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SYRACUSE — Neleh Dennis Nielson made a splash back in 2002, when she competed on the fourth season of the television series "Survivor." Utah’s first "Survivor" competitor, she made it to the finals and a single vote kept her from claiming the $1 million prize.
Now a married mother of three, Neleh and her husband Kris Nielson have taken inspiration from her "Survivor" experience in Marquesas and applied it to a food truck. Marquesas Corndogs first hit the road in 2015, and the truck has already attracted a loyal following.
While Neleh Nielson has always been a bit of a foodie, it was her severely limited diet on "Survivor" that truly kicked her food passion into high gear. She and her husband looked into opening a restaurant while living in Oregon, but they relocated to Texas before they could get anything going. The idea again popped up in Texas, but a job transfer to Utah prevented them from taking action.
Once Neleh Nielson and her husband were back in their native Utah, they decided to finally make their dream a reality. And rather than a brick-and-mortar store, they opted for the freedom of a food truck.
Starting a food truck business turned out to be a complex challenge. The first obstacle was finding the right truck. They tried shopping for a used truck, which Kris Nielson compared to “looking for a toothbrush at Deseret Industries.”
“There were a few trucks and trailers we found that might have worked out, but we would’ve inherited a lot of someone else's problems and never gotten them as clean as we would have liked,” he said.
So the Nielsons opted to start fresh and were able to secure an 18-foot custom-built trailer. Because the trailer was assembled back East, Kris Nielson flew out to pick it up when it was completed. He then towed it all the way to Utah behind a U-Haul truck that doubled as his sleeping quarters during the trip.
The Nielsons then worked on establishing a cooking system that worked.
“It really is a full-blown, mobile commercial kitchen,” Neleh Nielson said. “It must be kept up to code, appealing and functional when five to 10 people are flying around with 1,000-degree oil just inches away.”
“It really is a full-blown, mobile commercial kitchen. It must be kept up to code, appealing and functional when five to 10 people are flying around with 1,000-degree oil just inches away.” -Neleh Nielson
Other business objectives included securing the proper permits and certifications, hiring staff and avoiding low-hanging tree branches that mercilessly damaged the trailer’s exhaust fan.
The Nielsons are longtime fans of corndogs and fried pickles, so they created a menu based off those foods. Through trial and error, they’ve honed their recipes and created a unique menu that features everything from a beef-and-cheese corndog to fried pickles with homemade ranch sauce.
Neleh Nielson does most of the menu creation and has named the main items after their three children: Kai, River and McKay. She is currently experimenting with incorporating cream cheese and polish dogs into the mix.
The Nielsons have established a home base for Marquesas Corndogs at 1200 W. Antelope Drive in Syracuse. But they often take to the road, participating in food truck events around the state. They also get hired for weddings and private corporate lunches. The best way to keep track of their location is by visiting their Facebook page.
“We went live 10 months ago and it has been a whirlwind experience,” Kris Nielson said. “We meet people from all walks of life and I love having a few minutes to be a part of what they are doing that day.”
