Chef Mitzi Jackson, or Chef MJ, is a powerhouse and multi-talented chef who specializes in personal chef services for dinner parties, creates customizable meal prep solutions, offers upscale catering services for wedding and corporate events, and does nutritional coaching to meet client’s individualized goals. She also offers virtual cooking instructions. Chef MJ truly does it all. I had the pleasure of interviewing her to talk about her business and see what she’s cooking up!
When did your passion for cooking start?
Growing up in South Carolina, Chef MJ’s mom and dad (and relatives on both side of the family) were all excellent cooks – all with different specialties. As the oldest of seven children, she always stayed by her mom’s side in the kitchen – that’s when the interest was sparked. Some of her dishes have a southern spin which was influenced by growing up in the south.
Years later, she worked in corporate America, but due to downsizing, lost her job and found herself on a different trajectory. She would cook for her friend, an NFL agent, on the sidelines (no pun intended) to help support her family. Her talent was soon clearly displayed in the kitchen, and her friend strongly encouraged her to pursue cooking for more clients. She decided to go back to school for a culinary degree at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina – all the while cooking for professional athletes like Shaq Thompson who at the time played for the Carolina Panthers (and now for the Buffalo Bills) and Chalotte’s Hornets players. Although most of her business is in New Jersey and the Philly area, she has expanded to a new location in Charlotte – back to her roots.
Tell me about your meal prep services and what you offer? Do you have weekly meal prep?
Chef MJ’s meal prep service is very customizable for professional athletes, diabetics, and cancer patients and more. She works with a nutritionist to maximize nutrition and targets meals based on individualized goals. She tries to keep things interesting and varied for her clients. She will pack it up and drop it off twice weekly to clients to maintain maximum freshness.
Tell me about your personal chef services that you do for small private parties up to 20 people.
“These events are more lavish and very detailed oriented” she says. Chef MJ will coordinate all aspects of the parties from the tablescape, food, and even color coordinate things in some instances right down to the food. She wants to create long-lasting memories for her valued clients. Chef MJ partners with Airbnb and guests can book a house with her as the chef through the Airbnb website.
What’s the most requested food at these parties?
Smoked gouda macaroni and cheese which is next level and jumbo muffins which are stuffed. For example, cornbread muffins with collard greens. Southern with a twist – hence the business name Twist by Chef MJ.
You cater for large parties, weddings as well as corporate events. What’s the largest number of people you have catered for? What are some favorites on the catering menu?
As an executive chef at University of Pennsylvania, Chef MJ catered for 400 people at homecoming events. Now, as a private catering business she caters for up to 350 for a wedding, but the average number of guests is closer to 175 to 200.
Some favorite appetizers are smoked salmon mousse, stuffed figs, or figs with jam on crostini, and for that southern influence creole and crab dip. For her Italian clients, bruschetta is on the menu. She will create the appetizers to the tastes of the guests she is serving. A fan favorite for dinner is Penne ala Vodka with Calabrian hot honey over burrata – just delicious!
What venue do you love to cater at?
Now that she has a new location in Charlotte, she loves the Yorkmount (formerly the Crystal Ballroom). It’s an all-inclusive wedding and event venue that focuses on design, décor, and luxury. She meets many brides who are from New Jersey and get married there. There are also many wonderful venues in New Jersey and the Philly area.
You were personally selected and recruited by Food Network to participate in Chopped Comfort Food Feud Burgers Addition and Guys Grocery Games Season 6 Episode 2. How were these experiences?
For Chopped she worked with the National Mushroom Council to create a blended burger to give it that Unami flavor combined, of course, with turkey, beef, or short rib. Both experiences were fun and didn’t feel like a competition. (She was also part of the James Beard Blended Burger Project.)
You have a specialty in nutrition and write a nutrition column in the Philadelphia Rowhome Magazine and do nutritional consulting for Tinnerello Boxing and Fitness (Who Chef MJ worked with on her own fitness goals) and you have done meal prep for the Philadelphia Eagles during super bowl winning season. Tell me more about the foods the athletes eat and how you got involved in nutrition-based cooking.
The athlete’s meal prep looks something like this: Breakfast is a delicious cottage cheese-egg bake and oats for sustainability throughout training; lunch is baked chicken breast with veggies; and dinner is turkey meatballs with spinach and brown rice. Their diets are very strict and clean to maintain maximum performance levels. Clearly their performance is a reflection of a good diet.
Chef MJ prioritizes her health and wellness so it was a natural extension of herself to work with people to meet their own individualized nutritional goals. She has worked with Carlyne and Brandon Graham in 2016 to help them streamline their diets and make healthy meal options. She worked in conjunction with Anne Claiborne, a nutritionist and together they met the needs of multiple athletes. Her philosophy is, “make a recipe that you love and make it healthy.”
She partnered with Jefferson Hospital to create meals for people with Multiple Sclerosis and helped them by making meal prep easy and accommodating their individual needs.
As we usher in the holidays, tell me some holiday planning tips for our readers who plan to host during the holidays.
- Get those RSVPs back so you can properly plan your menu and know how much food you need and ask who is bringing what for family gatherings. This will reduce stress.
- PLAN the menu and list the dishes and ingredients necessary. Go shopping with a list in hand.
- Have fun with it! Come up with a theme like a color scheme and go out of your way for your family to show them you love them to create long-lasting memories.
- Enlist the help of your family or friends and recruit someone in advance, so at the end of the party you aren’t working in the kitchen alone.
Tell me where you can buy your spice line.
It is available in 12 different food stores in New Jersey and in the Philly area or you can simply go to my website to buy the spices.
Check out Chef MJ’s website at chefmitzijackson.me and take advantage of the services she offers. Follow her on Instagram @mj_thechef
