WHO WE ARE
OUR MISSION
At Thelma’s Kitchen, we make room at the table for everyone. We gather around delicious food, extending radical hospitality that nurtures belonging and creates opportunities for stability and growth.
MEET THE TEAM
Crafting memorable catering with care.
Our culinary team combines professional expertise, quality ingredients, and genuine hospitality to create catering experiences your guests will remember.
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Natasha Bailey
Head Chef
Chef Natasha Bailey is the Head Chef, leading the culinary team behind fresh, beautifully prepared meals for the café and catering program. Known for her passion for hospitality and quality ingredients, she also hosts KCUR's Hungry For MO podcast, celebrating the stories behind Missouri's iconic foods.
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Natasha Ellington
Sous Chef
Chef Natasha Ellington is the Sous Chef, helping create fresh, thoughtfully prepared meals with a passion for quality food and warm hospitality. She works alongside Chef Bailey to ensure every guest enjoys an exceptional dining experience.
Isha Jones
Sous Chef
Chef Isha Jones is a Sous Chef who helps prepare fresh, thoughtfully crafted meals alongside the culinary team. Passionate about great food and serving others, she also gives back to the Kansas City community through volunteer culinary initiatives.
We can't wait to serve you.
Check out these short videos below to learn more about Reconciliation Services, Thelma’s Kitchen, and why we do what we do:
History of Troost
Community Impact
Thelma's Kitchen - How It Began
WHO WAS THELMA?
Thelma Altschul was a natural and gifted caretaker. She consistently shared what she had – even when she only had a little – and offered what she could when she saw a neighbor in need. Love for those neighbors was what drove Thelma “Matushka Michaila” and her husband, Father Alexii Altschul, to begin their outreach work and acts of mercy along Troost Ave. over 30 years ago. It began with simply feeding their neighbors who were hungry – Thelma was famous among her neighbors for her fried chicken, and both strangers and friends from near and far would flock to her home to share a meal with her and Father Alexii.
Today, this legacy lives on in Thelma’s Kitchen, the first pay-it-forward cafe in Kansas City, a Healthy Communities initiative of Reconciliation Services. Our aim is to gather neighbors together over shared meals and with shared resources. The work of Reconciliation Services consists of an intentional continuum of care, working to see reconciliation one heart at a time through strengths-based healthy community initiatives, social & mental health services, and creating economic opportunities.
