We were lucky to catch up with Quisha Milton recently and have shared our conversation below.

Quisha, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

My Dad actually helped me name my business, almost 10 years before I ever had it. It was literally a conversation we had about me starting & having a food truck. This was in 2009! I think he was ahead of the times with the food truck idea back then. Everything about Me & my life is either in or from somewhere or something in the South of the world. My dads family is from a border town in California, as I am from SoCal. My mom’s family is from Jacksonville Florida, Southern America & I grew up until I was 12 in South Korea. All of those things have molded me as a person, my food & how I live my life.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have 20 plus years in the hospitality field, front & back of the house. I started selling food when I was still a pre-teen & was being paid under the table to cook side dishes for restaurants by the time I was 13-14. I dropped out of traditional college & went to culinary school in 2004, that’s where I learned my discipline in the kitchen & what it really takes to have longevity in this field. I also learned I DONT have to be the “typical Chef”. My teacher, Chef Mich Frieder was very very on me about “Staying true to how I cook”. I’m very grateful for him. He definitely gave me confidence to cook how I do & not bend to what anyone said on how I should be cooking because I’m a Black woman. Then & Now I was faced with the stereotype of HOW I should be cooking.

I Love feeding people in my community and showing people the different ways to incorporate fresh traditional ingredients with the flavors that stand true no matter the trends going on. I also like incorporating things like what people may get in a food box, to make delicious food at home for their family. Nothing is getting cheaper & making sure people know they can Eat Well no matter the circumstances is important.

Need people to know that even if you don’t/can’t shop at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, that’s ok!!! A lot of our food comes from the SAME place & just marketed & distributed differently depending on the stores. So don’t feel bad about buying fresh food from anywhere.

Any advice for managing a team?

When I have done consulting for small businesses, I have always started with Skill sets & moral. Knowing everyone’s strengths are important & you may not know them until til it’s go time! Establishing your team, knowing what they can do so everyone is efficient in their roles is most important. I find the second most important after establishing your team is keeping moral high!!! Happy efficient staff generally equals a higher revenue for your business. People like/want to be around.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had to cook out side my first 2 years!!! I had a BBQ grill & various other toys to make things on my menu & sell to my clients. Life does not always go as planned with small business for sure & my kitchen was not big enough & I had no access to a bigger space. I utilized my skills as a chef & remembered all the tricks my parents & elders taught me about survival & stories from when they would hunt & camp long time ago. No matter the weather I was outside cooking it up for people. Have to overcome obstacles no matter what if you want success. This was just one.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: southernfusion_catering2

Image Credits
Personal Photo credit: Elizabeth A. Johnson