FOOD+NUTRITION
By Lucy Harrison Photo by Tindall Stephens
KQ Bistro Brings KoreanInspired Flavors That Are Just As Tasty As They Are Healthy We all love to flavor our food, but most seasonings contain high amounts of salt and sodium, which can cause high blood pressure and other health issues. What if it were possible to get that extra flavor without the additives and preservatives? Sherry Rollins, 46, has spent the last three years concocting unique natural flavors that enhance your meal without compromising your health at KQ Bistro. Sherry uses natural staples like kimchi and soybeans to build Korean-inspired, hand-crafted seasonings that enhance your meals with fresh, natural flavors. Building a business from scratch as a mother of four is no easy feat, but Sherry and her husband Jeremy have big plans for the future of KQ Bistro.
Tell us about the genesis of KQ Bistro. The idea actually started as part of my daughter’s after-school project. Her project was all about how to stop food waste, so we began dehydrating older onions and kimchi and turning them into herbs and salts. The results were better than we expected, and it just took off from there. We started to experiment with more flavors and did taste tests with friends to see if we were really onto something. We saw there was a real demand for these products. In 2018, we started traveling to the Delta Cuisine Commercial Kitchen and Business Incubator at Arkansas State University to prepare our products in a more elevated space. Now, we sell our seasonings online and are working on opening up a storefront.
KQ Bistro is built on nutritious staples like probioticrich kimchi. What inspires you to provide healthfocused products?
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Sherry is a nutritionist and the owner of KQ Bistro, which produces a line of Korean artisan seasonings and kimchi. She’s opening a hybrid restaurant/production facility in Arlington, TN. Follow KQ Bistro on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. Visit Kqbistro.com or Etsy.com/shop/kqbistro. Vote for Sherry in the 2021 Favorite Chef competition until April 8th at bit.ly/votesherry.
The way that we eat really impacts health and illness prevention. My parents are the biggest inspiration when it comes to changing the way you eat and think about food. My mom was diagnosed with Lupus, and as a result completely changed her diet to almost entirely cut out animal products, which has really helped control her flare ups. My father was diagnosed with cancer and is working hard to change his diet to improve his overall health.
