Come get a plate from Chef Nikki Rowland
Nikki Rowland is a true southern-city chef and caterer, born in Atlanta, GA but also a woman of many places as she was, literally, raised all around the world. She has been blessed with the opportunity to showcase her expertise and share her passion for cooking with clients ranging from single parent homes to celebrities and professional athletes. But she’s adamant about treating all of her clients equally, preparing every dish with passion and love. Her menu has no boundaries, ranging from the healthy and salt free foods your body needs to stay right and tight, to a variety of sweet and savory items we all like to indulge in every now and again. She likes to offer her clients and followers, in the Atlanta area, brunch and dinner plates when she has a free weekend. And it’s also a way for new followers to try a variety of her dishes. Nikki has even won a globally televised (Discovery channel and the Discovery+ app) bbq competition, Moonshiners: Smoke Ring. Being the only female pit-master on the show, she has been named “The Smoke Ring Queen”, by winning the smoked chicken competition (season 1, episode 4). She is available to cater or provide personal chef services, for all types of occasions and households. Not just in the Atlanta area either, she is able to travel with her “kitchen bag” globally. And there is no budget too big or too small.
Instagram: Chef Nikki
Website: She Cooks U Eat
Shout Outs:
Kakestry
The Cupcake District
Amina Restaurant
Website: In The Black
Instagram: In The Black
Dex:
Hey, welcome to another episode of In the Black. This is Your boy Dex. And man, if you know me, there's, there's one thing that you know about me and I enjoy a good meal, not just the stuff that I cook, but man, whenever somebody invites me over to a cookout or a barbecue, I bring my own plate because they always bring those little old plates and, I gotta do what I gotta do. That's our guest laughing right now because she knows, she knows what I'm talking about. She knows I'll probably end up showing up to her house randomly and she'll be like, Ah, all right, let me get us heat something up. So, but I, I have a really cool special guest. I've been, I've been kind of buttering up before this, uh, interview and. I really want to introduce you guys to somebody who I believe is special and she's going to end up being a part of your next barbecue. She is a true southern city chef and caterer born in Atlanta, atl. Y'all know what I'm talking about, but she's also a woman of many places, literally raised across the world. I bet. She's the a, a military brat. We're gonna get into that in just a second. She was blessed with the opportunity to showcase her expertise and share her passion with cooking with clients, ranging from single parent homes to celebrities and professional athletes. She's adamant about treating all of her clients equally, preparing every dish with passion and love. Her menu has no boundaries, ranging from healthy and soul free foods, which is of course what your body needs to stay healthy and tight. But she also has all those savory and sweet items. Now, I'm definitely gonna get into that part of the interview as soon as possible, but she also likes that her, uh, her clients and her followers are mainly in the Atlanta area. Now she'll have brunch and dinner plates, but she tries to keep her weekends free. This is also a new way for her followers to try a variety of her dishes. I'm just gonna introduce her name. Nicki Roland has won a globally televised Discovery Channel competition, barbecue competition, and that was Moon Shiner's Smoke Ring and she ended up being crowned the smoke ring queen. I'm just gonna get into this. I'm not gonna finish her bio because we're going to just get to talking to her because I'm drooling while I'm reading this because I'm thinking about barbecue See, this is why I don't pay for a therapist, cuz I'll just end up talking myself into some sort of a, thought pattern. But Nicki Roland, how are you today?
Chef Nikki :
I'm well, how are you?
Dex:
I am so awesome, man, I, I keep sneaking into your IG and just start drooling. I I gotta turn that page down just for a minute.
Chef Nikki :
I need to, I need to pay you to verbally repeat my bio on a regular basis.
Dex:
Just on a regular, Why did I just make it sound delicious and savory and sweet. Oh,
Chef Nikki :
Like I don't think it's ever been, you know, read that way. So yeah.
Dex:
you know what?
Chef Nikki :
you great job. Like it made me like kind back a bit.
Dex:
Oh man,
Chef Nikki :
I do do cook.
Dex:
bro, man, you all right? Y'all don't understand. She just buttered my muffin up. So good. I feel, I'm feeling, I'm feeling a little bit of self-esteem. I'm feeling good about myself, but this isn't about me. This is about you.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Okay. All
Dex:
As much as I try and, um, sweeten up your bio and stuff, I, I can't tell her better than you. So why don't you tell us about your business chef Nicki?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Well, I'm a personal chef. I'm based in Atlanta. I'm from Atlanta, Southwest Car Heights, Adamsville. I can travel for work. I travel all the time. This year more so than previous years, I've gone, domestically, I've gone internationally. I actually travel with a kitchen bag. So, you know, people will be like, Well, I don't know what you need. You know, when you get here, don't worry. I have it. I check two bags, full of kitchen equipment, my knives, all my little utensils that I love to use, and all that good stuff. But, yes, I'm from Atlanta, um, born here, partially raised, and yes, I am a former army brat. Both my parents were Army at one point, and, I've been overseas. I've went to high school overseas for some years. But I've lived mostly on the east coast. So that's about the history of Nikki, of, you know, where she came from. But my passion is cooking. Like people say, What's your specialty? And I think you have to understand, um, cooks have a special, cooks have a specialty. You know, when you're a cook, your cook at, you know, like a diner or restaurant, what have you, you're a line cook. So your specialty is what they have you on the line doing. Burgers, fries, salads, what have you. I'm a chef. Food is my specialty. I'm always, always learning new things when it comes to food, you know. I try to keep my mind as open as possible at all times. If I go out and eat somewhere, nine times outta 10 in my head, I'm like, I can make this. I'm gonna figure out how to make this
Dex:
Yeah, I, I definitely embody that. I, uh, so I went to school for film, right? And, the very first day of my basic editing course, the teacher, Don, he said, Listen, you can take this course if you want to, but I, I'm just gonna promise you, when after taking this, you're gonna look at movies differently.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Mm-hmm.
Dex:
you find that whenever you walk into a restaurant, you, you might try something that you make, but you're too busy analyzing the meal to enjoy it,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
No, that I'm the complete opposite. So what's crazy is I'm a very picky eater. Like I don't eat half the stuff that I cook honestly. Um, how it tastes the same is just because I stay, I try to stay as consistent as possible and focused. Like when I'm prepping, I don't, I'm not on my phone. If I'm watching something, it has, certain things have to just be background noise. you know? Being focused on what I'm doing is most important. But when I go in a restaurant, okay, I am a, I gotta see the menu before I get there, person. Like, I'm gonna study the menu. Um, but it's just like, I, I, I'm also a, a plate watcher, so if we're sitting at a table and we're talking, I'm probably gonna zone out when I see, you know, the, the servers come by with the, a tray of plates. Cause I'm like, Oh, what is that? What did they get? What, You know what I mean? And I'll even ask, I'm like, What did they get over there? What did, what was that on that plate?
Dex:
Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Um, and I just feel like, you know, I think food is such a universal language in the sense that everybody eats, even, even people who are like, you know, I have celiac disease. I'm gluten free. I'm this, I'm that. You still have to eat. You know what I mean? So to go places and. To see so many different items being prepared, various ways. It's just like, you know, it, it's entertaining to me, you know what I mean? Some people like, I dunno. Um, is this a, is this a PG show? Can I
Dex:
Oh yeah, by all means,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
have asked that
Dex:
Nah, nah, nah. We cuss. I cuss. Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Okay. So like, you know, some people like porn. I like food or I like to give you food porn. So it's like when I go to a restaurant and I have friends who are foodies that I love, they will try stuff that I won't eat. And then sometimes they'll be like, try, I'm like, ah. Cause a lot of stuff with me is texture,
Dex:
Oh
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I just can't deal with certain textures. Um, and also my taste buds are on another level. So what you. Not taste in something I taste fully, I can't even get past that specific taste. Um, like people like cucumber water, for instance. Oh, I put cucumber in my water all the time. I can't, cuz it just tastes like straight cucumbers to me. Um, you know, so texture wise, like I don't eat sushi.
Dex:
Uhhuh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I know that's crazy to a lot of people. Like what? But it literally feels like it's swelling in my mouth as I chew it,
Dex:
Hmm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
literally.
Dex:
Yeah, I identify with that cuz I can't eat oatmeal.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
There you go. Me either.
Dex:
I can't eat oatmeal. You, you lost me at sushi. But
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Uh,
Dex:
I mean, see you had me when you said food, you really had me, when you said porn then you really, really had me when you said food porn and then when you lost me as sushi. But I feel like we're coming back.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I can't eat sushi. Like I am thinking about taking a, a sushi class to offer it to my clients, but honestly, I wanna take it like in Asia. I don't wanna take it domestically.
Dex:
don't wanna take it domestically. Okay.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
no, Like when I went to Kenya last year, I took a cooking class, like, you know, I went on safari and things like that, but I told myself I wanted to start taking classes in the countries that I visit cuz I'm, I'm a traveler. And it's like, that was like one of the best experiences I had. You know, it was, it, it was $20 decks. $20
Dex:
Oh, yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
for this cooking class on Airbnb. I encourage people when you travel, check the experiences tab, like there's a tab
Dex:
mm-hmm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
aside from, you know, booking a house or a room or what have you. It's a tab for experiences, which I just learned about last year.
Dex:
Yeah. I.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Check it.
Dex:
Yes, I will do that next time. I'm on my way to Nairobi. I, uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Hmm. When are we going?
Dex:
what? I don't know, you tell me when we're going. Um,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I, we, I need to go back.
Dex:
Oh, what's up, Caesar?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
that's a whole nother story. We can sit here and talk about that all day.
Dex:
But we, we, we mentioned something that I really wanted to address and expound on. You talking about everybody, everybody eats, you know, and the expression is breaking bread. And I really feel like there's a lot of, you know, peace and coming together and unity around a plate, you know, a barbecue. I mean, I mean, nobody never has a good time, you know, at, at, at a barbecue. I always have a good time, you know what I mean? I don't eat everything, but I always have a good time. And it's, it's incredibly important, you know, I mean, just look at. The, the Ethiopian food, you know what I mean? You have that huge, you know, is it in bread? Yeah. And then
Chef Nikki Rowland:
it's a layout that just brings everybody together.
