PETOSKEY — A new option is now available for gluten-free diners in Northern Michigan.
Husband and wife duo Alexander and Catalina Petok opened a new food truck located at 825 Charlevoix Ave. in Petoskey, beside Fletch’s GMC Buick Audi dealership.
Alexander Petok said the two originally met in Hawaii, and lived in Miami, Florida for 10 years before moving to Petoskey last year to be closer to his parents.
When they moved to Northern Michigan, they found there weren’t many options for people who are on a gluten-free diet, like his parents, for example.
“We decided, ‘Let’s provide something that is not up here, that can help the community,'” Alexander said. “That’s our ultimate goal, is to do something to help people.”
Catalina said they have both worked in the service industry their entire lives, with backgrounds in luxury hotels and resorts. Alexander said that helped them have a customer-first approach to their services.
According to the Gluten-Free Food Program, the entirely gluten-free truck has been certified Gluten-Free Approved. The certification is endorsed by the National Celiac Association. The truck will have a rotating menu depending on what’s available at local farms.
“We want to stay local because all the local restaurants are supporting us,” Alexander said. “We want to give back and support them.”
The truck offers breakfast items like avocado toast, lox and a bagel, a yogurt parfait and overnight oats, as well as lunch items like pizzas, loaded baked potatoes, kale salads and more. Additionally, the bakers will have products like pizza crust, sandwich loaves, hamburger and hot dog buns, sourdough bread, cookies, millionaire bars and more available to purchase without buying a meal.
Alexander said the food is all fresh and they don’t put any preservatives in their items.
“The menu is going to reflect the season and the menu is going to reflect the farms,” he said. “If the farms don’t have it, we’re not going to have it.”
Catalina described herself as a foodie. She said she wanted to make sure their food truck was a safe place for people with food allergies, making sure they don’t feel excluded from a dining experience.
Catalina added that starting the new business has been fun and has allowed their two children — a 16-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son — to see them grow something from scratch.
In addition to the food truck, Petok will be supplying gluten-free breads and baked goods to various restaurants and hotels in the area, Alexander said.
Alexander noted that while some gluten-free options are available at restaurants, they are usually on smaller, more flakey breads.
“We’re making full-size loaves, so we want to make the experience just as good, if not better, for the gluten-free community as for the regular community,” he said.
They are also trying to spread awareness about gluten allergies and intolerance, so they plan to host a seminar in May at the Grand Unity Center to talk about what gluten and wheat are, what gluten-free people can eat and more.
For more information on the truck, visit chefpetok.com.
(This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.)
— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @KarlyGrahamJrn.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petok food truck brings gluten-free offerings to Petoskey
Reporting by Karly Graham, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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