How a Chef and a Storyboard Artist Turned a Tuna Melt Into a Burbank Home-Kitchen Business

Most new restaurants wait for customers to find them. Ashley Childs and her husband, James, go out and knock.

Every week, the couple behind Take N' Taste carry their lunch menu into local businesses in Burbank and introduce themselves. There is a reason. Their restaurant has no storefront, no sign and no dining room. It runs out of their home kitchen.

We realized that there may be some stigma with people ordering from a new restaurant, especially one run out of a home kitchen with no storefront visibility. Also, most people have no idea about the MEHKO permit. We figured that showing our faces and introducing ourselves was the best way to connect with the community, instead of relying on just social media.

Ashley Childs

Fifteen years in kitchens

Childs, who also cooks as "Chef Ash Marie," has been a chef for more than 15 years. She started with a mobile raw juice company, Juice On, which she moved from Sacramento to Los Angeles. In LA she has been head chef at restaurants including Doomies, O'Cado and Tony's Darts Away. With James she ran a vegan Southern and Cajun pop-up that worked street fairs and events. She has also been a kitchen manager, a caterer and a personal chef, and still works as a private chef.

Take N' Taste began with one sandwich.

Take N' Taste is a concept that my husband and I created after perfecting our beloved Tuna Melt. We love diner foods and really wanted to share the foods that we love to make and eat, while doing it on our terms, with the best possible local and organic quality ingredients.

Ashley Childs

The timing came from the industry. James is a union storyboard artist, and when that work slowed down, and Childs began a dietetic internship, the couple decided to go all in.

The permit

Take N' Taste is a MEHKO, a microenterprise home kitchen operation. It's a permit that lets a cook run a small restaurant from a home kitchen.

The county side, Childs said, was smoother than she expected. The couple filled out an application, attached her renewed managerial ServSafe certificate and their menu, and walked it into the Public Health Department in person. About three weeks later they got an email to schedule a kitchen inspection. About a month after that, they were approved.

I also have a lot of experience running kitchens and working with public health, so I knew what to expect.

Ashley Childs

The couple had also held a cottage food permit before.

The city side took longer. Take N' Taste is only the fifth MEHKO in Burbank, and getting the city's tax permit took about three months.

This process was very new to the city, and took a lot longer than we expected, but we are very grateful to have been approved.

Ashley Childs

Getting the word out

The hardest part hasn't been the cooking.

The hardest part of building this business has been marketing and visibility. Really just getting the word out, explaining who we are, what we have to offer, and building trust for people to give us a try.

Ashley Childs

There are limits, too. Take N' Taste delivers only to Burbank and Toluca Lake, and under MEHKO rules, she said, they can't use third-party delivery apps. So they use their own drivers.

Press has helped. LAist has featured Take N' Taste on the radio and in two articles, and Childs said the couple had their first profitable week after appearing on LAist with Austin Cross. They're also part of LA MEHKO Week, which she credits with "really getting the word out to Angelenos about MEHKOs and what we have to offer."

What to order

Asked for the one dish to try first, Childs picked two: the Mushroom French Dip and the RC Provisions Roast Beef Dip, depending on your diet. Both come on an organic baguette from Breadwinner Bakery and Hope the Mission's chef Jason Moniz, with Swiss cheese, caramelized onion, a vegan horseradish garlic mayo and a side of vegan au jus.

The menu leans that way on purpose.

We make delicious and nutritious food, and we have something to fit every diet.

Ashley Childs

Advice for home cooks

For anyone in LA thinking about selling food from home, her advice is simple.

Running a MEHKO means running a restaurant on your own terms, with very low overhead. If you have had a dream about running a restaurant, but it feels impossible, this is a great way to start. Also, if you have been a chef in the industry for many years and are looking for a transition, this may be the path for you.

Ashley Childs