Dex:
And everybody's eating.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
but to, Right,
Dex:
It is just so communal and I mean, it's, it's if, can we all just get along, was a food that's, It would be Ethiopian. It would be Ethiopian meal. Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
It's funny you say that, cuz a lot of times when I cook on site, um, for larger ev not I, I say large events, but like, you know, a client will call me. Matter of fact, I have one coming up on Saturday, right? It's the on, I call it a onsite, that's the service where I come on site and I actually prepare what you're ordering on site. Sometimes it's just for a single person or a couple, but. A lot of times it's for a group of people, dinner party. Um, this is a housewarming for one of my longstanding clients. She just, or her husband just purchased a house. And I love being a part of stuff like that. Like I love being a part of the celebrating, you know, achievements and what have you. And nine times outta 10, even when I'm like, okay, she's, they're like, Okay, nobody, you know, you have the kitchen to yourself. You won't have to worry about, you know, anybody coming here. People are gonna come, they gravitate into the kitchen, they gravitate in here to, you know, make sure that, you know, whatever I'm cooking, I'm cooking correctly. Or, you know, the older, the elders, they come in and they say, What you putting in that? Or what you, you know, and it's just like, I used to be like so nervous. It just gimme anxiety a little bit because I'm like, I'm trying to focus. I don't wanna mess this up, blah, blah, blah. But. The fact that people gravitate towards me to see what I'm doing. It is so heartwarming to see that, you know, because a lot, I'm gonna be honest, people see me with a lot of times when people meet me
Dex:
Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
and I, they say, What do you do? And I say, I'm a chef. And they say, Oh, and I've even had, well dudes, mainly you don't look like a chef. I'm like, What does a, what does a chef look like? Exactly. What were you about to say? What were you about to say?
Dex:
No. You know what? You, you should have said, You're like, Yeah, I, I left my rat, you know, that is normally in my hat. I left him at home. I, I learned everything he taught me. So just
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Right. So it's like, what, what am I supposed to look like? You know? Yeah, it, it food definitely, brings everyone together. That's, that's how my roots are set, honestly.
Dex:
I mean, yeah. I mean, sitting around the table at night, cutting up, talking about your day. You've been training for this your entire life, especially being in the military family?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
well, yeah. Well, my, actually, my parents got, my dad was in the Army when they got married. They had me, We, my mom and I flew to Korea to live with him when I was six weeks old. Stayed there till I was four. We came back to the States, they got divorced. My mom decided to join the Army when I was eight. So then, you know, it, it's, it was still embedded in me. But, cooking itself is like from a long line of my family. It, it comes from my grandparents, both sides and my dad, my mom did not know how to cook when they. She, she had no concept of cooking. My grandmother was, very spoiling of me too. You know, She, she didn't, she didn't want anyone in her kitchen. I'll cook, I'll make what you want, whatever you want for breakfast. I'll cook that. She took orders like, What do you want? What do you want? So when my mom met my dad, she didn't know how to cook. She didn't know how to do, she, she had no concept of the kitchen, the oven, the stove, anything. So my dad taught her, you know, cuz he was like, You're my wife, I gotta go work when I come home. I want food on the table.
Dex:
Uhhuh.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
And I mean, you know, that didn't, that didn't last very long, but
Dex:
still. Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
but he has always been like the person who, whenever someone asked me, I've, I've always been a daddy girl, but whenever someone asked me like, Where did your, you know, it start for you, It's always been my dad.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
So, you know, and, and seeing him when I was in high school, I moved, I left where my mom was in Italy and I moved to live with my dad in Pennsylvania, in Harrisburg. And every Sunday he would wanna cook dinner for a pastor, you know, they were friends, but like a pastor in like three other, church members. And it was just a complete opposite of what I lived with, with my mom. And I'm like, We cooking, we cooking for these people every Sunday. We, Cause I'm in the kitchen too, you know, even though I'm like 17, 18 years old. And it was just like whenever the church had something, my dad was right there in the middle. You know, normally, you know, the men, I mean the men usually weren't in the kitchen. My dad was. My dad always was, you know, And he gets, he got that from my grandfather. My grandfather was a high ranking mason here in Atlanta. And he was known for his barbecue. I mean, you know, James Roland, everybody knew him about his and about his barbecue. So, um, and whenever my grandfather would barbecue, everybody gyrated over to the house. Everybody came to the house. So, yeah, it, it is a, a, a very, you know, addictive type of feelings. For me to see that, like, just like I'm still doing what my, my father did, what my grandfather did,
Dex:
Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
and making sure that, you know, people are loved by food. The food gives them a loving feeling. That's very important for me.
Dex:
you know, I, I want to paint this little picture for you and then I wanna respond. I want you to respond to it.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Mm-hmm.
Dex:
Because you've mentioned a couple scenarios here, and I'm seeing a trend. All right, you're in the kitchen, let's say you got a private client and they just got married, or they just had a kid or somebody got a promotion and you're cooking for them and maybe five other people. And you're, you're making stuff and somebody wants to come in and refill their wine and they're smelling what you're doing. And you have some hors d'oeuvres laid out so they don't come and try and pick at whatever it is that you're making, You know, you gotta, you gotta feed 'em. So they don't, you know, get into like the real stuff and the, they what, and what's bringing them in is the smells. Then, you know, you go back further to your childhood and your dad or your grandpa is making barbecue. They're putting out the smells. People are coming over and they're coming in. now we get to the portion of the meal where you're watch, you're watching them eat something that you make. I need you to tell me about the level of satisfaction that you get from them experiencing the love and passion from the food that you've created.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
It's orgasmic. It's simply orgasmic. It's like, first of all, the first, the first thing I notice is quiet because people have stopped talking cuz they're eating. You hear, sometimes you hear smacking, you hear, fork against a plate. You hear, you know? Mm. You know, but they're, they're tearing the food up and it's just like, okay, I'm still human though, so I, in my mind, I'm watching, like, okay, is that too salty or is that too much pepper? Or, you know what I mean? And at the end of the day, or at the end of that meal, people are coming back up. Is there any anymore, this mac and cheese left, Is it more their chicken left? What you put these potatoes that is just the best. It's, it's just heartwarming. You know what I mean? That I can give people that type of feeling, that type of satisfaction of, you know, I need, It's almost like you see them and you're like, they needed that. You know? One of the things I've been doing recently is cooking for Repass services.
Dex:
Ah-huh.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
you know, a friend of mine was like, Oh, you should do, you should make a package. And I'm. Oh, I don't wanna do that. You know what I mean? Cause death is so, I mean, I've experienced enough death myself. know, I've lost my mother, my father, both sets of grandparents. I'm an only child. I want people, most of the time they're like, Whatever you come up with, you know, here's the budget. Whatever you come up with. When I tell you, Dex, I'm going to feed your soul I'm like, it's a hug. Literally. Like it's a hug because I'm just, I'm very adamant that I want my clients. I know you're asking me how I feel,
Dex:
yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
but I'm adamant that I want my clients to feel loved when they my food. Seriously. Like, no, I'm, I'm not even, you know, trying to exaggerate or be conceded or anything like that. It's literally about love. I don't ever want someone to be like, I mean, I had it, but it was all right. I don't want you to feel that way. I want it to be alright. I want it to be, Damn, that was good. You know? So, and I never, my, my biggest goal is that I don't want my clients to pick up salt and pepper.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I, I want the food to be flavorful enough that you don't have to salt and pepper.
Dex:
Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
You know, I think a lot of chefs are a little hesitant to do that because they're like, Oh, especially, the ones I've worked with that, have been to culinary school, I'm told that, you know, they're, I, I didn't go to culinary school, so I'm told that they say, you know, you don't season the food cuz you just never know someone's pallet.
Dex:
yeah, I mean, that makes sense. Yeah. But yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah. You're gonna get this seasoning. It's, it's gonna be, and, and you know, I don't one of my, I guess, biggest flaws, kind of. It's a, it's a gift and a curse that I don't measure, but I'm gonna season that food. You're not gonna look on my IG page at a picture of some food I prepare and not see seasoning on it.
Dex:
Yeah. I mean, it's, it, it feels you're, you're putting your signature on it. Even if you know your signature was, you know, two pinches of salt, two pinches of pepper or whatever, that's your signature. It's otherwise, you're just following a recipe and then letting other people finish the recipe, I guess, to their liking. I don't,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
There you go.
Dex:
Yeah, it's, I, I completely, completely understand where you're coming from and I identify that. I definitely identify that it's, and it's, you know, since this is a business show, I gotta get to the point to where you've been making food for some time and what was the. Moment to where you're like, Okay, I gotta, I gotta start doing this. And what was this exactly? Was it just making plates for people? Was
Chef Nikki Rowland:
No. So I was doing it kind of like on the side, before I started, catering full time. Okay. Backstory is, I went to college to be a pilot.
Dex:
Oh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
nother, that's a whole nother show. I wanted to be a commercial pilot.
Dex:
uh, okay.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Went to H B C U. Basically I didn't
Dex:
Hold up. Where, Where did you go to school? Cause we got to
Chef Nikki Rowland:
delaware State University.
Dex:
Okay. All right. We just gotta shout out any H B C U uh
Chef Nikki Rowland:
it was Del Delaware State College when I went, That's how long ago it went, but Delaware State Hornets. Okay. And I basically lost all track and focus of what I was there for. Um, met my ex-husband, got pregnant with my oldest son, and I was like, Okay. Basically they were like, you cannot, Cause I was in, I was as a, um, in the airway, it was airway science. So an airway science program. You fly, like your flight labs are like immediate, but you're flying on your instructor's, license.
Dex:
Okay.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
You, you are not you and your baby. So
Dex:
Oh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
my physical and they said, Oh wait, you're. You cannot continue in this program. I was, I pretty much was already on academic probation. I, I was just,
Dex:
Mm-hmm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I, I was just, you know, asking around. I wasn't doing, I supposed to, I'm gonna be honest. And, I was like, okay, I got this, you know, I have this baby now I have this kid. We, you know, we didn't get married immediately and I was like, ok, I gotta work. So I worked administrative jobs, this, that, and that. Third, we did get married, got divorced and I found a job with this company that, I stayed there for like four or five years. We're not gonna talk about the company theory about, but I kept while working there, I was doing like little stuff on the side, you know, make a carrot cake here, you know, grill, do some ribs there, this, that, and a third. And when, I moved my son's, we were. Up north of Maryland. I moved my sons here, back here to Atlanta. Well, it was back here for me,
Dex:
Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
my youngest son, he was like, he's in first grade. Very, he had a lot of personalities and he kept saying, You know, you're never a class mom. You never helped get the class. All my friends have their parents come and just, I'm like, Well, Brandon, I gotta work, you know? And he's like, You don't have to work. I said, I do gotta work. You know what I mean? You want just Game Boy and all these games and all this PS one, whatever, shit, you know, I gotta work. So I just took a leap and I cash in, my ira took the penalty and I said, Okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna try this. So it didn't work out initially when I moved here, it didn't work out, you know. But I, I just, I worked again in an administrative setting. And that didn't work out. I'm, I'm, I'm a rebellious, um, corporate worker. That's what I consider myself. Okay. I like the job. I do, I just don't like doing it with the people I, that I have to deal with basically.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
And, a friend of mine came, called me and she said, I have kids now. Mind you, I'm still doing stuff on the side. You know what I mean? Like, here and there. People call me mac and cheese, pasta salad, something like that. She goes, My kids are in daycare. They don't have hot meals. Would you consider doing hot lunches for the kids at the daycare? So I'm like, I don't know. I guess like, I don't know, like, this is not something I've ever done.
