Rising Stars 2021: Kansas City
As one tumultuous year comes to a close and a new one begins, we’re celebrating those paving the way to a brighter future in our region’s restaurant industry. From the farm to the kitchen to the front of house, these individuals deserve the spotlight not only for their talent, grit and determination but also their ability to lead and inspire during one of the industry’s most trying times.
As they pursue their passions and find their niches, they’re spreading joy with everything from boiled bagels to Vietnamese coffee to edible flowers. They’re also using their newfound platforms to address topics such as sustainability, food heritage and equity within both the industry and our communities.
Despite the uncertainty that the pandemic has caused – and continues to cause – these rising stars exhibit a level of creativity and optimism that makes us hopeful for better – and more delicious – days ahead.
India Pernell and Arvelisha Woods, owners, Mattie’s Foods
Sisters India Pernell and Arvelisha Woods work, worship and win together. They even transitioned to a vegan diet together as part of a practice of sacrifice during a mission trip. As their health improved and they became more aware about food production, their short-term goal became a long-term reality. That was approximately four years ago; today, they own and operate Mattie’s Foods, one of the most popular vegan restaurants in Kansas City right now. Navigating a restaurant opening during a pandemic would have overwhelmed many people, but not this joyful pair. With creativity and faith guiding them, they’ve already begun to leave their mark on the local dining scene. They specialize in vegan versions of the comfort foods they grew up eating in their mother’s and grandmother’s kitchens (Mattie’s Foods is named after the latter). Fan favorites include the Mattie Bon (their take on a cinnamon roll); vegan Buffalo mac ‘n’ cheese; brisket sandwich made with tofu marinated in barbecue sauce; and spicy nachos with gluten-free chips, pinto beans, vegan protein, cashew queso, pico and cashew sour cream. The sisters love talking to customers about their experiences with vegan food, especially if it’s their first time eating it. Sometimes, Woods says, something as simple as a slice of vegan cornbread or apple pie cake is enough to make someone smile. mattiesfoods.com (Photo by Pilsen Photo Co-op)
Eli B. Neal, chef-owner, Minglewood
At Minglewood, which opened inside Strang Hall in Overland Park, Kansas, last September, chef-owner Eli B. Neal creates dishes inspired by his family’s Appalachian roots and his grandmother, who owned a restaurant from the 1940s to the 1970s – he describes her country cooking as “farm-to-table before that was a thing.” Now, with an eye for detail that he honed in fine-dining kitchens over the years, Neal crafts dishes such as the chicken fried steak sandwich and additions such as country ham that respect the ingredients and the heritage of those classic recipes. He hopes to bring that same sensibility to heritage foods from Kansas as well, utilizing Kansas State University’s cookbook collection – among the largest in the country with approximately 38,000 books – and foraging for native ingredients in his free time as part of his research. Neal also finds inspiration in innovators such as Deb Echo-Hawk, a member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, who has revived long-gone heirloom corn varieties through her work with the Pawnee Seed Preservation Project. “I think that is the coolest thing I can imagine cooking,” says Neal. “To see what corn tasted like in Kansas 800 years ago.” While Neal hopes to include Kansas heirloom crops on his menu in the future, for now he’s focused on weathering the pandemic and building up Minglewood as best he can given the circumstances. “The chicken fried steak sandwich and po’boy are my best-selling items – and they are probably going to stay that way,” he says, “but I think there’s a lot of room to do some really exploratory stuff down the road.” stranghall.com/minglewood (Photo by Pilsen Photo Co-op)
James Chang, owner, J.Chang Kitchen, and general manager, Waldo Thai Place
James Chang, general manager of Waldo Thai Place, credits his work family, including chef Pam Liberda and bar manager Darrell Loo, for continually inspiring him and for pushing him to launch J.Chang Kitchen with a line of chile oil. Fed up with the amount of preservatives in imported oils, Chang set about creating his own as a personal challenge. “I thought to myself, surely I can make a better alternative to this,” he says. Although he’s sold out of a half-dozen runs of the fragrant and flavorful oil, Chang is still improving the recipe. For now, the oil is only available in limited runs that Chang announces on his social media accounts – and they sell out almost immediately, so if you’re interested in snagging a bottle (and you certainly should be), you need to act quickly. Recently, chef Tyler Harp commissioned a batch of Chang’s chile oil to use in a special project at Harp Barbecue in Raytown, Missouri. Norcini, located inside Strang Hall in Overland Park, Kansas, also uses the oil to flavor a pizza and a sandwich on its menu. Given the success of his first product, Chang developed an XO sauce and is working on a signature spice blend to add to his lineup; he envisions expanding his selection further still and incorporating it in other ready-to-use concepts. He has also considered selling rights to his chile oil in order to start a Taiwanese café and bar in Kansas City, where he could demonstrate that Chinese cuisine is far from monolithic – that it has more to offer than some might think. Wherever his passion and creativity take him, we’ll be following close behind. facebook.com/Jchang.Kitchen; waldothaiplace.com (Photo by Pilsen Photo Co-op)
Jackie Nguyen, owner, Cafe Cà Phê
After acting in New York for 10 years and then touring with the Broadway revival of Miss Saigon, Jackie Nguyen, a first-generation American born to Vietnamese refugees, decided to move to Kansas City to launch Missouri’s first mobile Vietnamese coffee cart, Cafe Cà Phê. “I found a thriving food scene and a Vietnamese community here,” she says, “and I wanted to add my creativity and cultural experiences to the mix by using something mainstream like coffee – in particular, my Vietnamese iced coffee, cà phê đá – to bring people together.” Blending her friendly personality with her professional barista skills, Nguyen is on a mission to make Cafe Cà Phê a safe place for people to try something new such as the aforementioned drink. Sweet but strong, Vietnamese iced coffee is made with highly caffeinated Vietnamese coffee beans, mixed with sweetened condensed milk and poured over ice. The Vietnamese hot chocolate – made with sesame milk, condensed milk and chocolate – is also delicious, and at Cafe Cà Phê, even traditional coffees get a shot of something special such as cardamom, sesame or ube syrup. Need something to munch on while you enjoy your coffee? Nguyen sells honey-glazed donuts from Mr. D’s Donut Shop, a cult favorite located in Shawnee, Kansas. cafecaphe.com (Photo by Pilsen Photo Co-op)
