Meet NaTosha Barber | Owner and Executive Chef for 210 Fusion Cuisine

We had the good fortune of connecting with NaTosha Barber and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi NaTosha, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I have always enjoyed cooking, since I was a child. Coming from a single parent home, my brother and I would always cook for my mom before she would get home from work. After working 12 years in the insurance industry, I want to pursue my passion for cooking. I would initially do a few small events for friends and one day I was offered to do a black tie event in 2017 for Lesbians of Color (LOC) and word got out about 210 Fusion Cuisine and business took off. I quit my day job and pursued my dream.What should our readers know about your business?
210 Fusion Cuisine is a catering company that takes dishes from many cultures and infuses a cajun/creole and southern comfort feel to it. Starting your own company is never easy and adding the Pandemic to the situation doesn’t make it any easier. At the beginning of 2020 my calendar qas filled up through August with many big events, but when the country shutdown all of those disappeared. I had to step back and reinvent my brand. I started offering weekly lunch plates and cooking classes via zoom. The biggest transformation was taking advantage of restaurants having to close and offering a social distance private dinner as an option. Through the last year I’ve learned that every plan has a plan B, you just have to adjust how you get your product out to the public. Also it’s important to give back to your community. I donate meals to Montrose Grace Place ( provides food and clothing to lgbtqia+ youth) every quarter and also donated meals to displaced families impacted by Hurricane in my hometown, Lake Charles Louisiana.Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Most likely they would want me to cook, but we woukd probably hit up Gus’s Fried Chicken on Washington. Some of the spots I like to attend are the drag shows at Hamburger Mary or Karaoke at Buddy’s. Any LOC event going on is the place to be, whether it’s a black tie event or simple game night, they offer all types of social events with great entertainment and food.Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are a few people that deserves recognition for the success of 210 Fusion Cuisine. My mother, Ernestine Barber, for showing me that i could express myself through cooking. She was probably the bravest mom in the world with some of the creations she ate from me when I was a youth. A special thanks to Kendra Walker and my LOC family for stepping out on faith and providing me an opportunity to share my passion through food and referring others to me. Also a special thanks to my girlfriend, Christina Wells and David Wuensch of Kwirx Creative. They have been very supportive with helping me with rebranding and advertising. Especially using social media as a tool to get the word out about the services I offer. Christina has been such a big support of what I’m trying to grow into.

Website: Www.210fusion.com

Instagram: 210fusion

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/210Fusion/

Image Credits
Head shot credit to Natasha Gorel