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The Best New Jersey Food Trucks: Mama Dude’s

New Jersey is a leader in producing many fruits and vegetables, thanks to nearly ten thousand in-state farms. Now, one Mercer County food truck in particular is on a mission to boost local farmers; one of The Best New Jersey Food Trucks, Mama Dude’s bases most of their menu on local NJ produce.

In 2016, shortly after graduating from college, Hamilton Township-native Andrew Dudich bought his first food truck. The name, Mama Dude’s, pays homage to his late mother, a talented chef and Andrew’s culinary inspiration. As for the food, the truck offers a build-your-own style menu of bases, proteins, toppings, and sauces. But rather than attending food festivals, you’ll most often find the truck at farmers’ markets or providing catering.


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Mama Dude’s uses produce solely from NJ farmers, and the menu changes with the seasons. In addition to two trucks, Andrew also has a brick-and-mortar location near the Yardville section of Hamilton Township. To learn more about his culinary journey as a young business owner, Best of NJ spoke with Andrew.


Best of NJ Interview: Mama Dude’s


Best of NJ: What did you do before Mama Dude’s?

Andrew Dudich: I was in college. When I graduated from Johnson & Wales (University), I came home and started a popup dinner company called The Spring Chicken. We did six-course tasting menus in different areas of New Jersey; firehouses, Elks—anywhere that would really let us set up a kitchen. That was all farm-to-table and organically grew into me finding the first food truck.

BONJ: Speaking of, where did you get the idea to start a food truck?

Andrew: I was driving home from a buddy’s house and saw that a food truck was for sale in some guy’s driveway, and thought that would be a good way to spend five years. I bought the first one and used that for two years, and then we got another truck. The first two years was a lot of hit-or-miss; a lot of festivals, wineries, and we learned that wasn’t our forte. So from there we got more into catering.

On the food truck we also do two farmers’ markets, one in Bordentown and one in West Windsor. We’ve been at West Windsor market for three years, and then this is our second year at Bordentown. We have a seasonal menu of just four items, and always have an item from one of the market’s vendors. All dates, times, and locations are on our website.

BONJ: Tell us about your culinary experience.

Andrew: In high school I went to Mercer County Vo Tech’s culinary program. After that, I did my bachelor’s degree at Johnson & Wales. While there, I worked in the Boston and New England area. Then when my mom passed, I came home to spend time with the family. But there wasn’t a lot of fine dining in the area, which is where that popup dinner idea came from.

BONJ: Where did you get the name Mama Dude’s?

Andrew: My last name is Dudich. My mom passed in 2015, when I was a senior at Johnson & Wales. Before she passed, the plan was to go work in fine dining in Boston or New York; that’s what I wanted to do and what my whole degree was focused on. Then when she passed, my brother was a freshman in high school; so I came back and hung around a little bit. And then that led into buying the food truck.

BONJ: Did you ever want to open your own restaurant?

Andrew: No, the plan was to work for someone who knew a lot more than I did at the time. I know how to cook; but what you see out of those chefs are the foams and the powders and the molecular gastronomy. All the cool stuff you see on the Food Network and Chopped. That’s probably where I would’ve ended up. I had plans of going to England and cooking there and traveling. The plans changed a lot, but everything happens for a reason.

Menu on Wall

BONJ: How does your truck menu differ from your restaurant’s menu?

Andrew: I’ll reach out to four, five farms we’re close with; ask them what they’re using, what they have too much of, and that’s how we’ll make our menus. What’s in season goes on the menu. For example, I texted my farmer the other day and asked him what he had. He said, “I got a ton of beets,” so we’ll probably be putting beets on the menu. He has a ton of parsnips, so those are going to go on. We make everything in house, from sauces to toppings. That’s why we don’t put “house made” on anything, because it’s all house made.

BONJ: Do any of your popular items ever come back to the menu?

Andrew: If it’s in season, yeah [laughs]. A good example is in the winter we have burnt carrots. It’s not like we’re doing anything crazy back here. It’s honest cooking, clean. Those’ll be back, because carrots will be back in season. Stuff like that, if it’s a fan-favorite, it’ll absolutely come back. But I like to change things up and get creative if I can.

BONJ: What is it like now owning a business in the town you grew up in?

Andrew: That’s a good question [laughs]. It definitely helped in the beginning. We signed the lease for the location two days before the shutdown last year; and then we opened this past December 2020, which, if you remember, was like mid-pandemic. We had a lot of support from friends and family. As much as I’d like to think the food’s exceptional, I think every restaurant needs that boost right off the bat to get through. We’re doing fine now, and I see less of the family and friends, which is just what you want.


Click here to see more of The Best New Jersey Food Trucks.


Top (Hero) Photo: © Mama Dude’s / Javier Aguiar
Story Photos: Patrick Lombardi / Best of NJ

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