Meet Kirkland Armstrong | Professional Caterer and Clinical Research Professional
We had the good fortune of connecting with Kirkland Armstrong and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Kirkland, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
The thought process behind starting J. Kirklands as a creative career was simple…. as Nike says….JUST DO IT.
I have a great love for food and making people feel good. I have worked full time in the healthcare industry for over 10 years which entails helping people improve their quality of life every day. Hosting events and parties to bring people together for the love of food is my passion. The conversations had across the dinner table, the joy that my food brings people is the biggest part of the thought process in starting J. Kirklands and also making extra money.
I had a great friend/Manager, taste my food and she was blown away. She catipulted my business and motivated me and guided me to set up the business so that it would be open for booking.
I am a full time creative as well. I like to offer an experience along with great food. Being able to use my creative skills and create something memorable for clients that they wont forget and taste food that will be on their taste buds to leave them coming back for more and more.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I absolutely love my career. I work in Healthcare as a Clinical Research Professional. Clinical research is recognized as branch of the medical industry that involves human subjects that aims to determine the effectiveness and safety of medications, devices, diagnostic products, and treatment regimens intended for improving human health.
Working as a caterer and in clinical research goes hand in hand as you’re providing a service to clients and patients. The patients like to feel safe and comfortable when it comes to their care. Patients require immaculate customer service from healthcare providers and that is the same for catering clients.
I make food to make people feel good. I create tablescapes that leaves one WOW’d. These designs are custom made from a collaboration of the client and myself. I take pride in what I do professionally in both fields. You MUST love people as well and that I do. I have worked in retail and coordinating roles all of my life and that has created my vision for J. Kirklands. My superpower is having emotional intelligence and being able to connect with an array of people. I am not a wallflower. I love to socialize and have face to face interactions with people. I love talking and being the light in the room to make people feel good and that is what sets me aside from others. I have pink hair, it makes me happy. It’s a light and bright color that brings joy and my personality matches my hair and that is what I love about the J. Kirklands Experience. My personal goal in life is to leave an impact on everyone that I meet. I would like everyone to remember me and how I made them feel in the moment of meeting me. Whether its patients in the hospital, clients that I am catering for and their guest, or random people in the street even if I am simply passing them on the sidewalk I want them to remember my smile or how I complimented them or the inflection in my voice when I greet them. All of this is important to me because I think that it speaks to who you are as a person and most people love good people. When you are a good person, people support you in unimaginable ways.
All of these soft skills have set me up for success in the catering field. I have fed celebrities, business professionals, business corporations, small businesses, doctors, entertainers, apartment condo buildings for monthly events just to name a few. I would like to say that this has been a challenging process. I would like to say that I have had many sleepless nights and many failed attempts and all of that to add to my story but I cannot lie. This process has been led with LOVE! Since the first time my friend motivated me and helped me get this off of the ground, it has been up since then. I have done some things that I did not think I would ever do. I simply led this project with love. I love what I do and when you have that Leo *(I’m a Leo) passion as I have, you are bound to win and go far. The only struggle I have had was starting….just doing it! Had I not stepped out and did it, I would not be here today and interviewing for my first magazine highlight! I would like to say to anyone who is starting a business or have an idea to start a business to do it! Do not hold back. No matter where you start, you have to start. People can’t support you if they don’t have anything to support. No one can do what you do better than you. No one has the same passion that you have for your project. Challenges are normal for business owners. They are a fantastic thing. They allow you to learn from mistakes. Challenges allow you to pick up the pieces and move forward and overcoming that challenge is a feat! You will never forget or run into that challenge again because you would have addressed it per the needs of your business.
The biggest thing that I would like the world to know is that I care. I am passionate about everything that I do and the passion shows. I put my all into the creations that I create and the food that I cook. I care about feedback and what others think of my business. I care about reviews and references of clients. A lot of people do not care about the client once the deposit is paid or once the event is booked. I am vested in how my services made you feel from beginning to the end. I am vested in my clients and them coming back to book again and again and again. I love to grow and learn. I collaborate with my clients to ensure that they are happy with the full service that I provide and if J. Kirklands doesn’t get something right, it will be fixed (great customer service background). I am not in this for the money. I do not say that I do not want to be paid for my services, I am saying that it is not the money that moves me to do what I do. It’s the human interaction and my love and passion for food and the happiness of others. I just want everyone to be able to experience a nice dining experience with good vibes and immaculate customer service.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Dog walking in the park daily Karaoke at friends on ponce
Drag Queen Brunch on Sunday at Traffic
Go to a show on broadway at fox theather
Take a dance class Dance studio
Karaoke again at mics karaoke private karaoke
Japanese BBQ Gyu Kaku
Kura revolving sushi bar
Concert at city winery
Brunch city winery
Ponce city market bar vegan
Picnic at park
adult game room
high museam first friday night
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My dear friend/PR/Manager deserves everything when it comes to J. Kirklands! I have always been a creative. I have been cooking for 15 years. I am self taught chef that had only cooked for friends and family. Uyi had dinner with some friends and I and she raved over my food. It is different to the ones that you are used to making food for because their palets are used to your cooking and seasonings and love of the food.
When Uyi tasted it, she told me that it was out of this world and that I should do something with my talents. I directed photoshoots for her in college because she started a brand, and ever since then, shes known that I was creative. She urged me to get into tablescaping and creating beautifull crafted table decor along with amazing tasting food and here we are today.
Uyi Idahor is a native of High Point, North Carolina. She graduated from North Carolina Central University (NCCU) with her M.S. and resides in Atlanta, Georgia.
As an entrepreneur, Uyi has a passion for helping others make their entrepreneurial dreams come true by using her diverse skills and resources. She has assisted several individuals, businesses, and organizations in establishing their new business ventures. She supports, empowers, and challenges entrepreneurs to fully achieve their individual and business goals.
She is the Founder of Queen ReDefined LLC, Uyi Idahor Business & Marketing Consulting, and Co-Creator of The Coco Drip LLC. In summary, she is passionate about building community, developing future leaders, and establishing a welcoming and inclusive space of different identities and perspectives.
Website: coming soon
Instagram: @J_Kirklands
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