Air traffic controller turned chef and hopeful entrepreneur Joe Carlson is banking on crowdsourcing to fund his high end food truck business called Farm.Fish.Fork.

After spending nine years in the military, he invested his GI Bill into his passion for the culinary arts.  Mr. Carlson attended the Art Institute in San Diego and worked at some great North County restaurants such as Solace & the Moonlight Lounge.  Just over 20 days ago, that the chef launched a Kickstarter campaign to take his culinary dream a step outside the kitchen to a mobile restaurant.  His vision is for an “everything from scratch” high end food truck that uses local and organic suppliers.  The menu includes seasonal dishes and items such as duck confit, butterscotch pot de creme, and freshly baked bread.

Fine dining and eating organic foods was not part of his childhood growing up in the Midwest.  Joe Carlson only knew about frozen microwave meals and Chili’s was the fanciest restaurant for family outings.  It wasn’t until he moved out to California in 2005 that he realized that food was not just for nourishment but an art to be loved and savored.  He met his wife in 2008 and tried sushi for the first time.  They enjoyed fancy dinners together in trips to Vegas, Napa, Boston, and Hawaii.  His sister even bought the couple a gift certificate to French Laundry as a wedding present.  It was the final push that Mr. Carlson needed to venture out on his own.

On Sunday August 18^th, the chef is hosting a tasting menu at Kellogg Park in La Jolla at noon as an incentive to some of his Kickstarter contributors.  He is also participating in a charity event for the Mauli Ola foundation serving yellowtail tartare and ceviche with a KUSI spotlight already lined up.  His goal is to have a soft opening by December and a grand opening for Farm.Fish.Fork in the coming year.  With lots of heart and long hours of hard work, this chef from the Midwest hopes to make his food truck dream come true here in San Diego.