PROFILES: Chef Nikki Steward
WRITER
Madison-USA
DATE
July 19, 2018
The Madison-USA team had a chance to catch up with Chef Nikki Steward right after she finished her nationwide tour with Khaled's Kitchen. We spoke with the chef about growing up in Columbus, finding her passion in the kitchen and some of her well-known clients.
What was it like growing up in Columbus?:
“My initial background is in pharmaceutical sciences. That's what I went to Ohio State for, but I decided it really wasn't soul satisfying and the fact that I didn't realize I was a creative at a young age kind of troubled me. I decided to kind of venture into the culinary industry as a part of discovering myself as a creative. I didn't want to go to culinary school because I had already been in school; I felt like it was best if I just trained with other chefs and that's what I did.”
Tell us about being on tour with Khaled's Kitchen?:
“Khaled's Kitchen is an experience for his fans. DJ Khaled is on Weight Watchers and Weight Watchers heavily promotes their collaboration with DJ Khaled. Being on tour with Khaled, we would follow him to every city. When we arrived to a city, we'd first make sure the crew was taken care of for that stop, then we would also develop menu items for the crowd.”
Who are some of your other clients?:
“I do a lot of stuff for Snoop. I work with him on a lot of cannabis infused stuff, clearly cause it’s Snoop. I’ve also done stuff for Dave Chappelle, a host of other celebrities and artists, and then a few athletes.”
What are your thoughts on the growth of Columbus?:
“Columbus is an interesting city because it's a good test market city. A lot of things that come to Columbus may just be there to see how it would vibe with the rest of the country. We all build back into the community. For me, in Columbus, I'm like "Okay, what's the niche? How can I fit in and help out with a service? Where is there a void?"”
How Madison can make an impact on that growth?:
“I think that just making sure the community knows that you guys do offer something for everybody. The location of the store gets a lot of different vibes and lots of different people that come through.
What was it like growing up in Columbus?:
“My initial background is in pharmaceutical sciences. That's what I went to Ohio State for, but I decided it really wasn't soul satisfying and the fact that I didn't realize I was a creative at a young age kind of troubled me. I decided to kind of venture into the culinary industry as a part of discovering myself as a creative. I didn't want to go to culinary school because I had already been in school; I felt like it was best if I just trained with other chefs and that's what I did.”
Tell us about being on tour with Khaled's Kitchen?:
“Khaled's Kitchen is an experience for his fans. DJ Khaled is on Weight Watchers and Weight Watchers heavily promotes their collaboration with DJ Khaled. Being on tour with Khaled, we would follow him to every city. When we arrived to a city, we'd first make sure the crew was taken care of for that stop, then we would also develop menu items for the crowd.”
Who are some of your other clients?:
“I do a lot of stuff for Snoop. I work with him on a lot of cannabis infused stuff, clearly cause it’s Snoop. I’ve also done stuff for Dave Chappelle, a host of other celebrities and artists, and then a few athletes.”
What are your thoughts on the growth of Columbus?:
“Columbus is an interesting city because it's a good test market city. A lot of things that come to Columbus may just be there to see how it would vibe with the rest of the country. We all build back into the community. For me, in Columbus, I'm like "Okay, what's the niche? How can I fit in and help out with a service? Where is there a void?"”
How Madison can make an impact on that growth?:
“I think that just making sure the community knows that you guys do offer something for everybody. The location of the store gets a lot of different vibes and lots of different people that come through.