Anicia Anya Transcript
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Hi, everyone. You're listening to The Future Of Food Is You, a production of The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network. I'm your host, Abena Anim-Somuah, and each week I talk to emerging talents in the food world and they share what they're up to, as well as their dreams and predictions for what's ahead. As for me, I'm the founder of The Eden Place, a community that's all about gathering people intentionally around food. I love this new generation of chefs, bakers, and creatives making their way in the world of food, drink, media, and tech.
Today's guest is Anicia Anya, founder of Kid's Table here in New York City. Kid's Table is a subscription-based meal company with the goal of creating adventurous eaters through chef prepared and nutritionist backed meals. Anicia and I talk about the way food showed up through her Nigerian American upbringing, why she decided to go to culinary school, the power of community in accelerating her business, and what she believes to be the future of feeding kids in America.
Thank you to Kerrygold and Walmart for supporting today's show. Kerrygold is delicious all natural butter and cheese made with milk from Irish grass-fed cows raised on small family-run Irish dairy farms. Kerrygold farming families pass their craft and knowledge from generation to generation. This traditional approach is the reason for the rich taste of Kerrygold. You can enjoy delicious sliced or shredded Kerrygold cheddar cheese available in mild or savory flavors. The shredded cheddar is perfect for those who love making mac and cheese. And now the grilling season is here, the cheddar slices will take any burger or veggie burger up a notch. There's also Kerrygold's classic salted butter in the gold foil. It's perfect for slathering on corn on the cob, always a summer fave. And the unsalted butter in the silver foil is an absolute must if you're turning sweet summer strawberries into strawberry shortcake, visit kerrygoldusa.com to find the Kerrygold retailer nearest you and lots of great recipes.
Thank you to everyone who joined us in Atlanta for our first live podcast event. It was so great meeting you, and I loved learning so much about the Atlanta food scene. Atlanta is such a special place and I can't wait to come back. Also, thanks to our friends at Star Provisions for all the beautiful snacks and drinks. Check out the photos on our Instagram account @CherryBombe and stay tuned for news about future tour stops.
Now, let's check in with today's guest. Anicia, thanks so much for joining us on The Future Of Food Is You podcast.
Anicia Anya:
I am so excited to be here and chat with you.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Just to get things started, can you tell us a little bit about your childhood and how food showed up?
Anicia Anya:
My family's from Nigeria, so I grew up in a Nigerian and American household. Growing up, we ate mostly Nigerian food, but we dabbled in American food a little bit. I was always a little bit ashamed of the fact that we only ate Nigerian food. And it's funny now, because that is the food that I prefer. Now as an adult, I'm like, "Yes, I would love a bowl of Jollof. I would love rice and stew." But growing up it was like, "I want a Lunchable, I want pizza. I want a Hot Pocket." And my dad was like, "No, no, no. We have rice."
Abena Anim-Somuah:
There's food at home.
Anicia Anya:
There's food at home. Also, my grandmother owned a market and a restaurant in Nigeria, so we would oftentimes go to Lagos in the summers when we didn't have school and we would spend time in her market, not necessarily in the restaurant, but we would see the ins and outs of the restaurant and how things were going and how things were facilitating and how food was made and how things went from the market to the restaurant, which was really, really cool.
But I think my entire childhood, and I mean my whole life I've always loved food. I've always gravitated towards food. I taught myself how to cook at a very early age. It was always a thing as a kid, I was always very curious about what's in the kitchen, what's at the grocery store. Food showed up in all different ways in my childhood, whether it was at home eating our traditional Nigerian foods or when we were in Nigeria, or just me exploring American food because we didn't actually make it at home.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Other than Jollof rice and stew, what are some other traditional Nigerian foods that you had?
Anicia Anya:
We had egusi soup, okra, we had mai mai, we had… Plantain is not really a traditional Nigerian food, but that's a thing.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
It's everywhere on the continent.
Anicia Anya:
It's everywhere on the continent. I love breakfast. That is a meal that I will not miss, despite everyone on this whole intermittent fasting, or I don't eat breakfast journey, girl we eat breakfast. In Nigeria we have this thing called egg sauce, and it's our version of a scramble. It's like eggs mixed with tomatoes and peppers. Usually like a scotch bonnet, onion. Sometimes you put a little Maggie in there and you slowly scramble it and you put stew on top and you eat it with a side of yams or plantain, and it is-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
It hits.
