When Kate Kelly was temporarily forced to stop working due to a stress fracture in her femur, she was likely not expecting the injury to open up new possibilities for her regarding her passion for cooking.
Now, Kelly, a junior in the College of Nursing, runs @thegirlthatcooksmu, where she curates home cooked meals for Marquette students who are craving a bit of comfort food. Kelly’s menu features a variety of dishes including pasta, steak, orange chicken, avocado rice bowls and chili with cornbread, ranging from $10-25 per meal.
“I just started this idea where I created a menu and college students could submit a request for a home cooked meal,” Kelly said. “Half of the proceeds that I make every two weeks, I’m going to [use] to go cook a meal at a shelter.”
Kelly has a Google Form in her Instagram bio for dinner requests, asking students their preferred meal choice, date, time and drop-off location. She said she rotates between a few shelters in Milwaukee that she cooks meals for.
It all started with that femur injury that caused Kelly to take a break from her job at a restaurant in the Third Ward. She said during that time, she was not able to do most things that she typically liked to do, so she began asking herself what she could to serve others that she also enjoys.
“I started cooking for homeless shelters in Milwaukee. I did over 50 meals, I think, between then and March, and also some in Minnesota where I’m from,” Kelly said. “I sold a lot of my clothes to use money for it, and it just became this thing that I really liked doing.”
Kelly eventually went back to work, which she said caused her to not have as much time to cook for the shelters anymore. Instead, this fall she started cooking meals for her friends, because she said college students often just want a home cooked food. She hosted family-style dinners and decided she liked cooking for other people because they liked her food too.
Then, Kelly said the feeling was even better when she brought her meals to a local shelter.
“It was even greater, how those people appreciated a home cooked meal so much, and it was something that I love doing,” Kelly said. “If it’s doing good, why don’t I just keep doing it?”
As Kelly gets her cooking business of the ground at Marquette and serves her first customers, she mentioned how money can be a drawback for her when it comes to continuing to bring her food to Milwaukee shelters.
“I’m a college student and I don’t have all the money in the world,” Kelly said. “It’s expensive to feed 50 people, but it’s definitely a good thing to do.”
Some of Kelly’s customers have already shared their satisfaction with her cooking, she shared, describing the food as “the best they’ve had in a while” and telling Kelly she “made their day” with the meal.
While she has a knack for cooking and a heart for serving others, Kelly said she is not an expert in technology or business. Because of this, she said she is looking for someone who can help her create a QR code to put on posters that takes people to her menu, as well as a more organized way to submit a request form and design a sign-up calendar. She is also accepting feedback about how she currently has her sign-up form and communication system organized and can be reached via Instagram direct messages.
At the end of the day, Kelly said her business is all about the people who order her food and what is important to them.
“‘Food heals’ sounds so dramatic, but I know my freshman year at college I would’ve loved to have a home cooked meal,” Kelly said. “I want it to be something where people are craving a home cooked meal that makes their day better, is easy and not super expensive.”
This story was written by Mia Thurow. She can be reached at [email protected].
