Scoutpost chef Will Forbes squirts olive oil on a nearby countertop and kneads a ball of dough into a thin, wide circle. After a couple of minutes, he throws the dough against the inside wall of the food truck’s tandoor oven; the flatbread clings until the crust has a crisp, charcoal finish. Using a skewer, Forbes pulls the dough off the oven wall, and the steaming naan is ready to eat.

Forbes is the co-owner of Scoutpost, a newish food truck serving clay oven-roasted meats and sandwiches from its mobile kitchen in a food truck pod next to Spoken Moto on Industrial Way.

“It’s like Northwest Americana with ethnic flavors, North African and Indian spices,” Forbes said.

The food truck is a family-run business, founded by Forbes and his sister Brittaney MacFarland, a certified baker and pastry chef, and her husband, Doug MacFarland, the executive chef at Brasada Ranch.

Though the food truck has been in Bend for only six months, Scoutpost has already gained a following. The menu mostly revolves around naan bread sandwiches filled with meats cooked in the tandoor oven, accompanied by a variety of vegetables and house sauces. Customers love the Cascade chicken sandwich, the griddled cauliflower sandwich — a popular dish among vegetarians — and the doughnut holes.

Forbes makes daily soups during the winter with rotating flavors, such as North African Lamb Stew. Scoutpost also sells handpies — homemade puff pastries with fillings like brown butter apple or strawberry-orange marmalade.

Forbes is encouraging more guests to try the half chicken dinner, which includes a roasted chicken, a large side and various sauces; it’s enough food for two.

“I love the (half) chicken and salad; I think that’s why we created that dish,” MacFarland said. “It’s the most nutritious, wholesome meal you can have.”

Forbes began cooking when he was in the seventh grade. He was born into a family of cooks and inspired by his aunt, a chef. He started working in restaurants as a teenager. After graduating high school, he enrolled in the New England Culinary Institute.

“I love the atmosphere of restaurants. I like late-night; I like to work long hours,” Forbes said. “It seemed like the perfect fit for me, so I went for it.”

Brittaney and Doug MacFarland moved to Bend from Sonoma, California, where she had created her own homemade ice cream business. After deciding the ice cream business wouldn’t turn enough profit, however, the MacFarlands decided to move to Oregon, where they believed there was more opportunity. In collaboration with Forbes, the trio brainstormed Scoutpost and its menu. They determined a food truck was the fastest route to get up and operating.

“It’s a quarter of what it would be to start a brick and mortar, and there’s less risk,” Forbes said.

The idea to use a tandoor oven arose from Forbes and Doug MacFarland’s experience at Wildwood, a farm-to-table restaurant in Portland, where the duo used a clay oven to cook meals.

Tandoor ovens are notoriously difficult to use because of their high temperature; the oven can heat to between 800 and 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Forbes calls the oven “temperamental” and says it could take a couple of months to train someone to use it.

What’s special about the tandoor oven is that it gives the meat a smoky flavor and helps retain its juiciness. “We use mesquite charcoal, which gives it that extra smoke flavor; the drippings from the meat start hitting the coals and it smokes,” Forbes said. The oven is very versatile, and foods can be roasted or smoked. Oils aren’t used in the process; the oven is all dry heat.

Less is more

The owners have encountered some challenges with the food truck’s size and mobility. The truck weighs 11,000 pounds, Forbes said, making it difficult to move. Additionally, space limits the number of ingredients that can be stored, resulting in fewer items included on the menu.

“We’re not just naan bread sandwiches; we have so much on our repertoire,” Brittaney said. “But you can’t do more than that in a food truck. You have to decide.” While the owners would like to open a restaurant in the next two years, the truck is a good option for food startups.

Both Scoutpost’s cooking method and the fact that all of its food is made by hand help it stand out.

“Everything is made from scratch — all our marinades, all our sauces, all of the breads, we do all of the butchery,” Forbes said. “Everything is made in-house.” For the spices, Forbes tries to use cumin, fennel, paprika and coriander in the sauces to align with the spices used in more traditional North African and Indian dishes.

Brittaney makes all of the doughs, doughnuts and handpies at a certified off-site location.

Scoutpost’s owners also make an effort to locally source their food. Scoutpost has partnered with Radical Roots for greens, SP Provisions for chicken and Carlton Farms for pork and steak. Forbes plans to buy his produce from the local farmers markets during summer.

On the horizon

Scoutpost recently opened for brunch on Sundays as well, with a menu consisting of French toast sticks, yeast-raised waffles and breakfast sandwiches. The breakfast sandwiches will include a fried egg, bacon, harissa and cheese on a homemade rosemary English muffin. There will also be a farm board with eggs, roasted vegetables, pickled onions and flatbreads for customers to make their own tacos.

The tandoor will take a back seat for brunch as many of the meals will feature homemade breads and pastries by Brittaney. She will also make glazed and filled doughnuts specially for brunch. At the same time, Spoken Moto will have bloody mary and mimosa bars.

Looking at the short term, the Scoutpost crew is excited for the summer to start. If you’re looking for the food truck summer festivals or events, it won’t be there. Instead, Forbes and the MacFarlands will stay parked at Spoken Moto and grow their customer base.

“This town is starting to become a food scene, which is good,” Forbes said. “It started with beer, and now Portland is pushing its way this way.”

(Editor’s note: This article has been corrected. The original version misidentified where Brittaney MacFarland made doughs, doughnuts and pastries, and Doug MacFarland’s title at Brasada Ranch. The Bulletin regrets the error.)

—  Reporter: 541-383-0351, mcrowe@bendbulletin.com

“It’s like Northwest Americana with ethnic flavors, North African and Indian spices.”— Will Forbes, Scoutpost co-owner, on the food truck’s menu