Dex:
Mm-hmm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
And she said, I think you should think about it. You can set the price, come up with a, you know, proposal for the daycare and blah, blah, blah. And I was like, um, you know, like what? Because now I have to cook a meal for the kid. You know, I have to come up with a menu for every day, five days a week for, for kids. And I'm just like, Oh my God, I don't know. So then I said, I basically said, Fuck it. Yeah, I'll do it. I gave my notice, gave my notice. They, the daycare accepted for the proposal. And it was like, okay, it worked out for like a year. Then everything changed with the daycare. You know, parents were leaving this, that, and the third. But in the meantime I went to the local radio station. I contacted the producer and I said, I emailed them. I said, I like to provide lunch for the morning team. This is a, a gr a show that I listen to all the time, every morning, taking my sons to school. So they were like, Sure. I said, Okay, I'll be up there. What time do I need to be up there? They, you know, they finish at 10. Okay, cool. I go up there and I make like, it's only what, four, four or five of them
Dex:
Mm-hmm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'm making like half pan of food. So I'm thinking like, Oh, you know, I wanna be able to feed the whole office or what have you. I take the food up there, my little cha chasing racks and all this stuff, and I set the food up and they come out and I'm sitting there and I'm like, I'm, I'm a, I'm an introvert. I'm a quiet person.
Dex:
I refuse to believe that
Chef Nikki Rowland:
a, I said, Look, I took it back. I'm an observant person.
Dex:
Yeah. That I believe that I.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'm a true fe female Capricorn. So when I walk in a room, I'm not the first person to speak. I mean, I'll speak cordially, hello, but I have to read the room. I gotta look and see, I gotta check body language, I gotta do all that. So that's what I'm doing. And they were like, Where is this food? Come? What's, you know? So, the producer says, Yeah, y'all can make your plate. Somebody, you know, somebody not, not me. Somebody dropped off with lunch. I didn't drop it off. I'm still here, but I'm in the corner. But if I, you know, So they're sitting there eating it and they're like, Who made this food? The one guy who this? So I said, Did, he said what? He said, How much does this cost us? I said, It didn't cost you anything. It's on me. He said, Oh, He said, You good, You good. That's the way you do it.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
And it was like from that point forward, I was like, I can do this. I can do, I did have some, some, you know, encouragement from like, my best friend Kika. Like, she, she was very encouraging, you should be, you should be paid to cook all this food. I was like, uh,
Dex:
She's got a point.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
You know,
Dex:
a point.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah. And then, you know, to hear them say, I was like, Okay, I can do this, I can do this. So yeah,
Dex:
Do you think it was more powerful to hear it from somebody that you don't know? Because you already know your friend. She probably loves you unconditionally. She's always gonna give you that big up.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
it was, Well, no, no. Cause she and I are, we're close enough that we can check each other, you know what I mean? She, she would be like, Girl, you crazy. But she's, she's very encouraging. I just had the hesitancy cuz I was like, you're telling me I can do this? But in my mind, I don't see bills being paid. You know what I mean?
Dex:
Yeah,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
But the fact that this person that, I don't know, like you said, he just confirmed what she was saying. You know, what she said was always sitting in the front of my mind. They just confirmed it. And I still cook for, a couple of them to this day. To this day, I just, like, they still call me up in order of food to this day.
Dex:
Oh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
So I keep telling myself, like when I, when I get Rich and they, they call me and say, You're, you're never gonna have to pay for food ever.
Dex:
That's so awesome.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah.
Dex:
That is so awesome. All right, so you, you made some, some first connections. What was the point to where you were like, All right, I gotta actually draw out this plan, figure out what ingredients I use the most. And besides word of mouth, what was the way that you got all of your, your, your clients and customers?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Instagram. Instagram It, it gave when Instagram started. Okay, let me stop, let me pause. Okay. I'm 47 years old, I'll be 48 in January.
Dex:
Okay.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
So all these new app, all these apps, I'm hon honestly, I be like, I can't keep up. Like it's, you know, and that's how I felt about Instagram back then. Cuz you know, I was on Facebook
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
and it was. Facebook is cool, you can do this, you can do that, You know, blah, blah, blah. And then came Instagram and it was like, you don't have to be, you know, you can, you can just designate this just for this and include a little bit of personal, you know what I mean? And it's, it's public. Like, it's not just, you know, people you knew from school or your neighbors or you know, your cousins and all that stuff. It's like massive.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
And you're like, Okay, I got, well all, I got like 2000 followers. I don't know all these people, but damn they following me. Cause they see my, you know, you're just posting pictures in a short caption. And that's, I feel like what gets me, majority of my clientele. Word of mouth is more than Instagram. I will say that.
Dex:
Yeah. I mean, it always is.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah, I, I feel like, when you're a chef or you, you're in culinary or any food service,
Dex:
Mm-hmm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
handing out business cards, handing out menus, emailing people menus, they, they can't taste that. They, they need to, as my aunt would say, put it on the pallet. They need it on the pallet to, to get it, you know, stuck in their mind about what you are able to do.
Dex:
I need you to quote that one more time. One more. There was somebody though sitting in the back that wasn't listening. Go ahead and drop some knowledge on 'em.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
put it on the pallet. When you're in the, when you're in food service, a chef, a cook, culinary, whatever, you have to put it on their palette so that they know the potential of what you can get. You know, it's stuck in their. You, you can, I can go on Instagram and see, 5,000 chefs pages in full of food, you know, plate it beautifully, all the sauce and parsley and all this stuff. If you can't taste it and put the visual with the taste,
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
it's pointless. You know what I mean? Like, it's very, it's pointless to me. That's my opinion.
Dex:
Hey, I sister, I am with you. Okay. This podcast episode is just a long con to get a free plate. That's all this is. Like, I, I don't, I, I wanna promote you and your business, but Yes. You know, since we're all being honest. Yeah. I'm trying to, you know, Google your address so I can just show up randomly so there's
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Well, that won't happen because I, I, that's a whole, that's another story also, I have to, I had a, an experience with an old client where I was posting stuff on Instagram, posted dinner, And, uh, now I always post after. I'm not posting during,
Dex:
But damn. How good of a cook are you? What other, What other chef Get stalkers.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I don't know, I'm, I'm hoping somebody out there because she, she was like, she text me, she called, I didn't answer. She text, she goes, Grandma outside, can, can you bring your plate? I'll pay you. And I'm like, What? And my son out the window, he was like, It's a, it's a lady outside. I said, Oh my God. Because I used to do pickups at my house, you know,
Dex:
Yeah,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I like, Okay, if you wanna pick up. And then I had to stop that all together. No. So now I do pickups at a general public secure location.
Dex:
You're just gonna have to call them people on me. I'm showing up at your kitchen. Yep.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
uh,
Dex:
No, I'm playing. I'm playing . That is, that is probably the craziest cooking story I've ever heard in my.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
It, it, it was crazy when it happened. Cause I was like, Should I give her a plate so she'll leave or should I call the police or, you know what I mean? So I did have to check her and I be like, Look, you can't just do this. You can't just show up. You know? And
Dex:
Was it the mac and cheese? Was it the mac and cheese?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Prob, maybe I'm not gonna lie. Okay. I'm very confident with my mac and cheese. I give out tips because I want other people to be confident with their mac and cheese. Even though people are like, I need the whole recipe. You don't, you know, the, it's mac and cheese, you know, the basis. Just add these tips in. Just add this in. You know what I.
Dex:
Mm-hmm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Just, you know, give it a little razzled dazzle, you know.
Dex:
Little Panko crumbs on the top.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
No, never. Come on. No. Dex, we're not doing Panko on mac and cheese
Dex:
Wells. I guess that's one person I'm not cooking a plate for.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I, I'll eat mac and cheese, but it's, it's, it's gotta be like, I'm just really hungry because I make it so much
Dex:
Uh oh.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'm just like,
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
you know, So I'm just like, I'm gonna tell you this weekend I have to make for, for orders, five half pans and three nine inch pans of mac and cheese just for orders.
Dex:
Wow. That is a lot of, um, that's a lot of mac and cheese girl.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
That's a lot. Like, I, I will never put elbows out of, I mean, I elbows will always be in business as far as I'm Cause evaporated milk heavy cream will always be in business.
Dex:
Well, you know, since we know what you make the most, what is it, the one thing that you like, that you enjoy making, that you enjoy eating?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
My ribs, my barbecue ribs.
Dex:
Say it again. Say it slower.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
my pit grilled barbecue ribs.
Dex:
Can we get a
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Pork ribs,
Dex:
we get a moment of silence for my stomach right now? I am dying inside.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I mean
Dex:
This sounds delicious. Just shh. Don't move. Don't move. Don't move. Don't move, don't move.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
See orgasmic right. See, I
Dex:
You about to put Porn hub out of business. Girl I don't even, I cannot believe I just said that on a podcast, but here we. Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
If they had a section where you could do food porn, I would definitely be a country.
Dex:
man. Yeah, Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
be like, Sign me up.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
me up
Dex:
So, alright. I'm pretty sure you've answered this question, but out of everything in your business, the personal catering, the making plates for people, what part is your favorite part?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
the delivery.
Dex:
The delivery.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
that sounds crazy,
Dex:
no, no. It doesn't sound crazy. It's just, that wasn't what I was expecting. But by all means, expound
Chef Nikki Rowland:
so it's like you've prepped I, Well, I've prepped, I've bought ingredients. Buying ingredients is, is a task in and of itself, so
Dex:
a.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I might have to go to four or five different stores or, and market to get what I, what I prefer to get for. In order and you go, due to all that, you know, you gotta bring all the bags in the house, put the stuff away, um, organize it based on how I need to pull it to prep. All the chopping, the peeling, the boiling, the what have you. Cause I don't do anything can or vegetable or frozen. So if you order green beans, they're gonna be snap, they're not gonna be canned or frozen or in a bag. I'm gonna go to the market and get a vegetable bag and put handfuls of green beans in. If you order mashed potatoes, I'm peeling them. I'm cutting them, I'm boiling them, I'm mashing them, hand mashing.
