Fired Up

Fired Up with Mitzi Coaker Chef of M Catering

March 29, 2021 Dapo Kolawole / Mitzi Coaker Episode 5
Fired Up
Fired Up with Mitzi Coaker Chef of M Catering
Show Notes

Chicago may not have a “Little Haiti” neighborhood like the one in Miami but Chicago has a unique connection to Haiti. Chicago's first non-Indian settler was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a black man who was born in Haiti. ... He settled along the northern bank of the Chicago River near Lake Michigan, where he built a successful trading post and farm.

As Haitians migrated to Chicago, they brought with them cooking traditions and practices from Haiti. The Haitian cuisine, is a Creole cuisine, that originates from a blend of several culinary styles that populated the western portion of the island of Hispaniola, namely the African, French, indigenous Taíno, Spanish and Arab influence.

And this brings us to today’s story. A story for the search of a better future passed down from generation to generation. 

When Mitzi Coaker launched M Catering after graduating from the Joseph Business School, in Forest Park Il, she set her mind to do just that. But her story didn’t start there. During the the unrest in Haiti, Mitzi’s parents moved the family to the US when Mitzi and her siblings were young and they settled in Chicago. 
As with most immigrant parents, they wanted her to pursue a stable, safe, prestigious career, so Mitzi  as you would hear, became a Chemist, which of course didn’t last long.