Anicia Anya:
It hits.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's amazing.
Anicia Anya:
It really does.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I feel, my family's from Ghana. And I feel like there's something very similar. We're like cousins.
Anicia Anya:
Yes. No, no.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Sisters, not cousins.
Anicia Anya:
Yes. The food is very, very similar.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Anicia Anya:
Our Jollof is still better, but.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I mean, we're not going to fight on the podcast. Keep things civil. For those of you who are listening, Ghanaians and Nigerians are in a very heated but friendly debate over who has the best Jollof. Anyways, I know we can sit here and talk about Jollof all day, but before you really dove into food, you went to college, was food still showing up and playing a role there?
Anicia Anya:
Yeah, I think in college we always had cafeteria food and I lived on campus for most of the part, but we would always venture off campus. And when I lived at home for a while, I would still try out new restaurants and things like that in the neighborhood. I think food was always a part of my life and I didn't really have the college food diet of pizza and ramen noodle and I was like, "I wanted food. I wanted real food and real meals." And I think that was a challenge for me in college because as a college student you really can't afford to eat all different types of food or eat a variety. And then also there's just this stereotype, like, "This is what college kids eat." Because they just left home and they don't know really how to cook, so they tend to go towards things that are microwavable. And I was like, "Girl, I can cook. Why not let me cook?" And so I would make things in my dorm room sometimes and if I couldn't make them, I would venture out to go get them.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's really awesome.
Anicia Anya:
Yeah.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Can you tell us about a dish that you made back then that was your staple, or the one that you felt like you got a really good gist of?
Anicia Anya:
I think tacos. Tacos are really, it was a really easy dish to make and essentially you just eat tortilla, some type of protein, and the toppings are all fresh and raw. Usually either it's lettuce, tomato or salsa cilantro or jalapenos, lime. I mean, I wasn't going that extravagant in college, but it was really simple to make. And then again, breakfast is my thing. And so it's always nice to make a quick omelet or some type of hash or something like that.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's amazing. And so you go off and work in tech and yet you decide to come back to food again. What was the moment that you decided that food was going to be your core passion and the thing that you're working on full time?
Anicia Anya:
I would honestly say food as a full-time job fell into my lap. If you would have asked me 10 years ago, I would've thought you were crazy. Like a chef, what? Owning a food business, that sounds crazy to me. Especially growing up in Nigerian household, especially coming from a very traditional educational background, where it's like, "You should get a corporate job or you should get a job that has some sort of stability, like insurance and 401(k) and things like that." I've thought of food as a passion or hobby for a while. And after working in tech for so long, I just didn't really see the passion in tech and I was just like, "I like my job, I like the people I'm working with, but I don't really have a passion for this." And food was something that always lit me up and I decided to quit my job and I actually didn't really have a plan.
I was like, maybe I'll go back to school. Maybe I will go get another corporate job or another tech job. Maybe I'll work at a tech food company to align those interests. While I was in this whole realm of what's next, I became a full-time nanny. And that really set it off. I mean, I was working for all these different families all over New York City. I was feeding kids, we were going all around the city trying all these new restaurants on mom and dad's dollar. And a lot of the families I worked with were high-net worth families, high profile families, celebrities, CEOs. And they had chefs themselves. They had chefs that worked in the home. And I think that was the point where I was like, "Wow, this is the job." I would sometimes fill in for chefs. They were sick. And I think there was one moment where a family, their chef was sick and it was Thanksgiving dinner and they were like-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's the biggest meal of the year.
Anicia Anya:
That's the biggest meal of the year. And they were like, and he said, "We really need you to help out." And I was like, "What? There's no way that I'm going to be able to execute a Thanksgiving dinner professionally." I did some research, I did some work. I like talked to their chef, I talked to other chefs, and we did it. And I was like, "I think I could do this. I think I could do this for work." And I started just networking with chefs, whether they were private chefs or restaurant chefs, whether they were pop-up chefs, just chatting with them about their experiences, what they do and what their day-to-day life was. Sophia Roe was one of the first chefs that I DM-ed, and-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
She's amazing.
