Our Noir Kitchen, known for its jerk chicken, oxtail and gouda grits, has purchased a food trailer, and owners and Catapult members Lawless, 31, and Kaydine Dockery, 32, are thrilled.
“It's like a dream kitchen on wheels,” Lawless-Dockery says. “I can even fry food now. I've always wanted a trailer. It gives me more options and I don't have to worry about running out of food.”
The Dockerys, originally from Miami and Fort Lauderdale, said having a trailer equipped with a stove, freezer and extra refrigerated space would allow them to serve more food and take on larger events like festivals.
“It's like a dream kitchen on wheels.”
Lawless Dockery, co-owner of Our Noire Kitchen
Origin story: The couple, who live in Winter Haven, met in 2014 and married in 2018. Lawless said Kadian studied hospitality management at the University of South Florida and worked at various hotels and casinos while also working as a chef for Disney.
“I enjoyed meeting new people and helping them, but I felt like there was more I could be doing,” she said.
Pandemic tipping points: Then the pandemic hit — just weeks before she was due to graduate with a master's in business administration from the University of Central Florida — her son's daycare center closed and Disney furloughed staff until further notice.
“Disney never closes, so we knew COVID-19 was bad and uncertain,” Lawless said.
That's when they began developing “Our Noir Kitchen.” Noir means black in French, paying homage to her Haitian roots. Dockery says her family is Bahamian, too. Kaydean's family is Jamaican, and he spent many summers on the island helping out at his grandparents' restaurant.
Versatile: Lawless said her husband worked for Disney for 13 years and that “he can make anything so easy and it's so amazing.”
The couple attended Broma Bakery's Foodography School and began photographing Kaydine's dishes and posting them on Instagram, which led to the launch of a website and catering services.
“We started getting bookings for private events,” Lawless recalled. “Even during COVID, people still wanted to celebrate in their homes or Airbnbs.”
Polk County Partners: In February 2021, they catered their first big event at the Super Bowl, then began serving food at a farmer's market in Orlando, experimenting with different menus.
“Over time, opportunities started to arise in Polk County,” she said.
They partnered with smaller businesses that didn't offer a wide variety of food, including Globe Roots Brewing Co., The Poor Poker and Swan Brewing, and also set up shop at the Winter Haven Farmers Market, Lakeland Downtown Farmers Curb Market and Buena Market.
“It was really fun to be a part of,” Dockery recalled of Buena Market.
Catapult success stories: By March 2022, business had boomed and they made Our Noire Kitchen their full-time job and joined Catapult, a co-working center for entrepreneurs in downtown Lakeland with a kitchen incubator program.
“We were getting busier and busier and trying to prepare for multiple events and we were running out of space at home. It ended up being a perfect fit because of the amount of space and storage facilities, which allowed us to cook more efficiently,” Lawless explained.
She said Catapult has also been a big help with the operational side of her business, providing top-notch instruction through its “expert-in-residence” program, which she said has helped her with areas such as accounting, branding and menu pricing.
“That's a really big asset,” Dockery said. “Catapult does a great job with their staffing. Really, I think they'll be there for anything you could possibly need help with. You book an appointment and talk to them, and it's included in your membership. It's good to have someone to bounce ideas off of and get advice from.”
Catapult also has a pop-up window where food business members can sell food to the public and test out their concepts — a sort of miniature restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining and beautiful views of Mirror Lake.
“One of the most fun times for us was when Catapult was hosting a pop-up series,” Dockery recalls, which allowed us to serve lunch every Tuesday for several weeks.
Future Outlook: The couple is excited to hit the festival where they can serve thousands of customers, but they also look forward to setting up shop at more events, businesses and apartment complexes in Polk County.
“We're so grateful for the support we've received,” she said. “(We) want to partner with other great businesses to create a memorable experience for people here.”
Dockery said they change the menu for each event and take part in different events each month, which customers can check out on their website.
Invest in yourself: They didn't receive a grant to buy the trailer, but Dockery said that hasn't stopped them from investing in expansion.
“Don't get discouraged by what you don't have. Ideas are given to you for a reason. Start with what you have. Invest in yourself and learn more. Don't get discouraged by slow progress. That's how things start. Don't lose confidence in what you're doing. God didn't give it to you for no reason. Keep trying,” Dockery said.
