Archive of ‘Food in Birmingham’ category

Velvet & Vine’s Hassan Gooden wants to bring a new kind of Sunday dinner to Birmingham

By Chanda Temple

Hassan Gooden takes one bite of his three-layer seafood lasagna and jumps up and down like he’s struck gold.

In a way, he has. As the executive chef of Velvet & Vine BHM, a new restaurant slated to open in downtown Birmingham in March, he’s been testing recipes to get them just right before opening day.

On a recent Tuesday morning, he’s already cooked one lasagna full of shrimp, crawfish, fish stock, and a blend of Gouda, aged cheddar and Parmigiano Reggiano, placed in between his homemade lasagna pasta sheets. Fresh out the oven, the lasagna continues to bubble. Hassan takes a spoon and cracks the slight crust of cheese topping dotted with fresh parsley, thyme and rosemary.

The seafood lasagna. (Photo by Chanda Temple)
The seafood lasagna by Hassan Gooden. (Photo by Chanda Temple)

He scoops out a serving, tries it and smiles. It’s good.

But in his mind, Hassan wonders if it can be better. He whips up another version and leaves it in the oven just a little while longer. The extra cooking time makes all the difference.

The flavor is even more deep and robust.

“This is it!” he exclaims while wearing an apron dusted in his rolling pin flour power. “This one was better than the first.”

As a youth, Hassan Gooden wanted to be an OB/GYN. But after growing his talents in restaurant kitchens, he found a different kind of delivery to make people happy. "For me, cooking is the only thing that matters,'' he said. (Photo from Hassan Gooden)
As a youth, Hassan Gooden wanted to be an OB/GYN. But after growing his talents in restaurant kitchens, he found a different kind of delivery to make people happy. “For me, cooking is the only thing that matters,” he said. (Photo from Hassan Gooden)

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Birmingham’s On a Bun celebrates flavor, community and Crystal Peterson’s creative touch

By Chanda Temple

Crystal Peterson gets it.

Layoffs. Rising food prices. Unexpected expenses. They all came in like a fury the last few months of 2025, leaving wallets stretched for many. And as 2026 continues to unfurl, money remains tight.

To help ease the pain of what to eat for just one meal, Crystal Peterson, owner of On a Bun in downtown Birmingham, will give away 200 free hamburger and cheeseburger meals on Monday, Feb. 16 from 5 to 8 p.m. She’s also partnering with a non-profit organization to distribute 100 additional hamburger and cheeseburger meals to the unhoused in Birmingham.

“We want to care about the citizens just as much as anybody should,” she said. “Sometimes, you have to step in and be that person. It’s called good will.”

“We just hope that this one meal can maybe make your Monday.”

The plain cheeseburger from On A Bun. (Photo by Chanda Temple)
The plain cheeseburger from On A Bun. (Photo by Chanda Temple)

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Kathy G is back! Birmingham, come hungry

By Chanda Temple

As Jason Mezrano worked in the kitchen at the Birmingham Museum of Art earlier this month, everything felt familiar to him.

Real familiar.

The chocolate torte from the new cafe at the Birmingham Museum of Art. (Photo by Chanda Temple)
The flourless chocolate torte from the new Cafe BMA by Kathy G at the Birmingham Museum of Art. (Photo by Chanda Temple)

He’s part of Kathy G. & Company, which once used to run the café at the museum. The company’s museum café closed more than 12 years ago. But this month, the company returned to run the cafe again, which is now called Café BMA by Kathy G. Within one hour of its soft opening, people were at tables, ordering house salads, angus beef burgers, chicken salad, quiche and more.

“It’s an honor to come back. I feel at home at the Museum of Art,’’ said Jason, executive chef. “We are so glad to be here.’’

Jason Mezrano (Photo by Chanda Temple)
Jason Mezrano (Photo by Chanda Temple)

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A national nod meets a normal day for LaFete Chef Kristen Farmer Hall

By Chanda Temple

On Jan. 21, 2026, it didn’t take long for word to spread that Kristen Farmer Hall of the La Fete French bistro in downtown Birmingham had been named a James Beard Award semfinalist for Best Chef in the South.  

Her DMs, text messages and voicemails were full of celebrations about her shot at receiving the highest honor in the food industry. Finalists will be named on March 31, and the winners will be announced on June 15 at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony in Chicago. 

The Steak Frites from La Fete. (Photo by Caleb Chauncy)
The Steak Frites from La Fete. (Photo by Caleb Chauncey)

“It’s been a wonderful day for me, for La Fete and our city because of all the other nominations,” said Kristen, who is one of five Birmingham chefs/professionals/restaurants named as a semifinalist. Such news came two months after LaFete and 10  Birmingham restaurants/chefs were named in the MICHELIN Guide’s first-ever MICHELIN Guide to the American South. (La Fete made MICHELIN Guide’s Bib Gourmand List, which recognizes restaurants for “good quality, good value cooking.”)

“So, Birmingham continues to crush,” she said. “It’s been a big year.” 

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Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn owner opens up about a hard season

By Chanda Temple

For almost three months, Tanesha Sims-Summers debated whether she would get real on social media about a big issue facing her company.

In late fall 2025, her Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn Co. food truck, stopped running. At first, she thought it would be an easy fix because she and her husband, Clem Summers, have faced truck challenges in the past. But this issue was different.

