092 Chef Missy Terrell - Grit To Gourmet

We sit down with Chef Missy Terrell to trace her arc from a pandemic-era kitchen table to Community Kitchen Pittsburgh, a training program that unlocked professional technique, industry mentors, and a calling to serve. Her story is raw and generous, from turning “apple butter” into Tug Butter, and transforming that love into a catering brand and a toolkit for her autistic son to thrive.

Missy shares how real ingredients—think chicken masala with brown rice, bright salads, and fresh berries—can reshape palates, cut stigma in the lunch line, and set kids up for long-term health in Pittsburgh Public Schools. Along the way, Missy talks about learning at scale in commercial kitchens, the power of mentors who “pour in,” and the pride of a child unknowingly loving the meals his own mom helped create.

Missy is now an ACF member earning a Harvard certification in culinary physics, teaching students at Allegheny County Jail to earn food handler cards, and returning to CKP as an instructor to break barriers for the next cohort. We celebrate one of the city’s favorite Lenten fish fry—hello, haddock and from-scratch tartar sauce—and the adrenaline of guest-chef dinners that raise the bar for technique and plating. 

Hungry for hope, grit, and ridiculously good food? Hit play, subscribe for more stories from Pittsburgh’s kitchens, and leave a review to tell us the dish you want to see go scratch next.

Transcript

Meet Chef Missy And Her Mission

Doug 0:01

Welcome to The Pittsburgh Dish. I'm your host, Doug Heilman. How does determination and adversity help to skyrocket a career in culinary and create an ethos of continuous learning and giving back? This week we learn the story of Chef Missy Terrell, one of the culinary instructors at Community Kitchen Pittsburgh. Thank you so much for coming over and for being on the show. Would you introduce yourself to our listeners and what you have going on right now in the world of food?

Missy 0:40

I am Chef Missy Terrell, and um currently I am a culinary instructor at Community Kitchen Pittsburgh, but I have so much going on in the world. Um I like to stay busy. And I say that because staying busy is very important to me. The thing that I like about being busy is that I'm not um just running around doing anything. I am very intentionally busy. So for me, it's about what I'm learning, where I'm learning, and who I'm learning with. That's super important to me. And then I love to go out and share that. Yes. And make sure that as I'm getting, I'm also teaching.

Doug 1:24

Yeah. I come from a training background as well. You may not know that. And so always learning and then sharing what you know is like a big thing for me too.

Missy 1:33

It is.

Doug 1:34

And I just saw you recently at a soup competition. Yes. How was that for you?

Missy 1:39

It was exciting. Um, I did not know what to expect because it was my first competition. And so I did cream of mushroom soup because that's a staple in so many households right now. And I remember seeing the whole thing about Campbell's and the cream of chicken and just their line. And I said, I want to do something that is a household staple, but very, very different in its own right. So I used five different mushrooms.

Doug 2:07

Yes.

Missy 2:08

And I had the garnish of just a chili oil sauce and crisp um confied chicken skin. It it was amazing. It was amazing. And I am not a fan of cream of mushroom soup, but I wanted to do something that was familiar, but something that I was like, you know, it was super cool.

Doug 2:28

You still challenged yourself. I did. And full disclosure, I was one of the judges, and like instantly your presentation was beautiful with that crispy topping and that little drizzle of oil.

Missy 2:39

Thank you.

Doug 2:40

Yeah, like it hit as many notes visually as you're going for taste-wise. And I think that's so important in food.

Missy 2:47

It is. And that was um that was just an ode to what I've learned in this time in the field. I have not been in the culinary industry, full disclosure, for very, very long. But I have gained half of a lifetime of experience just in who I've worked with and the people who have specifically chosen to pour into me.

Doug 3:10

Yeah.

Missy 3:10

And that, as I'm giving back, that part of teaching back is an o to all of those that have taken the time out to teach me and to give to me somebody that I consider myself to be a person that really wanted it. And where does a person that wants hundreds of years of information in a very short time? I think that the culinary industry has a thing where some chefs are not always willing to teach. Now, no fault to their own, they just don't have the time. So for those that have given me that time, every time I touch something, it is an ode to something or someone, and it is that giving back what they've given to me.

