| Check out Skai's (kind of like myspace) site: Empress Skai |
Chef Skai
SKAI DAVIS ADMITS THAT SHE BECAME A
VEGETARIAN at the age of 14 to be cool. Little did
she imagine that her desire to be a hip herbivore
would some day lead to owning and operating
Empress Catering and The Yabba Pot cafe in
Baltimore. And this 33-year-old mother of four is by
no means finished with her entrepreneurial pursuits;
she's establishing a natural food cooperative,
opening a market in the back of her cafe, and
working on a cookbook.
Born in New York City, Skai moved to St. Croix when
she was eight years old. There, her mother ran a
restaurant, a delicatessen, two video stores, and a
real estate operation--all at the same time. Skai was
hanging out in restaurants at a young age and spent
most of her life working in and around the retail food
business.
Her interest in vegetarianism began in the ninth
grade when her girlfriend brought a veggie burger to
school. Skai recalls, "This veggie burger smelled
very good, but it looked strange. I took a bite, and I
loved it. The whole concept of being a vegetarian at
that age was cool to me. I started reading about
vegetarianism and learning how to cook. I even
learned how to make veggie burgers from scratch."
Skai left the Virgin Islands when she was about 20,
because of what she calls "island fever." "It was
beautiful there, but I wanted more," she says. After
studying cultural anthropology at Lincoln University
in Pennsylvania, Skai moved to Baltimore to be near
her Uncle John..
It was the loss of her job as an office manager that
led to her catering and restaurant ventures. While
she was trying to figure out what kind of work to do
next, her then boyfriend, Ade', told her, "Cook. Just
cook. You already have a job." Skai had been selling
food at events--parties, festivals, and poetry
readings--while she worked her administrative job.
Plus, she had extensive preparation and cooking
experience from previous restaurant work. So began
Empress Catering in 2001.
Using money from a tax refund and a 150-person
wedding catering job, Skai opened the Yabba Pot in
2003. "We went the thrifty way," she comments. Skai
got the Yabba Pot going by picking up equipment
from local restaurants that had gone out of business.
They recently expanded into (fully renovated) space
next door ; they've grown from two tables to about
10, plus they've added the market. Their staff has
grown too!.
The all-vegan Yabba Pot menu varies from day to
day and features entrees such as: Citrus Spare Ribs,
Vegan Mac and Cheese, and Queens Greens. The
Rastafarian-influenced cuisine is called "Ital," which
means "vital" in Jamaican. The main concept behind
Ital cooking is that food should come straight from
the garden to the table--no processing and no
preservatives.
Skai says that her eclectic offerings attract a diverse
clientele. "There are all these people with many
different 'can't do's'--can't do sugar, can't do wheat.
And, there are people who want to try new things.
We have doctors sending people in here to eat. We
get many vegetarians and vegans who know they
don't have to ask too many questions."
Though Skai's daily regimen seems daunting--she is
raising four young children as well as juggling the
businesses--it doesn't diminish her enthusiasm for
expansion. She wants to franchise, and someday
make her Ital cooking as popular as McDonald's
Fare. However, she says, "I still want it to have a
community vibe ... I don't want it to be too trendy."
peace
By Ben Shaberman
Edited from the Vegetarian Journal
VEGETARIAN at the age of 14 to be cool. Little did
she imagine that her desire to be a hip herbivore
would some day lead to owning and operating
Empress Catering and The Yabba Pot cafe in
Baltimore. And this 33-year-old mother of four is by
no means finished with her entrepreneurial pursuits;
she's establishing a natural food cooperative,
opening a market in the back of her cafe, and
working on a cookbook.
Born in New York City, Skai moved to St. Croix when
she was eight years old. There, her mother ran a
restaurant, a delicatessen, two video stores, and a
real estate operation--all at the same time. Skai was
hanging out in restaurants at a young age and spent
most of her life working in and around the retail food
business.
Her interest in vegetarianism began in the ninth
grade when her girlfriend brought a veggie burger to
school. Skai recalls, "This veggie burger smelled
very good, but it looked strange. I took a bite, and I
loved it. The whole concept of being a vegetarian at
that age was cool to me. I started reading about
vegetarianism and learning how to cook. I even
learned how to make veggie burgers from scratch."
Skai left the Virgin Islands when she was about 20,
because of what she calls "island fever." "It was
beautiful there, but I wanted more," she says. After
studying cultural anthropology at Lincoln University
in Pennsylvania, Skai moved to Baltimore to be near
her Uncle John..
It was the loss of her job as an office manager that
led to her catering and restaurant ventures. While
she was trying to figure out what kind of work to do
next, her then boyfriend, Ade', told her, "Cook. Just
cook. You already have a job." Skai had been selling
food at events--parties, festivals, and poetry
readings--while she worked her administrative job.
Plus, she had extensive preparation and cooking
experience from previous restaurant work. So began
Empress Catering in 2001.
Using money from a tax refund and a 150-person
wedding catering job, Skai opened the Yabba Pot in
2003. "We went the thrifty way," she comments. Skai
got the Yabba Pot going by picking up equipment
from local restaurants that had gone out of business.
They recently expanded into (fully renovated) space
next door ; they've grown from two tables to about
10, plus they've added the market. Their staff has
grown too!.
The all-vegan Yabba Pot menu varies from day to
day and features entrees such as: Citrus Spare Ribs,
Vegan Mac and Cheese, and Queens Greens. The
Rastafarian-influenced cuisine is called "Ital," which
means "vital" in Jamaican. The main concept behind
Ital cooking is that food should come straight from
the garden to the table--no processing and no
preservatives.
Skai says that her eclectic offerings attract a diverse
clientele. "There are all these people with many
different 'can't do's'--can't do sugar, can't do wheat.
And, there are people who want to try new things.
We have doctors sending people in here to eat. We
get many vegetarians and vegans who know they
don't have to ask too many questions."
Though Skai's daily regimen seems daunting--she is
raising four young children as well as juggling the
businesses--it doesn't diminish her enthusiasm for
expansion. She wants to franchise, and someday
make her Ital cooking as popular as McDonald's
Fare. However, she says, "I still want it to have a
community vibe ... I don't want it to be too trendy."
peace
By Ben Shaberman
Edited from the Vegetarian Journal
| My dream is to work hard now and retire rich in the hills of St John, US Virgin Islands where I will build I healing retreat and spa. Ashe' |
VEGAN
DIVA
DIVA
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
