Looking at all that Salar Madadi has accomplished, one would think he’s been in the food business for quite some time. In reality, his current path is fairly recent. An IT expert for 13 years, Salar decided to leave IT behind and follow his passion for cooking. It started when he began to entering BBQ competitions. After a few successes, he won the 2014 Canadian Bacon Championships, along with an entry to the World Food Championships. That summer, he started MeatVentures. Beginning in a cart, it received such a good response that he decided to expand to a trailer full time. After his first full summer on the trailer satisfying meat lovers, he decided to expand and opened Canada’s first poke bar, Pokeh
Salar Madadi, the man behind MeatVentures and Pokeh
Why did you decide to open a food truck?
I wanted to cook but I also wanted to work for myself. The food truck seemed like a logical first step into the food business and didn’t seem to require as much specialized knowledge. We started our first year part time on a rented food cart because we didn’t have the knowledge or resources to jump in full time and fully commit.
What was the toughest part of getting The Meat Wagon on the road?
Learning to reverse with a trailer! Our first gig with the wagon was a private catering in a driveway, and I didn’t learn how to drive in reverse with a trailer until that morning!
On the serious side – the toughest part was our entire first season. We started with basically zero knowledge and learned as we went and by picking the brains of everyone around us. Working out of a communal food truck kitchen was really awesome for this and helped us a lot.
Tell me about the menu on The Meat Wagon.
The menu is usually small, with a couple of favourites that are always on it, and another one or two dishes that rotate around. We’ll always have the Bacon Fatty and Parm Fries, but some days we’ll have a smash burger, or Filipino bacon sliders, or Carne Asada fries, or some other special.
We’ve also done days for fun with a completely different menu/concept and we’ve got some fun plans for the Seven Sundays events in the second half of summer!
You went from meat to seafood with your second venture, Pokeh Bar. What exactly is poke, and how did you first discover it?
Poke means to slice/cut/section in Hawaiian and describes the idea of a dish that usually consists of fresh cut seafood, mixed with different combinations of sauces and other components. We discovered it four years ago while on our honeymoon in Venice Beach in California. We stumbled on a little hole in the wall named Poke-Poke and fell in love with it!
What made you decide to open a poke bar?
I’ve had it in the back of my head for a while. It popped up again when I was looking into opening something at the Hamilton Farmers’ Market and learned about the cooking restrictions.
You’re the first poke restaurant in Ontario, or is it first in Canada? But, how did you know that this concept would be so well-received?
We’re the first poke-specific place in Canada, but not the first to serve poke. To be honest, I didn’t know it would be this well received. I knew it was starting to pick up in the US, and I know that almost everyone enjoys sushi now, but I never imagined it would take off this quickly.
Tell me about the menu at Pokeh Bar.
We’ve got over twenty different toppings and sauces that you can use to create your own custom poke bowl just the way you like it. Some of the components are common, but a bunch are unique to us. We also have a selection of signature bowls if you can’t decide. Lots of people go for the Chef’s choice too, and let us put together something unique for them on the spot.
I’ve come from Mississauga for your poke and I know others who’ve come from Toronto. What’s the furthest you’ve had someone come for poke?
I know of people that have come from as far as Niagara and Pickering. We have some regulars that come from the Beaches area too!
Now that foodtruck season is here, how are you managing both The Meat Wagon and Pokeh Bar?
I’m lucky to have my brother Shayne running the bar. He’s really stepped up and handles all of the day to day of it and leads our team there. Running the truck takes up most of my time and I handle the social media and admin for both. Never enough hours in the day!
And finally, what’s next for you and your team?
We’re working on opening another Pokeh, aiming for the end of the year. Ideally it’ll line up with the end of food truck season so I can focus on getting it running and solid by the time spring rolls around again next year. I have a few other little fun ideas kicking around in my head too, but they’re not going to be happening any time soon.
If you ever need to reach out to Salar you can use any of the options below:
Pokeh:
Website: http://pokeh.ca/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pokehbar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pokehbar/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pokehbar/
Meatventures:
Website: http://meatventures.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/meatventures
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Meatventures/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meatventures/
