Photos and Story
By Sylvia Dunnavant Hines
According to most soulful historians, a meal of chicken and waffles began in Harlem in the 1930s, at the famous Wells Supper Club. This classic meal, which is a cross between breakfast and dinner, became a favorite of jazz musicians after they finished their late-night sessions.
Today, this dish, which is labeled as southern cuisine, is served in restaurants from Louisiana to Los Angeles and Nebraska to New York. It is eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch across the county.
“For me, my mama’s famous recipe for chicken and waffles comes from a rich family tradition that started after church at my grandmother’s house with soul food Sundays,” said Donna Richardson, who has been known for the last three decades as a fitness guru. “Basically, everyone would bring a dish to share. We would get to my grandma’s house and there would be about 60 people coming together because my mom had nine siblings.
“We would come and gather around the table spending quality time together, watching sports and playing cards.”
After Richardson’s grandmother passed, her mother Laverne Richardson, who is affectionately called ‘Mama Laverne’, took over the task of making soulful Sunday meals for their family. At the top of her menu was the family-coveted recipe of chicken and waffles. The dish became so popular that she began to get calls to go to people’s homes and make her famous dish.
“After I started cooking for the family, they began looking forward to coming to my house for chicken and waffles,” said Mama Laverne. “I did this for about 25 years. I cooked for friends, family members and even celebrities. Although they enjoyed it I just did it through love. I love people, and I love cooking.”
According to Richardson, cooking is her mother’s love language. However, in 2020 they both experienced a setback. Mama Laverne was no longer able to go out and make her chicken and waffles. Richardson’s thriving fitness and motivational speaking career also came to a screeching halt.
Richardson said the concept for the chicken and waffle mix started during the pandemic.
“People were calling us, but we couldn’t get to them. We started mixing up the flour and seasoning and making them for friends and family members and sending them out along with the recipe,” she recalled. “After a while the demand became so high that we could not keep up with it. Then friends would drive by and pick up chicken and waffles and we would blow them a kiss as they drove by.”
Richardson and Mama Laverne soon realized that they could not keep up with their growing customer list. At that point, they took a leap of faith and developed a business plan for their popular flour and season mix.
With the help of food scientists, packaging experts and graphic design artists they launched Mama Laverne’s Chicken Waffle and Pancake Mix, on Mother’s Day 2021 and their product became available on Amazon and in Shoprite supermarkets.
“The one thing I wanted to do was to make a combo. I didn’t want someone to have to look for the flour in one place and then go somewhere else to look for the chicken seasoning. I wanted them to be packaged together,” said Mama Laverne. “I also wanted to make sure the waffles tasted homemade. Most pancake box mixes only require water. I wanted mine to remain light and fluffy, so you have to add butter, buttermilk and an egg.
“The season is already premixed to add for your chicken or whatever you are serving with the waffles.”
According to Mama Laverne and Richardson the seasoning and batter have multipurpose uses. They have made everything from fried green tomatoes to fancy desserts with the mixture.
“We are enriching people’s connection through food for the soul,” said Richardson. “Food has always been the backdrop of gatherings at the table, which allows us to spend quality time together.
“We believe that we have created a product that can help you do that. We have a pre-mixed seasoning and waffle mix, which can be used to cook tofu, seafood and vegetables. Because I have a background in health and fitness, we looked at all options. We have it where you can fry it, air fry it or bake it.”
While promoting their famous chicken and waffle mix, this mother and daughter team has made the television circuit. They have been on Good Morning America, the Drew Barrymore and the Sherri Shepherd Shows; and many of the local television programs in the Dallas, Fort Worth viewing area.
“I was so excited when Donna said that we were in Target locations in Texas. Since there was a Target down the street, we stopped in to see if we could find our product,” said Mama Laverne, who recently turned 83 years old. “We were walking down the aisle where the flour mixes were, then we spotted Mama Laverne’s Chicken Seasoning Waffle & Pancake Mix on the shelf and I just shouted, Hallelujah,”
Mama Laverne’s Chicken Seasoning Waffle & Pancake Mix can be found at Target, several food markets and Amazon. Their signature item was also added to the menu at upscale north Dallas restaurant Al Biernat’s; making Mama Laverne the first African American and the first female on their menu.
“I feel our partnership has been amazing,” said Lexis Nutt, general manager of Al Biernat’s location on Oak Lawn, adding that the partnership has been mutually beneficial. “It has brought a lot of new relationships that we really cherish.”
Richardson and Mama Laverne are taking all limits off their growing business. They are looking at other retail options, Ecommerce, more restaurants and possibly food trucks.
“This is about love and legacy,” explained Richardson. “We are spreading love through food for the soul. We give back, we are growing and scaling our business to do great things. We have gone from serving God to serving up food for people. We are grateful to God for giving us this platform to make all this happen.“
Lenell Wyatt, who had been one of the original food testers during the process of developing the chicken and waffle mixture said that she could not believe how close the box mix was to the actual product that Mama Laverne serves up in her kitchen.
Family friend Jacqueline Jakes says the waffles are amazing. “It has been such a pleasure watching the journey of my good friend Donna Richardson and her mother, Mama Laverne, to produce a product that has gone over the top. It is such a blessing to witness so many people see this going in this direction.
When Mama Laverne is not cooking, she is mixing it up on the dance floor. She has even been caught on some talk shows shaking it down to the ground, after she finished serving up chicken and waffles.
This journey that mother and daughter are on is one they are grateful for. “We stepped out on faith. We keep growing and thanking the lord for where we came from and where we are today. We are taking baby steps, so that we can get to the giant steps.”
