We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marissa Fisk. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marissa below.

Marissa , appreciate you joining us today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

I have three influential people that I would consider my culinary heroes. My Argentine grandmother, my mother, & my step mom.

My grandma gave me the connection with farm to table cooking & seasonal shopping. The way she connected the family with a well planned meal .She was excited to love on others as they came to the table. It sparked many conversations. A place
grandparents could mentor us, and a meal that would uplift your soul. I watched her techniques in the kitchen and the way she would meal prep and plan. The recipes she created and the reason behind them. Everything she cooked in the kitchen was driven with purpose. She always ended a verbal recipe saying now “remember to always cook with love”. I have an incredible memory so I have stored her recipes in my heart.

My mother is very chic & elegant. From a small age she taught me the art of gourmet food. One year we won the Mother Daughter Picnic at school and was featured in our local town newspaper. She had planned the most fantastic picnic with healthy vibrant food. She was way ahead of her time in teaching me about healthy food & the importance of quality ingredients. She has a fine palette and without her I wouldn’t have my fanciness. She exposed me to the worlds of fine dining, international cuisine, and as I got older she educated me on the importance of great wine & beer paired with each meal. She has a perfectionism in all she does that I so badly wanted to emulate. It helped me to see the small details one often over looks.

My step mom influenced my love for Southern Cooking. She is from the South and exposed me to my first oysters on the half shell, hush puppies, and the best fried crab sandwiches you will ever eat. Her passion and families love of Southern Cuisine awakened my soul. I fell in love with the South. I am always working on my recipes so I can understand my region of cooking. Southern hospitality is my being.

These women in their own way influenced me as a chef where I could not be as successful and hold the talent I do without them. They guided me at a young age and I didn’t even know it. It was so interwoven into my life. I am so thankful. It’s been a heck of a journey for me.

My heroes taught me the importance of women cooking in the home, bringing others together even strangers, and loving them well through cooking and the art of entertaining. A lost art if you ask me.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

Marissa Fisk Catering offers grazing boxes, picnic boxes, charcuterie boards & tables, charcuterie classes, in house private chef services including meal prep services for breakfast, brunch, lunch, apps, & dinner. Coursed fine dining farm too fork dinner parties + Platters for delivery & elegant family style.
Full Service Catering (Breakfast+Brunch+Lunch+Apps & Snacks+Dinner+ Dessert.
Recipe and Food Content Creator + Food Photography & Styling Services.

We cater retreats. We offer family meals weekly including dressings, sauces, jams, dips, 5 meal salad prep, casseroles and more. We custom create each meal. Chef Marissa does small batch cooking. Sources local and organic as possible. She is trained in International + Healthy + Gourmet Cuisine.

I started in the restaurant business at a very young age. Originally I went to school for art & singing. I switched gears and started as an event planner. After developing a gluten free banana bread & homemade seasonal strawberry jam I opened my first farmers market business. In 2010, I was asked to cater lunches to high end hair salons in Beverly Hills CA where I met my celebrity clientele. My catering company evolved into full service catering. I would source farm to table meal prep along with my baked goods, raw juices, soups, jams, etc. I worked for movie sets, meetings, parties, events and gatherings.

We moved to Austin Texas in 2012 for family & a slower pace of country living. In 2016, I relaunched Marissa Fisk Catering & Modern Mom Chef Blog. I am most proud of how hard I have worked to reinvent myself in a new state; something I didn’t know I was capable of. I am grateful for the incredible clients I am blessed to work for. This has been much harder to do now with two children but I am dedicated to my work and my family. This is not my mom side hustle or hobby. Cooking, baking, gardening, photography, and creating is my career and I get to contribute to raising my girls with my loving husband. Thank you for supporting my locally woman owned business to teach my girls women can work and still be in the home. It’s an opportunity to pray for all my clients and help them heal health issues through beautiful healthy uplifting real food. It’s level of service different then others provide because of my training, background, experience, and spiritually driven purpose to serves others and the Lord. My business has taken on a ministry of its own in the daily meals to help assist others in their times of need for nourishing food.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The hardest thing to overcome was people intentionally competing with my business from stealing ideas, strategies, concepts, art, creativity, and my clients. People can be ruthless and it can come from people in your community that you love and care about or aggressive online stockers.

It’s a gift I have inherited and a talent I am clear now that others just admire and want some of the gift and sometimes lack that creativity within. I have worked to develop my skills and that takes years not a once or twice online food blog recipe. Real people eat my food. I now know I just inspire them in finding their voices even if it isn’t the way I go about my business. For me it’s a moral code of ethics I hold. I firmly believe everyone can shine in their own lane. I am an emotional caring artist first and it’s a vulnerable place to share your visions and art with the world.

I became resilient when I gave it to the Lord. I know it all comes from him and I just focus on my art regardless of what comes my way. This has kept me strong and confident in my purpose that I take seriously. When you have worked most of your adult life in a specific career that feeds your soul it’s deeper then jealousy or people who are going to hate on you for gifts. You learn to stand strong and be proud. My natural state would be to be more reclusive not share but I know this world needs more Artists and more beauty and this is one of my contributions so I rise. Each day with my purpose. Happy to be where I am and what I have achieved and look forward to what will be created next. Now thats exciting!!

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

I started my online presence through IG and Facebook. I share my daily life in the world of cooking, baking, art, decor, biblical inspiration, and mom life and being a modern homemaker and connecting with others on the daily journey of life in Austin Texas specifically Dripping Springs. I find my business grows on line from authentic following and they are so loyal. I am lucky this has helped my local business so much. It does take a supportive community and on my end I give 150 percent of my energy when working. I am a bit of a perfectionist. At first I was just looking to do more Social and less in person cooking hyper focused on product but after Covid I needed to serve so many facing health challenges and my community shaped my business from my art that was just put out there. It took on an authentic life of its own something important to us 4 enneagrams.

I am working on my recipes, books, products and more. It’s one day at a time with littles.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.marissafiskcatering.com www.modernmomchef.com
• Instagram: Modern Mom Chef
• Facebook: Marissa Fisk Catering & Modern Mom Chef
• Youtube: Modern Mom Chef