Anicia Anya:
... she's phenomenal. And she was like, "Let's have coffee, let's have coffee." We had coffee. She was like, "These are the knives that you need. These are the programs that you can sign up for. These are different avenues that you can go in." And I could see the longevity in it, whereas I didn't see that in tech. I think that's when I realized, "This is something that I want to do." And I left that coffee with Sophia and I left all those conversations that week. I signed up for culinary school and-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's amazing.
Anicia Anya:
... that was it. The rest is history.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
You end up going to the Institute of Culinary Education, also known as ICE. Were there any classes or memories that you had that really made you proud of the decision in deciding to go there?
Anicia Anya:
I think the entire process. The entire process. I think that it just made it more official. Through my conversations with other chefs, they were like, "You don't need to go there. You don't need to do this." As a home cook, you can learn a lot. There are a lot of very talented and professional home cooks that have went on to open multiple restaurants, Michelin Star restaurants, award-winning popups. But I think I just still wanted the techniques and to see the techniques in a professional form. I think when you're at home, it's like you chop the way that you chop, you braise the way that you braise. But it was so interesting and cool for me to see the official way or the French way, the way that chefs are taught traditionally for years, this is how they've been taught to braise. This is how they've been taught to fry or saute. These are the different terms. mise en place, I didn't know what that meant.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Anicia Anya:
People were throwing around mise en place. I was like, "What is that?" You know how to hold a knife when you're passing through people, there's different, it was just a rites of passage almost. You learned these different ways that chefs move, the way that chefs work, the way that they clean their stations, the way that they were able to work efficiently. And I think I was able to take those tools with me. Even though I didn't go the full restaurant route full time, I still use these things to this day.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
After you graduated from culinary school, what did you end up doing?
Anicia Anya:
After culinary school, I staged at a couple different restaurants and I worked at a couple different restaurants, not necessarily long term. I would work for a couple of months at a time just to learn more about different recipes, different ingredients, different types of sourcing. And it was really important for me to work under other chefs. I knew as a chef I didn't know it all. I didn't have everything in me. And I think it was really cool for me to go into these restaurants and learn more about them. I was at Samesa for a little bit. I went to Gentleman Farmer, Petit Paulette in Brooklyn, Westborn in the West Village. And it was really cool just to see how the different restaurants were run and the different specialties they had.
And then also it was really cool for me to see from a business perspective. Because I think I always knew that I wanted to own my own business. Maybe not a restaurant, but something in the food world. And so it was cool to see how these entrepreneurs were able to run a food business in New York City and how they were able to interact with staff and things like that.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
For sure. Just to backtrack a little bit, can you tell our audience what staging is? I feel like it's one of those terms that gets thrown around, but people really don't know what it means. Like you were with mise en place at one point.
Anicia Anya:
Yes, exactly. Staging is essentially, it can mean two different things. Sometimes some chefs see staging as an interview process. It's like a working interview where you'll work in a restaurant for maybe a weekend and you'll do a brunt shift, a dinner shift, and maybe an in between shift. Or it can be a long-term situation where it's more of an internship where you're working for a weeks or months at a time under a chef to facilitate the hot station, cold station, line, front of house, back of house, and you can see how the restaurant is running. If you're going to the Michelin Star world, it's a lot more specialized. And so you can be a saucier where you're working with just sauces, or you know can be at the cold station where you're just cold. Or produce where it's just produce and you're just picking herbs, things like that.
It can be more specialized, depending on what you want to do. If you want to make your own sauce one day, that's a great way to learn is stage at a restaurant as a saucier, or if you want to learn more about farming or growing your own herbs and vegetables, that could also be cool too.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I mean, a chef is not just a chef. A chef is probably an amalgamation of all different specialties, but there are some people who are so incredibly talented in one part that helps this moving machine work.
Anicia Anya:
You also don't have to go to culinary school to stage, depending on the connections you have, or if you have a restaurant in your local neighborhood and you know the chef or you're a regular there, maybe you want to learn a technique or how they make a certain thing. You can talk to the chef or the owner about coming in for the day. They may make sure that you have some food certification or some sort of worker's comp insurance to make sure that they're safe. Chefs are always looking for those, because it's more hands in the kitchen, more help, even if it's just for a day or a week.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's amazing. But what I think is awesome too is you worked in restaurants, but you still had this itch to go back to the private chef life. I feel like private chefs in the last couple of years, I think because of social media, we've been open into the eyes of what it's like to make food for other people while incorporating your flavors and stuff.
