FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – If you could smell it through the screen, you’d be drooling from the food that was served up at the Revolution Training Center on Wednesday afternoon. In honor of the upcoming Juneteenth Match on June 14 at Gillette Stadium, Family Affair Catering brought platters of Caribbean-fusion comfort food for the Revs to enjoy after training. Founded by mother-and-son duo, Hulda and Jermaine Tulloch, the two have been serving up delicious meals together for nearly a decade.
“My mom was always cooking,” JT said of his mother, who has worked in the catering business for more than 20 years. “I am more innovative, kind of wanting to do my own thing, while she is more of the classical cook.”
It’s the perfect combo, blending classic comfort food and Caribbean flavors, with out-of-the-box ideas like the puff pastry apple pie sandwich with a fried pork chop, which JT thought up in the middle of the night.
While there were no apple pie and pork chop sandwiches waiting for the players and staff on Wednesday afternoon, Family Affair brought a feast of barbecue ribs, stew beef, rosemary chicken, jerk chicken, sweet and sour meatballs, salmon with mango salsa, Caribbean soup, Jamaican chicken soup, and butternut squash au gratin. It was a meal for players to experience a blend of cultures, support a local business, and taste some delicious dishes.
“It’s great, I’m a big fan of Jamaican food and jerk chicken is probably my favorite thing and this is very good,” said Revolution defender Andrew Farrell, chicken leg in hand. “It’s awesome to have local businesses come and serve us some good food. After a hard training session, it’s a nice experience.”
Hulda now leads the catering company, as JT also works for the superintendent of Boston Public Schools – mentoring, guiding, and connecting students to opportunities in the area. For both, their passion lies not only in cooking, but in building connections and welcoming people into their family through food.
“I enjoy cooking. That’s a passion for me and if I could cater every day, I would,” said Hulda. “Our food is more fusion food, that is comforting. We take classic recipes and make them our own.”
For JT, fusion is all about blending cultures and experiencing something new. “I love that our food tells a story,” he said. “Not only do we want to mix people together on this Earth, but we can mix the flavors, too.”
Their food is more than just the result of passion, it’s truly representative of the name: a family affair. “Every time we feed people it’s like we are at a family gathering,” said JT. “So, we’re all family.”
Family Affair Catering will bring their meals far and wide for any event, big or small. To contact them or read more about JT and Hulda, visit their website.
The Revs will continue to honor the Juneteenth holiday throughout the month. The Juneteenth match next Saturday, June 14, will be played against FC Cincinnati as the Revs return home after a slew of road games to face off with the Orange-and-Blue once again at 7:30 p.m. ET.
