Meet Nakia McGuire | Owner & Head Chef

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nakia McGuire and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nakia, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The idea of starting a business has never been an “if” for me, it’s always been a “what will I do.” I went through more than a dozen business plans and double the number of ideas. There were even times where I had filed all of the correct paperwork, took classes, received licensing, and even began marketing. Event Planner, Hairstylist, Publisher, Personal Assistant, Realtor, the list goes on. And even though the profession changed, the thought process behind becoming an entrepreneur has always remained the same –– to build something and be successful at something that bears my name and showcases the benefit of hard work to show others that look like me that it can be done!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am the owner and head chef of Food Therapy Catering, a boutique catering company here in Dallas, Texas. If you ask anyone that knew me in my early 20s, they will tell you that cooking was never something that I loved to do. I’ve always considered myself a foodie –– I can tell you about all of the best restaurants in all of my favorite cities –– but preparing a meal was not anything I enjoyed spending my time doing. It wasn’t until shortly after relocating to Dallas from Washington, D.C., where I met a group of extraordinary women, and I began to develop a love for cooking. I like to call it the story of spaghetti.

All of us being Dallas transplants, we connected and grew in friendship through weekly Sunday potluck dinners. Each friend would bring a dish and a bottle of wine, and we laughed for hours while watching our favorite shows and movies. For weeks, I managed to get by only bringing paper plates and plastic cutlery because, after all, who actually enjoys washing dishes? I knew with certainty that my contribution was invaluable and there was no way anyone would ever expect or ask me to prepare a dish! Until they did. So, I picked the easiest dish I could think of –– spaghetti. I made a huge pot of sauce packed with fresh veggies and my own special blend of herbs and spices, much like my grandmother made when I was a kid. It was a big hit! You might be thinking, “it’s just spaghetti” but it truly was the best spaghetti we’d had in a long time; my friends could not stop raving about how good it was. Once the idea of me cooking was on the table, it never went away. From that pot of spaghetti, requests were made for me to try other dishes. I grew more curious, confident, and adventurous, trying new recipes and even creating many of my own. A short time later, I was inspired to form my own catering company and within six months I was hired to cater my first wedding.

Food Therapy is set apart from other catering companies by our individualized approach to menu planning. While we do have our staple dishes, each event features a menu selection created specifically for that client, with a strong focus on flavor profile and the desired feeling clients want to share with each bite. The name Food Therapy is rooted in the belief that food evokes feelings, has the power to heal, and can change your life. Cooking has become for me a therapeutic and healing experience, an act of love for myself and to others.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Anyone that comes to visit me here in Dallas can always expect that I’ll have a jam-packed itinerary for them. A day of shopping at Legacy West complete with a trip to Legacy Hall for some of the best local East Dallas has to offer, craft cocktails and speakeasy vibes from Parliament in Uptown, rum spiked dole whip from swizzle and lower Greenville, and no trip to Dallas is complete without a day of fabulous vintage shopping at Lula B’s in Oak Cliff!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to dedicate my Shoutout to my late grandmother Jannies A. Holmes, teaching me to pray was the greatest gift she’ could ever give. I am eternally thankful.

Website: Www.foodtherapycateringtx.com

Instagram: @Foodtherapycateringtx

Image Credits
Lens_zee Photography