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

Alright, Chef Jessica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

I come from a long line of hard working women. My mother especially, her sisters and their mother and leading the way, our grandmothers. I joined the military to help me get ahead and soften the blow of extra hard work and debt. Years later, I was honorably discharged with benefits that the great women before me didn’t recieve. I then decided to work overseas in a war zone and start on my first college degree online. I worked 12 to 15 hour days with literally no days off for months at a time. I took on that way of life for 7 years. During those years I started to accommodate my interest and curiosities with food and pastries. Soon after a future chef had emerged and I let that light lead the way throughout my life. I decided to quit my six figure job in Afghanistan and take the risk and bet on myself. I felt I could offer more to my family, friends and the people around me and myself by indulging more into my passion and giving that back.

Chef Jessica, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Positive vibes, everyone! I’m Chef Jess owner of GorJess Cupcakes and GorJess Kitchen.

I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, raised in Texas and proudly served in the U.S. Army. As a veteran I was given the opportunity to work and travel overseas for 11 years in total. During that time, I was able to experience foods from all over the world and soon after my curiosity for eating delicious food became my passion for cooking it.

As a graduate of The Art Institute of Atlanta, I’ve enhanced my culinary and baking and pastry skills to a new level and I’m passionate about sharing my purpose with everyone. Over the last three years I’ve transitioned into a healthier eating lifestyle that has consisted of me learning how to master applying flavor into fulfilling vegetarian and vegan dishes.

I offer a range of services to accommodate numerous lifestyles. From beautiful custom cakes, meal prepping and catering private and corperate events. For the vegetarians and vegans who are apart of the movement and for those transitioning, I’m your chef.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I started my business in October of 2018, I had no clue what I was doing and at the time I wasn’t 100% all in just yet. I was slowly building my brand and trying to educate myself on the right moves to make. In 2019 I decided to enroll into culinary school to better my craft and sharpen my skills in the kitchen. Then BOOM! Covid shocked the world! Every month more unfortunate things happened, not only did attending school change, the education that I invested in wasn’t paying off. I was no longer in class interacting with my peers and professionals or getting hands on training. A few months later my concept of making cupcakes in a jar had vanished. Due to everyone being at home and taking up extracurricular activities, mason jars were flying off of the shelf and had become a nationwide backorder. At the time, my dream of being a successful entrepreneur was slowly dying and had come to a complete halt.

Fast forward to current day and we’re back up, running and better than before. We’ve expanded our services beyond cupcakes in a jar and we’ve even transitioned to vegan! Im so proud of myself for not letting my dreams die with the pandemic. Being resilient even years later has been the ultimate reward in contributing to my success,

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

During the early stages of covid my relationship with food drastically changed. From not having meat on the shelves at grocery stores and prices increasing during the pandemic forced a changed for me. The more time I spent indoors researching and educating myself, I decided to make a leap and convert my diet for the better. First pescatarian, then vegetarian and now vegan. The change I had taken on for my personal life also affected my business. Simply put, you can’t be a vegan and not sell vegan foods and desserts. 2022 had been all about pivoting in everyday real life. Converting my favorite meals and recipes into vegan has not been easy but it has been worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.GorJessCupcakes.com
• Instagram: GorJess_Cupcakes
• Linkedin: Jessica Vinziant