Doug 3:53

So important.

Missy 3:53

It is. Yeah.

Doug 3:54

Now, I first learned about you a little bit more than a year ago when we did have Jen Flanagan and Pamela Luu on, who are also part of Community Kitchen Pittsburgh, and they brought you up. They brought up your name, and they're like, She's just this great graduate, she's doing wonderful things. Uh, I understand you also had created your own catering business. Yes. And what's the name of that?

Missy 4:15

So the name of that business is called Tug Butter. Um, now, for those that are listening, hold on before you start getting these ideas. Um, so my youngest son is autistic and he's a bigger kid. And so when he was born, they said this kid is gonna be a tugboat instantly. His name is Anthony, but we call him Tug. Um, and so in his autism, he's a very sensory eater and could not say all of the things that were age-appropriate for what he was. The doctor said pretty much that he wasn't gonna read, he wasn't gonna write. And so in his eating, we, my family is has a southern background, and so lots of staples we make on our own. One of those is applesauce and apple butter. He loved it as that sensory eating.

Doug 5:07

Oh, yes.

Missy 5:08

So I was making it naturally because it was in our household. So I'm using it as a token economy. I know you like to eat. If you like it, then you have to talk to me and say it. You have to tell me what you want.

Doug 5:21

Yes.

Missy 5:22

Well, he could not completely say apple butter. That was very difficult for him to say. So he would say Tug Butter and he would motion his hands for me to give it to him. And so when I decided to start this catering business, I decided to call it Tug Butter because, just like these ode to things, I wanted to go back and pay homage to him because he is sheerly, and the sole reason why I decided to go to a culinary program to learn. In cooking for him and coming through the program, I think it was twofold. It was teaching me to survive, firstly, because I was a single mother on welfare. And at this time, pandemic time, everybody was struggling to figure out a thing. So he and I were really locked in our houses, as everyone was. Yeah. And I I could not teach him the way I felt he needed to be taught. I have got to go against the grain and do something very, very different to give him some very basic skills that he just he didn't have at all. And so that culinary thing was a way for he and I to bond in that time. Yeah. And church members who um who I adore thought it was so good. They were like, no, you should start a business. And I was like, Do you understand that I do not have time to start a business? Like autism is running my house and it is going down. Oh so I need to, I need to figure out a different way to do this thing. So the more I sold them these little five dollar jars of applesauce and apple butter at the church. At the church, on a corner, right outside the church. And people would come there in looking at, well, how do you start a business? How do you do these things? Yeah. I knew I had recipes, but how do you how do you get good? So I researched and I found it. You have to know all of these rules and have all of these licenses. And so I'm like, I don't know anything about this. So where am I supposed to get this at? Right. So they're like, Well, go to culinary school. And I'm like, Do you understand that it is like pandemic? Right. Um, as I said, single mom on welfare, not gonna happen at all, not in the budget. And we were so poor. I'm having to choose between household goods and basic needs. So I am very limited on what I could spend if I could spend at all. And I tell this story because people need to know like, where does this grit come from? Tug was receiving social security.

Doug 8:08

Your son. My son.

Missy 8:11

Um, he was receiving social security for the autism, and that payment was $700 a month. My entire household had to manage off of just that $700 alone. There is no backup, there is no state assistance, there's no, because that $700 makes my family over income. So there is no help. So I could not even afford the things to teach him these basic skills. So I thought, well, I do have some food stamps. Let me teach him some of my family recipes. And so, in understanding that it could be a business and researching, as I'm looking, I called a few programs that had culinary training, but nobody's calling me back. Now I'm squinting my eye at you. Your listeners can't see that, but I'm squinting my eye. Because in them not calling me back, here's someone that has to now make a life or death decision, right? I can continue to stay in this space or I can go against the grain and find it and find the thing that works. And calling these culinary programs back, one called back. And that was Community Kitchen Pittsburgh. So it's a culinary jobs training program. I went there and then really solidified some of the things that I knew because I'm like, oh my God, food has rules. Yeah. Oh wow. Um, how about kitchens function in a specific way? How about in order to mass produce? Because I'm mass producing in a kitchen, like a little apartment-sized stove with like four eyes on it. Um, you go into commercial kitchens and you've got ranges.