Dex:
Wow.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
everything is, that's when I say it's, it's love in the food.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
And once I prepare it, I've smelled it. I usually, I might taste test, you know, I have taste test spoons all over the place,
Dex:
Hmm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
but. Once I prepare it, put it in that pan and put that lid on it and seal that lid, the lid is already labeled and I put it in the back of my truck and I go and drop it off. That's like the most accomplished feeling on time. Let me, let me specify that when I drop it off on time.
Dex:
Yes.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
that's the most accomplished feeling ever. Um, then there's a waiting get, Cause some, some clients they just eat it and you don't hear back from them today, wanna order again, Which is fine. I don't, I'm not knocking that.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
But then I have some clients that send me a text message like, What, what did you do to this? Like, how, how did you, what, what, what was in this?
Dex:
What.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Everybody enjoyed it. Everybody kept coming back. That's the best feeling that, that moment from delivery till I get that message, you know, that's like, you know, um, the feeling that's what I'm, what I'm, that's the goal.
Dex:
Yeah, I, I definitely get
Chef Nikki Rowland:
nothing can top that. Nothing. I mean, I mean, nothing can top that business wise, I should say.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Uh, so yeah,
Dex:
So how many, how many new, or I should say, what's the percentage of your customers that are new versus repeat?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
new is maybe about 20%, depending on the time of year,
Dex:
Okay.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'm gonna say that. So I'm coming up to my holiday season and usually around for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I get a bunch of new clients. Like it, it flips, you know, But I have, I have consistent clients that they might call me every week. They might call me every three months, but they're consistent, you know? Then I have some people who are like, Oh, I follow you and I keep seeing your food, and I keep wanting to order, and they just say, I'm gonna order, I'm ordering now. I'm like, okay. You know?
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
So yeah, I would say new is about 20%. It's a pretty big percentage, but yeah. Um,
Dex:
Yeah,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I only know that because I don't delete anything. I don't delete any texts, emails, anything. So if somebody texts me and they haven't ordered in two years, I still have that, that message from two years ago.
Dex:
Aw, that's, I mean, that's one way. I guess that's gonna make me skip to my other question. What tools do you use to stay organized Exactly.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
My main tool is a index card.
Dex:
Index cards.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
yeah,
Dex:
Oh
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I know you were thinking, I'm gonna say like an app or something like that.
Dex:
yeah, definitely
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Index cards. So I, I have to write everything down. I, I mean, eventually it gets typed up and what have you and put on a spreadsheet and then an app but I have to write it down. I have to like, visually write it, see it in my handwriting and process it, whether it be, um, everybody gets, uh, every client gets a index card every order. My son recently told me, Don't throw them away. I wanna do, He's a artist. He's like, I wanna do something with.
Dex:
uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'm like, Okay. But it's, you know, I, that's why my website, like text me, you can email me. Like I have some older clients who are like, I don't text, I email. I'm like, okay. You know, But it has to be in writing. Cause I could be doing three other things. I could be driving, I could be delivered. I have to see, I have to, cuz I don't want us to forget. I don't want you to forget. I don't wanna forget. And I wanted us to be on the same Accord. So index cards have been like my best friend. Like I have 'em in three different sizes, and I literally every, you know, every order gets a index card. If you revise the order, it's a new index card staple to the old one. You know, I write on the back when payments are made before I even type it in, to the app. Cuz I might be, you know, out and about or what have you.
Dex:
Yeah, that makes sense,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
it gives me, you know, I, I clip them to my pages and my planner. You know, say, Oh, okay, I have this, these orders this month, and they're clipped, you know, or this person inquired. So, yeah, they, they are my best friend, and they're, they're inexpensive. Like they're the best, inexpensive tool I could have ever found.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah.
Dex:
Well, If someone wanted to start a business like this, what are some costs that they wouldn't necessarily expect? Like you expect to buy ingredients and stuff like that, but what is it something that they would have to keep up with that they weren't expecting all the time?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Um, taxes.
Dex:
Taxes.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
definitely taxes. Um, and well see for me my cost, I, I, I had to factor in travel costs. But I guess before that it would be the co, I mean, you buy ingredients, but you also have to buy like the pans, the lids, serving utensils that, cause people wanna use what they use to cook with in their kitchens. That's not an average serving utensils. So, you know, you have to think about, when you go to Restaurant Depot for instance, you're not just buying bulk ingredients. You have to buy once the food is done, you have to put it in something. You know what I mean? One of the things I tell chefs that, have come to me and say, Do you have any tips? Buy, invest in actual lids for your pans. There's nothing to me, more ghetto than a pan covered with foil.
Dex:
yeah. I'm like, I understand if you have foil and the top, but yeah, you gotta have the top. It just looks,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Invest in, invest in lids.
Dex:
yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Labels don't always stick on them. So get a sharpie, write on the lid what it is, you know what I mean? If they ordered three pans of mac and cheese, Mac and cheese, one of three, mac and cheese, two of three, you know what I mean? Like do that. A good knife set is very important. I mean, I know that seems like standard for a chef, but you really have to find the knife that works best for you. I have so many knives. My son actually made me a knife. I won't use it cuz he made it. I wanna frame it, but like I've gone through so many to find the one that fits perfectly in my hand, doesn't make my hands tired or cramped or what have you. Like that. Like don't just settle on a, the best knives are not in the block. I will say that.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'm a stickler about the kitchen utensil section in like, discount stores like Marshalls, TJ Max.
Dex:
Uh
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Like you go in there and you'll find things that you, I call those my mini investments. You know, it's like the certain rubber spatula or a strainer or something like that. Like, those are things that you would think, Oh, they, you know, they don't have that on hand. No, you, you have to buy things and invest in it because you're gonna use it over and over and over, you know what I mean?
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
So you don't wanna go to not knocking Dollar Tree or Dollar 25 Tree as I call them now, cause their price went up But you wanna. The, the quality, you know what I mean? You do wanna do that. Um,
Dex:
the, the topnotch butter scotch or
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Well, it, it might not be top notch butterscotch, but it's not the cheapest.
Dex:
Gotcha. Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
it's an investment you're investing into yourself. Because if you get the knives, the $20 night set from Walmart, it's, it's not gonna be sharp as, it's gonna be sharp from one day. You know what I mean? And then you're like, Oh, you, you might risk cutting your hand, or cutting of these tomatoes looking crazy or something like that. So just just invest in, your business in a sense that, and just, I can't say this goes for all chefs. Cause it might be a pastry chef, you know what I mean? You might be a pastry chef. You need to invest in like good, frosting bags instead of using Ziploc bags, you
Dex:
Oh yeah, yeah,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
you see what I'm saying? Like, it's hard to just narrow down what to say the, what the main cost goes to. I'm a stickler about seasonings, you know, I only use a certain brand for certain things. Um, and sometimes, you know, people are like, Oh, I can get the Kroger brand. Yeah, you can, but
Dex:
you gotta get that, that Kroger taste.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
yes, exactly. You know,
Dex:
my wife. She'll get that great value, and I'm just like that great value does not have great taste. I had this roommate a long time ago, and bless her heart, she would buy the $2 and 25 cent peanut butters and she'd buy him two at a time. But then I'd spend 3 75, I think it was at the time, on the peanut butter that I liked. Well then she'd end up eating all my peanut butter and then never eat her peanut butter. And then I'd ask her
Chef Nikki Rowland:
tasted like old, old oil. Right?
Dex:
even old oil, it just tastes like cardboard and death. It uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Oh, Oh God.
Dex:
it was just like if depression was a peanut butter, that's what it tastes like. But
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Just that's all the label said was peanut butter. That's
Dex:
peanut butter and depression, that's all it was. Free coupon for some Xanax, but the, uh, But she's just like, Well, it's cheaper. And I'm like, But you don't eat it, so you're wasting money. Spend the extra money on something that you enjoy and stop eating my peanut butter.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Exactly. Exactly. And it's okay. Like I think people fail to realize, Like I said, we all, we all eat. And you should definitely eat what you like and not just settle, you know, you, you won't settle you, you're not gonna settle for a phone, you know what I mean? You gonna get the phone that you want. Right? Cause you're always on your phone.
Dex:
True.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Same applies to food.
Dex:
Yeah. Yeah. It's about the experience. It really is about the experience. um, you, you mentioned during your travels, and I wanted to mention this cuz it's kind of a shameless plug. You mentioned, you know that on your travels that you click the Airbnb Experiences i, I interviewed the number one Airbnb experience in Atlanta. Edward the beekeeper.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
really.
Dex:
So if anybody wants to check that out, that's on one of the previous episodes. Check out Edward the Beekeeper. He's a, a black beekeeper, and, his story is incredible, and I'm not just saying that because it's my podcast, but he, his story is truly incredible and he just dropped knowledge left and right. It was just,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
You know what, I might check that out cause I have a death fear of bees.
Dex:
uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I, I have a fear of anything that flies cuz it has such an advantage over me. But, and I say that lightly. Most people who know me like you don't have any fears. I do. But yeah, bees are one of them and I feel like I'm the type of person that I would, because you said this about this, about Edward, I would literally go to this experience just to understand bees better so that I'm not like, Outside on the grill and it's bees swarming and I'm freaking out and letting the ribs burn because I'm too worried about trying to swat a bee that's way faster than me.
Dex:
Yeah, I mean, most bees actually don't sting you.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
maybe not you, but they stink me.
Dex:
Well, you know, you're such a sweet person. They're looking for the
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Oh gosh. So let me tell. There you go. So I was told carpenter bees don't stink. You know the big black bees, the ones that bur burrow in the wood,
Dex:
yeah. Yeah. You're gonna have to talk to him about that one cuz I, I don't wanna give out the wrong advice, but
Chef Nikki Rowland:
but I'm just letting you know, everybody was like, Oh, they don't sting, They don't st. Yet one stung me. Now granted it was, it had bird, a hole in the handle of my grill and I grabbed the handle, the lift it and it, you know. But I'm like, why me?
Dex:
Yeah. Yeah, you do. Take it personal. Yeah. Yeah. I get it.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I do very personal, you know, like I, I let you, you know, deface my grill handle and you still me.
Dex:
don't even pay any rent
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Right, right. You know,
Dex:
But yet,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
check that out.
Dex:
check him out. Let him know that I sent you and anybody else out there. Let him know that I sent you. I don't know if he'll give you anything for free. I'm not saying he will. What I'm saying is you'll,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
No, I don't want anything for, I would post him, be like, Look y'all,
Dex:
yo, you should use his ingredients. That's what you should do. You should use his honey in an as an ingredient. I mean,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Oh, I will. You know, we're supposed to ingest honey from our, where we live to fight off allergies.
Dex:
I've heard that. I've heard that.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
it works by the way. It does.
Dex:
Oh yeah. I believe it. No doubt about it. No doubt about.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'm gonna look him up and see what his schedule is like.
