Local StoriesJuly 9, 2026

Community Highlights: Meet Michele K. Tompkins of Roots & Culture Craft Kitchen

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michele K. Tompkins.

Hi Michele K., thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The Roots & Culture Craft Kitchen concept developed out of the determination to resurface as a chefpreneur and the desire to reinvent my culinary concept from the former brick & mortar, Urban Foodie Feed Store, to a personal chef and private chef business. My goal was to develop an elevated in home culinary experience by offering service lines that aligned with that thought process. 2023 marks the year Roots & Culture Craft Kitchen was founded and I have been fortuanate each year since to scale the business more and more.

Currently I offer four main lines of service that incorporate the original business outline. It is an absolute joy to work often times 7 days a week in some capacity doing what I love. I am gratelful for the abundance I have been blessed with in this lifetime. Exploring cultural avenues through executing curated culinary experiences is my forever love affair. At the end of the day food is simple, it brings people together, it is the back bone to the well being of humanity, food connects the dotsl. Roots & Culture Craft Kitchen aims to do just the same on bite at a time. This business module is a neverending story until the end of time.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest challenge operating Roots & Culture Craft Kitchen is running the business as a solo entrepreneur. Managing the chaos is definitely an art to navigating through day to day operations. My approach to operations is to recruit dedicated, dependable, honest staff, being of service to my staff has true value in that making them priority is the secret ingredient to happy clients. Operations is also knowing how to prioritize tasks, being in full communication, and always be ready to pivot as it is vital to anticipate the curve balls that have a way of presenting obstacles along the path of success.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Personal Chef Service Line-
Weekly prepared in home custom menus (breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner menus available)
Hourly chef labor rate + shopping + monthly ingredient inventory usage (spices, speciality ingredients)
Clean up, reheating instructions included

Private Chef Service Line-
Special occasions whether dinner for two, or an intimate birthday celebration for 20 this service line is for the client who desires to secure a chef to execute global custom menus for a plethera range of special occasions.
Private chef rate + shopping + family style service OR plated style service + set up, event maintenance, and clean up

Travel Chef Service Line-
Domestic and/or International available
This service line is for the client who is traveling and would like a private chef for the duration of their vacation or destination special occasion. Private chef rate + custom global menus + travel & accomodation fees + shopping + set up & clean up + additional hospitality staff if needed

Chef Consultant Service Line-
This service line targets individuals looking to establish a new, and/or revamp an existing, food concept and need assistance with menu and recipe development, overall kitchen operations, and hiring,

How do you think about luck?
I am a believer life is about timing as it relates to business. Timing has sincerely been the catalyst to growing Roots & Culture Craft Kitchen over its four year period of existence. I have been fortunate to make connections with target clients through word of mouth and formal introductions through believe it or not, my barber Sam Glickman, owner of Privado Grooming Saloon. We share the same target clientele, Sam is a premier barber to who’s who in Atlanta and has been at the forefront to making introductions. Word of mouth is the absolute best marketing tool to assist with scaling your business especially in the hospitality indusrty. It’s about perserverance, walking in gratitude, and being of service that ultimately creates flowing abundance. It’s about the role of timing versus the role of luck.

Pricing:

Rates vary, please contact for an estimate

Contact Info:

Website: https://www.rcckfibe.com
Instagram: rootsandculturechef
Facebook: Roots & Culture Craft Kitchen

Grilled fish topped with vegetable sauce, served on a white oval plate, with a dark countertop background.

Woman in black shirt and orange apron preparing food at a marble countertop in a bright, modern room with people in the background.

Grilled salmon on a bed of greens with pasta, cherry tomatoes, and cheese, served on a white plate.

A plated dish with a piece of cooked meat topped with greens, served over mashed potatoes with sauce, on a white plate.

Two slices of toasted bread with greens and purple cabbage salad on a white plate, drizzled with dark sauce.

Assorted dishes including salads, grilled vegetables, bread, and desserts on a table.

Seared scallops with microgreens, mashed potatoes, and creamy sauce on a white plate.

Grilled octopus with cherry tomatoes, sliced chicken, and mixed vegetables on a white plate.

Two people in a kitchen with plates of fried chicken on a table, one person standing and the other sitting, refrigerator in background

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