Hometown celebrity chef Katie Dixon to debut food truck Thursday in Brookhaven

Published 3:21 pm Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Celebrity chef Katie Dixon will serve some of her signature foods over a two-hour window Thursday in Brookhaven. She will have her new food truck in front of J. Allan’s Furniture, 219 South Jackson St., from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.

“My restaurant manager in Hattiesburg and I have a new venture with a food truck we’re going to use for like pop-up events,” Dixon said. “I thought what better place to kick it off than in Brookhaven, in the community that has loved on me for so long.”

The daughter of Henry and Vickie Newman of Brookhaven, Dixon is a Brookhaven Academy alum. She has accomplished many things, including being a finalist on MasterChef season 7 and Food Network Star season 14.

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“On the show, they wanted me to be the Southern belle, but I didn’t want to make Southern fried chicken, because that’s not what I’m passionate about,” she said in 2020. “When I decided to make healthy chicken, I knew I might not win the show, but opportunities came from that. The good Lord made us all different. Dare to be authentically you.”

The busy chef recently published her first cookbook, “Be Nourished.”

Dixon was Lincoln County Miss Hospitality and Mississippi’s Miss Hospitality in 2002. She credited Kay Burton for pushing her to enter the local competition.

She opened the Birdhouse Café in 2017 in Hattiesburg, offering healthy takes on traditional, Southern foods, as well as a range of power foods. Dixon also offers a full service meal prep program, event catering and cooking classes.

The food truck will offer a limited menu.

“We will have sweet treats, pulled pork sandwiches, a variety of things. But when we sell out, we sell out,” Dixon said. “Hopefully it will be a big event. People can come grab a quick lunch and visit, catch up.”