Chefs from ESO Artisanal Pasta in Morristown to compete in Food Network show

MORRISTOWN — AJ Sankofa and his fiancee Kristin Gambarian have experienced a lifetime of peaks and valleys since the opening of ESO Artisanal Pasta in July 2020.

Win or lose — don't ask them for spoilers — they hope their upcoming appearance on season 15 of the Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race" will provide the kind of push their business needs to succeed.

Sankofa, a longtime Morristown resident, was forced to close his high-end fresh pasta business last year after COVID and a conflict with business partners.

A GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $20,000 and a $10,000 black-owned small-business grant from the New York Jets Foundation in February fueled their comeback last year.

But Sankofa and Gambarian, along with Sankofa's childhood friend Matt McFadden, have even higher expectations for the exposure they will receive on national TV beginning with the show's premiere.

'We're in between a peak and a valley," Sankofa said. "Come June 5, we'll be on a peak and our plan is once the show comes out is to start shipping nationwide so everyone watching can buy the product."

The show pits teams of cooks who are flown to California, given custom food trucks and dispatched on weekly challenges that include surprise ingredients as they try to attract customers in unfamiliar cities.

McFadden's mom, Mashall McFadden, minded the ESO store on Elm Street while the trio was in California from late February through April 3.

Pressed for spoilers, they politely declined.

"We're supposed to keep it about the experience, and not the outcome," Sankofa said.

The experience

Sankofa and Gambarian are highly trained in the culinary arts and currently also work as the respective executive and pastry chefs at the Cree Wine Company in Hampton. McFadden came to the food business more recently when he began cooking at Whole Foods in Morristown.

One thing they have never done before is operate a food truck. Ironically, they were discussing a food truck startup when they received a message on Instagram in late February telling them they had been selected for the show after weeks of Zoom interviews with hundreds of hopeful teams.

They did not apply and had never even seen the show. "The Great Food Truck Race" producers found them.

"Right around that time there were a lot of stories being written about us and I guess they saw them and I guess they thought we would be a good fit for the show," Gambarian said.

The experience was an eye-opener for their newest employee.

"I started in January, and by late February I'm on a plane to California," McFadden said, laughing. "It was different to say the least. I had never driven anything larger than a Honda CR-V and I had to drive this big food truck all over on California roads."

Each episode features different challenges in different towns.

Gambarian said some of the teams would dress wildly or blow horns to attract attention.  ESO was the first food truck in series history to feature pasta.

"Some were good at selling," she said. "We are good at cooking. There was a lot of burgers, sausage, Chinese food, tacos. We were the ones who were cooking restaurant-level food."

In addition to their retail sales, ESO has had success with pop-up appearances at Morristown locations including South + Pine. Sankofa says a food truck may be in their future, but not right away.

"I think at some point, but for our business, it would make sense to have a restaurant first," he said. "Our product is so labor intensive it's not practical to do it on a truck."

Claiming the $50,000 grand prize would help realize both of those dreams.

Hosted by Tyler Florence, "The Great Food Truck Race" premieres at 9 p.m. June 5 on the Food Network. Visit the ESO Artisanal Pasta website for information and updates.

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com Twitter: @wwesthoven

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: ESO Artisanal Pasta in Morristown to compete on Great Food Truck Race