Doug 9:57

Yes.

Missy 9:57

You've got combi ovens and all of the things. And so I learned how to mass produce. After that, I was fortunate enough to say, I've got a new skill that I can go and learn and do other things. So at the time, it was twofold. It was teaching me these culinary skills and everything I learned, I taught my son. So I go out into the world and I start working for Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Doug 10:25

Yes. And jumping forward, this is bringing some of your skills you've developed and more scratch cooking, right? Into the schools.

Missy 10:35

Yes.

Doug 10:35

Because we know there's like too much industrialization cooking on the school.

Missy 10:38

It's processed.

Doug 10:39

Right.

Bringing Scratch Cooking To Schools

Missy 10:40

It is terribly processed. So when I very first got there, um, it was different for me because I'm I'm seeing all the process things. And because it's a it's a school system, it doesn't match the culinary background that I have. Right. My boss at the time says, You should try this. Are you interested? And he he gives me this piece of paper and I'm reading it, and I'm like, no. And he's like, Are you sure? And I'm like, Yeah, I'm busy. I don't have time. So I go home and I reread the information. There is a foundation called the Chef Ann Foundation. Chef Ann, they call her the renegade lunch lady. Oh, yeah. And there's a reason for that. She is a phenomenal woman that across the country has taken school food and removed what is processed and gone to from scratch. Yeah. So, aha, here's a place where this fits me. I can take the culinary background that I now have, and I can take our school systems and turn that over and make from scratch food in schools. Here's why that's important. Statistically, we understand that kids that have this scratch cooked food do better educationally. There's not a stigma about what you get to eat, what I get to eat. We all eat the same thing at the same table. It is healthier for us. So diabetes and hypertension are less, not all of the sugars and processed things that are in all the stuff you order and you just heat it up. And so it was an amazing ride. I had an opportunity to travel the country and learn for an entire year and teach it.

Doug 12:27

Amazing.

Missy 12:28

Yes, and I love it because all the kids at Pittsburgh Public were mine. I got a chance to feed them the way that I know that they should have been fed. Right. And that was super important to me because my son was in Pittsburgh Public Schools. So at that point, I was everybody's mom. Everybody gets good food, everybody gets veggies, everybody gets fruit.

Doug 12:48

Yeah, you're you're fighting the fight for all these kids because you're fighting this fight for your kid. Yes. Yes. So, Missy, I just want to sort of catch up this timeline so far. You know, you're in this tough situation living on $700 a month. You find CKP, Community Kitchen Pittsburgh. How long was that program to complete? 12 weeks. That's so accelerated.

Missy 13:10

Yes. So you've got 12 weeks to come in to get it and then get out and get job placement.

Doug 13:17

And keep me honest, do they assist with finding some opportunities for you? Uh is that how Pittsburgh Public Schools came about, or did you find that on your own?

Missy 13:27

They have a jobs training or a jobs placement, should I say, person that is helping you find jobs. And I was going on interviews and they were amazing. But because my son was autistic, it was not a match for me in that I needed these hours in this type of environment. Yeah.

Doug 13:48

The time commitment, all those things. Yes. And so uh the other question I had is if you hadn't gone through uh the CKP program, would you even have been eligible for that Pittsburgh Public Schools opportunity? No. No. No. It is just so it's sort of so rapid fire. As you said earlier, you haven't been in the culinary world all that long. No. But you are on sort of a rocket ship from what you're doing.

Missy 14:14

Yes, I am. And um I it is I'm so thankful to the people that allowed me in between community kitchen Pittsburgh and going to Pittsburgh Public, they allowed me to work in their restaurants and taught me things that I didn't know to really hone in on those skills. So, like when I say people poured into me, it was really like, What are you doing today? Nothing. Going through some job applications. Okay, well, I need some help with this. Do you know how to do that? And so I was using those skills to practice. Yes. So when I got to Pittsburgh Public, it was like, oh, I was almost surprised and that this is it.

Doug 14:53

Oh, I can do this. While you were at Pittsburgh Public School, you go through the Chef Ann Foundation program and learning. What were some of the examples of scratch cooking that you brought into the schools? Can you give us like a dish or two that like wasn't being served before you showed up?

