“Our Noire Kitchen” — known for its jerk chicken, oxtails and gouda grits — has acquired a food trailer. Owners and Catapult members Laures, 31 and Kadean Dockery, 32, say they are thrilled.
“It’s like our dream kitchen sitting on wheels,” said Laures Dockery. “Now we can fry things. We’ve been wanting a trailer for a while. It opens up the field of what options are available to us. We don’t have to worry about selling out of food.”
How to find them: Our Noire Kitchen does not have a fixed location, but it posts upcoming events on its website, Instagram and Facebook pages. You can also call (863) 225-8055 or email hello@ournoirekitchen.com.
The Dockerys, originally from Miami and Fort Lauderdale, said the trailer — with its stove, freezer and extra cooling spaces — will allow them to serve more food and participate in larger events, such as festivals.
“It’s like our dream kitchen sitting on wheels.”
Laures Dockery, co-Owner of Our Noire Kitchen
Origin story: The Winter Haven couple met in 2014 and married in 2018. Laures said Kadean worked as a chef at Disney while she studied hospitality management at the University of South Florida and worked at different hotels and casinos.
“I enjoyed getting to know new people and being of service to them. (But) I felt like there was something more for me to do,” she said.
Pandemic pivot: Then the pandemic hit — just weeks before she was to receive her master’s degree in business administration from the University of Central Florida. Their son’s daycare center closed and Disney sent its staff home until further notice.
“I knew that COVID was bad and uncertain because Disney never shuts down,” Laures said.
That’s when they began to develop “Our Noire Kitchen.” Noire means Black in French, an homage to her Haitian roots. Laures said her family is also Bahamian. Kadean’s family is Jamaican and he spent many summers on the island, helping out in his grandparent’s restaurant.
Multi-talented: Laures said her husband is a talented chef who worked for Disney for 13 years. “He can throw together anything and it looks amazing.”
The couple attended Foodtography School, created by Broma Bakery, and started photographing Kadean’s food creations and putting them on Instagram. From there, they created a website and offered catering services.
“We started getting bookings for private events,” Laures recalled. “Although COVID was happening, people still wanted to celebrate in their home or at an AirBnB.”
Polk County partners: In February 2021, they catered their first big event for the Super Bowl. Then, they started serving food at a farmer’s market in Orlando, testing different menu items.
“Over time we started getting opportunities in Polk County,” she said.
They collaborated with small businesses like Grove Roots Brewing Co., The Poor Porker and Swan Brewing, which didn’t offer a wide variety of food. They also popped up at the Winter Haven farmer’s market, Lakeland Downtown Farmers Curb Market and Buena Market.
“Those were a huge blast to be a part of,” she said of Buena Market.
Catapult success story: By March of 2022, business was booming so much, they made Our Noire Kitchen their full-time job and joined Catapult, an entrepreneurial coworking center in downtown Lakeland that has a kitchen incubator program.
“We were becoming increasingly busy and trying to prepare for multiple events,” she explained. “It ended up being a really awesome fit, due to the amount of space and storage facilities. The equipment helped us increase our cooking efficiency.”
She also said mentoring through Catapult’s “Experts in Residence” program helped them in the areas of accounting, branding and setting menu prices.
“It’s such a huge asset,” Laures said. “Catapult does a good job of having people in place. I feel like it’s really all of the things that you can think of that you may need help with. You book an appointment and talk to them and it’s included in the membership. It’s good to have people you can go to bounce ideas off of and get advice.”
Catapult also has a pop-up window where its food business members can test their concepts by selling food to the public. It’s like a miniature restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining and a beautiful view of Lake Mirror.
“One of the best times we had was when Catapult was hosting the pop-up series,” Dockery recalled. It allowed them to offer lunch every Tuesday for several weeks.
Looking ahead: While the couple is excited to travel to festivals where they can serve thousands of customers, they also look forward to popping up at more events, businesses and apartment complexes in Polk County.
“We are so appreciative of the support we’ve gotten,” she said. “(We want to) partner with other awesome businesses to create memorable experiences for people here.”
Laures said they change their menu often and participate in a variety of monthly events, which customers can find on their website.
Invest in yourself: The Dockerys didn’t receive a grant to purchase the trailer, but that didn’t discourage them from investing in expanding their business.
“Don’t be discouraged by what you don’t have. We’re given ideas for a reason. Start with what you currently have. Invest in yourself and learning more. Don’t be discouraged by the slow progress. That’s how things start. Don’t lose faith in what you do. God did not put that in you for no reason. Keep showing up,” Laures said.
