Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Washington.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My name is Taylor Washington, I am 44 years old married and I have 11 children. Seven girls and four boys. I lost my baby boy at 31 weeks last January 2020. I was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia by my grandmother (mom). My grandmother loved to cook for family gatherings, community and church functions. And everything that she knew, she taught me her recipes and techniques. My grandmother was from Pinpoint, GA a small black community with Geechee Gullah people.
My grandmother always wanted to open her own restaurant on MLK JR BLVD. When my grandmother got ill, I had to cook for her and my family. I enjoy cooking for my grandmother so she could tell me what I was doing wrong. When my grandmother crossed over, the love and passion of food and preparing meals for the family, community and church fell in my lap. I started my catering business in 2007 catering for weddings, funerals, anniversaries etc. But then I realized that I need to go back to Culinary School to learn the art of cooking. Not having the Art of cooking was very challenging for me. Somehow I got distracted and I started my Courier business, and things were going very well. I still was cooking for my large family gathering and church occasions. My contract ended in 2012, and my world started to fall apart. I lost everything and became homeless, living in a hotel, at that time with seven children and pregnant. I felt like just giving up sitting in that room with my babies crying, asking God what did I do to get this. My husband left to go work with his brother so he could send money back for us to pay the weekly rate at the hotel. What an experience to endure alone with my children.
My oldest daughter was working and in school, my second daughter was in College at Shaw University. We had to withdraw her from Shaw to come back home because we couldn’t afford to continue to pay for her schooling and apartment. We lived in the hotel for a little over a month and we found an apartment. I was still lost and couldn’t figure out what it was that I should be doing. I cried out to The Most High and asked him to give me a sign on what my purpose is. As I was sitting on my bed, this commercial for Culinary School came on. I was like, no this can’t be it. So I change the channel, and the same commercial was on that station. I said out loud, okay okay, I got it. I called the school and ask when was open enrollment. They told me that was the last week and that I needed to come in and get register. My husband and I both went back to Culinary School and Mastered it. We held 4.0 the entire time and graduated with a 4.0, in 2015, we received a scholarship from Savannah Tourism Leadership and was in the newspaper and magazine for my husband, Best Apple Pie. We opened our first restaurant in January 2016, it was a take-out location and the city started doing road construction and business was very slow, so we closed and we are now on MLK JR BLVD the dream my grandmother always had.
I am now living it Downtown, Savannah on MLK JR BLVD dine in a restaurant. Within our first year of opening, COVID-19 came abs shifted a lot of lives. The business wasn’t what it could have been, but I can say we didn’t have to closed our doors one day. We adjusted our hours to accommodate the Pandemic. When they stop the children from going to school and being a parent knowing what struggle is and that some children rely on school breakfast and lunch, my restaurant did a Breakfast GiveBack for the children but not just for them because anybody could have come up and get something to eat. We wasn’t turning anyone away. CAT transit here stops the bus for the passenger to get some free breakfast. For over 8 Saturday, we did breakfast Giveback and we fed over 600-800 ppl a Saturday. We are celebrating our one year anniversary of our Breakfast Giveback on May 29, 2021. It is an honor and a pleasure to be able to give from a hard place and bless someone who is in need.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I have had many challenges… losing my home, becoming homeless, living in a hotel not having a family member or so call friends to open their door for my children and me. Opening a restaurant with little to no money was very challenging, stepping out on faith. COVID-19 scared me because we just invested all we had to open this location and then the Pandemic. We could get no PPP because they said we wasn’t open long enough. But by the grace of The Most God and the help from my Ancestors. We are still here. I applied for the PPP again this round. The lender accepted my application, submitted it to SBA, SBA approved it, and then the lender decided with no reason not to fund it. Challenges I continue to endure. Now I’m waiting to see if I get approved for the RRF.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Chefs Southern Kitchen?
2 Chefs is a restaurant in Honor of my grandmother that my husband and I own. We prepare Soul food for the Soul. Oxtails, Turkey Wings, Smothered Shrimp or Pork chops, Collard Greens, Macaroni and cheese, Lima beans, cornbread. Dessert: homemade crust from scratch peach cobbler, red velvet cakes, carrot cakes, cupcakes, etc. We are known for the Soul food that is prepared from scratch for the Soul. We cook with love and passion. We you come into our restaurant and order smothered shrimps it’s cook to order. We drop the shrimps and toss them in gravy when done and plate. We have what people are looking for food that’s prepared with love and passion. Not something that’s sitting on the line for hours getting tough and rubbery. It may take a few mins to prepare, but you will have a wonderful experience here at 2 Chefs.
Alright, so before we go, can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can work with me in all areas, especially with children. I love children giving them the foundation of being whatever you desire to be. You can support me with just letting people know we are here, sharing on social media, and also we do take love donations.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: 2 Chefs Southern Kitchen
- Facebook: 2 Chefs Southern Kitchen
