SILVER: A gourmet who cooks with a savage heart

Brooke Tomlinson, owner of Hungry Hippie Food Truck, has had her share of setbacks. Although she experienced a family life full of hard knocks, the influences of her loving grandmother, along with her own grit and self determination, helped her evolve into the independent, courageous and strong businesswoman that she is today.

At first blush, Brooke’s physical appearance can be deceiving. She presents as a naturally beautiful young woman, with a welcoming smile, and several intriguing tattoos. She also exudes an aura of masculinity — an unlikely, yet distinctive quality that uniquely blends with her feminine persona. As a self-described masculine-looking lesbian living in a small town, the values instilled by her grandmother frequently kick in to guide Brooke through some of the social prejudice hurdles often directed toward the LGBTQIA+ population. In 2022, having finally achieved her dream of operating her own business, Brooke was proud to be able to offer organic, homemade specialties directly from her food truck while still being close to home. Brooke described an incident that took place in the Keller Williams Heritage parking lot in Startzville, a popular spot where her Hungry Hippie Food Truck was parked and open for business. An elderly Canyon Lake woman swerved in and tried to run over Brooke twice with her car, shouting homophobic slurs. According to Brooke, “The woman got out of her car, began flailing herself at me, started yelling derogatory statements and misgendering me, forcing me to tears. Then she grabbed my crotch wanting to know which gender I was.” Assault charges were filed with the district attorney’s office.

Despite such haters, the quality of her food items and her courteous service keep the customers coming, and she has gained community support and friendship. Brooke simply wants to give back to her community, and recalls the saying by Stephanie Benett-Henry, “You can leave any table that is not serving peace. Remember that.”

Every food item served by the Hungry Hippie Food Truck is homemade. Brooke provides quality food that is made to order and never frozen. Hand-cut garlic-aioli, loaded-asada and bacon-cheese French Fries are house specialties, along with delightfully appetizing hamburgers. Her charcuterie boards are not only overpoweringly tasty, but are beautiful presentations of creative food art. Brooke also works as a private chef and specializes in “doing everything you can think of” with food. She travels throughout Texas and hopes to take her business even further.

Brooke’s experience and education in how to lovingly prepare nutritious food from scratch was primarily a solo journey, as she is completely self-taught and has not attended culinary school. Brooke still maintains a favorite collection of her grandmother’s recipes and feels that cooking is good for the soul — work filled with love.

A few years ago, Brooke was suddenly taken ill and bedridden for some time, with an unknown diagnosis. She was unable to regain her health through traditional medical treatment and prescriptive drugs and was close to death’s door. She eventually turned to holistic practitioners.

Through months of treatment with natural remedies, herbal medicines and wholesome organic food, Brooke was able to return to her normal lifestyle. The valuable education she received during her recovery on the importance of making good choices has been a cornerstone in creating her food specialties and passing on healthy, clean food to her customers.

Brooke’s next venture is starting her own natural remedy medicine business to be known as “Healing Hippies,” which will feature tinctures, natural oils, and natural personal and household cleaners. Replacing commercial household items with natural versions is her driving force.

Brooke stated “Not only am I spreading good health information, but I spread love — positive and good vibes. Life is so short, we need more good people and good food.”

Catch the Hungry Hippie Food Truck at NBTX Pride, sponsored by Riverside Pride, on June 10 at the Comal County Fairgrounds. Her new food truck is affectionately referred to as “The Beast” which adequately represents her fierce attitude and unstoppable persona. Just look for the smiling, red-headed beauty alongside her big, bold Beast.