Dex:
Definitely. So I wanted to ask you though, um, do you, do you work we weddings and stuff like that? Right.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yes.
Dex:
Okay. Do you find yourself partnering with vendors there, like the photographer or the venue or,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Um, not always. I mean, I'm gonna be honest, a lot of times the venue doesn't wanna u want the people to use me. I've only recently, let me just say this, I've only recently done weddings, started doing more weddings. I used to have this like wedding phobia. Cause I'm like, Oh my God, it's so much drama, you know, blah, blah, blah. But I have literally this year I've had the best wedding clients. Like when I say the best, like they, you know, I, I have, um, some clients who live in dc they used to live in Atlanta and they moved to DC and. Called me and they said, We're getting married. Well, it was actually a surprise reception cuz they had already gone and done the whole ceremony. But, they, they were like, we, we are insistent that you cater the wedding. And I was like, Oh, okay. And they were like, Whatever the cost is, let us know, blah, blah, and we'll get you a house while, you know, here in DC so you can cook, you know, and blah, blah, blah. And it all worked out. And actually the young lady who was managing the facility, she was cool, don't get me wrong, but I feel like when we first met, she was just like, Yeah, right. you're, Yeah. You know, as far as the food went. But when I tell you she kept coming through the line to get plates and she was taking plates to go, she's like, Do you have any to go containers? I do not.
Dex:
Wow.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
don't carry them.
Dex:
Wow.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I know that, yeah. If I went back, Or, you know, maybe she knows now, Oh, I have clients who are looking for this and this, are you willing to come up, blah, blah, blah. But here in Atlanta, not currently. I'm not partnered with any venues. I actually have to go talk to a venue in the coming like month or two because a client is having her birthday party at their venue. And again, she's insist she told them, I'm insistent that that Nikki caters it. Cause they were like, Oh, we have caterers. She's like, Uh, yeah, but I want Nikki to cater. So I'm like, Okay. So I'm gonna do whatever I have to do in my power to make sure that everything runs smoothly with myself in the, the venue. I do have some bakers. I'm not a baker.
Dex:
Okay.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'm not, I I, I know my limit for desserts. I can make the hell outta peach cobbler that I can do banana pudding, strawberry banana pudding that I can do.
Dex:
I didn't know a such thing existed.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
You didn't, but now you do. So I'm gonna put that on your, your list of your meals. I have, I'm writing as we're talking . So, Yes.
Dex:
Yes.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
So, um, yeah. So I do have some bakers that I use that when people say, Oh, I need, you know, Do you have, can you do the cake? No.
Dex:
you want to give them a shout out
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Oh yeah. So one is, the cupcake District. They're at the Cupcake District on Instagram. She does treats cupcakes, of course, and she also can do like, I don't wanna mess it up what it's called, but you know, like the acrylic centerpiece or cake toppers. She can do all that. She can personalize it. She can do Jordan, she can do afro puff ladies, She can do. Like anything you come up with that you want as like a, you know how you have like a centerpiece at the table or a cupcake topper or a cake topper?
Dex:
yeah, like the custom acrylic toppers.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yes, she has like this machine. I don't know what it's called. I don't wanna mess up the name of it, but she can print it out. And she ships worldwide. Worldwide?
Dex:
Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah. She's like my little sister. But she is good. Like when I tell you her stuff is on point, it's on point. I'll vouch for people if I don't know, you know. The other baker that I use here is called Kakestry with a k k a k e s t r y.
Dex:
uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Um, her name is Heather. Her cakes are absolutely divine. She's done my birthday cake, my personal birthday cake. She's done my son's cakes. Her cakes are delicious. She's in Atlanta too, near College Park
Dex:
I'm looking at the pictures.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah, she's good.
Dex:
Yeah, she made cupcakes for some deltas.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
she's Delta.
Dex:
Oh, see that? Yeah. All right. I was gonna talk bad about Deltas, but No, I guess not
Chef Nikki Rowland:
no, don't bad about that. I'm not a, I'm not Delta or, or but don't talk bad about,
Dex:
I know, you know, I'm joking. I don't, you know, I just, Come on. Nobody beat me up.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Please don't beat Dex up. He, he means, Well,
Dex:
I do mean well. Yeah. It's always
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Um, yeah, it's all jokes, but she makes such good cakes. A couple of years ago for my birthday, I had her do, I don't like fondant, and I was like, Heather, I want this unicorn cake. I don't know why I wanted her unicorn, but I saw one. I was like, I want this and I want, She does like a roset type of, um,
Dex:
Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
It was exactly how I wanted
Dex:
what?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
that cake was so good.
Dex:
Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Now in DC I guess she served Maryland and DC
Dex:
uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
This young lady did the cake for the wedding. I was just talking about that. I did in dc
Dex:
uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'm trying to think of what our neighbors, I don't wanna mess it up. Um, she, you know what, I'm just gonna go to that post.
Dex:
okay.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
This cake was so good that she did for this wedding. I've, I've seen wedding cakes. I know people, you know, they order wedding cakes from, you know, here, there where, when I tell you how good this cake was,
Dex:
gotta say it slowly. You can't just rush through it. You gotta say it slowly. This is a food porn podcast. Now,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
this cake was so, Good. I'm about to, I tagged her in my post. Oh God. Where is it? Oh, don't, um, don't beat me up.
Dex:
now I'm not gonna beat you up.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
It's, it's called Sweet underscore Elevations.
Dex:
Underscore l
Chef Nikki Rowland:
That's her IG page.
Dex:
uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
You're going to look at it, aren't you?
Dex:
you know it,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Okay.
Dex:
Uh, sweet underscore. She's based outta Fort Washington, Maryland.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yes. But I mean, when you're in Maryland, you can serve Maryland, DC
Dex:
Yeah. Yeah, but I'm just making sure I got the right person. Is her name Alicia? . All right.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
No,
Dex:
It's not Alicia. Okay.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I don't think so.
Dex:
You know what, I'm just going to, uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'm
Dex:
cuz I'm linking all of these in the show notes for everybody that's wondering why I keep asking about everyone. I'm, I'm gonna link. I don't know who this person is, this looks delicious, but I'm gonna link them in the show notes. If anybody's listening and they wanna go to them, by all means, you know, I try and help the people and
Chef Nikki Rowland:
did you do, did you do at Sweet s w e e t underscore elevations?
Dex:
I did, but I did it on Google and I got the Sweet Elevations cakes and more.com. Uh, and I have Alicia Hemphill Permenter.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Hold on. Let me, let me look it up cuz I wanna get this right cuz she deserves all the, all the flowers. Um,
Dex:
up two people if I have to.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Okay.
Dex:
Everybody gets love on
Chef Nikki Rowland:
other person. Okay. You're right. You're right,
Dex:
every,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Let me, Cause I tagged her in my, I tagged a piece of the, the, um, the cake in my post and, Oh, she is Alicia. It is Alicia.
Dex:
Oh, okay. Cool. I got the right person. Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
didn't know her name. That's so bad that I only knew her by her cake.
Dex:
I'm not gonna edit that out. That's crazy that you know her by her case, so, you know it's real. Right.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yes. Alicia Hemphill.
Dex:
Permenter
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah. There you go.
Dex:
You, you were chewing so hard you couldn't hear her name. Look at you. Look at you. It was that good,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
So she, no, she dropped the cake off,
Dex:
Oh, she dropped it off. Okay.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
She dropped it off
Dex:
Mm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I had to ask them the couple, I was like, What is her name? Cause I have to, you know, I have to, tag her.
Dex:
Oh, definitely.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Like, I, I didn't, I had the only thing I ate at that wedding. Was the cake
Dex:
You realize we spent like five minutes talking about this cake. It's gotta be good.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I just sent you a picture that from my post that I tap.
Dex:
Perfect. I will link it. All y'all.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah. So, and I, like I said, if I haven't had the food or something, I, I don't, I can't vouch for it. Like,
Dex:
Oh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
and I would expect the same for someone with, you know, with my food. Even though people are like, they saw you and so when they say, Oh, I can't, you know, I follow you and I see your food all the time, I can't wait to taste. I'm like, Oh my God. Okay. No pressure
Dex:
yeah. No, no, no, no. No pressure at all.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah. It's probably other people, but those are the three that come to mind
Dex:
Mm-hmm. . Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
as far as like bakers are concerned. But. I'm looking to partner with other venues all over. It doesn't have to be in Atlanta. I can partner with anybody. I can come anywhere.
Dex:
Yeah, definitely. I mean, but I wanted to ask you, just cuz I remember the thought, I saw this show a long time ago on Amazon called Insta Chef, and one of the, featured things that this guy went around doing was, um, I think his name was Cliff, uh, Cliff Skywalker. Um, one of the things that he'd do is he'd feature local, chefs or cooks that were, that made plates. How long do you think that's been going on and how long do you think it's gotten?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
It's been going on for a long time. I, I just recently started doing plates, um, maybe like in the last two years, maybe three, probably two, just because I was just like, every chef in Atlanta wants to do a plate. Every chef in Atlanta does plates, and it was. You know, I just wanna stand out. But then I realized that some people don't need a whole pan of food, you know? Or even the smallest pan I make, which is a seven inch and has two to three servings, they don't eat leftovers or they don't, they don't need that much. And I started deciding to do plates, probably when I started cooking for my, the professional athletes. One of, you know, he, I, I made my one athlete a plate, and then he took it to practice and then he texted me. He was like, Everybody, the guys want a plate. And I'm like, What? You know, they were like, he was like, how much? I was like, I dunno. Like, know. So I started with that and then I kind, it kind of. Right.
Dex:
That's
Chef Nikki Rowland:
It kind of died off. But then I thought about it and I was like, Well, maybe I should do plates leading up to Thanksgiving so people can get an idea of how the things that I offer for Thanksgiving taste. You see what I'm saying? How do your souffle taste? You know, how do your candy yams? Well, now you can taste it in a plate that's not as much as a pan and get an idea of what you would wanna order, like mass quantities for the holidays. Cause I make people's whole, whole holiday meals. Like it's not just, some people just order sides. Some people ordered a Turkey sides extra meat, everything. So
Dex:
Oh, so that's like a busy week for you then.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
yes,
Dex:
so what's your capacity to make, Thanksgiving meals? Can you just do like five of them or something like that? I mean, cuz there's only so much room in an oven. You know, you gotta have X amount of turkeys. Somebody's gotta want one fried there's always that fried Turkey out there.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
So last year, so my son, my youngest son helps with the Turkey frying and the grilling, for Thanksgiving. Okay. He's currently in Germany, in Frankfurt, Germany in grad school.
