This 11-year-old chef started a pop-up takeout restaurant in her family's garage

Eleven-year-old Ra'Quell Boyd has been interested in cooking since she was a preschooler who would kneel on a stool at the window between her family's kitchen and dining room, watching her mom and dad cook.

When she wanted to learn to cook by herself, Ra'Quell's parents — feeling she was too young to use the stove — set her up with a griddle and taught her how to make breakfast food. From there, she upgraded to the family deep fryer and by the time she was 8, she was proficient enough to use the stove.

"My favorite thing to make is deep-fried chicken," Ra'Quell said in a recent interview with the Journal Sentinel. "It's my favorite thing to eat, too, and my dad taught me to make it.

"I make it somewhat as good as he does," she added.

"I agree, it's amazing," Ra'Quell's dad, Robert Boyd Jr., said with a laugh.

Fried chicken was on the menu at Ra'Quell's — also known as Chef Kisses — "drive-thru restaurant" early in the summer.

She had asked her parents if she could cook and sell her food like she was a professional chef, and she had a great idea for where to set up her restaurant.

"There's a door in our garage where people can drive up in their cars and get their food," Ra'Quell said.

The Boyds allowed Ra'Quell to set up in the garage and told friends and family about the event via Facebook.

Ra'Quell sold 50 take-out boxes at that first pop-up.

"I think she was a little shocked by how many people came. I know I was shocked," Robert said.

At that first drive-thru, Chef Kisses made chicken, fries, cheese fries, walking nachos and her "special Kisses Kool-Aid," a drink Ra'Quell described as similar to a fruit punch, although she would not divulge the ingredients.

"I use secret family recipes," Ra'Quell said.

Robert said he, his wife and their three other kids pitch in on prep work and taking orders, but as far as the cooking goes, it's all Chef Kisses.

"We help her prep everything the night before and she cooks it the day of the drive-thru," he said. "She does the meat last, and I think that's why she's so popular. People love seeing her in the garage cooking with her deep fryers."

Robert said after the surprise success of the first event, his daughter immediately started asking when the next one could be. That's when he decided to teach his daughter about business plans.

"I was like, if this is something you want to continue to do, we've gotta talk about what you do with the money you earn," he said. "I explained overhead and inventory to her."

When asked what she does with the money she earns, Ra'Quell immediately answered, "I put it into my inventory."

Ra'Quell's second drive-thru, held in August, was just as successful as her first; her new menu included cornbread, macaroni and cheese, yams, greens, her special Kool-Aid and, of course, chicken.

"After that, she told me she wanted to do her drive-thrus monthly, and on Facebook there were people from everywhere asking when her next event would be," Robert said. "This was supposed to be something intimate, but since we had so many people interested, I thought we should make this a larger scale."

Chef Kisses' next event will be in a new venue and include other kid entrepreneurs. Four others under the age of 13 will join Ra'Quell in selling their products at the Small Business Owner's Youth Expo at Milwaukee's Holy Cathedral Church of God in Christ on Sept. 16.

Chef Kisses' menu at the upcoming event will include spaghetti, catfish fillets, garlic bread and salad.

"The first time we did this, it was just our family helping out because it was something she wanted to do, and it's turned out huge," Robert said.

The hard work hasn't diminished Ra'Quell's interest in cooking. "I want to be a chef and work in a restaurant when I grow up," she said.

Her parents are fully behind her career aspirations.

"To see the passion she has for it, me and my wife are behind her 100%," Robert said. "Anything she has on her mind about taking it further, we're with her."

If you go

What: Small Business Owner's Youth Expo

When: 3-6 p.m. Sept. 16

Where: Holy Cathedral Church of God in Christ, 2677 N. 40th St.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 11-year-old Chef Kisses hosts drive-thru restaurant in her garage