We recently had the chance to connect with Dora Tramel and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Dora, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
To be a politician. Someone has to stand up for African-Americans right now in OUR COUNTRY. We, as Americans. All together need to learn to embrace our individualities and come together to empower ourselves.
But African Americans are falling behind in education, job stability/opportunity, homelessness, and healthcare. We need someone that is going to look out for us on the government level where policies and laws are being made in our government, We need exceptionally strong representation in the South. That is my calling that I am afraid but must do. The more I encounter those problems myself the more I want to help people.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello, my name is Dora Tramel, I am a chef and entrepreneur. My catering business DAT’s Good Cooking LLC focuses on cultural cooking. With my company DAT’s Good Egg Rolls, we focus on making cultural egg rolls such as chicken fajita, potato and cauliflower masala curry (vegan) and New York style cheesecake. We have dips too for the egg rolls, smoked salsa, mint and cilantro chutney, lemon-blueberry and tropical strawberry pineapple. This is my fun concept that will be available on DoorDash in Fort Worth, Texas on August 15th of this year if not before. I want to turn this concept into a global fast food franchise that also serves rice bowls and grilled burritos.
I am have started two non-profits called Black People for Black People and Black and Brown Hospitality Workers United. I just want to be able to help people, that is my brand love, kindness and respect.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Trust. If I can’t trust a person how can we move forward? If a person does not trust me how can we move forward?
Everyday is a trust fall whether it is my personal or business life I have to depend on somebody and they depend on me for something. That is how God intended it to be. It does not matter what race, sexuality or religion they are, I depend on them. The cashier at the gas station, the waitress and line cooks in a restaurant, lawn workers. I could go on and on forever with skills that technology can not replace that I depend on and trust that they are going to perform their jobs. Love and empathy restores a relationship…Remembering that we are all human beings and make mistakes but still need each other restores relationships and also keeps them going.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Resilience and the art of transformation. Many times I have had to suck it up, take the loss, do what I had to do, and be who I had to be. Suffering taught me it is ok to lose. I learned to analyze my thoughts and actions so that I can transform my mistakes when I am given a second, third, fourth…50th chance by Jesus Christ to be able to transform my failures into success that allows me to help myself and others. Suffering is part of the journey, my ice cream sundae, my base. Success is honestly just the cherry on top.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That it is better to buy the product, than make it from scratch! Yes, you need more labor to prep the menu item, you have to buy the ingredients but most of the time from scratch production yields more of the final product than just buying it from the vendor. I honestly stopped eating off food trucks and eating at a lot of restaurants for this reason, I do not want a burger out of a box that I am being charged $15-$25 for because the restaurant or food truck serving it says it’s gourmet or a really good burger. This is a ridiculously horrible trend that is going around in my industry that is not only killing business profits because that stuff tastes bad and runs the customer off but also takes jobs away from people such as the prep position and cuts their hours. It keeps the workers in the industry ignorant unless they start teaching themselves and exploring their own cooking skills blindly..
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people say that I brightened their day and helped them. That I inspired or motivated them in some way.