Missy 15:13

When we talk about some of the scratch-made things, chicken masala.

Doug 15:18

Oh.

Missy 15:19

We've got chicken brought in, and I'm making sauce with tons of marinara and yogurt, cumin and thyme, and all of those things, literally from scratch. Yes. That is going on to food with brown rice and vegetables. That was not a meal that was there before my time.

Doug 15:42

Wow.

Missy 15:42

There was not enough fruit and veg in the schools for me. So you've got, okay, we can rotate fruit. We can get apples this day or oranges this day. How about what are we doing with melons? What are we doing with peaches and blueberries? What are we uh there was pine berries there. Wow. Which, yeah, so seriously, it it really, with the support of the director, had really changed and gone from little changes a little bit at a time to something huge. And again, in my mindset, yes, I'm feeding kids, but I'm also still fighting for my son in so many ways. Right.

Doug 16:23

I mean, these kids are probably not exposed to some of these foods at home on a regular basis. Correct. And you mentioned earlier some of the benefits of, you know, better scholastic aptitude or even healthier, but expanding their palate and the diversity of food in their life. You know, there's probably some kids out there like, oh, we've never bought fresh blueberries at home or you know, a marinara chicken or something.

Missy 16:48

Absolutely. So, and as you are seeing um some of the changes in the menu, now kids are having conversations at home. And I remember one day my son comes home and he was totally floored with something that he had at school that he had received. I mean, he's raving, and he doesn't know it. And I don't think very many people do. There are some that do. I cried at that moment because he had no idea that it was me. He had he had no idea. And I I think it was at Halloween time, and I do know that there are those that do not celebrate. Um, so we sent them all green jello. Oh tons of green jello. And I got permission to put a vegan gummy worm in the jello. Kids were grossed out. It was a thing. Rocking their world. And um we we did send some plain because we knew some of the kids would not appreciate it.

Doug 17:43

Sure.

Missy 17:44

But in the way that he began to eat, he and the the cafeteria manager, who is a good friend of mine, um, and still is, um, Miss Duggar, she began to tell me things that my son would come in to say, and he would protest about some of the things that he was being fed in school because his palate is now changing. Yeah, and he has an expectation of what food is and is not.

Doug 18:12

And kids should. Yes. They should know what real food is and real flavor and scratch cooking.

Missy 18:18

Yes, like they have parfaits for breakfast, amazing, and their fresh berries, um, and granola, and for lunch. They have more salads on their menus than they have, and schools are cooking. So that was super important for me. And in that year, traveling the country, working with different chefs, working with different systems, and just learning how to treat that product was incredibly huge in terms of I'm giving you health reasons, but the economic value in that is that we are not rich or poor here. We are people that are having a meal at this time.

Doug 18:55

I also think we in our broad society don't realize how important good food is now for long-term health cost savings for people that then go into a state of diabetes or long-term chronic things that are really expensive later. So we should be doing things at the earliest possible moment to get kids on the right track for eating right.

Missy 19:20

Correct. And this is what the foundation is teaching you from beginning to end. You're you have you're not just traveling, you've got homework assignments. You're taking classes through the UCLA extension on food justice and learning about different cultures and how food is being treated in different places. You are learning top to bottom what is happening in our food ecosystem that is going to be important for us both now and later. Like, why do we not have soda in school? Why are we removing the vending machines? Well, because of the things that are attached to, firstly, that stigma. And then secondly, um, all those health benefits that are not in those vending machines. I went to a school and I saw their vending machines, and there were sandwiches, salads, water, and fruit in a vending machine, right? And I'm looking at it and I go, that is so strange to me. It was foreign to me. Yeah. But I'm watching kids go there because they're preferring the apple or the orange instead of the candy or things like that because there's no access to it. I went to a school in California where their district, um, their cafeteria look like a full-blown restaurant, and it's a cafeteria, and they're serving healthy school meals. And it was the first place that I had Chana Masala. Right? Yeah. And the kids are going there. So by giving them the option, we are giving them a choice and saying you can choose health, you can choose life, you can choose better if somebody's giving you the option.

