Jacqui was born and raised in Harlem, New York City. When Jacqui was a little girl, she remembers kneeling on a chair at the kitchen table, helping her Mom mix the ingredients for her special homemade oatmeal cookies. She always observed her Mom in the kitchen, as she clearly put all her love into every dice, slice, mix, boil, bake and seasoning. She remembers “scraping the bowl,” and asking her Mom questions – “how much of that?,” – “why do you do this?’, as it pertained to her cooking.
The presentation as well as the end result of her mother’s culinary delights were always exciting and satisfied her families’ palettes after every meal. Her dad’s southern cooking on occasion, would make a presence at the kitchen table. Jacqui expresses that her unique culinary arts gift is a combination of her mother’s New York City/New England style cooking with that of her dad’s South Carolina flair, where meals are prepared with creativity and love. Once you delve into this nutritional and flavorful food experience, you will definitely come back for seconds.
Jacqui Dyson Hector - Founder and Owner, After working for 25+ years at a non-profit organization, in June, 2007 she found herself out of work due to the economic downslide of the company. Although she knew this would bring financial strain, she kept a positive outlook and returned to her favorite pastime, the kitchen full-time. Now she had the time to put her creative culinary talents to work.
Jacqui promotes healthy eating, so nutrition is a key factor in her cooking skills. Meals are prepared with rustic herbs grown in her personal garden. She is always experimenting with food, thereby creating her own sauces, vinaigrettes, gravies, and spice rubs. The idea of catering was born from many requests she received from co-workers for her arts and crafts (gift baskets, party favors, decorating ideas) a well as her signature dishes. She started preparing meals for friends and family who then suggested that she expand to other clientele. She began special “Valentine's Day,” “Meal of the Week” and “Inauguration Day” meals. Her new creations and dedication to cooking garnered more requests. She began selling small plates of food to people in her community.
In 2008, she started a small catering business known as JiggiJac’s Catering Cuisine. Through word of mouth, she started receiving requests to cater certain events. Shortly thereafter, she catered events for a “Grand Opening” business, a fund-raising event for a Boston politician, as well as special events for family and friends, JiggiJac’s Catering has become a local phenomenon. She is constantly getting orders for her famous creations such as her Amaretto brownies, Rum cake, Hawaiian chicken or her JB’s (her signature juicy burgers) to name a few. On top of that JiggiJac’s Catering has been certified with ServSafe. Customers are always pleased and have written recommendations on her work. Every meal is created, prepared and served with love.
When Jacqui is not preparing for a special event, she is back in her sanctuary, her kitchen – creating new dishes. Jacqui attributes her cooking skills to her childhood memories and experiences alongside her mom in the kitchen. Most importantly, she was inspired by the love received from her mother and father that has definitely transcended into her delicious meals. Love made her the success she is today and hopes to continue for the future.
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Jacqui Dyson Hector - Founder and Owner, After working for 25+ years at a non-profit organization, in June, 2007 she found herself out of work due to the economic downslide of the company. Although she knew this would bring financial strain, she kept a positive outlook and returned to her favorite pastime, the kitchen full-time. Now she had the time to put her creative culinary talents to work.