1762 hops on board with the food truck craze

Dubai-founded gourmet deli 1762 has taken to the streets with a new food truck concept called 1762 Smoked.

Over the past eight months, the company has restored a 1966 London Routemaster double decker bus, nicknamed Monty - after John Montague, the Earl of Sandwich - to provide al fresco dining at events and for private hire.

“We feel Monty is a perfect centerpiece for catering weddings, corporate days, sporting events and private parties. It is fully equipped so we can be extremely versatile with our menu,” said Suzi Croft, who opened Dubai's first 1762 outlet five years ago with her husband and business partner Manar Al Jayouchi.

Since that launched in DIFC, the pair have unveiled two more 1762 oulets - in Jebel Ali and Media City - and have a third under construction, in JLT.

1762 Smoked features a Meadow Creek smoker to provide a charred touch to meals such as slow-cooked Asian beef ribs and truffle mash, smoky chargrilled corn with jalapeno lime butter or Jamaican jerk chicken.

Croft and Al Jayouchi are also the founders of catering company and pop-up Appetite - launched in 2005 - as well as the first permanent outlet for this brand, Appetite The Shop, which opened its doors in Dubai's Business Bay district earlier this year. 

Describing the company's approach to F&B during an interview in March, Al Jayouchi told Caterer Middle East: “The way we look at our business is that we provide food for people on the go, who don’t have time to cook and don’t want to eat fast food; they want something healthy that is value for money.

"We always locate our brand in areas where we feel we can serve consumers who want and need this."