You know how you always hear stories of people that something bad happened to – and then they rebound and come out of the experience better than before. Amira Jackmon is one of those people. She got laid off from a comfortable job in a law firm last year. And she decided to use her savings to try her hand at something totally new – food.

The finance lawyer with degrees from Yale and Stanford decided to become a professional chef. It started out with a BBQ for some friends. They loved her cooking. “My friends said – “You should be out in a truck, going out to nightclubs and selling to people.” The next day, I was on Craigslist looking for a truck,” says Amira.

And soon after, she became the proud owner of a taco truck. A few upgrades, repairs and many licenses later, the truck was ready for business.

Amira had always loved Caribbean food, and had always lamented the fact that there weren’t too many places selling it. So she sat down with her Trinidad-born partner, who had spent many years in the restaurant business, and came up with some recipes that excited her and that she felt might excite those that tried them. “Given how open people in the Bay Area are to trying food from other cultures – fusion and different cultural backgrounds -- that’s where I came up with Get Jerked – fusing Caribbean tastes and flavors and everyday street food that we know in California.”

Amira, who is a transplant from Fresno, has no background in the food business – no degrees from culinary schools and no experience in any restaurant. What she does have is a lot of passion and drive.

“We’re going to keep pushing through the startup phase,” she says. “I expect we’ll say, 20 years from now, that we were born in a recession and are now a nationwide staple, in American cities everywhere.”

For now, her truck runs in Oakland. During the day, it can be found at one of Oakland’s many busy and bustling spots - such as Laney College, Lake Merritt Bart station, and the Alameda County administration building. At night, it caters to revelers coming out of Luka’s or the New Parish or one of the town’s many party destinations. She has two employees, thanks to a subsidized employment program through the Alameda County, a part of the stimulus package. It reimburses her for 80% of what she pays her staff, and helps her keep going. Like any start-up, her truck seems to eat money. But her biggest challenge, she says, has been dealing with all the licenses, permits and government requirements. She now understands why people have a problem with big government, she says, half in jest. “I’ve been amazed at how hard it is for a small business to understand and follow this amazing web of rules,” she says. “There’s the City of Oakland, the County of Alameda health department’s permit, the state, the trucks are registered through DMV, taxes, corporate licenses, workers’ comp. It’s amazing to me.”

But what encourages her is that consumers like what she has to offer. Her jerk chicken tacos are her best seller. Her favorite dish is the jerk fish taco -- with jerk seasoning mango chutney, garlic sauce, garlic aioli, and cabbage. It’s all priced between $3 and $6.

The thirty-something is no stranger to hard work. But it amuses her that a simple taco truck business is as demanding as it is. “It’s running neck and neck – working at the law firm and doing this – in the hours it requires,” she says.

But she has no plans to quit anytime soon.

Keep up with the Get Jerked truck on twitter or call 510-868-0638.