Chef Diana Riley calls herself “Mama Chef.”
She’s the owner of The Kitchen Table catering and cooking classes, and she’s got recipes up her sleeve just as comforting as the ones she learned from her own mother.
In her cookbook, Cooking on Purpose, Riley shares a collection of recipes and life lessons she picked up watching her mother and grandmother cook, as well as the culinary expertise she earned at the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University.
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Last month, she opened her Plaquemine home and kitchen to kick off her special event series, In the Kitchen with Chef Diana. At each event, she cooks select recipes, from the cookbook for a small audience to taste at her own kitchen table. Last month, she made Seafood Sauce Picante and Parmesan Risotto for attendees.
In the Kitchen events are slated to occur monthly, with the next installment on Saturday, July 15. If you can’t make it to one of those, Riley also hosts cooking classes by request. So, if you’re planning a weekend staycation at Nottoway or an antiquing trip to Plaquemine Depot Market, be sure to add her cooking series to your itinerary.
225 sat down with Riley to discuss how she got her start and her plans for the future.
How did you get into cooking?
I call myself Mama Chef Diana on social media, because that’s just who I am. I have my kids, and they always come first. But if you don’t really know me, you don’t know that I went to culinary school and I’m actually a chef. When I was in the military, I was invited to a dinner with three-star generals because I was top five in my class of food service specialists. This was my first experience seeing the culinary side, at this sit-down dinner with six or seven courses. I didn’t know or think that I would actually do cooking as a business. I knew that I liked it. … I finally realized, “Hey, I might as well do this as a living, because every step along my journey led me back to cooking.”
Where are you from? How did you end up in Plaquemine?
I’m actually from Thibodaux. I moved here because my husband is from here. He worked with the Plaquemine Police Department for over 20 years. So when we left Thibodaux, it was to be closer to his job. When I moved here, it was like a big adjustment. But we got used to it, and we ended up liking it.
What’s your favorite thing to cook?
My favorite thing to cook ever is red beans, only because it’s my grandmother’s special recipe. And I just love cooking red beans, because every time I cook it, it reminds me of my mom and my grandma. I can’t go back home; I can’t be a little girl anymore. But if I cook red beans, I can feel it.
Tell us about your time at Nicholls in the culinary program.
I tell you, if you want to go into culinary school, be prepared. I was pregnant with my middle son, and it was hard. Not only being pregnant, but there’s a lot of demand in culinary school, because it’s hands-on. You have extracurricular activities, where if there’s a luncheon or a dinner that the school puts on, we have to participate in those dinners. So it’s like on-the-job training, but you’re in school.
So, your business is called The Kitchen Table. How did you get started?
One of the main reasons I got into creating my own company was my children. I have kids, so it’s kind of difficult to find that steady job, keep that steady job and raise children. So I realized, “Oh, wait a minute, I might as well take my gifts and talents and work with my kids at the same time.” Now, we are so blessed and fortunate that we have this kitchen space [in our house]. We moved out, and we set up [the kitchen] to health department code. We did what we were supposed to do, and now we have a [professional] kitchen space that actually looks like a kitchen in a home.
And what services do you offer?
My clientele is anyone who loves to cook, loves cooking shows, and is interested in Southern, soul food, Cajun and Creole food here in Louisiana. My other catering clients are nonprofit, social fundraisers and organizations, and I go in and do the typical catering thing for them. [In my home,] I do cooking classes, where you have a set recipe and I do it with you. There will be one or two tables out, and you have your own portable burner to use individually or as a team, depending on how your class is set up. And ultimately, I give instructions on what to do to make your meal come alive. I also do book signings, where I’ll do a short cooking demo.
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Can you explain your In the Kitchen with Chef Diana events?
This is a hands-on experience to actually see the recipe from my book come alive. … My favorite thing is cooking something that somebody can enjoy and just watching them enjoy it. So I decided to do something different with my cookbook [for] people who are interested and want to taste [a recipe]. You are invited to come sit at the kitchen table, have a conversation with me, watch me cook two recipes from my cookbook, and taste them, while you mingle and socialize with the other guests who are here and with me. This is a different experience, because you’re not cooking. You’re just watching, learning and asking questions.
What are your plans for the future of The Kitchen Table?
[Next month,] The Kitchen Table is launching a new extension of our cooking, and we’re doing Mama Chef Meals. With Mama Chef Meals, busy families get to order food from a select menu: an entree, two sides and bread. The actual design behind Mama Chef Meals is creating something where you don’t have to get fast food if you don’t have time for cooking or if you just want something different than what you normally get for takeout. … I’m cooking it using fresh ingredients. You get 10 servings from Mama Chef Meals, so you can have leftovers or have family and friends come over for dinner.
Find out more at The Kitchen Table.