KANSAS CITY, Mo — A local cooking show host is using her social media platform to connect her viewers to resources while also sharing meaningful recipes.
"Alot of people are doing amazing work to make Kansas City a better place for all of us to live," said host of Gangsta Goodies Kitchen, Sheila Johnson, "And so I invite them in, and we cook together, we eat together and then I interview them.”
Gangsta Goodies Kitchen is all about highlighting local people and resources the viewers may not know about. But Johnson says what brings it all together is really the food element — cooking together. Johnson will ask her guests to suggest any special recipes they may have from childhood or their culture.
“A lot people out in the community that are doing amazing work — a lot of them are introverts,” said Johnson. “Food has always been a connector of people. You know it is the one thing that unites us.”
Johnson launched her first episode on December 18, 2016. She started out as a one person team with the help of a friend who used to hold up her phone by hand and film the shows.
She says her success was not just served on a plate, but all the hardships were worth it because of all the things she has learned over the years.
“The things that I have learned have been one of my biggest takeaways — the opportunities that have come my way,” said Johnson. “I am blessed every time. You know, with every guest, I learn something new. My soul is fed every single time.”
Johnson is set to launch her own line of kitchen cleaner and accessories this year. She says the key to building her brand and success was never giving up.
“Consistency is the non-negotiable bottom line,” said Johnson. “Every week a new show drops and, you know, that consistency has said to the viewers she ain’t going nowhere, she’s gonna be here, she’s gonna drop us a new recipe every week.”
It is a lesson she hopes to instill in her daughters and future generations of women, along with staying true to themselves.
“Often times society has taught us we have to be everything for everybody else. We are the wife, we’re the girlfriend, we’re the mom, we’re the grandmother. We’re all of that.. Hah! How about being everything for you first,” said Johnson.
Besides, in the famous words of an African proverb she lives by, when you teach a woman, she teaches a village.
“If we’re not true to who we are, how then is it sustainable?” said Johnson.
