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

Lyn, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you have a hero? What have you learned from them?

I have people that I admire. But my hero is my mother. She’s no longer with us, but she definitely lives in my heart and my thoughts every day. She’s my hero for a lot of reasons. Her tenacity, her drive, her calmness in the midst of a storm. Her faith and her love and words of wisdom.
I learned to keep pushing. She would always say when one door closes another one will open. Sometimes you might have to knock the door down. She taught me to believe in my self. Look out for each other. Never take no crap! but always be kind.
She also taught me how to cook. This was bonding time.
Her strength and perseverance throughout her life has definitely made me the person I strive to be every day.
Most of all her faith and love for God was number one in her life and it’s that way for me as well. It keeps me grounded and thankful throughout my journey.

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 background and context?

My name is Lyn Thomas. I’m the owner of Zydeco’s Louisiana Kitchen. I was born and raised in Louisiana. Moving here after Hurricane Katrina we were constantly looking for Louisiana authentic food. In our opinion the valley was just not delivering what we were wanting. So we decided to sprinkle some flavors throughout the valley .

I have a passion for cooking, it brings me joy . I have recipes passed down from generations. I have recipes from my mother that were handwritten on back of envelopes that I cherish.. My grandmother or should I affectionately say (ma’dea) or (mother dear ) taught me how to make a roux as a child.

I say this often but cooking for me is like creating art or painting a portrait. I have this empty canvas and I just start creating. I get to escape whatever is going on around me and do what I enjoy.

I have so many Louisiana dishes to introduce to the valley that are Louisiana authentic and some are from my mother’s recipes..
Louisiana culture is so rich and bountiful. Just the food alone will leave you in awe.

I’m so proud that we have brought Zydeco’s Louisiana Kitchen to the valley. I cook Creole and Cajun and Soul food. So one day you might get a Creole dish or gumbo and the next a Cajun dish or gumbo..

Zydeco’s Louisiana Kitchen does catering for weddings, parties, luncheon, or any kind of function you have going on we will be there..

Our main location is 430 N. Dysart Rd. Ste.104 in Goodyear. Hours of operation are from 11:30am to 6:00 pm or until we sell out. (Tues- Sat.) But sometimes we get hired to do different events and may not be at this location. So make sure and follow us on Facebook and Instagram or feel free to call us.

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

I would like to think being consistent with the authentic flavors from home. My food is not inspired or kinda like Louisiana style, wanna be like Louisiana. My food is 💯 percent Louisiana.

If you stay consistent with putting out good dishes and staying true to your brand.. it will speak for itself. The word will spread and people will want what you have to offer.

Also having great customer service is so important to Zydeco’s Louisiana Kitchen. We pride ourselves on hospitality. Treating everyone with respect and kindness.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

My passion for cooking has always been with me. I would cook food for my daughters to bring to work with them. Their coworkers would always ask them what’s smelling so good? Can I taste that? The next question was could you ask your mom to cook something for me? Or we would have a house party and the guests would rave over how great the food was.
Sometimes I would bring extras for coworkers.

My husband would always tell me you should start cooking and selling your food.

I could never truly find authentic Louisiana food like we cook at home. So I would just have to cook it myself
The wheels start turning and we put words into motion.

We wanted to get a brick and mortar but the pandemic had us questioning that move. So decided to get a food truck. Which was the best move for that time. So we launched and never looked back.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/zydecolakitchen?igdhid= YmMyMTA2M2Y
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zydecoslakitchem/
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits
Precision Media and Design (Aimee Parker) are responsible for all pictures