Chef LaMona

Photos By John Burns

On the east side of Topeka, in the Harbor Freights Tools parking lot located at 230 SE 29th Street, a food truck serves a line of cars that sometimes stretches out of view all the way up the street. This isn’t your ordinary food truck, serving typical food truck dishes; this is Chef LaMona’s food truck, serving chef-prepared gourmet meals such as lobster or crab.

DISCOVERING A LOVE

LaMona Scroggins never cared much for cooking, in fact she didn’t even like it. It wasn’t until she had her first child that her interest in cooking surfaced.

“My oldest daughter is disabled, and when my kids were little, it was hard to take them to restaurants,” Scroggins said. “But I wanted them to eat good quality food, so I began to teach myself how to make all kinds of food that they might have if we were at a restaurant. That’s when I found out I was really good at it and that I
love it.”

Part of that love of cooking was making her creations eye appealing as well as delicious. She would take pictures of her creations and post them on social media for others to see. Many of her friends noticed how beautiful her dishes looked and they wanted to try them.

“I took a lot of food porn pics—pictures of food that you drool over and want to taste—and have been posting them for years,”

Scroggins said. “People were all, ‘Ooh... I want to taste it; how can I try it? Are you selling these plates?’ So, I decided why not start cooking for people.”

COOKING FOR OTHERS

She opened a personal chef business where she would go into customers’ homes and prepare a gourmet meal. The business was going well for Scroggins until Covid-19 came into the picture and changed things.“When Covid-19 came, I wasn’t able to go into people’s homes and cook for them, so I had to change what I was doing,” Scroggins said. “That’s when the idea of the food truck started to make sense to me. I enjoyed the personal chef experiences, but it was expensive. The food truck is less expensive and allows me to serve more people. It was a good decision for me.”

Scroggins partnered with her friend Nicole Malone and the two began the Chef LaMona LLC food truck business in September 2020. On the first day that Chef LaMona’s food truck opened, Scroggins was surprised by the support that the people in Topeka gave her.

“I didn’t realize how big it was going to be. The first day we had 300 people at the food truck. I didn’t anticipate that we would be this busy! Topeka really showed up and supported us, and I am very grateful for that,” Scroggins said.

GOURMET FROM A TRUCK

Chef LaMona’s food truck serves a variety of gourmet food plates.

“We offer everything from mac and cheese, fried fish, king crab, spaghetti, and Korean beef ribs. We switch it up just like I would at my house. I might keep a menu for a couple of weeks so that everybody has the opportunity to get a plate,” Scroggins said.

Scroggins loves the food truck because it allows her to share her talent with Topeka and not just her family.

“I love when someone tastes my food and I see their reaction when they taste the love that I put into it,” Scroggins said. “I will stare at you while you try it because I want to know that you feel what I just did. I know what I’m doing; this is something I can do in my sleep. To me, cooking is easy. It’s almost like I’m cheating.”

Chef LaMona’s food truck is open Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. or until they run out of food. Scroggins has plans to add additional days and locations.

“I’m going to eventually move around, but I’m on the east side now because that is where I live, “ Scroggins said, “I tend to take the safe road on everything because of my kids, but eventually, I will move around. Once it gets warm, I plan to move to the west side.”

NOT JUST A ONE TRUCK SHOW

Customers can track the food truck and see the list of food plates— with a few good food porn pics to tease you—at cheflamona.com. In addition to serving gourmet plates from the truck, Chef LaMona offers cooking classes, caters for large groups and still does the personal chef experience, just not as often because of Covid-19.

Scroggins is always changing her menu and trying something new.

“I like over-the-top everything. I’ll be bored and I will experiment with the food until it comes out perfect,” Scroggins said, “I cook every day so that I can perfect my dishes. You can go to school and learn something, but if you are not doing it constantly, you are not going to perfect it.”

Scroggins has created enough of her own recipes to compile her very own cookbook, “Cooking on a Different Level,” that will be coming out soon.

“I only hope to get better. There is a big difference serving a large number of people rather than one on one. ButI love it! I love the challenge, and I like the food truck because I can work smarter not harder, and I can spend more time with my kids. I am very blessed to do what I love,” Scroggins said.