Ericka Stewart. (Photo: CJ Wolfe, Immortal Vision Studio
Germantown Info Hub is sharing a series of local chef profiles this holiday season, with their stories on how and why they love to cook, their favorite holiday meals, the ways in which community intersects in their cooking practice, and what they feel is the recipe for a thriving community.
Ericka Stewart was never trained as a chef. But people started calling her that as she started working on food justice and cooking community meals.
And the title stuck when she opened her cafe, Kidd & Co, which centers itself as a third space in Mt. Airy.
“People started calling me chef, and I was like, I’m not a trained chef. It’s like, no, you have the heart of a chef, and you care. I opened it (Kidd & Co) as a food rescue chef. I do not have to go to a supermarket and really purchase anything other than specific herbs and seasonings that I prefer or specific seasonal vegetables or fruits, because my job is to stop food waste in its tracks,” said Stewart.
Stewart’s connection to food justice started early, giving out food on Sundays as a young person as part of her church’s outreach programs. As she got older, Stewart also needed food.
“I’ve stood in food pantry lines and been denied because my zip code didn’t match up with the area. I’ve been denied because I was experiencing homelessness and didn’t have the documents. And when I got to the point where I could really make a change and do something about it, I started with doing it with dignity and with respect for people,” he said.
Stewart, also called Chef Kidd, for “never wanting to grow up,” became the newly elected president of East Mt. Airy Neighbors this past September. He has also worked with Pleasant Playground and connected with many organizers and organizations throughout NW Philly to provide food to people through community dinners and food distributions, helping to remove barriers to access.
His life now is leading the next generation to be the next community stewards and entrepreneurs.
“So now that I’m in my adult years, that is a part of how I have become a chef is through food literacy. I literally sit down, and I read, and I learn what I never knew, and I share with my boys — they have gone from boys to become men, and they’re able to feed their families now.”
One of the foods she likes preparing right now is mushrooms — creating stocks and serving them as an alternative to meat. She likes to incorporate seasonal produce within her practice, so she’s also been roasting a lot of local sweet potatoes that people are loving.
These vegetable preparations are some of the dishes you may see at her Friday night community dinners, where she asks for a $20 donation, and people get a full spread of food. She recently prepared a ratatouille with seasonal produce, which she said was also a hit, especially with Councilmember Rue Landau.
Stewart makes it clear that the community dinners are for everyone. Her non-profit branch of the business points out that they feed all people, everyone, and that it’s not about poor people or rich people.
In Kidd & Co, she is able to offer people delicious coffee and tea, and also sell affordable produce boxes that she sources from local farmers. She uses the space as a central hub for all of her service work, including a recent food giveaway for the holidays, where they handed out almost 150 turkeys.
“I literally can come down, open my doors, and begin to serve the city of Philadelphia. It starts with a cup of coffee or a cup of tea and it brings me joy every day because I know where I started at, and I can’t wait to see where I’m going.”
Although not the biggest fan of Thanksgiving, Stewart loves Christmas. He loves a great lasagna, garlic knots, and a nice Caesar salad for Christmas dinner. He says if he’s lucky, a shrimp cocktail!
What is the recipe for a thriving community?
When asked what her recipe for a thriving community is, Stewart broke it down in comparison to a simple classic dessert.
“So if we think about pound cake, that is basically a pound of everything.” And that’s what her recipe for a thriving community is:
- One pound of love
- One pound of music
- One pound of diversity
- One pound of compassion
- One pound of understanding
- One pound of “we listen, but we don’t judge.”
- One pound of accountability
- One pound of forgiveness
- Two pounds of leadership.
According to Stewart, this recipe serves 365 people, one for every day of the year. There’s no serving size; eat what you like, eat what you need. Just don’t forget to serve it with respect, she said.
To learn more about Stewart’s mission and about her third space, Kidd & Co, check out their website.
