Zicklin Alum Pivots from Computers to Comfort Food

When Jai Kiah (BBA, ’25) finished her BBA degree last spring, she never expected to wind up launching a culinary venture. But the former computer information systems (CIS) major soon found herself on the road to Taste City.

Taste City and its affiliate, Karri & Co. Bakery (named for Jai’s three-year-old son), is Jai’s home-based food business, which serves up chicken Alfredo, mac ’n’ cheese, peach cobbler, “Harlem’s best” cheesecake, hibachi-grilled shrimp, and other fare, plus drinks with names like Lemon Blvd. and Sugar Hill Tea.

At a recent Lawrence N. Field Center event promoting Baruch entrepreneurs, Jai handed out samples of her flavored shortcakes and cheesecakes to passersby while she answered questions from a Zicklin News reporter.

Zicklin News: How did you start Taste City and Karri & Co.?

Jai Kiah: I was working as a cashier and security guard at Five Below, the discount retail store. My co-workers said the food I brought to work smelled good, so I let them sample some, and then they started asking me to cook for them! So I did, and that’s how it began.

ZN: That’s amazing. Are they family recipes?

JK: Most are my own and developed through trial and error, though some are modified versions of family recipes—like my mac ’n’ cheese recipe, which I learned from my mom and grandma.

Jai used the Field Center’s 3D printer to build a model of Taste City, her future restaurant.

ZN: Did your college experience help you with building your business?

JK: Definitely. I used the Field Center’s 3D printers to create a Taste City diorama as my final project for my art minor. I used my CIS skills to create my website and all the SEO, cybersecurity, etc. I leaned heavily on what I learned from Lubens Bonhomme’s Information Technology Audit class (CIS 4350), especially when thinking about protecting customer information.

ZN: Awesome! What’s next for you?

JK: I’m already catering private events, but I have bigger fish to fry—I plan to beef up Taste City and Karri & Co. into a food truck and physical restaurant.

Categories: Alumni, Alumni News, Faculty, News