Houma chef K.J. Townsend bounces back from kidney transplant, opens food truck

An artist stands behind a griddle, his medium of choice. He adds red and green peppers from a cutting board, his easel. They sizzle beside white onions, aromas mingling in the white steam above. This masterpiece is meant not just to be looked at, but also eaten.

"Cooking for him is his art," Alice Townsend, his wife of 13 years, said. "It's like a blank canvas."

Houma chef K.J. Townsend quickly found a crowd of hungry fans after overcoming a double amputation and kidney transplant. In a small red food truck, Fat Boy Phillies, parked on Main Street, he held his soft opening Saturday at Twinfest Louisiana.

This soft-opening was to help him prep for the big day Tuesday. He said he would open from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., have a lunch break and return about 5 p.m. and cook into the late evening, depending on crowd size. The truck will be parked at Quisine Quarters, 6670 W Main St. in Houma.

Townsend's three big meals are the Fat Boy Philly, the Mac Daddy and the Boo Special. The Fat Boy Philly is a Philly cheesesteak with peppers and Townsend's blend of seasons. The Boo Special, is a loaded seafood potato, fried fish and cream sauce combo named after his cousin's favorite dish. And the Mac Daddy is a mountain of fries tossed with a sweet thai chili sauce and served on top of macaroni and cheese.

"It tastes like heaven on a plate," A.B. Bradley of Houston said while eating the Mac Daddy.

The line grew throughout the festival, and Townsend and his family kept turning out meals. His wife was working the prep table, he kept the meals rolling, and his son, Tre'John Singleton, worked the window.

Being back in a kitchen meant the world to Townsend, he said. It is work, but it's a labor of love.

"I'm in my element, baby," Townsend said.

He's bouncing back from a kidney transplant that took place in December. Townsend lost his right leg leg back in 2015, and in 2021 complications began to arise and he had his other leg removed as well. The medication for the amputations impacted his kidney, and he's been on dialysis ever since.

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He was cooking burgers for a local church, Residence Baptist Church Dec. 16, the day before the Christmas parades that Sunday. The following Monday he received a call to show up the following morning.

"The ironic part about it, that August I went in for a check up, they told me it would be five more years before I even made it to the top of the list," he said.

He formed a support group for local amputees called One Step Closer, which meets the second Tuesday of every month and can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4468993499870561.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Houma chef bounces back from kidney transplant, opens food truck