Trap Kitchen: Bangin' Recipes from Compton

“Soon after the neighborhood got wind of Trap Kitchen’s impeccable service, celebrities caught on to the food craze . . . Tyresexa0was an early client, and now the duo boasts a star-studded clientele includingxa0Justin Bieber,xa0Dave Chappelle,xa0Chris Brown, Common (pictured above),xa0Tyga,xa0Kylie Jenner,xa0Kendall Jenner,xa0Ice Cube,xa0Anthony Anderson,xa0Kanye West,xa0Kim Kardashian,xa0Post Malone,xa0The Rootsxa0andxa0August Alsina.” — Billboard “Anything but conventional—but then again, the culinary come-up of Malachi Jenkins and Roberto Smith was anything but conventional. Part recipe collection and part autobiography, the Trap Kitchen book details the duo’s rise from gang life to cooking for the likes ofxa0Snoopxa0andxa0Kendrick Lamar. xa0They also make food fun. Hands-down, it’s the most enjoyable read on this list.” — Time Out “Jenkins and Smith, who once belonged to rival L.A. gangs, became friends and started a catering business marketed solely on Instagram. Media outlets took notice, as didxa0Snoop Doggxa0andxa0Martha Stewart, paving the way for their debut cookbook” — Publishers Weekly “Two gang members from rival hoods have joined forces to prove that trapping can be a legitimate come up.” — Huffington Post “With more than 284,000 followers on Instagram, Trap Kitchen is a true Los Angeles success story . . . The media eventually got a whiff of the venture and business immediately exploded. Jenkins has since catered for the likes ofxa0Snoop Dogxa0andxa0Tyrese—evenxa0Martha Stewart.” — LA Weekly “Some of the most successful business models spring out of creating new from the ordinary. For the creators of the Trap Kitchen, that’s exactly what they did. By creating a full-service, underground catering business, two Compton, California-based young men have experienced the power of social media, scrappy business and good food . . . Their success quickly moved beyond the streets of Compton, gaining attention, and creating customers out of notable celebrities likexa0Tyga,xa0The Game,xa0Kendrick Lamarxa0and more, who now turn to the Trap Kitchen to cater their parties.” — Forbes “Soon, people started placing orders and slowly, their catering business Trap Kitchen LA was birthed.” — Vibe “ . . . dishes are as diverse as his 236,000 Instagram followers.” — Vice Malachi Jenkinsxa0andxa0Roberto Smith are childhood friends from neighboringxa0rival gangs, brought together by their two passions: food and girls. Today they are the co-founders and owners ofxa0Trap Kitchen LA. The underground culinaryxa0experience was completely fueled off Instagram. Their colorful past has made them media darlings, having appeared on the Today Show,xa0Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party ,xa0VICE, The Huffington Post ,xa0Fox 11 News, andxa0BET. They are also the authors of the Trap Kitchen line of cookbooks, including the original Trap Kitchen: Bangin' Recipes from Compton and Trap Kitchen: Mac N' All Over the World . Marisa Mendez is a media personality and journalist who has built her reputation around all things digital, working for some of the biggest names in entertainment and hip-hop. The New Jersey native is most recognized for her work as the co-hostxa0ofxa0Joe Budden's I'll Name This Podcast Later , at Hot 97xa0onxa0Ebro In The Morning , and as a writer onxa0Funkmaster Flex's blog, In Flex We Trust . After leaving Joe's podcast, Marisa launched her own, Marisa Explains It All ,xa0which hit number one on iTunes' Music Podcasts chart after just two episodes. In addition to her career on the mic, she is also a digital strategist, and has managed social media campaigns forxa0Pusha T's clothing line Play Cloths,xa0French Montana, Swizz Beatz, Nicki Minajxa0and more.