KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.
—
Food, football and family have always been passions for Lucas Vincent — and now, they’ve converged in a new way.
Vincent, who was credited with 91 tackles, including six sacks, in 52 games with Mizzou football from 2011-14, stepped away from his career in education to take over his mom’s catering business, Just Another Catering Company, last spring.
“Cooking for people is my love language,” Vincent said.
That hasn’t always been the case. In fact, he forced himself to learn how to cook after getting in trouble shortly after his arrival in Columbia as a freshman in 2010.
“I was not in the dorms — did a dumb freshman thing and had some fireworks in there — so I moved in with some upperclassmen, and this was kind of before (the) unlimited training table, so I had to cook for myself,” Vincent said. “My mom (Genia's) a great cook, and I was accustomed to a certain standard of eating, so I'm like, it's either I learn how to cook or I'm going to starve here.”
A redshirt in his first season with the Tigers, Vincent’s apartment became the spot for his teammates to gather when the team was on the road.
“I spent that whole freshman year experimenting with food,” he said. “When the roommates were gone on road games, I had all the freshmen athletes over to my house and made a bunch of food. That's kind of how it started for me.”
During his college career, postgame tailgates also became an important time for team-bonding.
“My mom, she ran the tailgates,” Vincent said. “Just coming up after those early afternoon games and being with all of my teammates, their families, enjoying some food after a hard-fought victory there at Faurot (Field) — it was, you know, good times,” Vincent said.
With Vincent away at college, his mom started her catering company.
“She wasn't running around to football games and wrestling matches, everything like that, every weekend, so she had a lot of free time ... and, from there, blossomed into a restaurant that she owned in Warsaw, Missouri, for several years,” he said.
Vincent, who worked in various roles at his mom’s restaurant before she sold it and retired, went to camp with a couple of NFL teams after graduating from Mizzou.
Ultimately, he wound up in education — with teaching, mentoring and coaching both football and wrestling weighing on his time.
“I was in kind of a career transition, wanting to be able to spend more time with my family, which teaching and coaching were taking away from,” he said. “My mom was retiring, so it was kind of the perfect opportunity for me to step in and run the business.”
Now, he wants to help make sure your fall football tailgate is spectacular with the Chiefs’ first home game — a preseason battle against Chicago at 7 p.m. Friday on KSHB 41 News — and college football kicking off during the next few weeks.
“Early-season games, it's going to be hot, so you’re going to want something refreshing,” Vincent said of his game-day game plan.
Vincent said his million-dollar dip hits that mark like a Patrick Mahomes touchdown toss.
“You have a block of cream cheese, about a cup and a half of sour cream, garlic powder, salt, pepper, bacon, and then some chives in there, topped with some cheddar cheese as well,” he said.
For a creative spin on the tailgate, which often features burgers, hot dogs or pulled pork, Vincent said a good sandwich is hard to beat.
“Steak and ciabatta go really well together,” he noted.
Before sauteeing the steak in a pan, Vincent created a marinade with Dijon mustard, balsamic glaze and garlic. He made caramelized onions with butter and red wine to deglaze the pan after cooking the steak.
“You can add some provolone cheese and you can add some arugula,” Vincent said. “But I like to keep it a little simple — just some meat, onions and bread.”
A good tailgate doesn’t have to be fancy — just plentiful and fun, he said.
“Obviously, you’ve got to have a team that you care about,” Vincent said. “Everybody loves the food, so you’ve got to have a good menu. I like to do a little theme. If we're playing the Ravens — Raven wings — or the Buffalo Bills, throw a little buffalo sauce on it. Chow it down. ... The worst thing you can do at a tailgate is run out of food, so you want to make sure you're like, ‘OK, I’ve got this many people. I want to have this much food’ ... and that everybody's having a good time — just enjoying some football. Best time of the year.”
If you don’t feel like preparing tailgate food, Vincent said Just Another Catering Company is happy to do the work for a pregame spread, wedding or other special event, like a fantasy football draft.
Find Vincent and Just Another Catering Company on Facebook, Instagram or Yelp.
—
