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Shonda Little, the creator of Roxbury-based catering company Southern Twist, said she screamed when she got the call telling her she won Gordon Ramsay’s “Feed Your Dreams” contest on Saturday, June 3, which granted her a $2.5 thousand prize.
Little learned to cook watching her mother and aunts cook while growing up in South Carolina, she told Daily Voice.
"Cooking is how you bring people together," Little said. "My business is feeding the soul."
Little attended the Salvation Army's Culinary Arts Program in 2015 and created Southern Twist in 2018, specializing in authentic Southern food, made just the way her family prepares it.
Her specialties are Southern food staples, fried chicken, collard greens, and baked mac and cheese. Despite not particularly liking to bake, she says her chocolate chip cookies are part of what made her business so popular.
When asked what makes her cookies so special, she laughingly replied, "I'm not even sure!"
She still works full-time for the Department of Children and Families and says she has been "on her feet" nonstop this year, cooking for up to four catering gigs a week.
Little applied for the "Feed Your Dreams" contest months ago when her best friend sent her the application. She wrote an essay about her culture, passion for food, and family ties, and a few months later was chosen as one of three finalists.
She cooked up a spread to present on-air for Boston 25 News for the contest, and soon after received a call saying that she won.
Her overall goal is to have her own restaurant, and part of the cash prize will go towards finding a space to make her dream a reality.
Little will use the rest of her prize to give back to her community by raising awareness for sickle cell anemia, a disease that impacts up to three million Americans and between eight and 10 percent of African Americans, according to the American Society of Hematology.
Both of her nephews struggle with the disease.
She is planning to host her second annual sickle cell awareness gala in September, as her way of giving back.
Little, who celebrated Southern Twist's fifth anniversary in April, is looking forward to the future of her business.
"I want everyone to look out for Southern Twist because it's going to be the next top soul food restaurant in Boston," Little said.
Click here to view Southern Twist's website.
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