From the classroom to the kitchen, one Tallahassee chef is pursuing her culinary dreams
It’s a Thursday night, and the sun has begun to set in northeastern Tallahassee. Couples, a mother and son, friends and strangers gather into an intimate classroom where a harmonious blend of aromas linger throughout the room. As Natalie Cole’s “This Will Be” plays in the background, guests enter Browns Kitchen for a cooking course.
“Patience is key,” the chef tells her class as they watch her mix what she references as the “trinity” of ingredients - bell peppers, celery and onion - key to her prized Louisiana-style seafood gumbo.
Front and center is Felisha Williams Nicholson stirring the room with witty jokes and her call and response questions, keeping her sous chefs engaged.
This is just a glimpse into some of the chef’s answered prayers, but the journey has been one she couldn’t have imagined.
From the school hall to the culinary classroom
Felisha Williams Nicholson puts the “Fe” in her company’s “FE-Nomenal Cooking Experience.” The 36-year-old Tallahassee native has taken her French-Creole roots from Louisiana and Florida to feed and teach hungry guests in their homes, at events and in storefronts.
What started as a private chef’s business to bring the “restaurant experience” to people’s homes amid a pandemic, has become a culinary treat for anyone who’s tried the self-taught chef’s dishes.
Just three months ago the former curriculum developer for Leon County Schools decided it was time to embrace her yearning passion full time.
“I'm grateful for my years with Leon County Schools,” Nicholson told the Tallahassee Democrat. “But it just wasn't doing it for me, and it just wasn't where I found peace and happiness. I have to put that first.”
The Tallahassee native earned a degree in education at Flagler College-Tallahassee and started out teaching math and science at Ruediger Elementary School and later worked as a curriculum specialist for the school district.
Nicholson took a leave of absence from her job last July. Business was booming with commitments to cater brunches at the Golf Club at Summerbrooke, opportunities to work private events and host cooking classes for youth. The leave of absence was also necessary so she could care for her father who was facing serious health conditions.
“It became too much, something had to give,” Nicholson said on reordering her priorities.
Nicholson decided in December that it was time to take that leap and fully transition.
Since then, she has found herself featured in a magazine, on television screens promoting Super Bowl recipes and hosting cooking classes for both Browns Kitchen and the Prepared Table in Tallahassee. She also won the 2022 and 2023 Tallahassee Democrat's Community’s Choice Awards for the caterer/catering businesses category.
Adjusting to the "ebbs and flow" of the business, the chef spends her days balancing cooking classes, recording segments and catering private, corporate and gala events.
Prized for all of her brunch and southern dishes including her seafood gumbo – a hearty dish that combines seafood, sausage, rice, veggies and seasoning, paired with fried green tomatoes and southern red potato salad – the chef has made new friends, generated more business and shared her passion with a growing following.
The transition has been a journey for the culinary entrepreneur who is enjoying the newness of it all.
“You have to find opportunities for growth and sometimes those opportunities are uncomfortable,” Nicholson said on trying new things on camera, including recording cooking segments with Florida State.
Despite having to shake off all the nerves, Nicholson has built a reputation of going above and beyond for guests, which has helped her develop a devout following in the capital city. Foodies who have enjoyed a taste of the soul food dishes quickly recommended her for a variety of local events. Outside of social media, word of mouth recommendations are generating business.
Last month, Nicholson spent her time brewing up a new partnership with All Things Tea to add savory menu items, catering Black Chamber Day events for the Florida Association of Black Chambers of Commerce and Valentine's Day dinners.
“You think people aren't watching, you think people don't remember, but they do, and they remember it at all the right times and it's good,” Nicholson said with a smile.
The former educator has learned how to combine her call to teach and her passion for cooking to transform her growing business by adding on cooking classes, hiring staff when needed and growing her social media.
“I know that this has been what God has put on my heart and my path too because everything has just kind of fallen into place,” Nicholson said.
Those who have had the opportunity to enjoy some of Nicholson's courses and foods have said that "she brings a really positive and passionate attitude to the kitchen," said Browns Kitchen marketing and event coordinator, Jordan Hunter.
Nicholson has frequented the kitchen supply store on 2551 Capital Circle NE since the fall to conduct cooking courses. After each course, guests are encouraged to leave reviews of their experience.
Hunter read one of the reviews during an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat which stated, "she's a real experienced cook who follows an authentic recipe while making it fun and humorous."
Hunter agreed with the review stating, "I think that's a great description of Fe, she just seems really genuine as she's cooking and talking to you about cooking."
Family roots in the kitchen
The self-taught chef is no stranger to the kitchen, saying that as a child she would always peek inside the pots, taste everything and help her family in the kitchen wherever she could.
Inspired by her grandmother, Gertrude Williams, whom she describes as the matriarch and head chef of her family, Nicholson said the love, excitement, and closeness she felt with her family over dinners, is the soul of her dishes today.
In addition to her grandmother’s influence, Nicholson is surrounded by a family full of chefs and entrepreneurs whom she also learned from, including her father, owner of the former Gertie’s BBQ on Crawfordville Road.
“Food is something that brings people together in general, even in my household,” Nicholson said.
With the help of her sister, Sylvia Williams, for decorations and “Cheesecakes by Sylvia” desserts, and mother, Wendy Barber, her generous sous chef, the team continues to bring their families’ roots from the kitchen to the dining room table.
Nicholson said she’s inspired by the feedback from guests, and the support of friends and family, including her husband, Emmanuel Nicholson and 7-year-old daughter, who she enjoys baking with.
Nicholson even recounted a time where a guest told her that her dishes have “been some of the best food they’ve had in their lives."
The chef looks forward to possibly starting a YouTube channel and opening her own brick-and-mortar location at some point. In the meantime, she is continuing to perfect recipes to serve the Tallahassee community at the table and in the classroom.
Where to find the FE-Nomenal Cooking Experience
Browns Kitchen; 2551 Capital Circle NE
Prepared Table; 3425 Bannerman Road
Kyla A. Sanford covers dining and entertainment for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at ksanford@tallahassee.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FE-Nomenal Cooking Experience owner in Tallahassee shares her journey
