Enjoy Peruvian Food With A Personal Twist When New Trailer Opens In Lacey

LACEY, NJ — Have you ever tried Peruvian food?

There aren't many Peruvian restaurants in the area. But a local woman hopes to change that. Gianella Kaplan and her husband, Andrew, are planning to open a new food trailer dedicated to Peruvian food with their own flair.

"My husband and I are gamers and can be very nerdy," Kaplan, who was born in Peru and moved to America as a child, told Patch. "We don't want to focus on just serving Peruvian food but also have people get to know us through our food."

Her business, called SnowChi, is the culmination of her love of cooking and encouragement from family.

"The thought of [opening my own food truck] sounded good but I wasn't completely sure just yet, until my husband gave me that extra push of encouragement I needed to help me make a final decision," she said.

SnowChi is named after two of her pets - a bunny named Snowball and a sugar glider named Chi, who died four days apart in 2021. "It was very difficult during that time but naming our trailer with both their names combined gave this trailer even more meaning to us," Kaplan said.

Peruvian food is a delicious blend of various cultures, with influences from the indigenous population, Africa, Europe and Asia.

On SnowChi's menu, you'll see typical Latin food like empanadas. These pastries are baked and stuffed with your choice of beef, chicken or cheese and onion for a vegetarian option. But with a Peruvian twist, the filling also contains raisins, which gives it a unique and flavorful taste. It's served with a lime wedge to squeeze on every bite for an extra hit of flavor.

Another delicious option is pan con chicharrón, a popular Peruvian breakfast sandwich that Kaplan describes as like their version of a pork roll, egg and cheese. Fried pork sits on top of sweet potato slices and topped with salsa criolla, a relish of red onions, peppers and cilantro. The sandwich is bursting with flavor and typically is served alongside a cup of coffee - with no cream, Kaplan said.

Wash it all down with chicha morada, a deep purple drink made from purple corn and infused with fruits, cinnamon and a bit of lime juice. The drink is both sweet and flavorful and is the perfect complement to the food.

Kaplan also plans on serving alfajor, a sandwich cookie with two anise cookies filled with dulce de leche. But instead of the typical round cookie, Kaplan wants to do different styles depending on the season, or "nerdy" things like video games she and her husband love.

"I love getting creative with food and add my own twist," she said.

On top of everything else, Kaplan wants to introduce a different chef's special every weekend to introduce different dishes to her customers.

"Hopefully, by doing so, more people is going to want to visit Peru and will be more open to the food there!" she said.

Kaplan hopes to have the trailer up and running by spring 2023, but in the meantime, she's fundraising to help fulfill her dream. She's launched a GoFundMe to help support her food trailer dreams.

And while there's no set opening date yet, she can't wait for customers to be enjoying her food.

"What we look forward to the most about the food trailer is the expression on our customers face when they take that first bite of our food." Kaplan said. "We're confident that they'll love it!"

For more information, you can follow SnowChi on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.