Joy The
of
Cooking
Mama Joy’s Kitchen has been the hottest restaurant in the Lowcountry – not to mention one of it’s most well-hidden jewels - for years. Now, we’ve all found the joy of her cooking. BY BARRY KAUFMAN
•
PHOTOS BY ROB KAUFMAN
One of the biggest things a restaurant can enjoy before it opens its doors is buzz. Sure, advertising and marketing will get people in the door and fannies in seats. But buzz? It’s like having a secret password that bores right into a restaurant patron’s fear of missing out and demands that they seek out a seat at the table. It’s the culmination of a whisper campaign that earns a restaurant instant clout from day one. When she started on the journey to opening Mama Joy’s Kitchen in the former Beach Break Grill spot on Palmetto Bay Road, Joy Mitchell didn’t know she was creating buzz. She just knew she was creating food. “I always used to cook for my friends late at night. We’d go out to the bar or something, and then I’d pick up food and just cook something up for everybody,” she said. “Around 2019 or 2020 when COVID hit, my friends started telling me to sell plates. I told them, ‘I’m not selling my food.’” 16
TASTEOFHILTONHEAD.COM
Her hesitance in the moment is understandable. She already had a full time job as manager of One Hot Mama’s, working under her friend and mentor Orchid Paulmeier, during one of the most tumultuous times in food and beverage history. The late-night cooking, pouring out her soul into food to be enjoyed by her closest friends, was more of an emotional outlet than a side hustle. “I’ve always cooked. Growing up, I loved cooking with my mom in the kitchen, and I just always enjoyed it. It always makes me calm,” she said. “And when I’m upset or something, getting in the kitchen always makes my day.” Still, her friends were persistent. Because they had tasted Joy’s food, a rich menu of soul food staples that harken back to those days in the kitchen with mom, and they knew what