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Raquelle Boyd, an 11-year-old Milwaukee chef, is already creating a reputation for herself in her neighborhood, attracting large audiences with her pop-up drive-thru food company. Chef Kisses, the pre-teen’s professional name, is now on her second pop-up drive-thru after the popularity of her first, where some customers waited up to two hours just to eat her meals.
She has been in the kitchen for some years now. “When I was 5 years old, my mom and my dad gave me a deep fryer,” Raquelle told WVTM. “I wanted to cook and show everybody else how I cook,” she stated.
When Raquelle initially mentioned the concept to her parents, Sarhena and Robert Boyd, their first reaction was to encourage her enthusiasm, as they always did. Their support for their daughter’s desire of one day having her own restaurant extends beyond the drive-through.
“She’s been talking about Chef Kisses’ Place for a very long time,” Raquelle’s mother Sarhena explained to WSVN. “So, when she came up with this idea, it was like hey why not, we do a lot of stuff as a family.”
They were the business’ first investors, and though the test drive brought a bigger turnout than they imagined, the Boyds kept going. Her parents continue to help her learn what it takes to run a business.
“This is something she has a passion about she don’t just talk about it, she’ll actually put the effort in. We sponsored the first one and she took literally— the second one everything that came from her menu to her balloons her flyers, she paid for all of it herself,” Robert Boyd added, according to TMJ4.
Raquelle used her family’s kitchen for the second pop-up drive-through, cooking the meal, which she began working on as early as 6 a.m. with very little assistance. Her menu includes, among other things, fried chicken, yams, collard greens, mac & cheese, and cornbread.
“It made me feel happy and that people really enjoy my food,” she expressed.
Her proud parents asserted that it is her savvy business moves that get Raquell ‘Chef Kisses’ one step closer to owning her own restaurant, maybe even a Michelin star.
