A native of Colombia who moved to Orlando at an early age, Juliana Calloway grew up experiencing the way food nurtures connections. “Some of my favorite memories are of family gathered around a table where conversations lasted long after the meal was over,” says Calloway.
She adds: “Whether you’re serving a taco, teaching a child to harvest a carrot or sitting down for dinner with your family, food has this incredible ability to connect us.”
A career in hospitality beckoned. Calloway set out for California, where she worked for RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen, the Viceroy Hotel Group and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
In 2016, Calloway and her husband, Mexican-trained chef John Calloway, merged their skill sets to launch Black Rooster Taqueria on Mills Avenue in Orlando. The casual counter-service restaurant, known for creative and vibrant flavors, has earned the nod of national media and “recognition” stature in the Michelin Guide.
“John’s experience living in Mexico is at the heart of our menu, while our commitment to sourcing from Florida farms as much as we can is what makes it uniquely ours,” says Calloway. “We’ve never tried to be everything to everyone.”
Early last year, she also became program director at The Kitchen House in College Park. The nonprofit—with its massive garden and four-station kitchen—is a garden-to-table culinary school that connects people to the joy of fresh food, gardening and lifelong learning.
Kitchen House programs include a “Plot to Plate Book Club” that brings stories and food together, as well as themed family nights, adult summer camps, culinary teen camps, field trips and a Sunday Supper Club.
The road to Calloway’s new role “feels like one long journey that kept building on itself.” Hospitality, she says, taught her how to take care of people, while marketing taught her how to tell meaningful stories. Owning a restaurant taught her “resilience, leadership and what it really means to build something from the ground up,” she adds.
The Kitchen House is located at 26 East King Street, Orlando. For more information, visit thekitchenhouse.org.
