We were lucky to catch up with Ashanta Sims recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ashanta, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

THE PANDEMIC BOUGHT FEAR TO MOST BUT TO ME, it bought SUCCESS!

I took a leap of faith and that decision was between God and I! I starting working for the Airlines straight out of Highschool. I just knew that Customer service was where Id be for my life long career! I truly enjoyed working as a customer service agent but that was not Gods plan! 2020 we were all heavily impacted by the pandemic! Our lives changed everyday and so many decisions had to be made! I was forced to stay home with my child as schools were closed and I just had to get into something productive! I started selling plates to my friends for fun and extra money! I never had a prior passion for cooking but I knew that I was great at it! I was so taken back and excited about the reviews that I was receiving! People from my community truly loved my food so I decided to take it further! A couple of ladies one day took a chance on me and asked me to cook the food for a gathering they were having! I did and I conquered! That party lead me to more and more people and before I knew it, I have a full blown catering business with a 5 star rating! I’ve Catered for Several Celebrities, Police Departments, The Mayor of Seattle, The NAACP, Several corporate businesses including META Facebook and more! The food is great but my expertise in Customer Service took it FURTHER! This is meant for me! I then went back to school to further my success and to sharpen my knife! Everyday is a learning experience and I am constantly growing in this business! I’m building a Brand and In the Pacific Northwest it is a Household name.

Ashanta, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Ashanta Sims, but I am formally known as Chef Red. I am 33 years old, a Mother, sister, and friend. I’m from El Paso, Texas, but I was raised in Lakewood Washington. My family was a military for a long time and Lakewood was the final destination. Growing up, my mother was a hard working single woman taking care of my sister and I. My mother raised us to be strong, she raised us to be fighters, and she raised us to have purpose in our lives. Growing up, I had many dreams to be so many different things. I thought I would be a singer But God didn’t bless me with the voice. I thought I’d be a lawyer, I tried to go to school for that, but I realized I didn’t enjoy anything that did not involve my hands. I fell into the airlines out of high school, and I stayed there because I was good at it, I enjoyed it, and it truly made me smile when I solve the issues with customers or just put a smile on others faces! I never thought I’d become a Chef! I never thought I had so much passion for food and feeding others! I found joy in Food! When I launched my Food business I had no idea that it would take me so far. I cook with love and my clients Feel that love! I often get asked how I came up with the name “Come Eat Daddy 💋”. In my world, “Daddy” Is a term of endearment And in so ways my name represents me. Not to mention, it’s extremely catchy! I love the reactions from most that I receive once I tell them the name of my business! My catering business specializes in Sea and soul food however, anything with a recipe I can succeed with. I am so proud of how far that I have come with this brand because one thing I never did was give up! With every business, there are slow months! When you’re dealing with people, not everyone is going to be satisfied! There’s always room for improvement! But I stand by my professionalism, especially with the name that I have and my corrective actions is strong if I am ever in the wrong! I’d like to thank the airlines For the education that I received in customer service! Amazing customer service Is the glue to my foundation and of course, the amazing delicious, and beautiful food. My only and gold in this life is to have something to give to my son and for my son to give something to his children to carry on a proud legacy for my family to cherish for many years and years to come.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

A lot of people understand how much social media is a major influence in running a successful business. People Are constantly in their phones. I learned to market myself in a way that you have to stop scrolling and see what I have going on! We are all adults here right?! The way that I market My food is new and in a lot of ways it is very sexy! I like to use the term Food porn. Have you ever just looked at something that looks so good that you’re literally salivating? That’s what my food does! We eat with our EYES first! I set a tone! I set the mood! From the music playing in the background to the lighting displayed over it, to the angles and to the slow motion of the way, I operate my camera for the visual of my social media fans! With Social media you have to be consistent, but you also have to always keep up with everything that’s new. It’s OK to follow the trend, but it’s so important to have your own originality. It keeps my fans excited for what’s next! Come Eat Daddy 💋 LLC fresh, New, and sexy as hell!!

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients for me has been the word-of-mouth! I also believe that New customers enjoy the fact that I have celebrity clients as well. It’s amazing that I am cooking for the people that we grew up, loving! My word-of-mouth is very effective! When you do good business, people want to brag about you and when you, they brag good things about you. It’s like a wildfire. I’m constantly proving to Myself and others that I am amazing at what I do!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Comeeatdaddy.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/comeeatdaddy