Anicia Anya:
Yes.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
What is the scope of being a pirate chef in New York City?
Anicia Anya:
It's a lot. I mean, not that it's a lot. It's very interesting because I'm very happy to see private chefs getting the flowers and getting the recognition, getting their brand partnerships and getting in front. Because I think for so long people frowned upon private chefs. And they were like, "You cook for rich people." It just wasn't seen as a real thing. And when I tell people that I'm a chef, the first question is, "What restaurant do you work at?" It was always this awkward moment where it's like, "Oh, I don't work at a restaurant." And they're like, "So, do you have a catering company or do you do weddings?" And you're like, "No, not really." And it was always this awkward conversation. And I think the chef world has this egocentric thing about it where it's like, if you're not working at a Michelin Star restaurant or one of the hottest restaurants in the city, then you're not a chef.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Anicia Anya:
You're a cook or you maybe do this for fun or do this for a hobby. And I think for years that was our lives as a private chef, no one really saw us as chefs. No one really saw us as professionals or people that knew how to cook and knew how to create these delicious meals and these really cool experiences through food. I'm very happy to see that private chefs are getting that recognition now. It's a crazy world. I mean, you're essentially running a restaurant in someone's home. Literally you're feeding a breakfast, lunch and dinner. Depending on your clientele you can either work for a family full time where you're responsible for all the culinary services, whether it's breakfast, lunch, and dinner, whether it's meal prep, whether it's making snacks for the kids, dinner parties in their garden or their vacation home. You can work like that as a private chef.
You can also work freelance as a private chef where you're taking multiple clients at a time, whether you have a couple meal prep clients, a couple dinner party clients, a couple one-off brand dinners and things like that. There's a variety of ways that you can facilitate the role of a private chef. But again, there's no front or back of house. There's no line cook, there's no dishwasher.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
You're doing it all.
Anicia Anya:
There's no person planning your menus, it's you.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Anicia Anya:
There's no one ordering your groceries or figuring that out for you sourcing. It's you are doing the sourcing, you're doing the menu planning, you are cooking, you are serving, you're doing the cleanup, and you're preparing for the next service, like in a restaurant.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's amazing. Do you think there's a type of person that would fit the bill? Let's say if someone's listening now and they're wanting to explore, maybe they love to cook, they love to cook for others, they love to cook with friends, but culinary school is probably too expensive or not something that's viable. Which types of people do you think fit the private chef bill? Because not everyone is going to be an executive chef. Not everyone's going to be a Michelin chef.
Anicia Anya:
Yeah, I think as a private chef, you do have to be resilient. You also have to be very personable, because you are working in someone's home. And you also have to have a very, very, very thick skin. Because you're not making the same menu every day. You're making new menus all the time. Sometimes the client is telling you what to make. And so you have to be able to take that and receive that. Whereas in a restaurant, you can't go to a restaurant and just go to the back and be like, "You know what? I actually want that." That doesn't happen. You order off of a menu. And I think you also don't really see the feedback from the customers. I mean, you may-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Unless it's bad or unless it's amazing.
Anicia Anya:
Unless it's bad or amazing. And even then you see it maybe on a Yelp review or maybe from the restaurant owner or something like that. But even then, because restaurants have so much traffic, unless it's something that's detrimental, you don't really see it. In the private chef world your feedback is given to you as soon as that plate hits the table. Every single time, and you're in someone's home, remember? It's not like you can go to the back of the kitchen or you can leave or whatever. You don't have to see this customer. You're putting the plate on the table and you're watching them eat and you're receiving the feedback there, whether it's good or bad. And you have to take that with a smile on your face. The other thing is, I think I joke with people about it, and I always tell people, "Private chef is 90% people management, 10% cooking." The cooking part is easy.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Anicia Anya:
That's easy. It's the managing of the people, their lives, their lifestyles, their different diets, the requests, the changes, the quick changes that they make overnight. I have a dinner party next week, and it was originally supposed to be 10 people. My client is like, "You know what, actually I sent an invite for 40 people." And I'm like, "Girl, I've already started planning the menu." But it's like you have to be quick. Whereas in a restaurant you can 86 something and it's done.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
For those of you listening, 86 means that something is sold out.
