We were lucky to catch up with Shaquin Thomas recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Shaquin , thanks for joining us today. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

My business is a ministry for me so to speak. My grandma always told me that if my hand is closed tightly, then blessings can’t flow in and blessings can’t flow out. Because of this seed she planted in me early in life, I try to give back to my community as much as I can. One year on my birthday, I decided to provide random acts of kindness including giving back to the homeless and providing complimentary meals to an elderly veteran. I took a pic with the veteran on my bday and posted on social media. A short while later, I received a message from CNN wanting to share my story. I agreed and I started receiving messages from people all over the world thanking me for my kindness.

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 am the CEO and owner of Soul To Table Catering. I am a personal chef and event planner. In addition to serving food, I also selflessly serve my community. Hence the name; Soul To Table. My accomplishments include being an author of two published cookbooks, Cooking with Soul To Table and Soul To Table Soup which is available on Amazon. Even though I’ve accomplished so much, I’m still human and have those moments so to speak.

Sometimes I wrestle with changing the name of my business and getting a new logo but then I start thinking about how I started my business and came up with the name. My Daddy was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer March 6, 2017 & my life changed forever. I moved him in with me & began to take care of him. As his health declined, I took a leave of absence from my accounting job. During my leave of absence, my job politely fired me. On the morning of April 23, 2017, I awoke at 6am & like every morning, I checked on my father as soon as my eyes opened because I slept on the chair right next to his bed. This time I noticed his eyes were open but he wasn’t responding. He was transitioning. I called the Hospice nurse and she told me it could take a few hours or days but the hearing was one of the last things to go. I told him I loved him and that I would spend my life making the catering business a success like we planned together. I got up and began to prepare a meal for a 200 person wedding event I was set to cater that afternoon. I called my immediate family to share the news about my Dad. They came to my house. I whipped up peach Cobbler, hugged loved ones, stuffed chicken, kissed my Dad, chopped potatoes, shed tears, stopped to check my father’s pulse & this routine continued until I watched my Daddy take his last breath at 1032 a.m. I felt like a piece of my soul died that day. I felt like he gave his life in exchange for my dream. I would never have stepped out on faith to start a business. I spent my entire savings taking care of funeral costs. A few days later I was wondering what I would do,how I would provide for my kids. I stopped by Blessings Thrift Store b/c window shopping is therapy for me. While there, an employee said, “Maybe you can deliver lunch to us until you decide about going back to work.” The next day I sold my first $7 plate & it has been a whirlwind of a dream since then. It is 5 years later and I’m still sharing my soul to my table and I’ve even published a few cookbooks and created a line of seasoning blends. My father was a giving person and I pay homage to him daily by my random acts of kindness. I was once featured on the local news stations like ABC and CBS for catering a wedding with 200 guests completely free for a beautiful woman diagnosed with stage four lung cancer just like my father. Ive been so blessed so I pay it forward by providing home cooked meals and personally serving the police, firefighters, EMTs, and veterans once a month for free locally in my hometown. I even package hygiene kits and my kids and I walk around Atlanta giving them to the less fortunate. I was once featured on CNN for giving homecooked meals to a 90 year old veteran on my birthday as well as feeding the homeless. I do random pulse checks on the elderly and the sick and shut in. Because my network has grown so much, when there is an immediate need for a citizen like getting a ramp built for a disabled veteran or having a leaky molded roof replaced completely free of charge for an elderly woman, I’m able to post it on social media and the job gets done ASAP and I love being able to help. The local community including the firefighters and American legion volunteer and work on these community projects and I serve them complimentary meals daily until the job is complete. I aspire to be an inspiration to those ready to give up on their dreams! I would say to them-You got this and NOTHING can stop you!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

During Covid, a lot of businesses had to pivot. Being a personal chef, it was a trying time especially since we were all quarantined in our homes. It was an epiphany moment for me. In my downtime, I was able to sit down, write a cookbook and even publish it on Amazon. I had to create a different stream of income in order to keep my business going.

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

It would have been so easy to quit during the pandemic and get a job but I had come so far. Quitting was not an option. Being a creative, I was able to create a line of seasoning blends and share them with my customers during the pandemic. People were home cooking more and ordering online so it made sense and it was successful!

Contact Info:

• Website: soultotablecatering.com
• Instagram: @soultotablecatering
• Facebook: Soul To Table Catering
• Linkedin: Shaquin Thomas
• Youtube: Cooking With Soul To Table