The mechanic told them that the part and labor to fix the truck, which is known as Ms. Poppy, would be $6,500. (The rear differential, which distributes engine power to the rear axel, was not working.) And to make matters worse, they would have to pay up front to order the part.

They didn’t have the money for such a repair, and Tanesha thought long and hard about what to do: Should she start a Go Fund Me?

The Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn food truck is a 2004 model that Clem Summers and Tanesha Sims-Summers bought in 2019. They outfitted ready for it to roll in 2020, not anticipating how the pandemic would impact the business. They pivoted with online sales until the world opened back up again. (Photo from company's Facebook page.)
The Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn food truck is a 2004 model that Clem Summers and Tanesha Sims-Summers bought in 2019 for $50,000 from Golden Flake. They outfitted it and had planned to put it in operation in 2020, not anticipating how the pandemic would impact the business. They pivoted with online sales until the world opened back up again. Today, the truck, which is paid off, has experienced vandalism twice and even a fire through the years. Still, the owners managed to get it rolling every time. Now, they are hosting a Go Fund Me to pay for a major repair. (Photo from company’s Facebook page.)

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Birmingham gains more James Beard semifinalists in 2026

By Chanda Temple

Five Birmingham restaurants/chefs have been named as semifinalists for a James Beard Award, the Oscars for the food industry.

From here, restaurant and chef nominees will be announced on Tuesday, March 31, and the winners will be recognized on Monday, June 15 in Chicago during the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards Ceremony.

The Birmingham semifinalists are:

  • Outstanding Chef: Rob McDaniel, Bayonet
  • Best Chef (South): Kristen Hall, La Fête
  • Best Chef (South): Geri-Martha O’Hara and Ryan O’Hara, Pizza Grace
  • Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service: Eric Bennett, Continental Drift
  • Outstanding Hospitality: Bottega

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Meet Dennis Echoles, the Birmingham baker who has turned retirement into a sweet second act

By Chanda Temple

When the corner store on his newspaper route stopped selling oatmeal cookies, Dennis Echoles didn’t get discouraged. He got creative.

He figured if he wanted one bad enough, he’d better make it himself.

That one choice turned into a long life of baking on the side. Today, at 71, the Collegeville native, is not only baking those oatmeal cookies but also cakes, pies and brownies that taste like home.

A homemade oatmeal raisin cookie from Amber's Desserts. (Photo by Chanda Temple)
A homemade oatmeal raisin cookie from Amber’s Desserts. Founder Dennis Echoles has also made oatmeal Craisins cookies. (Photo by Chanda Temple)

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Air Force Veteran Matt Coltrin finds new mission with Roll Cajun Boudin food truck in Birmingham

The chicken boudin egg rolls, far left, are the post popular item on the Roll Cajun Boudin food truck, which is run by Matt Coltrin. (Photo by Chanda Temple)
The chicken boudin egg rolls, far left, are the post popular item on the Roll Cajun Boudin food truck, which is run by Louisiana native Matt Coltrin. (Photo by Chanda Temple)

By Chanda Temple

When Matt Coltrin retired from the Air Force after 21 years, he thought he’d found his next mission and that was to work for a high-paying telework job in Birmingham. It was the kind of role most people would envy.

The money was good. The benefits were better. But the happiness he expected never appeared.

That part would come much later, in a food truck parked on Birmingham streets, where the smell of Creole pork and rice, wrapped in sausage casings felt more like home than any office ever could.

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Those wings from Piggly Wiggly? They are more than a meal for Kimberly Callines

By Chanda Temple

Five wings and sweet potato casserole.

That’s all Kimberly Callines wanted from Piggly Wiggly following her ob/gyn appointment at a Birmingham hospital in February 2022 . In fact, she wanted the meal so badly that she had made up her mind she was going to skip her scheduled mammogram right after her gynecologist visit and head down the street to pick up the Southern delicacy.

But as she stood at the elevator, ready to push the button to the floor that would take her to her car, she changed her mind when she heard God say, “Go get the mammogram.”

She followed orders and had the mammogram. The technician looked at Kimberly’s images and said, “Un-uhh. They may call you back for another mammogram.”

That call back set things in motion that forever changed Kimberly’s life. Additional testing showed that she had Stage 1 breast cancer.

Kimberly Callines (Photo provided by Kimberly Callines)
Kimberly Callines (Photo provided by Kimberly Callines)

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Hope looks like Tomeka Clemons after a year tested everything

By Chanda Temple

Tomeka Clemons’ breast cancer journey started in November 2023 when she went in for a routine mammogram. She went home, thinking things were OK. Then, a letter arrived in the mail, telling her the mammogram looked suspicious. A second letter soon arrived, asking her to return for a second mammogram of her left breast.

She returned for another mammogram. The radiologist looked at it and told her she was good. She could return in a year for another mammogram. But God saw different, telling Tomeka to seek a second opinion.

Tomeka has what’s known as “lumpy breasts,” and she could feel a small lump in her breast that just wouldn’t let her rest. “Maybe the mammogram missed it,” she thought. She had her mom feel the lump and her husband feel it. And then, she had her gynecologist, who was a breast cancer survivor, feel it.

They all agreed with Tomeka, there was a lump.

Tomeka Clemons (Photo provided by Tomeka Clemons)
Tomeka Clemons (Photo provided by Tomeka Clemons)

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