Dex:
Oh, cool.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'm like, Can you come home for Thanksgiving? He recent, he recently surprised me. He showed up, surprising me like a month ago I was home. I opened the door, he was standing at the door, scared the shit outta me. But yeah, it was so sweet, like they caught it on, they recorded and everything. Which I was like, What the hell? But anyways, I was like, you know, cuz every year he's, for the past, I don't know, five, six years, he's been, he helps like, he's like, mom, you season and injected hers. I taught him, you know how to lower it. In there we have four, like four to five fryers going at a time. And last year we did 22 fried turkeys.
Dex:
Oh, dang.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
To give you an idea,
Dex:
How do you even orchestrate something like that?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
it's, it's index card and spreadsheets. It's very tedious. Like I have a cutoff time. So my cutoff is the week before, the Monday before Thanksgiving,
Dex:
Mm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
not the week of the week before. You have to have your payments and your. And I still get people who call me the week of the day of Thanksgiving. I know this was last minute. Yeah, it is.
Dex:
Yeah, it is .No, no, no. Two days ago was last minute.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
listen. Exactly. So it's a matter of timing when to buy the turkeys cuz they're normally frozen, so I have to time it so that I buy them to let them defrost. I do have two refrigerators in a standing deep freezer, if that gives you an idea. So last year did, what'd I say? I think it was like 80 something pans of mac and cheese.
Dex:
Dang.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
It, it gets, it gets to be very overwhelming sometimes.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
But at the same time, it's like, this is what I signed up for. Thanksgiving is more, is busier than Christmas. I will say that.
Dex:
yeah, cuz it's all at one time where Christmas people do their Christmas parties all throughout, December and January, so
Chef Nikki Rowland:
right. So, you know, it's like I, I, the pickups have to be done the day before thing. I don't work Christmas day, I don't want Thanksgiving Day. I just, I've made that a rule. I do have some clients who are like, I don't have the room. Can I still get, No, I don't, I don't have the room you know. But yeah, they're, my clients are pretty understanding. They know I'm a very attention to detail. Like,
Dex:
Hmm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I hand write thank you notes for every, every order. I attach warming instructions for your pans of food warming instructions for the Turkey, baking instructions for the mac and cheese. Cuz I always tell the clients you need to bake it the day of.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
My mac and cheese doesn't contain eggs, so you don't have to worry about it going bad or something like that. So yeah, it's, it's down to a science, it's literally down to a science.
Dex:
Wow. Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
And normally I'm up, I get up, um, like that Tuesday at like four in the morning or whatever, and I'm prepping and I'm doing this, I'm making dressing, I'm making gravy from scratch. And then I don't go to sleep. I'm still up that Wednesday when I have to go do my first pickup session. So I that we. I do three separate pickup session time. Cause I can only fit so much in the back. I have a navigator, but I can only fit so much in the back of my truck. So, I have, eight to 10 and then I do a 12 to two, and then I do like a six to eight timeframe for pickups.
Dex:
Uh, Wow.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I have everybody's name written out, what they ordered. Every, every pan is labeled. Yeah, I'm, I'm very attention to detail. It's very, it makes everything run smoother for me. So, yeah.
Dex:
Yeah. Well, one of the questions I try and ask all the time on. This podcast is, and I, I, I always preface it with, the children of doctors become doctors, the children of business people become business people. Who was your role model?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Business wise? I don't, business wise, I'm, I'm just, I'm learning as I go, but
Dex:
Uh
Chef Nikki Rowland:
attention to detail, and the cooking aspect was definitely my father and my grandfather, my, his father, and then my mom's mother, they were the cooks in the family. So watching them and seeing how they, you know, planned and, and, and did things, and time management and things like that has always stuck with me. So, yeah, they have always been the people who, even though they're not here, I'm like, how would, how would daddy do this? You know what I mean? Or how would, Now, when he was here, I would pick up the phone and call him, you know? But, You know, my grandfather, like I said, he, he would grill a whole hog, you know, time it to perfection. He could be grilling a hog and have ribs on the grill and, you know, doing stuff inside.
Dex:
Mm-hmm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
they were probably the people who, they are not probably, they are the people who I always look back to, to say, this is probably how they would do it. Or, you know, X, y, and Z.
Dex:
that's so awesome.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
yeah. Yeah.
Dex:
that's special. That really is special. I gotta ask though. You know, because this is a business show and there's somebody out there that's listening and they want to get like Chef Nikki Roland, what's the first thing they should do? Oh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Well, no, no, I should, I, I take that back, check the website
Dex:
the website.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
and, and check the menu. I think my menu is very extensive, so I pretty much try to cover a lot of areas.
Dex:
Uh uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Um, but usually I tell people, I mean, I do have some people who are like, Can you talk? Can you talk? And I'm like, Okay. But even when, when you talk to me, you tell me what you want, you still have to text it to me. I have to have it in writing. But yeah, that's the best way to do it. Don't DM me and don't try to order me a comment. You will not get a response.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
You won't get a response. I don't like sending anything via dm. I, I'm just, I have this thing about hackers and I've seen too many, I've seen it happen.
Dex:
Oh
Chef Nikki Rowland:
So like, yeah, like my friends will be DMing or someone and I'll, you know, I'm like, Text me your address, and then they'll DM it to me. I'm like, Oh, Unsend it, unsend it, you know? Cause it, I don't like that. I don't like sending like payment info and all that. I don't like doing anything via dms. So yeah, the best way to do it is to text me. But to check the menu on my website, and send me what you would like to order or any inquiries. And first and foremost, when you text me, use your salutation. If you're not familiar what a salutation is, get on good old Google and Google Salutation, I'm gonna give you a short synopsis.
Dex:
Okay.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Hi. Hey, how are you? Hi, Nikki. Any of those work?
Dex:
Okay.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
good evening, Good afternoon. It, it plucks my pubic hair. When I get a message that says, I want two half with buffalo, lemon and pepper wings, and a pan of mac and cheese. Send me my, Excuse me.
Dex:
Yeah. Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
So what I send back is, Hello. That's it.
Dex:
Hey, you know, respect. It's gotta go both ways, y'all.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Listen, I'm a person. I get that I'm a business, but I'm still a person. You know, like, so I'm, I'm just, I'm, and I'm Southern, so I'm big on that, you know what I mean? I look people in the eye. I say hello when I'm, you know, walking down the street. I, especially if it's an elder black person, I'm looking them in their eye, nodding my head and say hello. So, and there's so many people who are like, Well, you know, I'm from up north. I don't care. Everybody know how to say.
Dex:
Yeah. Yeah. It's not that hard.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah, like you did today, you when you text me. Good morning.
Dex:
Oh yeah. It's,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Good morning. D This is gonna be a good podcast interview
Dex:
Yeah. Um, because my parents are big on Headlocks if I don't act right. So there's that
Chef Nikki Rowland:
should be as well. They should. And, and you were on time, You were early
Dex:
Yeah. I don't like being late.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah, I don't either. This, I mean, I can't always say that I'm on time on personal aspect, you know what I mean? Like, I'm, I'll sit on the edge of my bed, like, do I really wanna go? Do I really wanna do this? But when it comes to business, if you tell me deliver at six 30, I'm there at six 15, maybe even six o'clock, just because I don't know how traffic's gonna be. You know what I mean? I don't know if we can't get in the building. I, there's so many things that could happen that run through my mind, So
Dex:
factors. Yeah. Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I had a, a call yesterday.
Dex:
Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
A guy hit me up, text me. Well, can you talk on Sunday? Sure. Totally. Yeah. We gotta talk before football. That's number one. I'm a big football fan.
Dex:
I know you're, you're a Cowboys fan. I almost canceled the interview once I found out.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Are you serious?
Dex:
No, I'm not serious.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Who's your team? Who's your team?
Dex:
Pittsburgh.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Oh, okay.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'm praying for Mike right now. Cuz that game last night. Listen,
Dex:
Yeah, I
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Mike looks real stressed as well. He should,
Dex:
You know, and he, he looks, he's, for the longest time, he is only looked like, he's like 24 years old. He's starting to age like Obama right now, so,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
He is aging like a banana right now. Like what is going on? Yeah. So and Tua came back from an injury and, Okay. As long as you ain't say the Washington Football teams slash Commandos were good.
Dex:
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Why people like them. I don't know. But anyways, they can't even figure out a name for their team. Um, but yeah, so he, you know, 12 o'clock came and went.
Dex:
Mm-hmm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
And, and my thing is, if, if I reach out to you Dex and I say, Hey, can you get on a call? I'm gonna call you. You know what I mean? Like,
Dex:
Mm-hmm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'm gonna reach out, I'm gonna, if we set a time, I'm calling you. So when you call, when you reach out to me and say, Hey, I need to talk to you, blah, blah. Okay, I'm gonna set this time in my phone, on my calendar and be, you know, ready to go. And I'm like, Okay, it's 1206. Okay. You know? All right.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
twin 1215. I'm like, I called him, he didn't answer. Voicemail is full. Okay. So now I can't, you know, So then he calls back and says, Somebody called me from this number. I had a missed call, Sir.
Dex:
y. Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
you forgot we had a call.
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
So, yeah. So yeah, anyways, go to my website, text me your order. I'm, I'm very, I'm pretty quick about responding back, sending back a breakdown in total in methods of payment. And then when it's time for us to meet up for pickup or for me to deliver, please don't have your notifications. Silence.
Dex:
Yeah,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
you know, like it's the small things. It's the small things that I love and it's the small things that make my ass. So it's like,
Dex:
How do you
Chef Nikki Rowland:
let's all be adults,
Dex:
yeah, yeah, definitely. It's like you hungry, aren't you? Like, come on.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Listen, this food is done and it's warm still. Where are you?
Dex:
Hey man, if I know,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I completely forgot
Dex:
if I know Chef Nick Ro made a plate, I'm, I'm showing up early. I'm gonna be holding my fork in each hand. Alright?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Listen, like please,
Dex:
Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
please, just, that's all I ask. This little things. I'm gonna, I'm gonna touch base with you the day before or two days before and make sure we're still on. Tell you that everything's on schedule on my end and make sure everything's good on yours and, Yeah, but I shouldn't have to say, Please don't silence your notifications.
Dex:
you probably shouldn't have to, but what, I want you to tell everybody, both your socials and your, your website information, because I plan on putting it in the, in the show note saying anyway, but I want them to hear it from you.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
So my website is www, which I feel like you shouldn't have to say to anymore. Dot, she cooks you eat s h e c o o k S, The letter u, not u e a t.com. And my Instagram is the same at she cooks you eat. So Instagram is gonna be a mixture of food, mixture of travel, mixture of me being a mom. Um,
Dex:
And being a grandma, I saw, I I saw the baby. He's beautiful.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Listen, I'm his sugar mama. I told my kids she, so she, she is my I, she's, I'm her other. I'm her second mom. Her other mom. Her mom is one of my best. Okay. Her mom is like one of my, she's literally saved my life years ago. And we've been best friends and my daughter is in between age wise, my sons. So, but you know, she, she gets her way with them regardless of age. And she recently had my grandson, Cree Thomas, and I saw him when my son and I went to Philadelphia, cuz they live in Pennsylvania.
