Tanika Smith was the sous chef in her family’s kitchen when she was a kid, helping prep the food to be cooked for Thanksgiving.

Evolving into a great cook would take years of practice and a tough skin.

However, practice does make perfect, and having the skills also came in handy for Smith following a major financial crisis.

Her son wanted to attend a football camp, and she didn’t have the funds to send him. So she cooked and sold dinners to raise the money.

People soon started contacting the Schenectady woman to cook for fundraising and community events.

Through word of mouth, her food became legendary. Her mac and cheese was especially loved. She even won a mac and cheese contest.

With so many people raving about her cooking, she decided to turn her cooking into a catering business. She calls it Kitchen Love. As much as she loves to cook to fill the bellies of others, she says cooking and feeding people also does something to her.

Learn about what it is by watching the video of Elaine Houston’s story.

You can contact Smith at KitchenLove518@gmail.com.