Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Andrea Andrews. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Andrea, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

The way I came up with the idea for Chef Mom Virtually is a great story. Before I tell you how it came about, I will walk you through where I was at the time. It is 2019, and I am a Personal Banker for a well-known bank. A career transition, guaranteed to bring me joy after working in every type of kitchen, from short-order cook, country club, personal chef, and school food service administration. The hospitality industry had changed, and I lost my passion to cook while becoming a “Door Dash Mom.” I preached about parents who allowed their children to be “Paper Bag Babies” (Fast Food Convenience). The pandemic caused many restaurants to be shut down. This made me grateful for returning to banking for job security. I was just shy of completing my first year on the job when I was informed our branch would be closed indefinitely. Great, here we go again! (I have been through 4 layoffs before this.) As I pondered my next move, my phone began to ring with calls from people asking for cooking advice and recipes to help them through the pandemic. I was in disbelief at the number of calls I was receiving. Then it hit me! I have to do something with this. I am a self-taught cook who attended Culinary school after the military. (Chef) I felt like a Momma giving out cooking advice. (Mom) It happened during the pandemic. (Virtually) I formed an LLC, and Chef Mom Virtually was born. A couple of my cheesecakes went viral on TikTok, I hit 300,000 views on YouTube in less than 30 days, and I made $2000 selling baked goods from home. Before I knew it, my passion was back! I was baking and doing what I loved to support my family. It realised how many people could not bake and preferred that someone else do it. The pandemic brought back cooking healthy meals at home. I helped people prepare easy meals for their families. My unique approach to understanding others helped me assist many people who had never cooked before. I was so excited to get my love of baking and cooking back.

Andrea, 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?

As a young child, my parents found me in the kitchen making food and trying new recipes. By the age of 6, I knew I wanted to become a chef. This, combined with growing up in huge families on both sides and having a family-style Sunday meal after church, was a staple for us. I made cheesecake with my Dad and helped my grandma cook all the family recipes. I went to culinary school after the military to get a degree in a field I loved. This accelerated my career in food service in the hospitality industry. My dad was an entrepreneur and followed in his footsteps by always doing side hustles to earn and save money. As a creative, I love combining old-fashioned recipes to create new dishes. I use my ability to understand people to fill in the gaps and provide specialty services with a VIP experience. What sets me apart from others is knowing that customer service and integrity are the core of everything you do, no matter where you are or what you are doing. What I am most proud of is building authentic connections and putting a smile on someone’s face just by being myself. The main things I want potential clients to know about me are that I specialize in pork-free comfort foods and gourmet desserts. I take pride in my work and look forward to bringing joy to others through service.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Oh boy, where do I start? I will share the time I was booked for a huge event. I was dealing with kidney stones at the time, and had just had a procedure to break up a large stone the size of the long part of an AirPod. I was told that all of the kidney stones had been removed and all was well. I woke up the morning of the event, and you guessed it, the kidney stones were passing. Those who know, know! To add fuel to the fire, I set the oven, and it would not heat up. I will not be defeated, so I found another oven to bake in; however, it was half the size of the regular oven I normally use. This doubled the baking time. When I arrived at the event, my phone was stolen. I kept it together and sold out of everything. This event allowed me to meet new supportive people and grow my business.

Any advice for managing a team?

My advice for managing a team and maintaining high morale is to know yourself and your why. Next, take the time to learn your team while learning what motivates them. Balance your staff by understanding their strengths and weaknesses. Set goals and allow the team to decide the rewards. This makes the employee feel valued and increases productivity.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefmomvirtually/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chefmomvirtually
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@chefmomvirtually

Image Credits

Andrea Andrews