DeSoto Magazine September 2021

“I had just burned out on the music business and touring 200 days a year around the world, and I needed a change and a challenge. And boy did I get one.” ​ Mohead also had no formal training as a chef, but he says he learned how to cook by rubbing elbows with some renowned chefs that he liked.

“My training came from Creole chefs like George and Ms. Sarah Wright and soul food cooks Doris Carr, Daisy Edmonds, Mae Wolf, Neil Myers, and others,” he says. “These are the people who taught me food, who taught me that you have to put love in your food. Culinary schools teach you knife skills, not love.”

Mohead, however, did eventually take a few cooking lessons, and Kathryn’s kitchen manager Gabbi Turner attended Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Atlanta.

The lockdown caused by the pandemic affected both parts of Mohead’s career: Kathryn’s had to close and live music gigs became nonexistent. When the restaurant was able to open back up and offer takeout orders, the community was very supportive. To raise money, Mohead also arranged some online musical performances.

“I did some live streams,” Mohead says. “The first one was the 2020 Virtual Juke Joint Festival. That was fun and also well-viewed and supported. I did a few 70 DeSoto