Getting LUCKY (TACO)

For the last ten years we’ve watched Sarah and Otis Frizzell grow their brainchild, The Lucky Taco together on Ponsonby Road and beyond with one of New Zealand’s very first gourmet food trucks. On the strength of great tasting tacos every time it’s become its own brand, launching their award-winning home taco kits and even moving into drinks with their Lucky AF Margarita. We’re once again touching base with Otis to chat about their brand new cookbook which steps us not only through how to make great food, but also their journey to where they are today.

Photography by Victoria Baldwin. Recipes by Sarah & Otis Frizzell

Congratulations on an awesome book! While it might technically be a cook book it also feels like a snapshot of both of your journeys and what you have created together. Can you describe how the process of putting this together made you reflect on things and even your own personal perspectives of what you have built?

I’m not gonna glaze over it. It was hard work making this book, but it was amazing. Just going through the photos of our trip to find the right shots was a trip. It took us right back to Mexico. It kinda made me a bit sad because we haven’t been back since. We miss it. We miss the country. The architecture. The people! Fortunately we brought some of the food home with us.

Did anything shift in terms of reassessing future aspirations when you take some time out to take stock of things and even the journey that led up to what you are doing now, including eating watermelon in Mexico in 1978?

Ha! That Mexico trip in ’78 really did sow a seed. When we did our cooking class to learn some flavours for The Lucky Taco, we weren’t planning on the groceries and products side of the business. That’s the biggest hindsight surprise. That side of it kinda just happened. We never had a really laid out plan. It’s all such an organic process. We just wanted to make great tacos for people in Auckland, and we’re still doing that.

The opening of your book starts with a shot of you both toasting a communal meal. There’s just something about Mexican food that harks to that shared experience with loved ones. Personally, though, the prospect of feeding a group of friends strikes fear into me. What simple tips do you have to make me look like an effortless culinary pro?

Simple tips? Prep prep PREP! Do as much as you can before everyone arrives. And do something you’ve done before that you know works. Something simple if you’re not so flash in the kitchen. It’s terrifying trying something new and labour intensive on a large group… But also be prepared to… Can I say pivot? (Haha) If it all falls to hell, go and get takeout Malaysian. The whole point is eating together and enjoying each other’s company. Don’t let a burnt ham ruin Christmas!

There’s a real sense of creativity and pushing things like The ‘Frankenstein’ Taco but also combined with respect to origin and history. What’s your take on the balance between tradition and evolution along with infusing new cultural elements and ingredients from another part of the world?

Ruth Alegria, the amazing chef that taught us in Mexico City said “Anything can be a taco if it’s in a tortilla. The tortilla is just a vehicle to get food from the plate in to your mouth.” She was exaggerating of course. Some things just don’t work, but always be willing to push ideas. That’s where the Turkey Taco idea in the book came from. It’s tricky. Some ‘Fusion’ and ‘Modern Cuisine’ is incredible and will blow your mind, and some is… Well some is ‘foam’. I hate foam. Haha.

I think just don’t be afraid to try stuff, but learn a few basics first. You can break some rules when you know what they are.

Years ago we were in Rome and found a taco joint. We tried the pork and apple tacos and they were f*cking horrible.

What does the inspiration for new recipes generally come from for you?

It is here where I must make a confession… Sarah is the brilliant mind behind our recipes. I help. Make suggestions. But I taste EVERYTHING! I’m an honest guinea pig. Sarah has a magic palette and is super creative in the kitchen. Inspiration can come from anywhere. If we make something from a cookbook that doesn’t hit right, Sarah does a remix, and it’s always better. Like I say in the book… I’m a decent cook, but Sarah is the alchemist.

After a long day feeding other people what is the go to meal for you both when you get home?

Oh man… I had the feeling this question was coming. After a really long day, sometimes we just don’t have it in us to cook. But we’ll often just take some of our Lentil and Chorizo stew out of the freezer in the morning, and then microwave it and have it with buttery bread on the couch watching some crappy cop show. Or… (you asked for it) a large bowl of Coco Pops.

You are both of course super creative, how do your experiences with the art world help to shape your approach to food.

Don’t be afraid to fail. Any creative industry is hit and miss. You just gotta keep on going. Work hard. The hit will come.

You have somehow woven personal passions, awesome food, brand, product and business together along with working together as a couple. What advice would you have for others who want to leave the 9 to 5 and follow their passion?

DON’T DO IT.

Just kidding (kinda). It’s hard. There’s no weekly paycheck. But it’s hugely rewarding too. I never want to talk it up too much for fear of meeting someone some day who comes up to me and says, “You told me to follow my dream. Now my wife has left me and I’m living in my Mum’s basement.”

I’m keen to try Epazote after reading about it in the book, is there a particular ingredient that you are currently obsessed with?

I can’t answer that… it changes weekly. Sarah found a recipe online recently that had a Middle Eastern spice mix called Berbere. It was AMAZING. So she found other recipes and did her thang and used it in different ways… Chilli and citrus, mostly lime, is prominent in our cooking.

You are sitting down for some Lucky Lengua Tacos and some Lucky Michelada drinks on a summer’s afternoon. What’s the album in the background?

Oooooh. You’re gonna LOVE this. We have loads of DJ mates. Over the years they have given us playlists to play in the truck. Manuel Bundy, Cian, Cool Hand Luke, The Chef, Logg Cabin, Bobby Brazuka, Professor Pescador. They all gave us amazing tunes. Over the last decade we’ve kinda distilled it all down into this rather excellent 5 hour playlist… Music to eat tacos to…