An Inspiring Culinary Journey

by Kelly Boyer Sagert

Chef Shontae Jackson dreamed of having her own business someday, and she put all of her time and energy into achieving her ambitions. But she sure didn't expect to accomplish three big goals, all in 2018! That year, she graduated from the culinary program at Lorain County Community College (LCCC), would have the opportunity to be promoted to sous chef at work, and bought her own food truck.

photo courtesy of Shontae Jackson

She opened her restaurant, Steel Magnolia, located at 65 E. College St. in Oberlin, on January 1, 2021. Right at her side are her mother, Sarah Jackson (who bakes at the restaurant); her daughter, Tanzania Hildreth (who serves as sous chef); and Jerry Herman. In May 2021, after commencement events ended, they decided to close, revamp, and train, especially important since they just received their liquor license. They'll hold their grand reopening on August 29, 2021—the first opening ceremony—with a ribbon-cutting.

I've always loved dealing with people," Shontae shares, "and knew that I'd end up in the cosmetology industry or the restaurant world. After all, people will always want to look good, and they'll always enjoy eating out.

Shontae first became inspired to learn to cook by watching her mother.

Mom cooked for everybody," she says, "and, from her, I learned about the warmth and sense of community that surrounds the sharing of food.

Then, while attending the Lorain County Joint Vocational School for the high school cosmetology program, her mom signed a work permit that allowed Shontae to work, as well.

I worked at the Kendal at Oberlin retirement community as a server, and I got to learn about different types of food. At home, we ate mostly southern dishes, so this expanded my world.

After that, she worked at the Oberlin Inn as a busser.

When I got my first tip," Shontae shares, "I knew I wanted to stay in this industry.

Next up were experiences working at restaurants and a hotel in Cleveland.

This expanded my knowledge and palate even further," she says, "and I would volunteer to work with the chefs to get more hands-on learning.

She then served as the nutritional services coordinator at Mercy Health in Lorain, a job she really enjoyed, before returning to Kendal to work as a specialty chef. Shontae also began attending the culinary program at LCCC under Chef Adam Schmidt.

The Norton Culinary Arts Center there is amazing. I got the best education and training, using state-of-the-art equipment.

Shontae also took advantage of the NEO LaunchNET program at LCCC that helps entrepreneurs.

I'd go to campuses through that program, pitching my business, and NEO LaunchNET told me about the food truck I ended up buying.

photo courtesy of Shontae Jackson

At this point, Shontae had just graduated from LCCC and now needed to decide between her full-time chef job at Kendal and pursuing her own business.

I loved working with everyone at Kendal," she says, "but decided to pursue my dream of owning my own food business.

Originally, the business was going to be named Sarah's Taste of Soul after her mother.

But," Shontae says, "that might sound like we were only going to offer soul food. Instead, we provide food for the soul.

"So, for our business name, we used "Steel" as a tribute to Lorain and "Magnolia" to honor our southern roots."

Shontae and her family then took their food truck all over Northeast Ohio. Meanwhile, Shontae had her eye on the building on E. College Street. In fact, ever since she was a child, she'd think about how that building would make a perfect restaurant.

So she moved forward on obtaining the space while filling up her food truck's calendar with festivals, fairs, weddings, and more. Then, of course, COVID-19 hit, and most of those events were taken off her calendar.

These unexpected events didn't dampen her spirits, though, and she successfully moved forward on plans to operate both her restaurant and her food truck. One specialty of theirs is a Caribbean jerk chicken, while another is oxtail with curry and fresh ginger. They also offer Sarah's Tasting Menu, which consists of all southern dishes, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

We have a diverse selection of food," Shontae says, "while also keeping it simple. We also have featured menu items to keep everything interesting.

In September 2020, she had her food truck at the Roads- Rails-n-Sales event at Lorain's Black River Landing, which was an open-air garage sale and car show benefitting Lorain's Caboose, with antiques, arts and crafts, and gorgeous vehicles from the 1930s until today.

Plus, she provided the Kendal team with employee appreciation meals during COVID and continues to bring her food truck there.

During this summer, she will be in Lorain every Saturday for The Oakwood Park Summer Concert Series and The Antonio Barrios Lorain's Big Voice competition that will last through the end of August.

Visit Steel Magnolia at Oakwood Park on Saturdays in summer.

photo by Jen Navarro

When you stop by to see her, you can choose among three of her featured signature bowls. Each contains Spanish rice and black beans, and then you can decide to have jerk chicken, chipotle chicken, or garlic butter shrimp included. Or you can order from her taco menu, each containing fresh, local ingredients from McConnell Meats & Farm Market and Tyler's Farm.

Shontae wanted to be sure to add:

"Steel Magnolia would not be possible without support from my family, community, and friends. So, I say, thank you very much."

Thank you, Chef Shontae, for your incredible food!