Anicia Anya:
I keep using these terms-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
No, I love it. I love restaurant jargon. It's something that I've been fascinated with, so I feel like it's great to learn.
Let's take a quick break and we'll be right back. Today's show is presented by Walmart, the world's largest retailer. So many people in this country depend on Walmart for its groceries and trust Walmart to have high-quality food at affordable prices. That sounds like the future to me and the present. Walmart is always listening to its customers, and values the feedback received about new products and flavors. To help meet and exceed customer expectations,. Walmart employs a range of experts like classically trained chefs and vital roles within the company. I love knowing that. Another thing I love about Walmart, is how many interesting new food brands can be found there? Female and black-owned brands in particular, such as Partake Foods, vegan and gluten-free cookies, baking mixes and snack packs founded by Denise Woodard. And Iya Foods, which as gluten-free baking mixes, spice mixes, and whole food powders and were started by Toyin Kolawole.
If you're a founder of a CPG brand and would like to work with Walmart, you need to know about Walmart's Open Call. 2023 will be the 10th anniversary of Walmart's Open Call event. It's an exciting and unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to meet face-to-face with Walmart merchants at the largest sourcing event in the United States. This year's Open Call will be in Bentonville, Arkansas on October 24th and 25th. Registration starts this July. If you are a future retail star, stay tuned for more details. Let's talk more about your current project, which is so exciting. You are the founder and CEO of Kid's Table?
Anicia Anya:
Yeah, so Kid's Table, we are an organic and globally inspired kids meal line. We launched in New York City, we launched as a local meal delivery company and we are currently in the process of pivoting into retail to-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's amazing.
Anicia Anya:
... a CPG brand. So that's very, very exciting. I launched Kid's Table with a mission to just truly change the way that we think about kids food and offer diversity, inclusion, more nutrition. I think there is a huge gap in the food world when it comes to kids. And I think a lot of manufacturers, they've been able to put good products on the market, but still not with kids and parents in mind. It's a lot of things for grownups. And then for kids that just shove these snacks, or pouches, or applesauce, or chicken tenders, mac and cheese. And I think right now our society's changing when it comes to food. Right now a lot of people are now learning about where their food comes from and they're trying new foods from different nationalities. And I think we've progressed as adults when it comes to food.
Adults weren't eating kale, Caesar salads and anchovy dressings and ordering Indian takeout and things. That wasn't a thing in the '90s or the early 2000s. I think now it's very much so important to adults to eat a variety, whether it's nutrition or in taste and flavor. And I think now as we start to have kids, we want that for our kids too. However, the market doesn't really meet that yet. And so in the pandemic as a private chef, I was working for a lot of different families and I would see the struggles and the pain points when it came to feeding kids. And the biggest thing, parents were always like, "My kid's so picky. My kid doesn't want to try these new different things. We're traveling and my kid won't eat the food when we're traveling." And it was just really hard for parents to get delicious, nutritious food on the table or in the lunchbox.
And then also that represented other cultures. I think if you look at a classroom today, the classrooms are filled with multicultural families. And I think if you even go further and you start looking at a census, most families today are multicultural families. And so we need food to reflect that. In the pandemic I just saw there wasn't anyone doing it. Why not start it? And I wanted to take all of my different passions. I had a career working in childcare. I transitioned to this culinary job. I came from tech and I was like, "How do I combine all of these things together?" Here came the startup, Kid's Table.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I'm really curious, how do you think about recipe development? Because the thing about feeding kids is nutrition's so important to feed kids. You're not just feeding a kid an apple, you're feeding them orange, you're feeding them vitamin C, folic acid, all those types of things.
Anicia Anya:
Yeah.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
What research are you doing to maintain that balance between food that's delicious, but also that's nutritious and parents feel like they're getting a good return on their investment?
