Meet Camille Shoemaker | Chef & Owner, Lady in the Wild

We had the good fortune of connecting with Camille Shoemaker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Camille, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’ve been in the food industry for over a decade, it’s all I know. I knew I wanted to be a pastry chef from the 5th grade and I pursued that dream when I went to Johnson and Wales University in Denver to pursue my B.A. in Baking and Pastry Arts and Food Service Management. I really never looked back from there and knew I wanted to soak up as much as I could from the industry in hopes of having my own business one day…I didn’t really know what that looked like until a couple years ago. I’ve worked in the industry wearing many hats: as a line cook, a brewer, in FOH, I’ve even worked as a farmer. So I’ve really gotten a taste of all of it. In my time as a private chef in the mountains of Colorado I knew I had really found something close to what I wanted to do as it allowed me to be creative, make my own schedule and say yes or no to opportunities. A food truck had always been a thought in the back of my mind but I knew I didn’t want to just start any food truck. When my sister offered to sell me her 1956 vintage camper, I knew that was the direction I needed/wanted to go. I didn’t want to just pull up on the street and offer food, but instead wanted to offer fine dining through my little camper, hence where Lady in the Wild, “food for every adventure” came into place.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Lady in the Wild is farm to truck, elevated. Showcasing the culinary bounty of Colorado, with plates inspired by my journey in food and beer. Relationships with local farmers, ranchers, and growers fill the rotating menu with the best ingredients of each season. A combination of all my favorite things in one little camper: healthy food, adventures, and a place for friends and family to get together over a nice meal, that’s the basis of Lady in the Wild. Healthy food and upscale catering is really what sets me apart, on top of the fact that I’m cooking in a fully outfitted kitchen in a 13′ camper. I aim to change the perspective of food trucks and show that elevated, high end food that’s still approachable can come out of a food truck. It truly is “food for every adventure.”
Starting a business is never easy. Every day is a struggle, but also a lesson. I’ve worked in this industry for a long time so I knew not to expect an easy journey. Some days are uplifting and others i question why the hell I’m doing this. I’ve had a lot of support and honestly just taking every day as it comes, and learning from every experience is all you can do to keep moving along.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Restaurants: Safta, everyday pizza, city o city, root down, grammies goodies, tacos jalisco, pho 95.

Bars/breweries:
Call to arms brewery, horeshoe lounge, outer range brewery, local 46.

Adventures:
Day trip to the mountains, either summit county or steamboat. In steamboat, visit strawberry hot springs. In summit county, go to mayflower gulch.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Absolutely. My shoutout goes to Emily Cleghorn, co-founder and owner of Outer Range Brewery in Frisco, Colorado. This woman has been my mentor for many years now and I’m so thankful for the relationship I have with her. First of all, she kept me employed through the pandemic, and that’s only the start of it. I became the pastry chef at the coffee shop, Mountain Dweller inside Outer Range Brewery because of her, and from there she was mentoring me through my career goals and life. At the time i was considering writing a cookbook, which she helped me through with a lot of meetings and support. This goal kind of faded as writing a cookbook takes a lot more than you think, and when my dream of starting this food truck happened, she was supportive from day 1 and still has been. I can’t describe how supportive and amazing Emily is, she’s an amazing entrepreneur, leader and business owner and I wouldn’t be where I am without her.

Website: ladyinthewildfoodtruck.com

Instagram: lady_inthewild

Image Credits
Julia Ordog Photography