We were lucky to catch up with Alekka Sweeney recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alekka, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

When I lived in Chicago I owned a pastry school for a decade-I eventually sold it and said I was NEVER going to own my own business again. I moved to Pittsburgh because I was hired to be an pastry instructor at a culinary school. I was also hired to teach at William’s Sonoma and a few other local cooking schools. Then Covid happened and I lost all those jobs in 24 hours.
I had to pivot because the restaurant business was basically shut down indefinitely. I had some working parent friends that needed help with meals so I started to deliver weekly meals to them. Then my name was put onto a local Facebook page and my business EXPLODED. After a year I felt like I was losing my love for food because I had so many families I was cooking for.
I decided to go back to my first loves which are teaching cooking classes and hosting parties. I kept three of the families that hired me in the beginning of Covid and I went full force into teaching in-home cooking classes and private events in clients homes. That’s is how Chef Alekka LLC was started. I own my own business again :)

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I got into cooking at a very young age and was encouraged by my parents to drop out of college at age 22 and go to culinary school. I have been in the restaurant industry to 30 years now. I did not chose the pastry route as it chose me being a young intern at a restaurant that got put into the pastry kitchen. After a couple of years a friend who worked at Sur La Table asked me if I wanted to teach a cake decorating class-and I never looked back-I had found my calling as a teacher. I was say as I was teaching that some students didn’t feel comfortable asking questions in a group setting or said they would not recreate the recipes at home as they did not own the fancy equipment at the school. So I decided to bring the class to clients homes. After doing this I noticed that I was booking more cake decorating classes then any others. With a capital investment from my parents I decided to open up my own school in Chicago.

I am most proud of the business I built, and the many students I have taught. I love teaching a person a new skill or technique that they have always wanted to know. Now as a private chef I can add on being part of peoples special events and celebrations by providing customized menus for each client.

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

I decided to sell my business in Chicago after my Mom got sick. I realized I had my priorities all wrong, with my career being number one. During that time I was also going through a separation/divorce from my ex-husband. In three months, I sold my business, got divorced and moved to a different state to be closer to my family.

The jobs I had in Pittsburgh I lost after Covid. So I decided to go back to basics and start over with cooking for a few families.

After three years here I now have another business.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

As a woman starting a small food related business, getting the initial capital investment was not an easy journey. Most banks wanted collateral I did not have and my business partner was not willing to put up her house (completely understandable)
I had spent most of my own money on a business plan, website development and basic licensing.

My Dad approached me and proposed an investment from my parents. With a lawyer we came up with a payment schedule that I would pay off within the first three year of the business being open.

Contact Info:

• Website: chefalekka.com
• Instagram: @chefalekkapgh
• Facebook: Chef Alekka LLC
• Linkedin: Alekka Sweeney
• Twitter: @ChefAlekka

Image Credits
All the images I provided were shot and edited by Jeronimo Creative.