Monai Clark is on a roll at Mayfel’s

Monai Clark confesses that when she first started on the line at Mayfel’s restaurant in March 2023, she was pretty unfamiliar with Louisiana-style cuisine. “I didn’t know how to say muffuletta or what it was,” she recalls. “Is it a sandwich?”

Less than a year after what she calls a tough first day, Monai was promoted to lead line cook, the only woman in the kitchen and at just 22, the youngest in a leadership role. “I have more responsibility for knowing the kitchen, what is there, what is needed and being in charge. I’ve never been in a position of telling someone what to do, so it’s been a challenge, but it’s also made me grow as a professional.”

It’s not the first time Monai has faced the unknown. In third grade, she moved with her mother and siblings from Jacksonville, Florida to first Candler, then Leicester and now Woodfin. “It was hard to leave Florida, we always saw our lives there. Asheville was so different, so green and bears! But we grew into it, and everyone still lives here.”

Her mother was the cook in the house and Monai pitched in for big family meals at Christmas and Thanksgiving, as well as helping prepare dinner and lots of baking. “My love of cooking came through her, because she loves it, and it was a happy time to be together.”

Even so, it wasn’t something she thought she would do professionally. In high school, she took a lot of computer skills classes and pursued interior design and thought that was her calling. But she also did Food 1 and Food 2, which piqued her interest in that field. “Those classes were basic, general cooking, but I’ve always believed cooking is a central skill that everyone should have.” When asked if that’s where she was taught knife skills, she says, “It was more like, ‘Do you generally know how to use a knife? Okay, here you go, try not to cut too close to your fingers!’ ”

Her first job was at Bojangles, but her first exposure to a professional kitchen was at Zoe’s Kitchen on Swannanoa River Rd. “I worked in prep and that was my first time working through a list of things I was responsible for. I saw how a professional kitchen is set up and flows.”

On the flip side, it was also the Covid era, and she sighs remembering how hard it was. “It was a crazy time, masks in the kitchen and keeping distance. Everyone was freaking out over everything.”

She took a break from the restaurant business for about a year, then while scrolling through Indeed, saw a post from Mayfel’s (purchased in September 2022 by The Cantina’s Sherrye and Anthony Coggiola) for a team member position and applied. “They were the first place to hit me back and scheduled an interview. The day of my interview they asked me to come in the next day for training. It was a Saturday, their busiest day and I was overwhelmed. I didn’t know if I was doing anything right!”

She started on ‘scoops’ on the hot side, the beginner station on the line where the rice, grits, gumbo, jambalaya, biscuits and gravy live before being scooped onto a plate or into a bowl for the next step. “I learn by watching and listening and figuring out where I fit in to be ready. I had to learn the timing of different dishes, not get ahead or behind.”

From scoops she moved to fryers, then grill, then sauté.  “Sauté takes a minute,” she says. “Believe it or not, the eggs are the hardest. I had never done it before Mayfel’s. I understand poached eggs, but over easy is hard, it’s the pan flip for me.”

Eggs are a key part of brunch Fridays through Mondays. She let her GM know she was interested in more hours and trying dinner service, so she now does doubles on Friday and Saturdays. “There was more to learn with dinner, but I prefer it to brunch. Dinner is more chill.”

As lead line cook, she sees a big part of her role as being a voice for the kitchen, particularly her primarily Hispanic co-workers. “Language can be a barrier and I wanted them to know they could come to me, and I will go to management for them. We use a lot of Google translate,” she adds with a laugh.

At  Mayfel’s her go-to meals are the jambalaya and the étouffée, but out and about, her favorite cuisine is Mexican. “I love all the tastes and flavors, and I love the spicy.”

For more on Mayfel’s, visit mayfelsavl.com. 

— Kay West

Photos courtesy of Mayfel’s