For Chef Ting, Black Joy Kitchen, which features food of the Black diaspora, is about community — the community in the kitchen and the connection among diners. “Food is a bridge between people, beliefs, faiths, and communities. It is food that brings us together,” Chef Ting says. And Family Meal Fridays is emblematic of her commitment to the restaurant’s values.
The details are simple. Every month, Black Joy Kitchen welcomes diners for a family-friendly, eat-as-much-as-you-wish, pay-what-you-can meal. Chef Ting adds, “We tend to focus on food that children will also like.” For instance, on Dec. 5, it was taco night, with all the trimmings — salsa, guacamole, queso, lettuce, and tomato.
The term “family meal” has a specific meaning in restaurants. “It’s when one of the chefs feeds the whole team based on whatever is available in the kitchen. Initially, the idea was that everybody just got fed,” Chef Ting explains. “Some of the best recipes have emerged in restaurants from that tradition. When our brains are sparked and our hearts are open, and we have ingredients in front of us, it’s about what we make for people who we care about the most.
“That’s relevant to us at Black Joy Kitchen, where we have an open-kitchen policy for all our teammates, not just when we eat together. It means anyone can use any ingredient we have in our kitchen at any time.” Chef Ting elaborates, “It could be that you worked in the kitchen until midnight and the stores are closed, or you have spent all your money on Christmas gifts. If you are taking care of an elder in the family and just need some extra cream or butter, that’s fine. Whatever it is, everybody is welcome to it. Whether eating together or going home to eat, everybody deserves to eat, and eat well.”
It’s crucial to Chef Ting that “everybody” includes the Island community, all of whom are welcome to feast at the restaurant. She was inspired by her time living in Tanzania, which has a sizable Muslim population. “Among the Muslim community, Friday is the day of charity — not just to give, but to receive. At a Muslim-owned restaurant, you could go in and eat for whatever you have to give. We adopted that idea to say, not only are we going to use the ingredients we have in our kitchen to make a meal for those we love and care about, but we are also going to make it a day of both giving and receiving for families. And family can be you and your best friend, somebody you just met, or you and all your kids.”
Chef Ting adds, “I was a little girl who grew up in a family with just enough to eat. My single mom sacrificed a tremendous amount, but we always had food on the table. With Family Meal Fridays, every child can go out to dinner, sit at the table, and eat with their family. There’s something very beautiful about that intimate experience.”
The pay-what-you-can policy has been successful. Diners have paid as little as a few dollars per meal, while others have paid more. Since starting the tradition, the restaurant has covered its costs, and donates any surplus to the Food Bank. Chef Ting felt from the beginning, “Worst-case scenario, if it costs $500 to $750 to feed 30 families, and nobody pays, that would be one of our forms of philanthropy for the month. It’s how we live in our values.”
Chef Ting shares, “In the spring, we had a four-generation family of 12 that paid $12, and we loved having them here. They were so engaged and excited, and people knew them, and they knew other people. It’s a night when people meet with neighbors and remember, ‘Oh yeah, you live here, too, in the ‘Island season,’ as we like to call it.”
For Chef Ting, Family Meal Fridays is just one way she answers her own question: How do we, as regular, everyday people, show up for our community so there is a constant exchange of love? “I have always said this, but in this time, more than ever, I say, all of us need all of us. One of the most beautiful aspects of our Family Meal Fridays is that everybody is here — all different beliefs, religions, and ethnicities. The diversity is stunning, yet exactly who we are as an Island.”
For dates and reservations for upcoming pay-what-you-can Family Meal Fridays, visit https://www.blackjoykitchen.com/ or @blackjoykitchen.
God bless you Chef for your incredible act of kindness to island families in need of your help. Your actions represent those of islanders from years past who looked out for one another. Wishing you and your family a lovely Christmas and a very Happy New Year. ?
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