Doug 20:52

Yeah.

Missy 20:53

Hello, listeners. This is Chef Missy Terrell, and we're here cooking it up on The Pittsburgh Dish.

Doug 21:00

And so to move us forward, you spend some time in Pittsburgh Public. I did. You never have completely disconnected from Community Kitchen Pittsburgh because I've seen you working some of the special meals there at night, too. Yes. Um, so move us forward. Pittsburgh Public is this great thing, you make an impact. And since then, some other things have changed.

Missy 21:22

Yes. Oh my gosh, so many other things have changed. Um, I am excited to say that I became a member of the ACF, which is the American Culinary Federation, which I am super stoked about as a woman in culinary, because the things you're learning and the people you're connected to has always been a goal for me. I'm also very proud to say that I am getting a certification from Harvard in culinary physics. Wow. Yes, because I don't even know what that is, culinary physics. So it is how. How food works, it is um how food heats, uh, it is how food cools, it is the science in what food does because when you understand some of those little things, you can better understand how to prepare and better how to keep it safe.

Doug 22:17

Yes.

Missy 22:18

Um, I am instructing now, I'm teaching at Allegheny County Jail. I call them students. I definitely humanize them. I call them my students. Um, they are getting their food handlers because they're working in the kitchens there. And so when they're out, they get a chance to go and get a different taste of life. And instead of using some of the skills they had that landed them there, they get to use a different skill to help them change their lives. Because I was I was very blessed to have some folks help me change mine. And um, the business is still it's it's going and it's super.

Doug 22:56

You're still doing Tug Butter.

Missy 22:58

I am. Um, we have gone from little treats and and sweetie things and baked goods to a full-blown catering menu.

Doug 23:06

Wow.

Missy 23:07

So that is very important for me because the more that I exposed Tug to, the more he began to talk to me, the more he began to learn, and the better he was utilizing that information. Yeah. Like he goes to school and just he argues with the cafeteria manager. And he's like, Do you know my mom is gonna get a Michelin star?

Doug 23:30

And I love that for you. I'm like, he's your he's your biggest promoter. He's your biggest promoter.

Missy 23:36

I'm like, Doug, not yet. I need you to slow down, buddy. I've got some other stuff to do until. Um, but the more the more places that I'm getting him and I'm getting the business, the more exposure it's getting him to people and situations. So he's becoming per se a little more well-rounded. Yes. And you cannot tell in some of the conversations that he's having that he's autistic because he knows, and he with his own two hands is doing things.

Doug 24:09

I love that for you, for both of you. Thank you. Thank you. Now, work-wise, am I correct? You're also now back at community kitchen as an instructor.

Missy 24:20

I am.

Doug 24:21

You are full circle.

Missy 24:23

Full circle moment. Super exciting full circle moment because those students are me.

Doug 24:33

Right. You've been there.

Missy 24:34

Yes. They are me. They come with all kinds of barriers. And if I can lessen those just a little bit, just a little bit, I'm giving them an opportunity to fight. Some of them not even knowing that it's a fight. Yeah. Um, kitchens are hard. Kitchens are tough stuff. They sure are. And I want them to have better. So what did it hurt me to give them some information that's going to help them not just, and I tell them, not just for now, but for a lifetime. So, yes.

Fish Fry Frenzy And Love On A Plate

Doug 25:05

I also just want to plug it right now. As we record, it's mid-February. You just worked the first fish fry. I did. We talked about it last year, and I went, it is so delicious. Uh, you know, it's not all year, but this will probably air somewhere in February to March. Someone should go down on a Friday and try out the CKP fish fry. They might see you.

Missy 25:26

Yes. So uh I apologize ahead of time. My voice is a little raspy today from uh from all of the volume. You met the mayor last night, all the things. I did. Very nice gentleman, very nice gentleman. Um, very, very pleased to meet him. Um, and just say hello and give him a fantastic fish sandwich that he he was so pleased with. Um, I my space in the kitchen is expo, which I'm calling the orders. I'm making sure it goes out right. I am rowing so many different oars on that boat. It just and sometimes when last night, prime example, I looked around. We are wall to wall. Yes. And the line is out the door. It was the first night.

