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

Alright, Katie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share a story with us from back when you were an intern or apprentice? Maybe it’s a story that illustrates an important lesson you learned or maybe it’s a just a story that makes you laugh (or cry)? Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style.

As a chef, you are always learning from others. Whether it be an actual internship where you are following another person around learning the ropes to a new restaurant, or helping make a staff meal with a steward who is showing you their mom’s lasagna recipe. After culinary school, I apprenticed at a wine bar where I learned about management, ordering, scheduling, as well as menu writing and recipe testing. I stayed on after the internship was over and worked there for a while. It was a very small place with a limited menu. I decided I wanted to further my skills and depth of cukinary knowledge, so I moved to New York City and took another internship with a large kitchen and brigade along with world wide awards and recognition. This is where I learned to rethink food and really break away from traditional ways of cooking and thinking about cooking. In the culinary world, we are always learning, and in the same, always teaching.

Katie, 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?

I graduated college with a degree in Psychology. While attending school, I was working in restaurants waiting tables and cooking. I fell in love with it and decided to pursue culinary arts after graduation. I worked in a lot of different settings including hotels, cafes, wine bars, and fine dining. I loved different aspects of all the positions I worked, but I always felt something was lacking. My family would always call and ask why something they cooked did not turn out well, or what could they substitute for an ingredient that they didn’t have, and I realized that I really liked talking about food and helping others cook and learn to enjoy cooking. This is how my business was born. I love teaching others all of the tips and tricks I have learned over the years, and introducing new flavor profiles and techniques and watching my clients go to love cooking instead of looking at it like a chore.

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

Being a chef requires a lot of physical labor. From being on your feet for over ten hours a day, putting away food orders, lifting heavy bags of flour, etc. Over time, my neck and back began to ache constantly and my hands and arms starting hurting as well. I woke up one morning, not able to move my arms without crying out in pain, so my sister took me to the emergency room where the doctors tested me for all sorts of things including carpal tunnel syndrome, to MS. After spending a few days in the hospital, they concluded that I had ruptured a disc in my neck due to heavy lifting and had to operate, putting screws and a plate in between two of my vertebrae in my neck. The pain did not subside after my discharge, so they kept running tests. After months and months of no answers, dealing with excruciating hand and arm pain, I took a genetics test and was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called HNPP. There is no cure for it, and over time, the nerves in my hands and arms with become weaker and weaker causing pain, numbness, and weakness. I try my best to change how I work, from breaking up my prep days, to taking more breaks throughout the day. Eventually this could cause permanent damage, meaning I will have to hang up my chef coat. I take my career and my business day by day. I remain positive that I will be working hands on for many years to come.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

What is really amazing about being a private chef is the start up cost. There really isn’t any. I began cooking in people’s homes on days that I was off from my sous chef job. The busier my business became, the busier I got because I still worked a salaried position. After a year of working 29 days a month, I stepped down as sous chef and took a part time job with a catering company in order to start putting the business first. I dreamed of the day I could quit and just work for myself. I started working less and less at the catering company, and more for myself. It was a major goal of mine to own my business and not have to work a second job to support myself. Now, 4 years later, I am supporting myself fully from the business, saving money and investing some for a new business venture I hope to start within the year.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.spicedculinarycreations.com
• Instagram: spicedculinarycreations
• Facebook: Spiced Culinary Creations LLC

Image Credits
Kellie Ross