Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Aly Romero. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Aly, appreciate you joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea
My culinary journey happened very organically, starting about the time I got married and wanted to feed our family delicious and creative dinners. My dad would come to visit my husband and I from New Zealand and would always stay for a few months. We had the best time cooking together over a glass of wine, he taught me so much about cooking and food. I lost him in 2013 and decided to keep on keeping on, in his honor, but also because he had sparked a real interest and I was inspired to continue cooking. I enrolled in culinary school to take classes while our kids were in school, I just wanted to keep learning. At that time in 2016, I started my food blog website, www.AlyRomero.com. I knew I wanted to share recipes with the world, to put it out there and just to see where it might go. Publishing my content on social media lead to opportunities that have paved the way for continued growth and success.
Soon after I started my food blog, I was contacted by a producer from The Chew who asked me to compete virtually in their “You on The Chew” Recipe Showdown by submitting a recipe, photos of myself and my dish along with a video vowing to take down the competition. Watching the chefs on the show make my dish, taste it and then getting the winning votes from the viewer judges was amazing to watch on t.v. My social media presence and website also lead to appearing live in a couples cook off competition on Good Morning America where my husband and I competed against another couple and my recipe won Ayesha Curry’s pick as the top culinary couple in America. In 2020, I competed on Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race in Alaska as a member of Meatball Mamas, it was SO cold, but one of the most amazing experiences!
At the same time, during all of these amazing culinary experiences, I decided to take my love, passion and experience and develop it into my own Private Chef business. I started cooking for private, more intimate events like milestone birthdays, special occasions and corporate events. It is my ultimate goal to provide each of my clients a personalized menu that they and their guests will love! It was an amazing moment when I realized that I could turn what I absolutely loved doing into my own business, that just evolved as it grew. I think my dad would be so proud!
Aly, 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’m Aly Romero, a Private Chef, Brand Ambassador and soon-to-be Cookbook Author! I have 20+ years of culinary experience, coming from a variety of sources. My learning has been a combination of being self-taught, reading cookbooks, magazines and watching any and all programming on tv I could, culinary school and everything I learned from my dad before he passed away. As a Private Chef, I offer restaurant-like dining experiences in the comfort of your own home with a menu we personally design together. I do the shopping, prepping, cooking, serving and I always clean as I go. So, all you have to do is sit back and enjoy your special occasion with your guests!
I also work part-time cooking for one family in Dallas, I cook dinner for them a few nights a week and then also prepare breakfast and lunch grab and go type options for the fridge, so they are stocked up for the rest of the week. My appearances on Good Morning America, The Chew and Food Network have lead to many opportunities as I continue to grow my business, which has been very exciting and a lot of fun! I share a lot of my recipes on my website www.AlyRomero.com and on my social media pages. In addition, I have worked as a Brand Ambassador with companies such as Hestan Culinary and Traeger Grills. It’s been amazing to turn my love of cooking into something I can share with others in so many ways! Creating recipes has always been one of my favorite things to do and I’m so proud to say that I’m currently working on my first cookbook, which has been a longtime dream for me, it will be published in spring 2024!
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
March of 2020 when COVID hit and at that time, we were living in the SF Bay Area in CA. Our kids last day of school was March 13, 2020 and no one knew how this period of time would bring everything to a screeching halt! Cooking in people’s homes was obviously off the table at that time, so I had to think of another way to continue my business. I decided to offer online cooking classes, mainly as corporate events. Since there were still holiday parties, end of quarter celebrations and team building events that could not be done in person, it was the perfect way to have an event “together” while everyone was apart. I would create the menu and everyone would gather the ingredients, we would sign in over zoom and I started cooking and teaching from my kitchen. At the end of the class, everyone could enjoy the same meal together with their family and have some fun along the way while learning some new recipes, and helpful hints. I love teaching cooking, for me it’s just something I feel so comfortable with and I love sharing what I know to help others.
How did you build your audience on social media?
For me, social media has been incredibly valuable to growing my business! Since it really all started out in 2016 through word of mouth, I wanted to share recipes and kitchen techniques to reach the broadest audience I could. I started my website www.AlyRomero.com, my instagram AlyRomero and FB page Aly Romero, Private Chef. Although I am still focused on growing my social media presence daily, it takes patience and persistence. It definitely doesn’t happen overnight and posting and sharing needs to be done on a consistent basis in order to grow, which is not something everyone may have time for while balancing a career and family life. I believe it’s just putting your skills and talents out there and seeing where it may lead!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.AlyRomero.com
- Instagram: AlyRomero
- Facebook: Aly Romero, Private Chef
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aly-romero-834430159/
- Twitter: @CookingWithAly
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6CZyHZGIR7L9wJRfM005jw
- Yelp: Aly Romero, Private Chef