Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/566732
Health Help 14 // OWNER OPERATOR // AUGUST 2015 MOBILE HOME- COOKING T he contestants on "Chopped" and "The Next Food Network Star" have nothing on Tom Kyrk. At least they cook in fully equipped kitchens with stocked pantries. Kyrk cooks in the cab of his 2015 Freightliner Cascadia with ingredients brought from home or found at a supermarket within walking distance of where he parks for the night. TV chefs might sneer at his mobile kitchen, but Kyrk not only turns out tasty, healthy food under those conditions, he helps other drivers eat better as well."I'm motivated to help other people and put a priority on that," he said. Kyrk, a member of RoadPro® Family of Brands Pro Driver Council, operates Road Tested Living, a website that offers recipes, product reviews, exercise tips and other ma- terial for truckers wanting a healthy lifestyle. He gets help from other drivers and Bob Perry of Rolling Strong, a fitness program for pro- fessional drivers. His passion for cab cooking was born from his own struggle. He began driving about 10 years ago for a Texas-based refrigerated carrier and quickly learned that a sedentary occupation and truck stop food are a toxic combination. He ballooned from 250 pounds to more than 300 pounds. A doctor's warning scared him into losing weight. He added workouts, but knew he'd have to eat better if he wanted to lose enough weight. He wasn't the first trucker to cook in his cab, but he was so pleased by the results that he decid- ed to spread the word with help from trucker trainer Perry. The son of a minister, Kyrk, 39, takes natural- ly to proselytizing, though he's not sure how many drivers he's reaching through the web- site and demonstrations at trucking shows. "I could care less about the total number, but if I just help one driver to have a better quality of life, I've reached my goal," he said. His mobile kitchen is more elaborate than most, but there are no six-burner ranges or convection ovens here. He has two setups: a 12-volt kitchen consisting of two 12-volt portable stoves, two 1.5 quart slow cookers, a frying pan, a sauce pan/popcorn cooker and a coffeemaker, all by RoadPro; and a 110-volt kitchen with an electric grill, a larger crockpot and a rice cooker.