May 8, 2017

Meet Taylor Campbell of Taylor Made Cuisine in South Bay

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Campbell.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Taylor. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a born and raised a California girl. I was born in Compton but was raised in Lomita by my mother Tami Brown. I grew up in a housing authority called Harbor Hills also known as The Projects. Dancing and cooking was my outlet. I first started cooking with my grandma Holly and great grandma Allie (Nanny is what I call her) when I was around 3. I started boiling eggs, snapping the peas and pouring my own cereal, very intense 3-year-old stuff. As time went on, I use to help my aunt Sharon make breakfast for my other great grandma Madea. When I graduated high school, my grandma Holly passed away so I started to host Sunday dinner at my house to keep the family together. When I was 18 in 2007, I started working at TGI Fridays and that is when I really got a chance to develop in a restaurant. I was a host for 6 months, server for 2 and half years and bartender for the rest of my time there. I was there for 5 years! I was a trainer for host and servers, team coach, worked as an expo, busser and dabbled on the line. I started an advertisement and marketing team “street team”, and host different events and bar flairs. Also, I help open a TGI Fridays in Compton location. I left there to sell cars for 2 years thinking I could save enough money for my own restaurant and that didn’t work out. I couldn’t wait to back to the restaurant industry. I started working at Benihana participating in their chef training. After 2 years, I decided to leave and work for myself. In March 2016, someone gave me $2000 and said you need to work for yourself.

In 2010, I started making cupcakes and alcoholic cupcakes that I sold to my friends and family. After a couple of years, I wanted to get serious and start cooking for people since I would already cook for my family. In 2014, I went down and got my dba and started to build. It wasn’t until 2016 where I got a chance to expand. I tapped into another level of myself and just went full throttle in my company. I’ve been grateful ever since.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been a smooth road at all!!!!!

For the longest time I would always ask God what am I doing wrong. I had this business since 2014 and it’s not going anywhere. I would get little gigs here and there but I would question “when am I going to get my big break?”. It wasn’t until 2016 when I got a chance to jump. I told myself that I will go all in and someone gave me money to kick start it off again. I realized I didn’t have set menu, I didn’t have a logo, I didn’t have core values and discipline to be strict on myself to execute. So, I found out what I was lacking and I began to get everything in order. My business has been growing more each day. Also, money was a factor! I don’t come from wealth, so I had to buy a little here and there to be able to gather all my equipment I needed. But, that was the best decision I made thus far.

Please tell us about Taylor Made Cuisine.
Taylor Made Cuisine is a catering company that provide catered food, private chefs, servers and bartenders. We created a style called Neo-Soul Food. Neo-Soul Food is a new healthier way of eating your favorite comfort food. Our most popular dishes are Jerk Chicken, Cajun Mac N Cheese and Jambalaya to name a few. We pride ourselves on excellent customer service and amazing food. We try to make our customers feel like family. What set us apart from other catering companies is we provide a creative menu and more convenient experience. When we cater, cook, bartend, we provide all the supplies so our customers won’t have to sweat the small details; such as cups, straws, garnishes, utensils, napkins, condiments and décor.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over, I would be more organized in the beginning. I wouldn’t have missed a lot of opportunities that was given to me. But in the same breath, I love the growing process that I had to go through and it made me a better individual and business woman. I learned how to take accountability for my actions, how to execute and how to just write down everything to get things done.

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