Anicia Anya:
While I was in childcare, I learned a lot about nutrition when it came to adolescents and children, whether it was infants to toddlers, and toddlers to actual kids, kids to teenagers. It was really fun to learn what those needs were and implement that in the food. And I think, I mean, I live in this Brooklyn bubble where the stereotypical Brooklyn mom, they're obsessed with nutrition and feeding their kids good food. And so it was really cool to learn from these moms and to see what they wanted to see in other foods. Because these moms were like, they were making the products. There was no Kid's Table then. They were making these things for their kids. As I went on to becoming a private chef and testing all these different recipes, I was able to implement that into the chef world. And I think while launching Kids' Table, I then decided to reach out to actual experts.
And so I reached out to a couple different pediatricians, some infants feeding specialists, just to really hone in on what are the nutrients that kids actually need? Because there's a lot of buzzwords when it comes to food. And people love putting buzz things on food. And those things are not necessarily something that we need.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Totally.
Anicia Anya:
It's just something fun and trendy. After talking with different types of infant feeding specialists, it was really cool to learn from them. I took that and then implemented that into the recipes. I also think my style of cooking is usually very nutrient forward, and so it wasn't really a big jump for me to make the food nutritious and taste good. I think I've always done that myself. As someone who has grown up and who has struggled with chronic illness, that's something that I've always had to do. And then working with private clients, they always wanted the best food possible, but make sure it tastes good. And so it was a breeze.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah, that's so awesome. When you talk to these professionals, what are three or four learnings that really stuck out to you in terms of how to think about feeding kids things that are good but also taste good?
Anicia Anya:
It's funny, a lot of nutritionists had mentioned that the biggest thing that kids need are just fat, fiber and their top vitamins like vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B. And if you're able to implement that, and a lot of ingredients have those different vitamins and minerals in them. And then I also learned that it's case by case. Most kids have their basic needs. I think unfortunately the media just drives information in you. And so then you're like, "Oh my God, my kid needs a different type of probiotic. Or my kid needs extra vitamin C or extra ... My kid's getting sick every day. We need to start feeding them more vitamin C." And it's like kids are tricky. They go through stages and different growth spurts. You have to just let it happen unless there's something that's actually chronic that's happening or there's an actual deficiency happening.
It's funny because kids are the least deficient. I think as adults, we are a lot more deficient than kids. Kids actually have most of their basic needs, whether it's through their food, because they're actually eating all their meals a day and they're not under so much stress.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
There's also structure around their lives. There's school, there's recess, there's all these other things too.
Anicia Anya:
Yeah, there's so many things.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
As you were developing the meals and stuff, how did you work with kids and families to get the feedback to keep making awesome meals? Did you have a panel of kids that you're like, "Okay, let me find the pickiest kids in New York City and see what they're into," or how did that work?
Anicia Anya:
When I was thinking about this business, I reached out to families that I had previously worked for and I was like, "Hey, I'm thinking about launching this kids meal line. Would you want to test this idea out with me?" And they were like, "Yeah, sure." I chose the families where I knew some of their kids were picky or they had different age kids. I worked with families who had a toddler, a school-aged kid, and then maybe a baby. They're feeding multiple different ages, and how could that work? Or you'd have families who had kids who actually did have chronic illness, whether it was diabetes or families whose kids had allergies. I was strategic about the families that I did pick. Luckily I had a roster. After being in childcare, being a private chef, I had worked with hundreds of families before, and so I had reached out to them. They let me test on them. And so for about six months every week I was dropping off food. I was going on different play dates with moms. I was going to mom groups. I was showing up at playgrounds-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's amazing.
Anicia Anya:
... to really get feedback. And kids are honest, they're very very-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
They're not going to lie.
Anicia Anya:
They're not going to lie. I think the trickiest part of Kid's Table is you're selling to parents, but your consumer is a child. And so that's very, very different. You have to be able to create a product that parents feel proud to feed their kids. They feel good about buying it, but then also it has to taste good to the child. And I think, again, when you go back to the market, there are a lot of products that they pop off the shelves because they're selling to parents. But then when their kid eats it, they're like, "What is this multi nut day bar with no sugar whatever? It's no taste, no flavor." And it's funny because I look at those products, I'm like, "Yeah, they were only thinking about the parents."
