversion. Should be ready by the end of Feb.

The Food -

This is the area I am most excited by and currently my biggest concern by far. I've got a festival menu planned and in theory I can produce outstanding food at a fast rate. This has only been vaguely tested in practice though. Until I get the van I wont be able to know for sure. The worst thing that can happen though is that the menu changes slightly - no big deal.

By far and away the most crucial thing with food is that it is safe to eat. Giving someone food poisoning is the worst thing that can happen to a caterer so I've been giving this alot of attention. I've produced a hazard analysis for catering at festivals and am going to use a pack called Safer Food, Better Business (SFBB) which the Food Standards Agency have kindly sent me. Noone's gonna end up like Kenny



Everything seems to be going well. As it becomes more real I get more nervous and excited. I've had doubts about certain things but the doubts have all just turned into questions that need to be answered. Still a long old way to go.

15 January 2007 - What have I done?!?!?

That's not a cry of anguish... i just cant remember what I've been doing for the last few weeks.

Let me think.

Jesus is running!! She sounds pretty good and seems in good order though I admit to knowing very little about old French vehicles - maybe she'll blow up tomorrow! The guy who fixed her has been quality.. fixing her up pretty cheap, giving advice on painting and generally being a good bloke.

So I tried to insure her the other day... you need to do that before you register a foreign vehicle in the UK. I've never had my own policy and have a massive ugly blemish on my driving licence (young and foolish). First quote i got was for £2600 quid! No sympathy. Next one told me £1200. Nice. Shopped around a little more and am now insured fully comp for £800. Happy.

All sorts of other stuff happening but I've talked it through with so many people and thought stuff over in my own head that it slightly hurts my brain now to think about it.

I've decided on a name!

"Luardos"

My cousin called me the other night, slightly drunk, telling me that I HAD to call it "Dirty Sanchez".

This was him...

"Imagine.. you're with your mates, you see this van, you go over, get a fat steak burrito, eat it, go back to your mates - "I just got a dirty sanchez!". And they're all like "Wooah, I want one".

God I would love to call it Dirty Sanchez. Make the meatiest tortilla wraps you ever saw and hand out free scratch and sniff tashes. I cant though. Am too scared.

It's been alot of fun so far and am still nowhere near being set up and running. Hard work as well - I've been working a 50 hour a week removals job and working on Luardos in the evenings and at weekends. Friends have been brilliant! Just hope that the end result is worth all the effort.