By EMMIE BOESE
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Denice Gilliland and her husband Rusty Burbank will soon have a new food truck in town called The Rusted Bucket. This truck is unique.
"One of our main goals with The Rusted Bucket will be to provide allergy-friendly choices with the chance of minimal cross-contamination," Gilliland said.
Cross-contamination is when a food allergen is mixed in with a food that doesn't contain that allergen. For example, making a gluten-free sandwich with a knife that has touched bread that contains gluten.
"Cross-contamination is one of the main things that lots of people around here struggle with," Gilliland said. "Just because there's, in general, sort of a lack-of-knowledge on how cross-contamination works."
Gilliland said some measures that The Rusted Bucket will take to prevent cross-contamination include using disposable pans, using a dedicated gluten-free oven and fryer and using pre-packaged gluten-free buns.
"When someone does tell us that they need something that is gluten or dairy free, there will be a process done in the truck where gloves will be changed, surfaces will be wiped down to minimize cross-contamination and that environment as well," Gilliland said.
The inspiration for The Rusted Bucket came from Gilliland and her husband's love of cooking and their daughter who is allergic to eight of the top allergens. Common food allergies include eggs, gluten, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, soy and shellfish.
The menu will be dedicated to serving pulled pork. Other items include loaded baked potatoes, pulled pork nachos, funnel cakes, fried oreos and daily specials. Three main dessert items on the menu that will be available at different times include spice cake, coffee cake and cinnamon rolls.
"For the baked potato, just be substituting dairy-free sour cream and then with the pulled pork nachos, we can take off the cheese and add dairy-free sour cream," Gilliland said.
The rubs for the pork will be gluten and dairy free and all desserts and fried items will be gluten, dairy and egg free.
Gilliland said the hope is to eventually offer more menu items in the future but The Rusted Bucket food truck is relatively small.
"It'll be somewhat of a limited menu but it will be a safe menu," Gilliland said.
Gilliland said she and her husband need to wrap up some final details. They hope for the truck to be open in June.
For more information and updates on where the truck will be located, go to The Rusted Bucket Facebook page.