Today we’d like to introduce you to Akira Cook.
Hi Akira, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
A Cook’s Soul really started with my love for food and the people who helped shape that love. Some of my earliest memories and connections to cooking came through my family, especially my grandmother, Hannah, and my mother, Akia. They helped plant and nurture something that was already growing in me—a love for great food, cooking, bringing people together, and the dream of one day having a place of my own.
As I grew, so did that love. Time spent with family, traveling and experiencing new foods and authentic cuisines, culinary training, and eventually working in the industry continued to develop my skills, creativity, and understanding of food. Each experience added something new to a passion and vision that had been with me since I was young.
Eventually, that growing vision became A Cook’s Soul—a place where I could bring together the comfort and heart of Southern soul food with the creativity and Italian-inspired flavors I love, while creating something that feels like an extension of me and the people and experiences that shaped me.
Today, I’m still building. I’ve developed my menu and brand, built my website, created ordering and catering systems, started serving customers, catered gatherings, shared samples, and introduced A Cook’s Soul to more people in my community.
My ultimate dream is still to have a place of my own—a full A Cook’s Soul restaurant. Right now, I’m focused on growing what I’ve started, building consistent revenue and relationships, and working toward having a commercial kitchen space I can call home.
In a way, A Cook’s Soul is the flower that started as a little bud when I was young. It didn’t suddenly appear later in life—it has grown with me. And I’m still giving it the time, work, love, and faith it needs to fully bloom. 💙
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road, but I think some of the most valuable growth happens when things aren’t easy. One of my biggest challenges has been figuring out how to build the vision I have for A Cook’s Soul with the resources available to me right now.
My culinary and industry experience gave me a strong understanding that a successful food business takes much more than being able to cook. I came into this with knowledge of operations, catering, marketing, and the work that happens beyond the plate. What has been newer for me is navigating certain parts of entrepreneurship from the owner’s seat—especially funding and financing, along with continuing to strengthen areas like my website, SEO, and digital presence.
Another challenge has been growing without a commercial kitchen space I can call home. There are opportunities I want to pursue, but I also believe in knowing when the business is properly prepared to take them on. I would rather build a strong foundation than rush into something simply because I’m excited about the opportunity.
I’m constantly learning, but I don’t see learning as a weakness. I think a good business owner should always be willing to learn, adjust, ask the right questions, and make better decisions as the business grows.
Some days require patience, creativity, and a lot of faith, but I’m serious about what I’m building. Every challenge has helped me become more intentional about my next move, and I’m still just as motivated to see A Cook’s Soul grow into the vision I’ve carried for so long. 💙
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
A Cook’s Soul is a food and catering business where Southern soul food meets Italian-inspired flavor, but I believe what I’m creating goes beyond combining two styles of food. I consider myself an artist, and food and experience are two of the ways I create.
My creativity is intertwined throughout A Cook’s Soul—from developing dishes and pairing flavors to the playful names on my menu, the presentation, branding, and ultimately how I want someone to feel when they experience my food. Dishes like Lobster’s Last Vacation, Sunday Best Chicken Parmesan, and the Soul-Full Plate have personality because I want the food to tell a story before and after the first bite.
At the same time, I never want creativity to take away from what food means to me at its core: comfort, love, family, and bringing people together. A Cook’s Soul is influenced by the food I grew up around, my family, my culinary background, and the different foods and cultures I’ve had the opportunity to experience throughout my life.
I’m also not afraid to create outside of my regular menu. Through catering and custom requests, I enjoy listening to what someone has in mind and seeing how I can bring that idea to life in a way that still feels like A Cook’s Soul.
What I’m most proud of brand-wise is that A Cook’s Soul genuinely feels like me. I didn’t want to build a food business that could belong to anybody. From the blue flowers and personality of the brand to the names of the dishes and the food itself, there is intention behind it.
As the business grows, I want people to know that A Cook’s Soul isn’t only about serving something good to eat. I’m working toward creating an experience—one where food can be comforting, creative, beautiful, memorable, and still have soul.
Made with love. Served with soul. And there’s always a little art in between. 💙
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is that you have to learn to appreciate the journey, not just the destination. It’s easy to become so focused on where you want your business to be that you forget there is value in every step it takes to get there.
Building something of your own requires patience and intention. Not every part of the process is going to be exciting or pleasant. There will be setbacks, waiting periods, difficult decisions, and moments when progress feels much slower than you hoped. If you allow those moments to make the entire journey feel dreadful, eventually you may lose the joy that made you start in the first place.
I’ve learned that I need faith, strategy, and determination. Faith to keep moving when I can’t see the entire road ahead, strategy so I’m not just moving without direction, and determination to keep going when things become difficult.
You may not always know what is waiting for you on the other side of the road, but you’ll never find out if you stop walking. I want to reach my goals, but I also want to be able to look back one day and appreciate who I became and everything I learned while getting there.
The destination matters, but so does the person you become on the way there. 💙
Pricing:
- Sunday Best Chicken Parmesan — $25
- Alfredo Double Feature — $27
- Soul-Full Plate — $27
- Lobster’s Last Vacation — $35
- The Mozzarella Affair — $15
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sites.google.com/view/a-cooks-soul/home
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/galaxquisite/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61589154311438
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@acookskitchen?lang=en
