As far as Craigslist jobs go, my three months slinging brats on a German-inspired currywurst truck in Los Angeles will go down as one of the most unique and unconventional that I’ve worked. But did I think this experience would creep back into my life during my first months on the job at National Geographic? Never in a thousand curry ketchup–covered years.

While sitting in a brief presentation by photographer Gerd Ludwig, I was surprised to learn, first, that the magazine was doing a story on food trucks in L.A. and, second, to see the truck I worked on in 2012 featured in his photos.

Months later, I got Ludwig on the phone to interview him