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I think it's so impressive that you're trying to create this wholesome, approachable brand, but also really, really paying attention to what you're feeding kids and making sure that these are whole foods, these are natural foods that kids can enjoy.
Anicia Anya:
And essentially when I was developing the recipes for a Kid's Table, I wanted parents to see it as, "This is something I would eat too." Because that's the messaging or the questioning that you ask yourself is, "Would I eat this?"
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Anicia Anya:
If you wouldn't eat it, why would you feed it to your kid?
Abena Anim-Somuah:
1,000%.
Anicia Anya:
And so I wanted to create a product that's like, "Oh, you would eat it, okay, then you would feed it to your kid." It's funny, we have a lot of parents that order extra food for themselves, or moms that use our za'atar chicken tenders and they make salads or they make sandwiches or chicken parmesan and they're like, "My kid actually hated this, but I loved it, so I kept ordering it." And it's really great because it's essentially we want the Kid's Table to be this all-inclusive place where everyone can sit at and everyone could eat. And it's not just "kids food."
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's so amazing and that's so inspirational. How do you hope that Kid's Table sparks a conversation or changes the standard for how, at least in America, people are thinking about kids and healthy eating habits?
Anicia Anya:
My biggest mission, again with Kid's Table is just to change the way that we talk about kids food. And I just really hope that adults start to see that kids food is food, it's our food. And this kid is eventually going to turn 10 and then 16 and then 20 and then 21. And how do we want that to look? Do you still want them to be eating mac and cheese when they're 32? No. Mac and cheese is really good, of course, but as the only meal that they're eating, no. And so I think I really want parents to approach feeding kids as the way that they do other forms of parenting. When you're allowing your kid to walk, you're not holding their hand the entire time. You're allowing them to take those footsteps and try different ways of getting up off the floor, pulling themself up or making that next step.
And that's what I would like to see with food, is that parents actually allow their kids to try new foods and try new flavors. And I think a lot of the messaging is like, kids don't eat that or kids won't order that. And I think you see that in restaurants. They have a separate menu because they don't think that kids would eat the things off the regular menu. And it's like, I would love to see people start to see kids food as just food.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
We're huge manifestors on the podcast.
Anicia Anya:
Yes.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I know you mentioned that you're transitioning into more of a CPG line, which you'll be seeing in retail, which we're very excited about. But are there particular projects or partnerships that you're hoping that will be a part of Kid's Table in the next five to 10 years?
Anicia Anya:
Launching into retail is very huge. We're launching regionally, so I would love-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Congratulations.
Anicia Anya:
Thank you. I want to see Kid's Table in the freezers of everyone's home, and I want to see it in Kids lunchboxes. I want parents to be talking about it. Eventually 20 years down the line, if our country ever gets it together, I would love to see it as an option for public school lunch. The other thing about Kid's Table is I don't ever just want to be a brand that's just like, "Here's the food." I want to actually create an actual experience for kids to be able to learn about the food and learn about where things come from and how it's made and how it smells and how it tastes and things like that.
And I think I dream of a world where we have a kid-friendly cafe or where we host classes and workshops and we have a garden where kids can grow vegetables and they can come and pick up their CSA box. I really dream of expanding the brand to be more experiential so that kids can actually experience the food and not just experience it by mom putting it in the lunchbox or dad grilling it or something like that.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I hope it all works out. And as a black woman, I think it's so admirable that you are an entrepreneur, especially in an industry that black women are still the minority when it comes to being business owners, but also are the ones that spend the most consumer dollars. How do you feel like the food industry is supporting you and how do you hope things are changing or staying the same as you're spending more and more time in it as an entrepreneur and as a chef and all these other amazing adventures that you're on?
Anicia Anya:
Yes. I still think that the industry has a long way to go when it comes to supporting black women, especially in the entrepreneurial space, especially in a startup space. I think if you look at most of the food businesses or food delivery programs, it's mostly still white owned. I think community is something that has been really important to me, and I think throughout this process I've been able to lean on my community. And my friends and family and they have communities. That has been something that's really helped me. I think I have made it a huge priority to build connections in the food space with other women of color chefs, not just black women chefs, but other women of color, men of color, and just to connect with each other and share each other's, our pain points, our frustrations, and then also our resources and share our wins and really support each other.
