Chef Sean Priester / In these grab ’n‘ go times, many entrepreneurs and foodies alike have entertained the idea of running a food truck. To do so, however, most don’t have to to step down as the executive chef of a prominent restaurant. It takes guts to roam the streets of Oahu selling edibles to those unfamiliar with either your style of cooking or your name, but in an adventure replete with the turf wars and getting kicked off government property, Sean Priester says it’s been worth it.

“This has been the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”

Priester was the executive chef of Top of Waikiki from 2004 to 2009, and was responsible for revamping the restaurant’s menu and reputation. Last year, Priester felt a spiritual tug to go out on his own with an offering of healthy Southern food.

Priester wasn’t always keen on selling soul food.

“When this became my career path, I adamantly refused to cook soul food, Southern food, because I just didn’t want to be typecast. A lot of it was based off of ethnicity,” he says. “I didn’t want to be the black guy who cooks food. I wanted to be Chef Sean who has an ability to integrate the things from his background, including my experiences through traveling to Europe and living in Minnesota and living in Monterey, California and having a Cuban wife and living in Hawaii for 20 years.”

Then something shifted. “Something told me I want to go there and sort of explore and see how people feel about this Southern cuisine. I know there’s a romance behind it,” he says.

Priester’s business, Pacific Soul Cuisine, can be found (and eaten) at various farmers’ and open markets around the island. But it’s the mobile division of his venture, the Soul Patrol, that especially captures the fascination of everyday folks and fellow chefs alike. Touting affordable dishes, such as the Southern Sampler ($8) that includes buttermilk cilantro coleslaw, Kahuku sweet corn bread, vegetarian black-eyed pea chili and pulled pork, Priester finds that in his current Kakaako location, “It’s really interesting, just getting people to try something that’s a little different.”

After facing the challenges of unfamiliar lunch wagon territory on Maunakea Street and other downtown locations, as well as Sand Island (he got “kicked off of Sand Island ’cause we were in a government right of way”), he has at least for the moment found a home for the lunch wagon. Even so, situations with a hot dog cart vendor can lead to what Priester calls “conversations” over common menu items.

Priester says, “I’m not here to threaten anybody.” Instead, he’s focusing on creating a new lunch wagon model, one that uses Styrophobia products despite the fact that using Styrofoam and plastic products yields lower overhead. Priester is looking to solarize his lunch wagon and to keep offering food with the highest quality local ingredients.

“I virtually begged MAO farms to give me collard greens every opportunity they could. It took us a couple of years to even get to a point where they could provide me with collard greens. Then I found this fabulous source at Mohala Farms, which is in Waialua, they introduced collard greens. It’s just exquisite,” says Priester, getting excitedly lost in his memories of local food quests. “I put a lot of energy into everything I do.”

That includes utilizing the Soul Patrol to feed the homeless in Waianae in a partnership with Utu Langi of H5. Aside from feeding the hungry, Priester is looking to “bringing vocational training on to the wagon. I bring youth or individuals from Waianae and train them how to run a wagon as far as preparing and cooking food, so preparation and production that happens on the front end, as well. To giving them a job skill in that respect and calling it a business incubator, learning the business side of the operation and combining those skills.”

As for what the future may hold, Priester always has an eye on the evolution of his food. “I see myself transitioning over to the Pacific side where I do a global cuisine with Southern influences. Sort of what I’ve been training all these years to do. It’s about what I’m experiencing.” While Priester is still working through new situations presented by his lunch wagon business exploration, he is excited about what the venture can bring.

“The fun part is just having complete control of the results of your day…just being positive about the things that happen…I’ve seen a lot of growth in me and in the business…I think it’s a cool way to live.”

The Soul Patrol

Kawaiahao Street between Cooke and South streets Tue–Thu, 10:30am–2:30pm.

Pacific Soul Cuisine

Manoa Marketplace, Sundays, 8am–1pm; Blaisdell Farmers’ Market, Wednesdays, 4–7pm; Pacific Park Plaza second & fourth Fridays; Davies Pacific second & fourth Tuesdays; Kapiolani Community College and Kailua farmers’ markets once a month.