Amber Sturtz grew up in Austin, Texas, USA, eating tacos for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In 2005, she came to New Zealand and in 2013, retrained as a chef after working 12 years in the travel industry.
“Travel and food go so well together - I would travel to a new country and research what the local dishes were and where I could try them, go to the local market to discover new fruits and vegetables, and regularly ask how things were made when I found a dish I really loved! Talking about food is a conversation you can have, even if you don't share the same language; and I was always really drawn to making those connections with people.”
Sturtz was back in Austin visiting family in 2016, when her dream of starting a taco truck in Wellington became more than an idea.
“One morning, we were nomming down on some breakfast tacos, and he said 'Why isn't there anything like this in Wellington?' and I thought, 'Maybe...'”
Now owner and Chief Taco Maker of Taco Addicts, Sturtz began with delivering ready to eat tacos to office workers during lunchtimes, and attending local markets and fairs. In 2019, the team ran a PledgeMe campaign to raise funds to build their taco caravan, Prince. Since then, Taco Addicts has been popping up across Wellington at breweries, weddings, street festivals, birthday parties and community events like Newtown Festival, Cuba Dupa and Out in the Park.
Currently, Sturtz doesn’t have a regular trading spot. Without a generator, due to their environmental sustainability value, the food truck requires power access.
“It's very hard to find a spot in Wellington that doesn't compete too much with local restaurants.”
Being mostly events based, Taco Addicts has been faced with many challenges in the past two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The last couple of years have seen events come and go faster than a Wellingtonian downing a Hazy IPA.”
The uncertainty, and stress of constantly pivoting under government restrictions led to a level of burnout Sturtz had never before experienced. However, the time did prompt her to look at how Taco Addicts can be a sustainable business moving forward.
Sturtz set out to create products for supermarket shelves, and build an online presence amongst regular and devoted taco addicts. The business now has five products stocked in local supermarkets such as Moore Wilsons and Commonsense Organics.
Everything at the Taco Addicts food truck is handmade - from the tortillas to the salsas; the spice mix on the chorizno to the shredded brisket to the Vegan Taco Sauce. Sturtz’s creations are inspired by the tacos she ate growing up and the biggest influence to the Taco Addicts menu has been the availability of ingredients. In the USA, the market is vast and almost anything is available anytime. Raw ingredients, sauces and chillis are imported from Mexico, right next door. In New Zealand, Sturtz found a real limit to what could be accessed. The menu of the food truck is changed regularly, to rotate with the seasons and availability of ingredients. Only one taco remains on the menu all year round.
Being close to Mexico, Texas’ influence comes through in Taco Addicts’ offerings. Tacos in Austin are often served on a flour tortilla, and Sturtz’s flour and wholemeal tortillas are made in New Zealand with Canterbury grown wheat. Their Austin style, Tex-Mex tacos place an emphasis on fresh, seasonal and local ingredients. The menu also always offers at least two plant-based options, as Sturtz was raised mostly vegetarian.
“We really love catering to the veggie/vegan crowd because anyone can eat a plant-based taco, but not everyone can eat a beef taco.”
The team also tries to be environmentally aware and sustainable whenever possible. They do this by using Ecoware plates, trays and napkins. If at an event that doesn’t offer zero-waste sorting, Taco Addicts offer their own receptacle for those items, so that they can ensure they end up in a compost facility, rather than in landfill.
Sturtz hopes that as people return to their offices, Prince the Taco Addicts food truck will make its return to Wellington Waterfront Taco Tuesday days. She hopes to get Taco Addicts products into stockists beyond Wellington.
“It would be awesome to see our tortillas on restaurant menus, and our salsas in more homes.”
“I'm really appreciative of the support that Wellingtonians give to small businesses. People are so happy to find locally made products, and it's a pleasure to be a part of this community!”
www.tacoaddicts.co.nz