Doug 26:14

Yes. I'll come on another. I know the first people are hungry for that fish. And you guys have the best tartar sauce. Oh my gosh, that tartar sauce is so good.

Missy 26:25

Tug and I love it. Oh my gosh. If I don't bring home tartar sauce, like when I tell Tug it's fish fry, he gets excited and he's not even there. And so many in the city do.

Doug 26:35

Yeah.

Missy 26:35

Um, it's an incredible group of people that I get to work with every single Friday during Lent and serve what our executive chef calls love on a plate. We really work very, very hard to make sure that what you expect in that meal you get.

Doug 26:53

And let's remind listeners: Community Kitchen Pittsburgh is located in Hazelwood. It is. Uh, they're not doing fish fries all year round. It is during the Lenten season. Correct. But some of the other things they do are these special dinners with other guest chefs. And I think I saw you working one of the last ones with the chef from Chengdu Gourmet. Is that right? That is correct.

Missy 27:14

And what an amazing to here it is again. Yeah. Somebody is pouring into me. So to work with a James Beard Award-winning chef, listen to me. You don't get much better than that. No. I was so just so overjoyed and happy. It listen, he kicked my tail. Do not think because it was a guest chef that he was easy on me. No, he is producing the way in which he would in his restaurant.

Doug 27:41

Yeah.

Missy 27:41

And so I am plating for him and helping support other students learning how to plate. Right. And it's that experience that I have in that type of food who my hat's off to the chef.

Doug 27:54

Yeah.

Missy 27:54

Amazing. I've been to a couple. They're all amazing. They are. Yeah. And so that was my first one during this time. And like I was so nervous. Don't now, listeners, don't tell anyone that I told you. I do get nervous. People don't see that in me, but I think it's it's just some inner feelings, and I'm like, oh, here we go.

Doug 28:17

If you didn't get nervous, that means you don't care. I mean, you have to have that nerve. Like that, I get nervous for all the things I do. If I wasn't nervous, it's kind of a do I care about this?

Missy 28:26

So nerves are a good thing. So thank you for that. Because sometimes on the inside, it is sheer panic. But um, one of the things that I do, and it's something one of my students said to me yesterday, she said, Chef, I'm at this restaurant. She got a really amazing job, and she has to talk to herself before she gets on the bus to bring herself down and say, Don't be nervous. You've got it, you know, all the positive self-talk. And she says, I think about Chef, what you told me. When I say it to myself, I get very, very calm and I know exactly what to do. She says, Her name is Anisha. She says, Chef, you told me you know what you know. And nobody can take that from me. And I think about that moment and it's I I tell it to myself. I know what I know. And if I stand on that, I can produce anything.

Doug 29:17

You sure can. I would love to shift gears a little bit. Of course. And take us back to uh a little bit of early life and family. You mentioned that your family was from the south. Correct. And did you grow up in Pittsburgh?

Missy 29:30

So I grew up born and raised in Pittsburgh. Um, when I go other places, they tell me I have an accent. Oh. And I tell them that's the yinzer in me. And they look at me and go, what's a yinzer? And I'm like, never mind.

Doug 29:43

I know, we're done.

Missy 29:45

So then I show them um the YouTube clips of Pittsburgh Dad, and they're like, we get it.

Doug 29:50

Okay. So I would love to know what was food life like then as a youngster or as a young person. Did you start cooking for yourself at a young age? Were people cooking for you?

Missy 30:01

I did not. My dad was the household cook. Yes. His family, born and raised on a farm. So I've got some really down home, as you would call them, ways of doing recipes and things because I was accustomed to that.

Doug 30:20

Home cooking is very different than professional commercial kitchen cooking. Yes, it is.

Missy 30:26

Yes, it is. So it was a world of wake up going from just cooking in your house and making some baked goods for friends and family and then going into a commercial kitchen night and day. Um, so in those meals, we ate what we had, we ate what we knew, and sometimes because there were a few of us, microwave meals were instant happiness because we were excited when we got the better microwave meals.

Doug 30:56

That's what I grew up with. Right. I remember our first microwave. How exciting I knew how to make a hot dog in a microwave. I would never do that now. It's the worst way, to me, but right.

