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This cooking experience marks her first time teaching a group how to make bouyon, but the soup is nothing new for the chef, who grew up eating her mother\u2019s version of the dish. It\u2019s thought to be a healing soup, one that is often fed to those with illnesses and to women after giving birth. Although she sends out a full recipe to guests after the class, Ordeus cooks from memory, using feeling to guide her measurements.<\/p>\n
When Ordeus first moved to L.A. for a job in healthcare in 2020, she was looking for community in her new city. She began posting cooking content on social media and soon drew an audience \u2014 many of whom asked if she offered classes or catering. With a growing Instagram following supporting her, she decided to quit her job and pursue cooking full-time.<\/p>\n
![\"Chef](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1790899725_986_.jpeg\")
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Chef Kerline Ordeus, the founder of Haitian Knockout Kitchen.<\/p>\n
(Nava Rawls\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that finally it\u2019s time that we have a place like this where people can come and discover Haitian food,\u201d said Ordeus, who said that she struggled to find Haitian food after her move to the West Coast. \u201cWe deserve a seat at the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ordeus also collaborates with local Black- and women-owned businesses for her experiences. For beverages, guests could try wine and hibiscus mint tea from Taomi Tea n\u2019 Treats<\/a>, a venture by Tamika Jeanty, a first-generation, Haitian business owner whom Ordeus met through social media.<\/p>\n Ordeus says that many of her classes result in lasting friendships between attendees, who bond while making the meal together. Bouyon is a dish of community, she said, that requires many hands to prepare.<\/p>\n While some students juice lemons, others chop yucca, carrots, plantains and watercress. When it comes time to braise the beef and oxtail, some stand by the stove to watch the process, while others smash plantains before throwing them in a pot of oil.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of us have a role to play,\u201d Ordeus said. \u201c[There\u2019s an] intimacy around cooking something like that together, and the memories that it brings as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Robin Garrett and Janetta Harvey, both 53, have been friends since the first grade. They regularly travel and take cooking classes together, but this is their first venture into Haitian food.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ambiance, the food was amazing,\u201d said Garrett, who invited her friend to join her after finding the class on social media. \u201cEveryone was involved and it just made it really fulfilling\u2026 it takes a village to make a meal.\u201d<\/p>\n Bouyon, a Haitian stew with meat and vegetables, is known for its healing properties.<\/p>\n (Nava Rawls\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n After cooking, all participants eat together at a long table decorated with flowers. They enjoy the warm soup alongside fried plantains, white rice and pickled slaw, reflecting on the long day spent together.<\/p>\n At the end of the class, each guest takes home a jar of the Haitian epis that they made to marinate the meat and stir into the broth. The herbal, bright-green paste with garlic, lemon juice, pepper, oil and herbs such as curly parsley and rosemary is a staple in Haitian cuisine. Ordeus encourages her class to try it out at home.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a space where, not just Haitians, but everyone should get a chance to experience something different,\u201d Ordeus said. \u201cCome in and enjoy this space, I built it for you.\u201d<\/p>\n Ordeus will host her next cooking experience on October 3, with reservations available at her website, haitianko.com<\/a> . She can also be found on her Instagram, @haitiankokitchen<\/a>.<\/p>\n ![\"Bouyon,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1790899726_410_.jpeg\")
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