Made by students, for students, “Sally’s Kitchen” is a new live cooking show that aims to give students a culinary outlet for their creativity. The idea comes from Jalon Higtower, a freshman in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors college who wanted to bring something fresh to the table.
“At the start of the year, I was like, ‘We need something new for the Honors College.’ It seemed like every event that was created had been done already. They (students) need a new way to express themselves,” Hightower said.
“Sally’s Kitchen” will air live at the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College via Instagram beginning in October. The hope is to display students’ culinary skills and recipes while building community on a foundation of food. The creation of “Sally’s Kitchen” was also an opportunity for Hightower to take part in another passion of his. Before wanting to be a political science major, Hightower wanted to be a chef.
“At the time, being a chef didn’t seem prosperous. So curating ‘Sally’s Kitchen’ is a way of healing my inner child,” Hightower said.
Hightower wanted to create Sally’s Kitchen to bring people together and to make others feel at home at UM. The way to do that, Hightower explains, is with food, which everyone enjoys in different ways.
“I believe there’s three people in the world: people that like to eat, people that like to cook and people that like to do both,” Hightower said. “It (food) can just bring us all together and make the Honors College and make Ole Miss feel like a home away from home.”
Viewers of “Sally’s Kitchen” can enjoy a variety of content such as Culture Mondays, which are dedicated to displaying and exploring different dishes from a variety of cultures. Other segments include the holiday-themed HOCO’s Savories and autumn-oriented Thankful Thursdays. Eventually, Hightower would also like to see special guests join the show.
Hightower also expresses Sally’s Kitchen commitment to inclusion when it comes to the food.
“Many chefs will be asked to create low-allergen foods so that we can allow as many people as possible to indulge,” Hightower said.
Not only will “Sally’s Kitchen” share new foods and recipes for students to enjoy, but it also will give back to the community and address major issues in Mississippi. Hightower plans to open a fund where people can donate to support both “Sally’s Kitchen” and nonprofit organizations, with half of proceeds going to the production of “Sally’s Kitchen” and the other half going to organizations that specialize in food insecurity.
Hightower sees “Sally’s Kitchen” as a collaborative process and is excited for others to join in this new show.
“I’m honestly so grateful for the people that surround me, for the people that continue to uplift me and for the people that I am going to be working with,” Hightower said. “This is not a ‘me’ project. This is an ‘us’ project.”
Keep an eye out for the show’s debut on Instagram.