Missy 31:06

I know. Now that I'm so bougie now, I'm like, hot dogs? We don't eat hot dogs.

Doug 31:11

No, but the Oh, I still do for sure.

Missy 31:15

Um, I think the reason I do not eat hot dogs now was in all honesty, I've had so many of them growing up because it it's what we could afford. Right. That now I'm like, no, my kids love them because they've had them few far and in between, not nearly as much as I had. But hot dogs and beans was a meal. We had sugar toast. Sugar toast. Sugar toast, which is a piece of bread with a little bit of margarine, just a little bit covered in sugar, and you put it in the broiler under the oven and it toasted. And it was a version of almost like a cinnamon sugar bread.

Doug 32:01

This is before you knew the term brulee. Yes.

Missy 32:06

So I know how to do that very easily because I'm like, oh, I know this one. Got it in the bag. Um, so food was not nearly what I know and understand food to be now today. It exploded. Yes. Yeah. Potatoes and rice were always household staples. And when you're young, you're eating and you're like, I love this. It's it's awesome. Now, what I understand was that my family was really doing the best that they could in that time. So raising my kids, I did the same thing. Right. I'm doing the very best that I can as a single mom. Yeah. When I came out of the program, I was listening if the pandemic happened again, it it almost wouldn't even matter because I know everything to do with food and it would not be a struggle. But if I had not had that training, I don't, I think I would be at a loss. So I tell people, you are more of a chef than you know in your house. The difference now is that there are some rules and some skills that you have to have to go bigger and better.

Doug 33:15

Uh that kind of motivates me to want to sort of take us forward. You have gone through this program, you've already had a phenomenal career switching it up from different places, making impacts, kind of back to where you started in the best way. What's on the horizon for you? What's next? Do you have any new goals or events or anything that you want to do in the coming year? I always have new goals.

Missy 33:43

It's like Missy, settle down, get a schedule. Um, I applied for um some festivals and things for Tug. And so I'm just waiting for responses. One of the things that I did was apply to the NFL draft for him. So I think that our business was too new to get in. So we were denied that. However, um, we're still hopeful that there's an opportunity for us to get over there and get him there because people are assuming that because there's a child involved, that this is a small business that um has no knowledge and information of food. A mom that's cooking, you know, in support of her son, but they're not realizing that his mom is a chef and in the kitchen brings the rain anywhere, any day for any reason. So um it is still my hope that we'll get him there. I don't care if it's just once. So I'm waiting to see what happens with that. And I've had some uh some conversation and went to an informational session for their small business cohort. Um, so we're just waiting to see if we can bid and have that opportunity.

Doug 34:56

I know there's so many things going on for the NFL draft here in Pittsburgh. It's in April. There's bound to be new opportunities or festivals, a lot of street fair things I think are in the works.

Missy 35:06

Yes.

Doug 35:06

Yeah.

Missy 35:07

Yes. So we are applying for those. Um I signed up for Barrel and Flow.

Doug 35:14

Okay. This is another festival. Yes, yeah.

Missy 35:17

It is, it is to get him there. Um, I am looking at some other festivals and events currently just to get him there. Because, like I said, that exposure is information for him. And the more he's learning and doing, the more information we're we're and tools we're putting into his tool belt. And for me as well, and understanding what works for him and what doesn't work for him. But this kid is he's showing up.

Doug 35:45

Well, I love too, because you're building your own personal catering brand with all of these opportunities. And you know, you're switching it up and diversifying your own career portfolio.

Missy 35:56

Yes. And it's also continuing to give him those skills so that after me, he can take care of himself, which is super important.

Doug 36:06

Missy, I'd love to do this. If people are fascinated with your story or they're interested in looking you up when you do some of these festivals, could you remind us of any way we can find and follow you? Like social handles, Facebook. I don't know if you have a website.

