Lakisha Hunter
Owner of That Jerk Spot/Rise Above the Ordinary
In presenting this award, Ecolab highlights Lakisha Hunter – a Chicago native who has excelled personally and professionally in the restaurant industry by making a positive impact, setting high standards as a leader and mentor, and creating opportunities for those around her.
Chef Lakisha Hunter – known affectionately as “Chef K” – represents the opportunity inherent in the restaurant industry. As a Chicago native raised in the inner city, she has turned her story of survival as a teenage gang foot soldier into one of optimism and outreach as a restaurant business owner, mentor, and community leader. It is a transformation she credits to her high school ProStart instructor, who encouraged her to leave the gang life behind, “rise above the ordinary,” and turn her focus to culinary arts.
Today, Chef K is a pastor at her local church and the owner of That Jerk Spot, a catering and food truck business where she mentors and trains former justice-involved youth through the Foundation’s HOPES program. She is also the founder of Rise Above the Ordinary, a mentorship program dedicated to helping Chicago youth rise above their circumstances and find a future in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Chef K’s chief passion is to invest in youth bound by underserved communities, challenging and teaching them to be part of the next generation of chefs and restaurant business owners. She is mom to two sons, Christian and Kaden, as well as a “bonus” son, Jalen.