And that has been something that not only has helped the process, but it's also just super inspiring to see. This weekend was a really big example of that, helping Janae of Pelo Kitchen at the bake sale. Then from there, going to the opening of Ursula, which is owned by Lonnie Holiday, and just supporting other black women and just seeing, this wasn't a walk in the park for them to get here. They don't come from money, they don't have huge investors, they don't have an entire staff working for them. It was something that they worked really hard for. And so I think supporting each other is something that really, really helps. But I do think, yeah, we do have a long way to go and I think support black women all day.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. You know the vibes. Do you have any advice for any entrepreneurs or food professionals that are hoping to make a change? I feel like you've transitioned in so many ways and transitioned successfully.
Anicia Anya:
Yeah.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
What grounds you, what advice has been grounding you as you've been making these decisions?
Anicia Anya:
One thing that I learned early on is do the thing. Just do it. I think we all, we sit on our ideals and our aspirations and we do all this research and we want it to be perfect. We want to have the right branding, the right logo, the right packaging, the right website, and I think we just have to start. You know, you just have to start. You just have to do your thing and your community will show up. When I launch Kid's Table, I was buying containers from the Dollar Store and I was printing stickers out at my neighbor's house, like to make it work. It's only been a year and it's like you can come a long way in a year. We already have a huge partnership with IPSA. We have a partnership with Lalo.
We're now transitioning into retail and I think back and it's like, "If I kept sitting on it, I wouldn't be here today." And I'm just, I always advise people, "Just do the thing and the rest will come. And just really believe in yourself and just know that your community will come, the money will come, and opportunities will just start to flow in once you really align yourself."
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Well, Anicia, you just given us so many nuggets, pun intended, when it comes to being a chef, transitioning into the food world, supporting kids. With all this, we are going to do our fun Future Food Is You tradition called The Future Flash Five.
Anicia Anya:
Okay.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Are you ready?
Anicia Anya:
Yeah, I'm a little scared.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Don't be, everyone gets nervous. It's fun. It's fun, I promise you. Okay, here we go. The future of private chefs.
Anicia Anya:
Pop-ups.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
The future of culinary school.
Anicia Anya:
Optional.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
The future of restaurants.
Anicia Anya:
Non-fussy food.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
The future of children's food.
Anicia Anya:
Real food.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
The future of food Entrepreneurs.
Anicia Anya:
Abundance. I'd like to see more of them.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Amazing. Anicia thank you again so much for joining us. If we want to keep supporting you, we're the best places to find you?
Anicia Anya:
You can find me on Instagram @AniciaNgozi, or you can check us out at kidstableny.com.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Amazing. Thanks so much.
Anicia Anya:
Thank you so much for having me.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Before we go, our guest is going to leave a voicemail at The Future Of Food Mailbox, just talking to themselves 10 years from now, you have reached The Future Of Food Is You mailbox. Please leave your message after the beep.
Anicia Anya:
Hey girl hey, it's been a while, 10 whole years. It's been 10 years since you had that crazy idea of launching a kid's food business in your late 20s. Girl, let me tell you, Kid's Table is now in stores nationwide, and you were finally able to create that dream of opening a kid-friendly cafe with a team of your dreams. Girl, you did it. I'm so proud of you for deciding that food was it. I hope you're finally able to bask in the joy of feeding your own kids now and not just the kids of New York City. While living in your Brooklyn brownstone with your lovely partner and attending block parties on Tompkins Ave. And those two books you wrote, I hope that the kids are loving them as bedtime stories. I hope you're living life with ease now and less startup stress like I am now. I hope life now has space and time for intimate dinner parties, traveling with friends, and most of all, enjoying a whole bronzino. I love you. Talk to you soon.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's it for today's show. Do you know someone who you think is the Future Of Food? Tell us about them. Nominate them at the link in our show notes, or leave us a rating and review and tell me about them in the review. I can't wait to read more about them. Thanks to Kerrygold and Walmart for supporting the show. The Future Of Food Is You is a production of The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network. Thanks to the team at CityVox Studios, executive producers Kerry Diamond and Catherine Baker, and associate producer Jenna Sadhu. Catch you on the future flip.