Max Kaniger, founder and executive director, Kanbe’s Markets
Kanbe’s Markets is eliminating food deserts one neighborhood at a time. Founder and executive director Max Kaniger launched the nonprofit in 2018, stocking a collection of convenience stores – all located in Kansas City food deserts – with kiosks of fresh produce. By the beginning of 2020, Kaniger and his three-person team had raised enough money to move into a larger, 15,500-square-foot warehouse space and install commercial refrigeration units, which would allow them to extend the life of the produce they receive. Plans to slowly grow into the space were accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As food insecurity rates rose drastically in the city, Kanbe’s Markets was in the perfect position to help. Kaniger began purchasing and storing large amounts of produce from farmers who were unable to sell it due to a breakdown in their supply chains, and the new warehouse supported local chefs, who got paid to process the raw ingredients. The chefs created hot meals that were donated to local shelters, schools and other charitable organizations, using a food truck as their on-site commissary kitchen. Kaniger quadrupled the size of his staff and successfully shepherded Kanbe’s Markets through the rapid expansion. Next, he plans to add a commercial kitchen to the space – just another stepping stone on his path to feed more people fresh, healthy meals made with locally grown food. “In five years, I believe Kansas City will have cracked the code for creating a model on how to fix the food system, and from there, we can hopefully teach other cities how they can replicate our model,” says Kaniger. kanbesmarkets.org (Photo by Pilsen Photo Co-op)
Observation Pizza Team
Chef Nick Vella decided to turn his pandemic pop up, Observation Pizza, into a brick-and-mortar restaurant with a little help from his friends. Now, it’s those same friends who have banded together to see Vella’s dream come true after his unexpected death this past August. The Observation Pizza crew consists of chefs Melissa Dodd, Elijah Luck and Austin Suedmeyer, who continue to take orders and make the pies, alongside Vella’s former girlfriend, Liz Mehrmann, who handles social media and marketing for the business. Vella’s close friend Chris Harrington, owner of Kansas City-themed retail shop Westside Storey, has also invested in the pizza project and has been scouting possible locations for months. The team hopes to find a permanent spot in the Westside neighborhood, where Vella lived and first launched Observation Pizza. In the meantime, they are operating out of the commercial kitchen inside The Bauer and, occasionally, out of The Savoy at 21c, where Dodd and Suedmeyer used to work and Luck still works full-time. “We don’t want people to order pizza from us out of obligation; we want our pizza to be good enough to live up to what Nick would have wanted Observation Pizza to be,” says Dodd. “We work on our dough and use the same quality ingredients he did, and we are continuing to come up with new pizzas [for customers] to try. We want nothing more than to honor his memory by making great pizza.” observationpizza.com (Photo by Pilsen Photo Co-op)
Ashly Meek, co-founder, Talking Tree Urban Farm
Ashly Meek’s passions – nurturing her community and sustainable urban agriculture – go hand in hand. In order to ensure that the people around her have access to healthy, fresh food, she established Talking Tree Urban Farm on the acres of land around her Kansas City home in 2019, in collaboration with her boyfriend, co-founder Andrew Bertrand. Meek has gained intimate knowledge of farm management working on KC Healthy Kids’ Splitlog Farm since March 2018, which she uses to grow everything from fruits and vegetables to flowers and herbs that attract pollinators, creating an entire ecosystem on the farm. Meek also works with organizations such as Kansas City Food Circle and The Kansas City Food Hub that support local growers and provide healthy food to low-income communities – something that she hopes to see more of in the city. In the same vein, Talking Tree Urban Farm offers nutritious food at an affordable price – items such as baked goods and preserves are available year-round as well as a seasonal monthly CSA. talking-tree-urban-farm.square.site (Photo by Pilsen Photo Co-op)
Jeff Lichtenberger, bar manager, Extra Virgin
Known for his energetic personality, spunk and deep appreciation of spirits, Jeff Lichtenberger has also brought seemingly limitless creativity to the bar program at Michael and Nancy Smith’s restaurant Extra Virgin since he was hired almost seven years ago. Prior to leading the team there, Lichtenberger jokes that he worked restaurant jobs that required only a tie-dye T-shirt and the ability to pour a vodka cranberry – when pressed, he also gives a humble nod to the amount of spirits knowledge he’s acquired over the years. Lichtenberger has spent hundreds of hours studying the history, foundation and science of good cocktails, learning what not to do the hard way: through trial and error. He’s put in the work, and his accomplishments show it, but Lichtenberger would rather give credit to the supportive community that’s helped him along the way. At Extra Virgin, Lichtenberger redesigns the cocktail menu every few months, developing a breadth of recipes that are loved by both regulars and first-time guests alike. In the past, he wasn’t opposed to “wacky” concoctions, but he says the COVID-19 pandemic has changed his perspective; now he’s focused on simpler yet well-rounded drinks. Even during this difficult time, Lichtenberger hopes the hospitality industry continues to move forward, embracing differences and giving equal opportunity to all. extravirginkc.com (Photo by Pilsen Photo Co-op)
As featured on
Across our region, these chefs, bartenders, farmers and more are making names for themselves.
