We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tajahi Cooke. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tajahi below.
Hi Tajahi, you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?
I’ll start with the definition of Custodian, which is a person who has responsibility for or looks after something.
The title of Chef is given, not taken. It’s something that has been worked for since the moment that a cook steps into a kitchen. Cooking for others, dicing an onion, slicing a tomato, julienning the pepper, grinding the allspice, all of these tedious tasks always seem to lead somewhere unique and delicious. A memory’s drawn from an old chef’s recipe, your favorite dish that your mom used to make, or going back to the kitchen with grandma. When you cook for someone, you take the time to create that dish, it’s special, and as a custodian on this earth, my view is to make sure that everyone is fed, whether that individual drives a Tesla, a Honda, takes the bus, or walks. It’s hard to drive throughout the city of Denver, much less drive anywhere, and see someone holding a sign on the side of the road, knowing they’re hungry.
Maybe it was the way I was raised. My grandmother was an amazing woman and the example she set scripted the way I would live my life. Mrs. Betty – or Ms. Betty as she’s known throughout the community – was always looking out for others within the community, being a midwife, a cleaning woman, someone that you can go knock on that door and know that care will always answer. Not many individuals exist in this world that show this mindset, that show how we should live with our hearts, and I appreciated every moment that I had to witness this. Our community is greater than the neighborhood we live in, and the street we reside on, and if we think on this larger scale, we’ll realize that our community is bigger than we think it is. Looking out for each other, and making sure that each person is fed, clothed, sheltered, and loved, I believe is of the most importance to each human on this earth. Being a chef means these are the things we consider every time we step into a kitchen, we’re not thinking about ourselves. We’re thinking about the individuals who work alongside us, the community we feed, and the next special dish we can put in front of them. It’s our duty and our passion.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Ms. Betty’s Cooking is a community brand. As chefs and custodians, we curate beautiful experiences throughout Colorado with a focus on feeding hearts. As the son of a tour manager and a tour chef myself, I’ve had to opportunity to both cook and enjoy a wide variety of cuisines, and love sharing those experiences with our guests through our Supper Club, private catering, and community dinners.
This year, we are focusing on community and change working with the Colorado Restaurant Association, Denver Public Schools, the James Beard Foundation, and other organizations. Each of our dinners represents our community through the ingredients that are chosen as well as the thought and positive discussion we bring to the dinner table.
Our primary example is Madsgiving Harvest, our annual community project. The thought behind it is to bring change through one’s hands by coming together and cooking overnight for anyone who could use a meal on Thanksgiving Day, with no underlining reason, meaning, or justification other than to give. In the first year of Madsgiving, we provided 515 meals with the help of a few friends and community donations. Since then, we’ve grown in our partnership with amazing local businesses and community partners including the Salvation Army, Miller Farms, The Knife Guys, Shamrock, Red Bird Farms, and many others as well as hundreds of helping hands and beautiful hearts to provide over 30,000 meals across the Denver Metro area and several mountain communities. We will need help this year, our goal is to provide as many meals needed and so far, we’re looking at a potential 20,000 meals. Each year we push to be better and do more, because it’s needed.
The conversations we’ve had during this time of giveback are indescribable. The time when the prep work is of the most importance, making sure the turkey and roast beef is in the oven in time for us to take them out in the morning which will allow us to box up all the meals and serve our neighbors has changed the way I’ve moved as a chef and helped me to continue focusing the work we do within our community.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Number one I would say is, One Back One Ass. Mind my language first of all. Working in the kitchen taught me to slow down and work with the team. Making sure the line operates beautifully during the chaotic moments, one has to dance and move. Working with each cook, moving with each other creates a connection that last most times for a lifetime. This mend set leads into {One Back, One Ass}, this mean when one person fails, we all fail and when one succeeds, we all succeed.
Second I would say has to be Mentorship. Having the opportunity to work next to so many amazing chefs, I feel it’s my duty to pass on anything I can to the next generation of chefs. The likes of Chef Daniel Asher, Biju Thomas and Lucas Forgy just to name a few of the amazing individuals who took the risk of taking me under their wing. The knowledge I took from each of these chefs have guided me as a man, husband, friend and overall human to become to chef I am today. Passing on what they taught me is a goal of mine, making sure that I can help any young cook along the way will forever be one of my duties as a custodian in my field.
And third is Taking Risk: Working in the Restaurant Industry is my life and seeing each one of us work hard and grow within it makes my soul truly happy. I know it’s a little cheesy, but it does. My friends who I now call family work throughout this business and its beautiful to see when someone works hard for what they strive so hard for and at the end of the day get their roses. Taking risk is the key, knowing the right move and being prepared. This business called the Restaurant Industry is amazing in so many ways but it’s tough. The appreciation I have for those within our industry who have shown respect for their craft while having the resilience is for me beautiful and deserves our support.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
The feeling of being overwhelmed is natural, it’s something I’ve had to wrap my mind around and then move forward. I remember as a youth watching my dad work as a Tour Manager for then Spearhead now Michael Franti & Spearhead. This Rasta man from the tiny island of Jamaica was in charge of a World Tour and crushed it. I did watch him struggle at times, I also watched him dust himself off and not think twice about what to do next. My Oldman have always fascinated me in ways I can’t explain. My grandmother once told me of how she didn’t get to go to school so she and my granddad made sure all their kids went. My dad then turned around and taught his mother, Mrs. Betty, to read the newspaper, write her name and to the point where she felt comfortable traveling back and forth from Jamaica to New York. Taking these lessons from family who I call my roots, I work to push forward through any obstacle that presents itself in front of me.
Contact Info:
- Website: msbettysgrandson.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/msbettysgrandson
- Facebook: facebook.com/msbettyscooking
Image Credits
1/3/4: Jefferey Feirberg 2: StarChefs 5/6: Denver Post
