We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Julita Latimer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Julita below.

Julita, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s something crazy on unexpected that’s happened to you or your business

It was our first season, 2022 and we were set to begin service in minutes. Suddenly I hear my husband using some choice words in the front part of the the kitchen. I’m in the back and yell what’s up? Out of the blue I’m getting sprayed in the face with the fire surpression stuff and it was happening in the front. Remember we are supposed to start service in minutes, well that didn’t happen because food that was out was ruin so no service. My shock about the situation didn’t last long, next was just laughter and a drink, what else can you do? There was no fire so what happen. Shoddy work in Colorado but Keller in KC hooked us up.

Julita, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I feel like I’ve always cooked. I’ve always entertained. When I was a kid I would stage indoor picnics complete with broiled burgers, medium rare was the default temp. I remember making little hor d’oeuvres for my birthday party. So when I moved to KCMO I was offered my first cooking job at The Classic Cup in Westport and there was no looking back. I love everything about cooking, except cleaning spinach, planning, shopping, prepping and cooking. I’ve cooked at a number of restaurants, I had a catering business for 15 years but by far my favorite is cooking on my food truck, love it!
We specialize in pan fried chicken and other southern foods. My mother was from Birmingham AL. and a neighbor taught her how to fry chicken, I mean put a scald on it. I can’t remember the first time I made it, but maybe middle school. That chicken recipe was almost like another person in our home. Mother’s friend might need a chicken fried and lord know it was at club meeting. Truly this chicken brings people together and it’s still doing it. So when the opportunity to start another business I decided on pan fried chicken as my theme and a salute to Mother.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Resilience is a key ingredient in the food business. Along my journey I had a catering business for 15 years and during that time my middle name was resilience. We were catering an adult birthday party that was in their yard. Previously, using swatches, we picked out the color of the tablecloth’s. We arrived at the home and started to unload. Well the home owner did not like the color of the linen. In all fairness they were not the color we picked out but the bigger problem was there wasn’t any white linen to be found in KC. What to do, what to do? I quickly drove to the hardware store and purchased heavy canvas drop cloths. I returned to the party and began the transformation. The homeowner LOVED the new tablecloth’s. Resilience and creativity go hand in hand. I had to learn to be quick on my feet while maintaining a calm demeanor.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

When I first started in the culinary world I had two objectives: to adopt as many skills as possible by learning from the best and to become a sought after cook that didn’t have to apply for jobs, but was recommended. I built my reputation on creativity and consistency. Your reputation is something you are always working on. Its going above and beyond- arrive early, stay late. Passion for your craft will shine through and draw people in. People wanted to work with me because of my work ethic and dedication to bringing quality food to the people.

Contact Info:

• Website: Julitaskc.com
• Instagram: Julitaskc
• Facebook: Julitaskc