2 minute read
MOTHERLAND KITCHEN
Whether she’s serving up a plate of kahti kahti chicken or a side of jollof rice, Sabina L. Jules wants customers to know she cooks with love.
“Food is something that if you just cook the food because you have to cook, it shows in the food,” she says. “If you cook the food because you want somebody to eat and enjoy, you cook it differently and it shows in how the food comes out.”
Jules opened Motherland Kitchen, off U.S. Route 15 north of Frederick, in late summer 2021. There, she focuses on serving up African and Caribbean cuisine to guests clamoring for favorites such as eggplant stew, jerk chicken and chicken peanut butter stew.
Born and raised in Cameroon, Jules often watched as her mother cooked. As a way to bring in additional income to her family, she began selling fried plantains, greens and fried fish by the side of the road as a teenager.
“Growing up, this whole notion of ‘food could be a source of income’ was something that was imbedded in my subconscious for a long time,” she says. “If you make some good food and sold it, you would be able to make money.”
After coming to the U.S. to attend college, Jules worked in the information technology (IT) field for 20 years before deciding to open her first Motherland Kitchen in Marietta, Ga., in 2009. The restaurant and catering service closed three years later.
She moved to Maryland and worked in state and federal government before deciding to go back into the restaurant world. Jules chose Frederick to set up her restaurant after her sister moved here and noticed the absence of African cuisine.
In addition to her restaurant, Jules also founded Motherland Spices offering folks the opportunity to cook with the ingredients she uses daily. The products, featuring herbs and spices found in Cameroon and around the world, are named for her mother, known as Mammydoro.
Jules she hopes patrons will appreciate the authenticity of her cuisine each time they visit.
“The food will taste like back home (in Cameroon) and even better,” she says, because she uses herbs and spices found in Africa and not often found in the U.S.
-by Gina Gallucci-White
Motherland Kitchen & Spices 7800 Biggs Ford Road, Frederick 770.402.7077 MotherlandSpices.com F facebook.com/ mammydoro d @motherlandkitchen_frederickmd
The City of Frederick
PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT
The City of Frederick Parks and Recreation Department has provided citizens in the area with quality and affordable programs for over 80 years. Year-round activities include sports, fitness, and leisure for all ages, challenging and educational children’s activities, the William Talley Fitness Center, and an abundance of unique programming.
