Tina Hogue’s role as culinary director at Jasmine Kitchen goes well beyond the stove
At Jasmine Kitchen, food does more than sustain the body; it also nourishes the soul. The lunch cafe on Augusta Street serves as a social enterprise for the nonprofit Jasmine Road, a two-year residential program for adult women survivors of human trafficking, prostitution, and addiction. Opened in February 2020, the cafe provides job training, employment, and career-building opportunities. “We believe in nourishing the mind and the body as part of the healing process,” says Tina Hogue, the cafe’s culinary director.
Hogue, a Texan who moved to Greenville in the summer of 2020 after selling her food truck in Reno, Nevada, had no intention of working right after she relocated, but then she spied Jasmine Kitchen’s online ad for a chef. “It was exactly what I needed, because I didn’t want to work for some corporate chain . . . I wanted to find something that had more meaning,” she says.
She immediately embraced Jasmine Kitchen’s concept of scratch-made food. “We put love and care into everything we make,” Hogue notes. “At the end of the day, it’s nice to know that when you work hard, there are people—real people—out there who benefit from it.”
The cafe serves a rotating selection of seasonal soups, salads, and sandwiches. Hogue’s Texas roots creep into the menu in items like a summer roasted-corn salad, echoing the flavors of Mexican street corn. Ideas also come from the staff, who represent a wide range of ages and cultural backgrounds. Case in point is one woman, a native Spanish speaker, who had an idea for a chipotle chicken sandwich. Made with spinach, bacon, and a chipotle feta sauce, the spicy sandwich was an instant hit.
Over the three years she’s worked at Jasmine Kitchen, Hogue has seen her role expand to include more coaching and working with the women in the program at Jasmine Road, who compose roughly half of the cafe’s staff at any given time. She now collaborates with the program’s administrators to make sure the women are set up for success.
Along the way, the chef has watched women start as “shy violets” and blossom into people who can hold their heads up because they’ve learned to do difficult work. “It’s just a beautiful thing to see someone go from not having high self-esteem to gaining back confidence.”
“Gratitude” is the word Hogue uses to sum up what she loves about her job: gratitude that a place like Jasmine Kitchen exists, gratitude that these women get a second chance, gratitude that they want to better themselves.
“And every day, I learn something new, about human beings, about overcoming hardships, about how to incorporate joy,” she shares. “Every day for everybody here is a step forward.”
Drop by Jasmine Kitchen for lunch, Mon.–Fri., 503 Augusta St., Greenville. 864.263.3374, jasminekitchen.org
Recipe from Chef Tina Hogue, Jasmine Kitchen
Curried Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Bisque
Makes 8 servings
Chef’s note: This vegan and gluten-free soup has been on Jasmine Kitchen’s menu for a while. My former sous-chef came up with this idea, and it’s been a popular menu item since we ran it for the first time.
Ingredients
- 1–2 large whole butternut squash
- 2 whole sweet potatoes (you want a little more squash than sweet potato, about 60/40)
- 1 quart diced onions (white or sweet)
- 1–2 Tbsp curry powder
- 1/8–1 tsp cayenne pepper (depending on your spice tolerance)
- 1 12oz can full-fat coconut milk
- Oil for cooking
- Salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
Garnish:
Salted and toasted pumpkin seeds
Chopped cilantro
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
- Cut the squash in half and set the cut side down on a sheet tray lined with foil. On another foil-lined sheet tray, set your whole sweet potatoes. Drizzle oil over all the vegetables and make sure to coat them well, including the cut sides. Sprinkle all sides liberally with salt.
- Bake the squash and potatoes at 350°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour. You can test for doneness by piercing the vegetables with a paring knife; if the knife pierces the vegetables with no resistance, they are cooked.
- Cool the vegetables once they’re cooked. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and squash and remove the seeds from the squash.
- In a large stockpot, sauté your onions in oil with a sprinkle of salt.
- After the onions are translucent, add the peeled potatoes and squash and cover the vegetables with 5–6 inches of water.
- Add curry powder and cayenne and bring the pot to a boil; stir frequently to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Once the water is boiling, reduce heat and let the pot simmer for about 30 minutes, until all the vegetables are overcooked and the spices have fully hydrated; stir occasionally to prevent burning.
- Once the vegetables are completely tender, turn off the heat.
- Using a stick blender, blend the mixture until all the vegetables are smooth and there are no lumps or large pieces (if using a conventional blender, do this in small batches using a ladle and a second pot, and be careful when handling the hot liquid). After the ingredients are blended smooth, add coconut milk and blend to incorporate.
- Add salt and cracked black pepper until the soup is seasoned to your liking (this is a good time to adjust the spiciness with curry powder or extra cayenne) and blend/stir again to incorporate the seasoning. The soup should be thicker than heavy cream, but pourable and smooth (not like mashed potatoes). If you need to thin the soup out, add hot water or coconut milk until you reach your desired consistency. Make sure to adjust your seasoning if you add more liquid.
- Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and toasted, salted pumpkin seeds.
