South Bend caterer expands business and feeds hungry

Laquisha Jackson always knew she wanted to work with food. One of thirteen children, Jackson often found herself in the kitchen, working under her grandmother to ensure everyone had food on the table – a job that she said was not always the easiest. “Cooking came from within. I have been cooking since I was 7 or 8. I worked in kitchens for 19 years until I started my own food business,” said Jackson. Laquisha Jackson (Photo/Laquisha Jackson In 2018 Jackson started Soulful Kitchen, a gourmet southern comfort food catering company, and it has grown in both customer base and square footage since its humble beginning, Jackson said. Now a preferred caterer for places such as Notre Dame and St. Mary’s college, Jackson maintains that things were not always this way, and she had to work diligently to be able to expand her business. “We started with nothing. All of this came later,” said Jackson, whose knowledge in the kitchen did not always translate to the business side of the catering company. Starting her catering business after leaving her 16-year kitchen position, Jackson became a sponge, eager to understand how to run a business and learn what she needed to...