Dex:
Mm-hmm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
We went to Philadelphia for the Eagles Cowboys game. My son is a diehard Eagles fan. we are a house divided twice a year and we go to a game once a year, we alternate. So this year was Philly and, I hadn't seen Cree since he was born. He was like two weeks when I saw him. And he's four months now. And when I tell you he is the biggest, cutest little ball of, I, I mean, you.
Dex:
I know
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I just want to, I wanna take him like, I'm waiting for her to be like, Can you come get your grandson? Yes, I'm there.
Dex:
That is what's up? That is
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'm a sugar mama.
Dex:
Of course.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
So, it's a, it's a mixture of all those things. Sometimes I throw in some quotes that I'm feeling at the time that I've seen on social media.
Dex:
Mm-hmm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Sometimes I throw in some social issues that I'm for or against. But yeah, it's, it's a lot of food on there too. And people are saying, You not, you haven't been, I'm like, how many times can I post wings? Like
Dex:
As far as I'm
Chef Nikki Rowland:
how
Dex:
post it every day.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah. Well that's what somebody else said recently. I posted, you know, you gotta do reels now on IG and I posted this reel of this, um, uh, peach cobbler.
Dex:
Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
been getting so many dms about, so I'm like, okay, maybe I should do some more reels. But I'm, I'm working on posting more cooking tips that I have some that I'm getting together that I wanna post. Especially for the holidays I did collard greens and candied yams and cabbage, like cooking tips,
Dex:
Mm-hmm.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
fried chicken, mac and cheese. But I'm gonna work on doing some other ones, like how to, what's like the injection I use for our fried turkeys and things like that.
Dex:
That's, that's what's up.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
yeah. Yeah. People are like, When are you gonna do the cookbook? I don't know. I don't wanna do the, I just wanna show, I just wanna share. I don't wanna, you know, I dunno.
Dex:
I don't
Chef Nikki Rowland:
doing a cookbook for years,
Dex:
I, I wasn't gonna suggest you make a podcast about catering, but there's that. Yeah. I mean, say so many. I'm sure you got a million stories about it.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I guess
Dex:
you say a lot of interesting things
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'll do Thank you.
Dex:
and you know,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
But then that's because I can bounce back off, back and forth off of you like I would just talking to myself, wouldn't it?
Dex:
It does help having someone to talk to. I, I'll definitely give you that, but yeah. Hey, if you decide to, I'll show up.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
lot, but I don't wanna make that public hobby
Dex:
Hey, if you decide to, All I'm saying is I will show up and co-host every time.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Okay. Well I'm, I'm trying to get together a, um, I did a Sunday supper free Covid, like right before Covid started, and my goal was to do a Sunday brunch
Dex:
Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
got to do it cuz you know, everything shut down. So I'm trying to gear that back up to do where I do like a brunch. I mean, I would have to sell tickets of course, but I wanna do it. So, you know, it's like a paint and sip and, endless bellini bar and everything you could possibly think of from brunch
Dex:
you had me at Bellinis? Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah. Everybody does mim We're doing Bellinis deck.
Dex:
Yeah. Not no mimosas.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
goal. yes. Peach. All those cranberry.
Dex:
Like, like nature intended
Chef Nikki Rowland:
yeah. You know, so yeah, I wanna do, you know, I wanna, I wanna do a whole spread with a steak and french toast, and I mean, , I do chicken and waffles, but adult eat steak and french toast, not chicken and waffles. That's what I say.
Dex:
man. That is what I'm talking about.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
yeah, so I'm just on the hunt for a location. A lot of stuff I wanna cook on site and, I'm also, you know, trying to make it work with my schedule. But, I'm, I'm probably gonna try to do it in January. I try to do a lot of stuff in January just like birthday related, cuz my birthday's the beginning of January, so
Dex:
January 1st,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
fifth.
Dex:
fifth. Okay. Well, at happy birthday when it comes up, my, my, my anniversary's on the first and so, Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Oh, ok. Well happy early anniversary.
Dex:
I cannot believe every year I'm like, I cannot believe she put up with me. But, you know, every day I'm thankful, so,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Aww, I'm, I'm glad that she did two d
Dex:
me too, man. I, When, when we're not on this podcast, I'm gonna tell you how my wife and I met. It's, it's crazy. It's
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Oh yeah. I wanna know that you can tell me when I bring you to food.
Dex:
Oh, oh. Oh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
We'll text after the podcast. Cuz I have to know like, are there any food allergies or anything, you know, that y'all don't eat, but,
Dex:
just oatmeal,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Well that's you. What about your wife?
Dex:
We have this, this rule in my house. Um, if Right. So the kids will eat oatmeal. Right. But if they're planning on eating oatmeal, they just let me know and I will leave the house for a few hours because I
Chef Nikki Rowland:
But you can't even, you can't
Dex:
I can't handle the thought of even saying the word.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Okay.
Dex:
Yeah. Like I'm, I'm doing a lot of swallowing right now, so,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'm gonna tell you how, you know what my oatmeal is? Chocolate.
Dex:
Yeah. I mean, you're tempting me
Chef Nikki Rowland:
was like, damn. Did he go away? Did he leave?
Dex:
Yeah. No, you're still like, it's just, it's the texture combined with the heat. It's just I like it in cookie form.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
the smell,
Dex:
Yeah, definitely. The smell. I, I gotta leave the house. I gotta leave the
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah. But that's how I am, like if I smell chocolate, like if I, if you hand me something and I'm like, Is that chocolate on there? I'm not gonna eat it.
Dex:
You don't like,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
It's, No,
Dex:
wow. That's some communism right there.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'll make the hell out of some brownies, but I won't know how they taste.
Dex:
Man, I guess I'm returning that gift. I got you for Christmas.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
What? Yeah. I don't do no, no chocolate. I don't eat salmon. I don't eat bananas.
Dex:
Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
But chocolate is the worst, like
Dex:
I was gonna send you this banana flavored chocolate salmon, but I guess
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Oh my gosh. But,
Dex:
I guess. I guess that's not gonna happen. Huh?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
No,
Dex:
gonna have to get a Starbucks card
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Just just to show you. I don't really drink coffee, but I'll drink those, those Okay. I'll, I'll do his Starbucks, but no, like, I don't, I'm so picky, but I'll eat, I'll cook, you know,
Dex:
uh
Chef Nikki Rowland:
stuff, but yeah, my youngest son is the taste tester. Yeah. Yeah. I'll taste
Dex:
Is he the tall, is he the taller one?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
both of them are tall. He's the, he's the one, No, the tallest one is, is the
Dex:
Is the oldest. Okay. All right.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
the younger one is Brandon. Yeah. He's the one that's in Germany. He's the artist. So you said you went to school for film? Dean went to my young, my oldest, got his, undergrad in film with the minor in journalism.
Dex:
Oh, that's awesome. That's
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah.
Dex:
That's awesome.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
So, yeah, Dean, he's probably just as picky as I am. He's, he's expanded his palette a little more, but Brandon will eat almost. Like when we went to Italy, he had a pizza with horse on it. Horse meat.
Dex:
Oh, uh, okay. Uh, I'm not gonna judge that. I'm just, I didn't realize, I mean, I get criticism for having pineapple on my pizza, but apparently y'all don't know. Citrus refreshes every bite. But I mean, I'm not judging it. I'm just not, That's not the first thing on the menu for me. So,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
right. So he's, he's the dare, dare devil. He's the taster. You know, like people always are like, if you need a taste tester, I have one Cause I be like, Brandon, come taste this. Like, I have a whole list of stuff I'm gonna make while he's here, for Thanksgiving that I want him to try.
Dex:
Man, that's gonna be so amazing. Once he, you know, once he gets home, you gonna, you gonna put him to work also?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
of course. Absolutely. He already knows that. Like he's my, he's my, um, my handyman. He, he's literally like the junior version of my dad,
Dex:
Aw,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
and he does like outside stuff.
Dex:
uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
he kills snakes and shit like that, but he can cook his ass off.
Dex:
That's what's up.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
like it's, he can make, So I, I can't make omelets to save my life. Like I probably could if I like, didn't get so frustrated and just be like, Fuck it. Brandon can make a omelet, like flip the pan and everything.
Dex:
What
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Mm-hmm.
Dex:
the
Chef Nikki Rowland:
he can, and they be banging too, like, you know, pablano peppers and bacon and mushrooms and cheese. Yeah.
Dex:
Yeah, I, I thought I was getting fancy with putting bacon and peppers in mind, but no, I guess not. Guess I gotta step up my game.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
You need to like the pablono and he saute him, but he, he can, he can cook. Like I would be really worried if I, you know, I moved him to Frank, I helped him move to Frankfurt, but
Dex:
Uh
Chef Nikki Rowland:
he was like, Mom, I need some pots and pants. Cuz I kept telling him to take some, like, no, I don't wanna take those. So I actually found a thrift store when I was in Italy and took them back to Frankfurt and gave them to him. But yeah, he, he can cook his ass off. He can grill, he can, He was my assistant for the discovery show. Like, they were like, You have to have an assistant who's your, I was like, Oh, my youngest son Brandon.
Dex:
Yeah. Hey, I'm, uh, that reminds me, I gotta put a link to that on the podcast, in the notes, the episode that you were on. So I'm definitely, so you guys check the notes for that one, cuz that's definitely going to be on there. Yeah man, congratulations
Chef Nikki Rowland:
my first cooking show. I would say, I ain't doing no damn cooking show. I ain't gonna have Gordon Ramey listen, they will kick me out if that man cusses at me and I cuss back, it's gonna be over. And
Dex:
I, I will sit there with some popcorn and watch the whole thing.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
they approached me on Instagram and they were like, the, the, what is it called? The casting company, Magilla. They were,
Dex:
uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
and they were like, We wanna have you on this cooking show. I'm like, uh, They were like, No, it's gonna be fun. It's not. I was like, Mm. And it just so happens, like everything happened around my birthday,
Dex:
uh.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
was it last year before? And, yeah. And you know, they were like, You have to come in South Carolina and cook on this grill. And I was like, Well, I don't have a tow Behind Grill. They were like, No, we'll, we'll have, we'll provide one for you.