Missy 36:23

So we're getting a website built as we speak, which is super, super awesome. Um, they can go on Facebook, and his is Tug Butter, just as it sounds, T-U-G-B-U-T-T-E-R. All right. Um, on Facebook. And he also has a TikTok, which is the same. It's Tug Butter101. Okay. And you will see us talk about his autism, his journey, his culinary journey. Um, and they're gonna just see me be his mom. Yeah. They're not gonna see me be a chef, they're not gonna see me be um this superhero thing, they're really gonna see me be his mom. Um, and then some people go to my page where that's where they're seeing me be a chef and be at some of these other events and then watching me do food things live, which is just Missy She on Facebook and as well Missy She S-H-E on TikTok. And if folks even know of places where they'd like to see Tug or to bring him out to to bring his products to try some things, we would we would love to come. And some people have reached out and we've gone.

Doug 37:29

How is the best way for somebody to reach out?

Missy 37:31

Sure. They can uh just reach out through email, okay, which is Tug Butter T-U-G B-U-T-T-E-R at outlook.com.

Best Dish This Week And Desserts

Doug 37:40

Okay. Well, Missy, I'm so excited for everything that's going on for you and for Tug and just your journey overall. Thank you so much for sharing that today. I always do have one final customary question for our guests. The name of the show is The Pittsburgh Dish. What's the best dish you've had to eat this past week?

Missy 38:06

To me, that's a no-brainer. It has to be the fish sandwich at Community Kitchen Pittsburgh.

Doug 38:12

Well, we timed this right. Has to be. Yes. It's it's it's amazing. Uh remind me, I think Jen said it's Haddock, right? It is. Not cod. Correct. It's delicious. Very flavorful. Thank you. And we talked about the tartar sauce. You guys are making that in-house. Yes, we do. Are there any sides that you've had, or if someone is going in the next few weeks and they're listening to this recording in a timely manner that they should also order?

Missy 38:39

I don't know if I want to share that to listeners because if they no, and here's no, here's the reason why. Because if they buy it all, it means that I don't get any. So I have to be very careful about what I say on media because I say something and people go and get it. And then I go, right, and then I go to get like a slice or so. See, I said it out loud, I said a slice. See, do you see what I'm saying? So people are gonna order out all of the desserts and what have you. Oh, okay. And then I'm gonna go at the end of the night when it's all said and done to get one and it's gonna be gone.

Doug 39:10

I understand. I understand.

Missy 39:12

Okay, here's what I will say. Should there be two desserts on that menu, and one of them be strawberry pretzel salad? Now I'm not saying that out loud to your listeners. What I am saying is that if someone left me one, I would be very pleased with it.

Doug 39:30

Okay.

Missy 39:30

I would and should there be Tres Leche's cake?

Doug 39:34

Oh.

Missy 39:35

I'm listening if I could just have one.

Doug 39:37

I think I've had that there.

Missy 39:39

Listeners, please. Everyone listening, please. My ask is that they leave me one.

Doug 39:45

Okay.

Missy 39:45

That sounds fair. Okay.

Doug 39:47

All right. I'm okay now. Fish sandwich with a tartar sauce. Check out the desserts, but leave one for Missy.

Missy 39:54

Thank you, please. I work very, very hard. All I want is a dessert at the end of the night.

Doug 39:59

We should also say, too, there's an amazing butchery program, and there's all these meats that people can buy while they're there and stock in too. So there's like a case, there's other stuff.

Missy 40:08

So and that butcher is in-house. So all the all and students learn to do those things. It's another skill that I have because I learned it there. So the butcher case, the meals, and the best thing in the world is that they're supporting the students.

Doug 40:21

Right. Yes. Right. Missy Terrell, thank you so much for spending time with us today. You're welcome. Thank you for being on The Pittsburgh Dish. Yay!

Missy 40:30

No, thank you, seriously. And listeners, thank you.

Doug 40:35

As we mentioned in our conversation with Chef Missy, be sure to add Community Kitchen Pittsburgh as one of your Lenten fish fry stops during the season. It's so good. If you enjoyed the show, consider buying us a coffee for this episode or supporting the show monthly. You can find links to those options at the bottom of our show description. And if you want to follow my own food adventures, you can find me on social media at DougCooking. That's our show for this week. Thanks again to all of our guests and contributors, and to Kevin Solecki of Carnegie Accordion Company for providing the music to our show. We'll be back again next week with another fresh episode. Stay tuned.