Chef Marlon is a self-taught cook from New Orleans, Louisiana, raised in the lower 9th Ward. A now husband and father of four, the chef began cooking at the tender young age of 4. His passion grew from a family knitted within the kitchen. As a child, Marlon could always be found in one place, in the kitchen serving as his mom's most loyal taste tester and student. And his most favorite food to feast upon, chicken. So much so, a very close cousin coined him with the nickname "Big Fat Chicken Marlon". An accurate moniker for the young chef, who admittedly was a big, fat chicken lover. This would become a term of endearment amongst his family, and the nickname evolved from Big Fat Chicken Marlon, to Big Fat Chicken, Big Chicken to just plain ol "Chicken".

 

As you could imagine, he was never a big fan of the name but it'd play a big part in a future endeavor. Throughout college, the chef would gain more experience in the kitchen, for it was the only way to survive as a broke, unemployed, college athlete with only so much money to go around. With the boom of social media, he took to the web and started sharing his self-prepared meals with friends. As he began to grasp folks attention, a friend provided him an opportunity to cater a wedding. After recullantly taking the job and afterwards loving the experience, he felt like he had found his niche and was ready to take the full plunge into catering fulltime. The next week, he took to the web once again for assistance with a business name. Amongst those offering suggestions was the cousin who gave him his original nickname who jokingly suggested he create his own "Chicken's Kitchen". The chef had long gotten over the ridicule and instantly fell in love with the name because it embodied everything for which he lived and breathed, FAMILY! That was the birth of Chicken's Kitchen Catering, LLC. 

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After 6 years catering from home, the chef opened up his first storefront September 11, 2020. A family road trip to Lafayette, LA gave the chef a glimpse of their lunch plate culture and it motivated him to bring that same model back home. It removed all of his hesitation of opening a restaurant in a traditional format with really long hours and instead, a restaurant focused on providing just one meal for the day that at the same time would give him time to be a family man. The dedicated following garnished from doing pop up plate specials from his home, took very well to the idea and helped grow the restaurant to the phenomenon it is today. A week after the restaurant's 2nd anniversary on September 19, 2022, The New York Times ranked Chicken's Kitchen in their 2022 Top 50 Restaurant in America.

 

The chef is still writing his story and would love for you to be a chapter in his journey.