Dex:
Uh huh
Chef Nikki Rowland:
And I'm like, Okay. I didn't know until my episode was over that I was the only female pitmaster. Like they had some female judges, but um, and I didn't even know who the judge they had. So every episode they had a guest judge
Dex:
uh
Chef Nikki Rowland:
and, um, I didn't even know who my judge was. Like I don't, I don't watch barbecue. My Brandon does, my son. He does, but I don't, I never like watched, sat down and, you know, looked up the pitmaster of the barbecue world
Dex:
Uhhuh
Chef Nikki Rowland:
and, it was a great experience. It was a lot going on and but yeah, it's episode four and they told me after the fact like, Yeah, you were the only female pitman. I'm like, What?
Dex:
No pressure. No pressure.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah,
Dex:
That's why they didn't tell you.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
y'all, I was like, Damn, y'all should have put me on the ribs. No, I'm just playing. No, the guy who on the ribs, he's really.
Dex:
Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
He's really cool. I didn't meet him, but we follow each other on Instagram, his food, and the, I watched this episode and I was like, Bruh, the way you cook those. So
Dex:
yeah. How much do you find yourself learning from other, other chefs?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Um, you know what it's like you watch, it's, it's, it's the small things, you know what I mean? Like, it's just like you, you see, I see myself now. I see myself, I see them do something and I'm like, damn, that does make sense. So I don't really search a lot of food. My explorer page of Instagram is about nails and outfits, I do my own nails and I'm always like trying to figure out a put, put together an outfit.
Dex:
Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'll come across something, um, like, we'll watch Chopped, right? Brandon loves Chopped, so he'll put it on and I'll find myself hearing it in the background and then gazing over at the, um, the tv. And I'm like, you know, cuz they're always trying to sabotage a recipe. The other, you know, their competitors and I'm like, Oh, they should do this, this, and this, and then they'll do something different. I'm like, Oh, that did make sense. You know? So if I happen upon it, you know, I'll, I'll be like, Okay. And I will jot it down. I love meeting chefs in restaurants though. Like, if somebody's like, I'm like, Can I meet the chef? Can I meet the head chef? Sometimes they're like, No, But then sometimes they're like, Sure. So yeah, I recently went to this restaurant in Philly. I'm a shout it out. They're called Amina,
Dex:
Amina. All right, so I gotta get in on my notes. Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
a m i n a. a friend of mine went with me, and they have this appetizer with scallops and creme brulee cream, corn
Dex:
Oh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
dex. When I tell you that creme brulee cream corn is a part of my soul now, like you do, you, you know, you know you've had creme brulee,
Dex:
Oh, yeah, I'm all about creme brulee.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Okay. Just think fresh corn cut off the co probably sauteed a little mixed mix with a creme brule mixture baked, and then the caramelized crust on top. Just like. It was so good. Like if I had that with a steak, I could eat that every day. Every single day?
Dex:
is it off of Chestnut Street,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yes. Damn. You looked at how fast.
Dex:
Bro? I'm, I'm something special with the Google man. I can't lie. Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
they also have cheese steak, beignets. I'm not saying it might be the best thing you ever put in your mouth, but it's close to it.
Dex:
Oh, I'm having a hard time picking up my mouth right now. I'm drilling so hard.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
beignets, gifts. They were
Dex:
Beignets. Oh.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
were delicious.
Dex:
Oh. My inner fat kid is smiling.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Listen,
Dex:
Uh, just,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I, and I'm the type of person, when I find a restaurant that I like,
Dex:
uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
keep going back. It's very hard for me to say, Okay, let me order something different.
Dex:
yeah, well shout out to chef, Darrell Harmon. So New Jersey's finest. I guess so.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
He, he is. I didn't meet him when I went, but that food was freaking phenomenal. It was very good.
Dex:
their pictures look amazing.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah. So it, it was really good. Um,
Dex:
gonna reach out to this brother.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
you should, Yeah. He's not gonna know who the hell I am cause I didn't like, But just let him know. Somebody in Atlanta had your food in at Amina's and it was
Dex:
he about to know who the hell I am. Like. Yeah.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
So, Yeah. But
Dex:
lolli chops with the hibiscus gastric Mm. Water crest salad. That,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I bet that water is good. I don't eat lamb.
Dex:
uh, more for me.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah. Yeah. I, I, I just taste all the gaminess in it. But I did have goat in Nairobi and it was so good. It was grilled goat, like, but they told me that, I was like, Why doesn't this taste gaming? They were like, Oh, we killed it this morning.
Dex:
Yeah. That's.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Okay.
Dex:
That's,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Oh, okay.
Dex:
Yeah. Yeah. The, the goat's name was Bob. We killed Bob earlier. Bob is
Chef Nikki Rowland:
it was probably just wandering on the street and, you know, that was some of the best food I ever had in Narobi. Like,
Dex:
true street food, huh?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
yes, I, I'm, I'm, I'm planning to go back. I already have somewhere to stay. I already know where I'm gonna go. Yes. I'm gonna go back with two empty suitcases cause I know I'm gonna bring back a lot of stuff
Dex:
bring me back a taco. Dude. I always tell people, Bring me back a taco.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
from nai.
Dex:
I don't care. I like tacos, man.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Okay. You know we gotta talk outside of the podcast cuz I'm gonna send you somewhere
Dex:
Uh,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
to go get some banging ass Caritas. They're better than mine
Dex:
All right. Well, hey, let's get your, uh, Let's get, you know how people can get ahold of you one more time?
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Okay? So yes, you can go on Instagram At she cooks you eat S h e C O O K S. The letter you e a t. Um, and also the website is www.shecooksyoueat.com.
Dex:
Oh, yes. And y'all, y'all need to hit her up. Don't ask her to make no macaroni and cheese. I mean, yeah, I guess you could, but have her make, Yeah, have her make ribs. Okay. Cuz she likes making ribs. One of 'em might be missing, Either it's gonna be missing because of me or it's gonna be missing because of her. I take no responsibility for that. So, Yeah. But at least you know, she'll enjoy making some ribs. So
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I'm gonna, I'm gonna get dex some food so that before he, um, publicizes this podcast, he can at least vouch that, you know,
Dex:
Yes.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I think, I think that's only right that you eat the food and know, you know what I mean? That it makes sense.
Dex:
Yes. I'll make that quote unquote sacrifice for the show,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Yeah.
Dex:
Yes. Yes. I am all about it. I cannot wait to make my wife jealous. That is, yes.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
no, you're, I'm gonna make enough for her.
Dex:
But see, here's the thing. We have this rule in my house to wear. She gets half, but I get half of what she gets half of. So it's just, And she doesn't know that rule, but I feel like that's how the math works out.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Who, who's the cook in your family? Do y'all
Dex:
Always me. Yeah. It's, I'd love, doing that for my family. I love, we make, in the mornings I make what I call MacDuffs, which is just , it's just, uh, you know, um, English muffin with egg and some sort of meat and.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Mm-hmm.
Dex:
know, I make them for my family cuz I love them. I want them to have a, a good breakfast in in the day, you know? And my
Chef Nikki Rowland:
I love that y'all, that y'all eat English muffins. Like people sleep on English muffins all the time unless they go to McDonald's, but I love that you, you guys do that. So what I, I gotta ask, what, what are you making for dinner tonight?
Dex:
I
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Or what did you make for dinner last night?
Dex:
I made, uh, actually my wife and I went out for dinner, so we just got pizza for the boys. But the other night I made, um, pineapple chicken stir fry.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Okay, then
Dex:
Yeah. With the little saffron rice just to kind of mix it up. Yeah. Uh, it just had
Chef Nikki Rowland:
he's, oh, he's showing out y'all.
Dex:
Yeah. Uh, you know, it just had a little bit of peppers, uh, this, uh, garlic sauce and um, you know, I had to sweeten it up, you know, with a little bit of extra pineapple juice, you know, it's from the can so y'all can judge me. I wasn't gonna cut up a pineapple or anything like that, but,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
No, that's fine. You can use canned pineapple that it, it's in in its own juice. It's not like it's full of water. I'm talking about like, I don't You don't use canned vegetables though? I mean, unless it's like water chestnut. Cause that's
Dex:
that's really the only way I'm getting chestnuts. Yeah, but
Chef Nikki Rowland:
exactly. Like who the hell? Well, how else do you get water, Chest,
Dex:
the water chestnut store water chestnut.com. , but, uh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It, um, yeah, little green peppers and stuff. Um, yeah, I make a lot of stir fry. My dad is always like, How come you don't put the egg in it? I was like, I'm not confident enough to put the egg in it. So every time I, I make something, I send him a picture and say, Don't ask me about no egg So shout out to you. Pop. Don't ask me about no egg. So
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Keep asking him about the egg pop. Keep asking him about the
Dex:
Oh, he already, he.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
get it in there eventually.
Dex:
He doesn't with words anymore. He does me with a, with a little side stare. So he, he gives me that side eye. Yeah, he's, he's a good man. He's a good man. So,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Well, I guess I'll bring y'all like some soul food. I, I guess, I don't know. I have, I might have time to do ribs this week, but, um, I'll see.
Dex:
all right, let's, let's meet it up so we can make this, uh, this podcast, uh, audience nice and jealous. But y'all need to reach out to this woman, if not for the food, the conversation, the warmth, the passion. You know, the knowledge, the love, cuz that's her main ingredients. That's what she serves up man.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
It's,
Dex:
It is. So, yeah. So for my lovely guest, Chef Nikki Rowland, I gotta thank you. Um,
Chef Nikki Rowland:
you for having me on. This has been one of the best podcast interviews I've ever done. I'm not,
Dex:
what yo.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
not, I'm not knocking anybody else's interviews I've done. I'm just saying like the bans are back and forth has been very important, so I appreciate it.
Dex:
a basically what she said to y'all is, uh, once you try champagne, you can't go back to Kool-Aid. So that's, I'm gonna translate to that one to for
Chef Nikki Rowland:
is my bellini of podcast.
Dex:
Yes.
Chef Nikki Rowland:
what it is.
Dex:
Write that down. Write that down. But yes, from my guest, I am Dex and, um, you are listening to In The Black where we try to not only promote black own businesses, but teach the next generation of entrepreneurs how the craft is done, how the work is done, and give you somebody that will inspire you. So listen to us on, Yeah. Listen to us on all. Podcast platforms. Um, you know, if you really wanna support the show, check out, Chef Nikki Rowland let her know, you know, you got the love from us, and share this episode with all your friends. That's the best way to support us. Another way to do that is you could go to, the website in the black-podcast.com. There is a link for buy me a coffee. You know, I love me some coffee. Um but, again, my name is Dex. This was, Chef Nikki
Chef Nikki Rowland:
Rowland. Thank you guys, and you guys have yourself a great day.
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