Today we’d like to introduce you to Mercedes Melendez.
Mercedes, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My career in food first started while working as a caterer at an upscale catering company in Columbus, GA, as a young adult of 18. However, my first love of cooking started at a much younger age. We grew up in low-income public housing, but that didn’t stop my mother from putting in a garden no matter where we lived. She also subsidized her income by baking specialty cakes and cooking for the community. Watching my mother work her garden, bake, and create each day was pure magic to me. I began my apprenticeship with her at the tender age of two; she’d let me even out the cups of flour and sugar with a butter knife. And so, I continued to create in the kitchen with her throughout my childhood and stuck with it as an adult for a career that has spanned over 14 years.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Growing up poor is not easy. Growing up poor and sickly is even harder. And it all came to a head in my early 20’s. If it had not been for my chronic digestive issues, I don’t know if I would have ever made my way to a plant-based diet. Eating whole foods sourced from organic and local farmers saved my life. Plants saved my life. One of the biggest challenges as a plant-based chef is working in an industry where taste and price come first. And if you’re in the lower socio-economic bracket, access to farm-fresh food is definitely an obstacle. The line of work I do is to try to bridge the gap between healthy, nourishing foods and helping our community dollars, especially government assistance dollars, go further and do more for those least served.
Please tell us about Fox + Flower.
Fox + Flower brings produce sourced from local farms, foraged in the perimeter, or grown in community gardens, and creates memorable meals to private clients, community events, and pop-ups as well (catch us at Sceptre Brewing October 9th through the 11th). We are a duo fronted by Chef Mercedes and her partner Tim Jamison, a licensed mushroom forager. Our food is informed from our cultural backgrounds – Puerto Rican/Dominican and Scotch/Irish, respectively. We also take great inspiration for our cuisine from the seasonal offerings at the local farmer’s markets or in nature at large. We work closely with non-profit organizations like Community Farmers Markets (www.cfmatl.org) to get the word out on Wholesome Wave’s (www.wholesomewavegeorgia.org) double SNAP program. Pre-COVID 19 Chef Mercedes would do educational outreach with Decatur Housing Authority residents, various K-12 schools, and senior living communities. Our hope is to offer virtual workshops for these community members in the future as a safe way to continue to help educate.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
One of my most cherished memories is my younger sister and I playing outside our trailer at maybe 4 and 5 years old. We would often stay outside long hours, inevitably getting scrapped and bruised. My mother grew aloe in her garden and though she never told us much at that young age of the healing properties of the different plants she grew, somehow we knew to break the aloe and rub it into our wounds. Our mother was incredibly pleased and asked us how we knew to use the aloe this way. We just shrugged and continued to play. It will forever be one of my favorite affirming experiences that plants do, in fact, communicate to us and are here to help us.
Contact Info:
- Website: foxandfloweratl.com
- Instagram: @foxandfloweratl
- Facebook: @foxandfloweratl
Image Credit:
Rebecca Pruett Photography
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