FLAVOURS
Family Influence Translates to
Bold and Tasty Dishes in Restaurant and Food Truck By TONYA WARREN | Photos courtesy of BROOKE MAY a Luncheonette and Hecho en Queso owner, Brooke May, remembers her grandma as being very territorial of her kitchen, always shooing family out as she tended her daily cooking duties. Brooke was a young teenager when her grandma granted her permission to finally help with the cutting, chopping and mixing that goes into memorable mealtimes. What Brooke really wanted to know was how to make her grandmas’ fluffy, melt-in-your mouth handmade tortillas. Thing is, Brooke’s abuela (Spanish for grandmother), didn’t have a formal, written recipe. She would add a little of this, a pinch of that and finally, the family ended up with a stack of warm, heaven-on-earth homemade tortillas, that were inspired by the heart. May tried to recreate the flavorful tortillas at home and never seemed to get the taste just right, so she would pepper her grandma with questions. “How much flour do you use?” May would ask. “I don’t know Brooke Amber. You just feel it.” Her unintended evasiveness to May’s cooking curiosity would serve May and a lot of future hungry customers very well. When one thinks of chicken pot pie, it’s easy to think of those little round frozen discs, encased in the little square box at the back of the freezer. A cooking memory for May, as a young adult, came when she took a basic pot pie recipe and flew with it, creating chicken pot pie soup for her uncle and his buddies. They devoured the whole kettle of soup down to the last drop. Anuar Ayecho, May’s husband, knew her knack for experimenting with flavors and creating and serving robust meals. He had an inventive idea of his own: they should open a food truck. Laughing, May admits she didn’t have a clue
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about how to run a food truck, but she credits hard work and refusing to fail as a recipe for success. Small Business Saturday was their first showing, and the weather was anything but cooperative. In freezing cold rain, she cooked, while her husband and friend served pork and chicken tacos, quesadillas, veggie soup and ham/bacon/poblano soup. They sold out, and May described that time as such a “rewarding feeling.” Recently, Hecho en Queso, or what May refers to as the “HeQ,” served 350 tacos to hungry college students at the UMHB Spring Formal. May and her team are ready to assist customers in making their day truly memorable when they have the Hecho en Queso truck cater special events such as wedding receptions, graduations, bridal and baby showers, and reunions. Catering done by May in the truck is prepared on-site to ensure a fresh and authentic taste. In 2019, May was scouring the internet for a new recipe, when she came across a General Mills recipe contest. Curiosity sent her to the kitchen, where she cooked up a winner. Her recipe for black bean and corn biscuit empanadas with jalapeno yogurt sauce won her $5,000 and an extra $1,000 went to a nonprofit of her choice. She selected Foster Love of Bell County to receive the award. If you are tired of your own cooking after 15 months of pandemic living, and you aren’t lucky enough to score an invite to a HeQ catered event, stop by May’s brick-and-mortar restaurant, La Luncheonette. You won’t find the typical puff or flake cold cereal swimming in milk at La Luncheonette. Healthy bowl options include the Fresca, Breakfast and Granola and Fruit bowls. A breakfast taco can be nicely paired with vaquero Continued
