Mise en Place: Natasha Bailey prioritizes safety and play at Thelma’s Kitchen

Natasha Bailey of Thelma’s Kitchen // Courtesy Natasha Bailey

Thelma’s Kitchen is Kansas City’s first pay-what-you-can cafe. The weekday lunch spot offers a fresh and hearty menu of entrees, salads, and sandwiches. I stopped by for a turkey and brie sandwich with cranberry jam, complete with a side of coconut curry soup and a cookie.

A base price of $15 per meal is flexible, with options for paying less or more based on what you can handle. The spirit of paying it forward helps Head Chef Natasha Bailey and her team feed neighbors in need with nutritious foods.

Bailey didn’t grow up cooking but found herself struck with inspiration from raw foods and cookbooks. Now, her range of experience in both cooking and marketing helps her stay agile with seasonal produce and the unique challenge of working with kitchen volunteers every day. 

The Pitch: Tell us about yourself.

Natasha Bailey: Well, I am a mom. With the first of our five kids, I really got into food. I read Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl, and it just blew my mind and really solidified my decision to be in the food industry. Then, I went to culinary school. When I graduated, I became the head chef at Eden Alley and did that for about a year. Then I went to Green Dirt Farm, where I had the freedom to learn and make a product from grass to customer. 

I started out as a production manager, and by the time I left, I was the sales and marketing director. So I got to really see it from beginning to end, and then learn how to sell it. That taught me how to sell a product that isn’t well known because I came to find out that no one knows you can milk sheep!

When COVID hit, everything looked a little different, and I felt out of control. The best thing for me to do was to give back. I started helping my friend Shanita (Chef Shanita McAfee-Bryant) figure out The Prospect. I was on her board during that time. We went to Thelma’s Kitchen, and that’s where I got to see, actually, what they do. I had donated cheese before when I was at Green Dirt but was always just moving through. They let me know that a position was opening up. At that point, everything in life didn’t look the same anymore, so we took the kids to Yellowstone for a month, and then when we came back, we were like, “Okay, I’m gonna get back to work.” And I’ve been at Thelma’s ever since. 

What is the best part of your job? 

My team. I have two chefs, and they are Black women, and I have been able to breathe into them in a way that I wish I had when I was starting out. I get to love on them in their journey and build just a safe space where you can be a woman and you can make beautiful food, and you don’t have to feel less than.

What’s your favorite type of food to cook?

At home, I love to wow my kids. At the restaurant, I love my farmers. If this is the only meal that someone gets, I want to give people something that actually does good for their bodies. I want the food to nourish you. I like to be like a scratch chef. I clean all of my vegetables, prepare them from their whole vegetable all the way down to the final product. It takes longer, but I think the food tastes better.

In a job where you’re serving the community and working with volunteers–you’re pouring into people so many different ways–how do you fill your own cup? 

I read, and that is relaxing to me. I try to spend as much time with my family as I can; that’s probably how I get recharged. I’m a homebody, and I like my home to be really comfy–it is a sanctuary for me. 

In what ways does this job stretch your creativity? 

Sometimes it’s like the show Chopped! I have ingredients and I’ve got to make it work. And then we just play around. Play is really important, and I try to have a lot of that throughout the day because it is emotionally taxing, because you meet people where they are, and people are going through so much. We’re all the same underneath it all, you know.

What is your earliest memory of cooking?

My earliest memory of cooking is actually making spaghetti sauce with my grandpa. We had a garden in the back, and he used to pick the tomatoes, and then we would make sauce. We would make a ton of sauce. That’s kind of what I do on Sundays now if I get that Monday dread and I just want a big bowl of spaghetti, I just put the sauce on and let it ride all day. It’s so therapeutic for me.

What do you wish more people knew about Thelma’s Kitchen?

That we’re for everyone, not just people who are struggling. And that I don’t need to, but I put my heart into everything I do. Me and my chefs–we leave it all on the plate, and we really want you to feel the love in the food.

How can people get involved? 

You can sign up online to volunteer for cashier, prep, cleanup, even kitchen spots, or just show up to check us out. It’s okay to ask questions and be curious. It’s nice to be an outlet for people to be able to give back and see what you’re giving back to.

It’s easy to feel so defeated. But I know that we have seen worse and we will do better. I know people are hurting and I know they’re afraid, but we’ll always keep churning. COVID was scary and we were afraid, and we kept churning. So we’ll just keep pushing forward.

Thelma’s Kitchen is located at 3101 Troost Ave, Kansas City, MO 64109.