Today we’d like to introduce you to Skye McDaniel.
Skye, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My story beings with a love of cooking and ends with a love of community. I always knew I wanted to cook for a living, but being an extremely picky eater as a child, I wasn’t sure how that would pan out. Still, the love of experimentation, discovery, and feeding friends kept me interested through high school, and from there, I immediately when into El Centro’s culinary program. During culinary school, I lived near downtown and worked in various eateries in Deep Ellum and Oak Cliff. What started to become very clear to me was that I didn’t have a desire to become a top chef in Dallas or even an expert in the field. What I loved was facilitating people coming together over a common interest: food. I loved helping to create warm and welcoming experiences for people from all backgrounds and demographics. This love was fueled in me by my first mentors and Chefs Randall Copeland and Graham Dodds. Randall hired me green out of culinary school to work at Bolsa, a small farm to table restaurant that had just opened in the neighborhood I grew up in. That first job made me fall in love with the service industry, which views coworkers as a family, and that creates bonds that last a lifetime. After Bolsa, this love leads me to keep a steady job at a local mom and pop owned coffee shop in Deep Ellum called Murray Street. Over the years, I, along with the owners, have fostered close friendships and fun experiences with our regulars. Many I have done events with, done fun or project-based cooking, or even recruited to be my neighbors in my small Oak Cliff community by the Dallas Zoo. After Randall’s untimely death in 2013, I was compelled to recreate our Sunday dinners that we used to have with our service industry friends to honor his memory and love of gathering people. Anyone who was looking for connection and community was welcome, and in the first year, I did one Sunday Supper a week. By six months, we were packing 40-50 people into my little house and back yard. I used the potluck structure to foster a sense of ownership and contribution for anyone who wanted to attend, and have continued this tradition through today, though I no longer host one a week (that was just crazy!) food is the universal language. I speak it with my family and loved friends, I speak it with strangers when traveling abroad, and I speak it to anyone who seeks connection through it.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There is no “smooth road” when you’re carving your own niche. There have been plenty of years where I didn’t make above federal poverty level pay. There have been years that felt directionless. But as more time passed while searching for a connection with others, I began to find people that felt the same. People that support the pursuit of loving and living in a way that makes me feel whole. I have to say, “easy” has never been for me, so the struggle has been incredibly fulfilling though scary at times. I find that to be the only healthy way for me to live: with a struggle for more love and more connection. I have a fierce love of travel and discomfort, and so making sure that value was lifted up, even when making little money, or having little time has shaped my confidence in what I’m capable of ten fold. I can work hard, contribute to my community, fulfill my interests and curiosities, and still save money and be a responsible adult. That feels great.
Please tell us about your work.
The thing I am most proud of in my work and in my life is my relationships. My two most successful marks in business are the community at Murray Street Coffee Shop and the loyalty and support that was displayed when my wonderful business partner, Lily Hanson, and I started doing our pop up a bakery “The Bake Sale” about six years ago. The community support for our work still overwhelms me and makes it so special and fulfilling. I love and care for people. I want them to feel that. Warm beverages, fresh pastries, and kind and intuitive conversation are good places to start the conveying of those feelings. Caring for people is what I specialize in.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My fondest memories of childhood are Thanksgivings and cooking with my grandparents. Coming from a large Sicilian family, food has always been a love language. These memories always include me getting alone time with a teacher (family member) of techniques and secrets for making things the “best” way. My love of baking comes from early mornings with my granddad after blueberry picking. My love of cooking comes from my mother and grandmother showing love in this way. These memories are the ones that really stick. They’ve completely shaped my value system.
Contact Info:
- Address: Murray Street Coffee Shop
103 Murray Street
DE Dallas, TX 75226 - Website: www.murraystreetcoffee.com
- Phone: 214.655.2808
- Instagram: skyepilot_tx
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Sponsor Shoutout:
Got goals?
Kierra Anderson produces stunning, custom, made-to-order goal-setting planners and tumblers to ensure you achieve all of your 2020 goals and resolutions. Check her out at http://www.
