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Charlotte chef serves vegan food on the go with food truck

CHARLOTTE — The vegan food movement has exploded in recent years, but a Charlotte chef and food truck owner has been creating and perfecting his recipes for years. In fact, his delicious dishes may make you forget about meat altogether.

Chef Akil Courtney says his family decided to go vegan 31 years ago when he was 12 years old.

“So one of the reasons my mom and dad went vegan is because my dad was having health problems with diabetes, so that’s when they cut meat out of our diet,” Courtney explained.

He said within a year, his dad’s diabetes was gone.

Courtney said his mom was a vegan chef and although it’s not what he originally set out to do with his life, he fell in love with cooking.

He worked his way up in the food industry and today owns a food truck with his wife Paris, who is a pastry chef.

“Finally, I just said… I need to produce something and serve people something that I can stand behind in terms of what I eat myself, so that’s when we decided we were going to start Ve-Go Food Truck,” Courtney said.

His menu often includes items such as Philly Cheez Steak, Buffalo Chik’n Sandwich and the Carolina Burger.

“We’re known for our soul food ... We do Caribbean food, Italian food. We do everything, you name it,” Courtney said.

The Ve-Go Food Truck serves the Charlotte, Mint Hill, and Concord areas. Courtney posts where he’ll be on his Facebook and Instagram pages.

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