Poppa’s Cookbook expands into Rathbun Accelerator Kitchen

Five years ago, Eric King, 51, started a battle he knew he couldn’t win.

To keep his cooking skills sharp, he challenged his friend Gregory Winfree to a chili cookoff. King wasn’t surprised to lose, but it sparked a “spirit of competition” that fueled him to try harder. When they next went head-to-head six months later in a lasagna competition, King nearly won.

“He told me from his own mouth that if I hadn’t put mushrooms in my sauce, I would have beaten him,” King said. “So, knowing that my work was paying off, I just started practicing harder.”

That hard work earned Poppa’s Cookbook, an homage to Winfree, who died in 2021, a spot in the Allen Neighborhood Center’s Rathbun Accelerator Kitchen. King will run the soul food restaurant, which opened July 2, alongside a catering business of the same name that he has been operating out of ANC’s incubator kitchen since last year.

Poppa’s is open three days a week: Wednesdays during the Allen Farmers Market, Fridays and Sundays. The menu shifts with the day, featuring items like chicken-fried steak, baked chicken and macaroni and cheese. Everything is made from scratch, including the spice blends, and even the recipes are original.

Despite the business’ name, King’s cooking isn’t like his grandfather’s soul food — or anyone else’s.

“My cooking is not what your grandma did, what your mom did or what your dad did,” he said. “It’s different. I create all my own recipes. Everything is from scratch, and I do it my way.”

King became involved with ANC after being taken off the schedule at a commercial kitchen where he was working to hone his skills. Since he already owned an insurance agency and was just looking for an opportunity to learn and grow his food business, the incubator kitchen was a perfect fit.

“It just went from there,” King said. “The kitchen manager, Matt Jones, saw what I was doing from a cooking standpoint and invited me to do a couple of fundraising events there. Folks liked the cooking, and it turned into its own thing.”

In the incubator kitchen, cooks pay hourly for access to the space and monthly for storage. King had intended to stay for three or more years before starting his own restaurant. After only 8 months, Jones suggested he apply for a spot in the accelerator kitchen.

“I was like, ‘Man, I’m not even a year into this stuff. I’m not a restaurant cook,’” King said. “I told my wife I didn’t want to commit, that I wasn’t doing it.”

When King told another friend, who had helped him craft a business plan for his insurance agency, that he was turning down the offer, that friend called him an idiot.

“He said, ‘Do you hear yourself? Your food is blowing up on Facebook and social media. People are talking about it. Why wouldn’t you want to commit to that? You’re stupid if you don’t,’” King said.

Applying meant overcoming perfectionism and self-doubt, but he took the leap and earned the spot. Now, he’s just excited to serve the neighborhood.

“Making the food and the recipes is the easy part,” he said. “Getting that smile, that reaction from someone when they’re pleased with what you’ve made, that’s the part I’m looking for. That’s the part that completes the process.”