One year after islander Emily Wigley originally planned to open her black-and-white food truck, the eatery on wheels finally served up salmon, cucumber-jalapeno popsicles, macaroni and cheese and decadent chocolate pudding to hungry festival-goers last weekend.

Orca Eats is Vashon’s newest eatery and the island’s only food truck — if you don’t count Karen Biondo’s mobile, wood-fired pizza trailer. The truck offers a varying menu as Wigley said she wants to serve cuisine that will be flexible and allow her to experiment with new recipes, in-season ingredients and “whatever sounds good.”

The truck’s slogan — Orca Eats whatever it wants. — is a nod to the wide-ranging menu and the island’s well-known transient orca population which eat whatever they want, Wigley said. The food truck’s menu includes nearly 20 different entrees ranging from pesto pasta, to fried chicken, to candied bacon and peanut butter and jelly on french toast. A variety of side dishes from a light stonefruit salad, to classic french fries or mac and cheese join desserts like popsicles, pie and ice cream sandwiches to round out the menu. Any combination of the options will be served at any given time.

“Living on Vashon, changing the menu became important,” Wigley said. “I didn’t want to be just the grilled cheese truck, or just the macaroni and cheese truck. I wanted a simple menu that was a cross between traditional food and fun food.”

The menu is also a nod to Wigley’s background in the food service industry. She is a self-taught cook who began working in restaurants at the age of 13. By 16, she was working as a chef’s assistant and was a baker by age 17.

“My mom’s a very good cook,” she said when asked about her training as a chef.

However, the food truck idea came to her after she and her husband closed Fishbowl Farm, their horse boarding and training facility, in 2012 and she had time to figure out what it was she truly wanted to do.

“I love the service industry and knew that whatever I did would be with food or animals,” Wigley said. “(My husband and I) really wanted a humble, easy-to-change business that we can close and reopen and be flexible with. I’ve always loved street food; it’s fun, so we decided on a food truck.”

The festival kickoff represented the culmination of a longtime dream for Wigley; who had her food truck plans put on hold when it was discovered the truck’s hood exhaust was not built correctly.

“We used a great builder that really knows what they’re doing, but for some reason, when they got to ours, it wasn’t built to code,” she said. “My husband, thankfully, is a great fabricator, and he rebuilt it.”

During the year-long re-build, Wigley said she kept busy as the truck could still be used to cater private events. Catering will continue to be available for weddings, parties and other events, but the truck will become a staple at public events. Wigley said that she already has Orca Eats lined up for the annual summer Concerts in the Park, Vashon’s Relay for Life at Agren Park next month and an upcoming fundraiser for Vashon Community Care.