Sunni Speaks came back to Tallahassee to offer vegan dinners delivered to your door during Homecoming.
Photo submitted by Christina Compere
Sunni Speaks is delivering her tasty vegan dishes from her family kitchen to your door.
Jerk tacos with pineapple slaw and pepper jack cheese was a hit for Taco Tuesday and sold out within hours of posting the menu item to her 2,000 plus followers on Instagram.
A pulled “pork” sandwich, vegan mac and cheese and other creative Southern style delights are in the menu this week.
“I ordered the tacos for lunch and dinner. The mac and cheese with chili made my stomach smile,” Said Derrick Strickland, a friend and customer of Sunni Speaks. “I don’t even eat vegan food but this food is good. She has made my week easier by delivering amazing food.”
Sunni Speaks is a 2011 Florida A&M University graduate who studied sociology and African-American studies. She came up with this idea to deliver food during homecoming from her close friends and colleagues. She would cook for them while she was in college and the support inspired her to share her recipes with new people out of her vegan recipe cookbook, “21 Fresh.”
“It all started five years ago when my personal trainer introduced me to the vegan challenge and vegan cooking forces you to get more creative and try spices you’ve never tried,” Speaks said. “I tell people that you don’t have to be a full vegan but try a meal once a day or five days a week or even while the sun is up, but overall just cutting back meat from your diet.”
Speaks is not a full vegan but has always enjoyed cooking for family and friends. She is currently a teacher in Atlanta and decided to come to FAMU homecoming to share her passion for cooking with others. She decided to label each meal with a FAMU theme such as McGuinn Mac&Chz, Foster Tanner Tacos, SBI Sammy’s Sandwich and J-Skool Jerk Pasta.
“Tallahassee is small so it has definitely been by word of mouth for people spreading the word about the deliveries,” Speaks said. “I know Stephanie posted it on her Instagram and I even had people in the yoga class I went to buy a dinner because they knew me or my family already.”
Stephanie Colter is a longtime friend of Speaks’ and said the food was amazing. She has ordered every day since finding out about the food deliveries this week. She has over 10,000 Instagram followers and brought more traffic to Sspeaks’ delivery business.
“I actually don’t consider myself vegan and this has been my first time trying it with her in town,” Colter said. “I have yet to be disappointed.”
All of the dishes made by Speaks do not include any meat or dairy products. The BBQ pulled “pork” sandwich is actually made from jackfruit. She features that recipe in her cookbook “21 Fresh” and delivers the sandwich for $10 to your location for lunch or dinner. Each recipe in “21 Fresh” includes a playlist that can be downloaded from Spotify to have a sound and feels while you’re cooking.
“I eventually want to have a cooking show and come out with another cookbook. FAMU made me but we as a people have to invest in our skills and I enjoy teaching but cooking is my heart,” Speaks said. “I put two and two together to make it profitable for me. Whatever you’re good at, go for it and somebody will pay you for it.”
To learn more about Sunni Speaks, visit her website www.sunnispeaks.com or follow her on Instagram @SunniSpeaks