A Food Trailer for Messy Bettie's

I was born and raised in Saint Louis Missouri. Initially, I attended college for psychology but after completing my degree and working in the field for several years, I was repeatedly drawn into the world of food and cooking. I took a chance on a job in a local restaurant and quickly realized that I wanted to be a chef.

For the past ten years I have been working in kitchens and restaurants throughout the Saint Louis area learning different cuisines and finding my style of cooking. Within the past several years, this has taken me to working in two different local bars. The most recent of which was John P. Fields in Clayton. A local lunch spot where I developed a Smash Burger recipe that combined my passion for grilling specialty meat, and the fast paced made to order style of cooking that serving a popular burger requires.

Unfortunately, in the fall of last year, John P. Fields closed due to no fault of its own. I have since been left to decide what this means for me in pursuing my goals as a chef. Instead of returning to the kitchen in another restaurant, I decided to take a leap of faith and start my own business to continue cooking the food I had found I loved.

I created Messy Bettie's Smash Burgers. With a little help from another local bar, which offered their space for me to pop up, I have been attempting to cultivate a following through sharing my love for creating delicious, unique burgers. Now though, I am looking towards the future. I have always dreamed of opening a storefront. However, sometimes unexpected events lead to new dreams. With the closing of the last restaurant I worked in, I had the experience to develop a pop-up style of cooking that is as much a dream as a storefront has ever been.

I would love to continue traveling the Saint Louis area, sharing my recipes with local events, eateries, and clientele. I created this gofundme in the hopes of fundraising for a food trailer. I have the recipe and the passion, just not the equipment. If anyone would be willing to help me reach my goal, I would be incredibly appreciative. I plan to keep selling Smash Burgers a little at a time, but any help along the way to getting the equipment I need would be a long-held dream come true.

With this upgrade from a tent set up, we will be able to expand our menu and run 4 to 5 days operational every week.