We recently connected with Andeshia Catore Grant and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Andeshia Catore, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

I would love to confidently express that the consistency of my business and clientele is built heavily on follow up and follow through. When I have conversations with chefs and business owners who haven’t been thriving well in this industry, the common denominator I noticed is the inability to continue check in and check up relationships with the client (individual or company) after the invoice is paid and event is executed. I have a system that’s both personal and technological based where I collect the data from my emails and invoices that shifts to a layout that allows me to be able to send out thank you cards via mail or email at my discretion. I also noticed that many independent businesses haven’t set up a google or yelp page. In todays market, everything is review or referral based so by sending out a email or text to the company or client for a google review it shows them that their input is valued while making me accountable and aware of the level of service I have rendered.
I like to believe the majority of my clients have become what I like to call “Framily”.
I am known to surprise my repeat clients or my clients who are undergoing hardships or that have children with a food spread to hold them over a few days, courtesy of me at no charge. This internally makes me feel good and it lets them know they are valued and appreciated for keeping me as their chef over time and referring me to others. I believe I take a more personal approach to my business and that has separated me from many other businesses of the like.
I have spoken to a few in my industry and the topic of how I approach engagement after an event is a non existent thought for them to do, and many don’t feel it’s needed once they have rendered the service. I feel food and personality is therapeutic for myself and the clients, so to not show appreciation genuinely can be the deterrent in how you maintain consistent relationships and stay booked.

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

My full name is Andeshia Catore Grant. Catore seems to be the name used most so to many I am Chef Catore. I truly never imagined owning a business, let alone in culinary and traveling as a chef was my destination. As a former foster child from a very young age and exiting the system I’m adulthood, I always wanted to be a super social worker. I wanted to assist youth in the property transition from foster care into society and be a mentor during and after. I did do this for over 10 years with the agency I was in foster care with and I want to believe that the universe felt my time was up and decided to sit me wayyyyy down because at that time I didn’t really pay attention to my body and any signs that were telling me a shift was needed. One day at work I was very dizzy and my vision was blurry. I kept telling myself it was exhaustion from working so diligently with my company. Well, that dizziness turned into me passing out at work and going to urgent care. The next day and days after my body started to give out on me and my head started pounding as if a power drill was sounding off. My neurologist at that time couldn’t figure out why my body was malfunctioning to where eventually I ended up on bed rest and deemed partially paralyzed and had to take a leave from work on temporary disability.
Long story bare-able, I had a pseudo tumor that grew into a pea sized brain tumor which led to surgeries. Admits all these changes my lawyer at the time told me that once I healed I should go to culinary school since I wouldn’t be returning to my job. I decided to go to business entrepreneurship school and a first time business owners course over a few weeks then finally culinary school. That set the trajectory for my path and a chef was born lol.

I focus heavily on being a chef with no set “signature dish”. Maybe one day I’ll figure that out but for now I enjoy being a curator of all things and an open mind to continuing to learn from others and the business on new strategies and techniques to continue to provide excellent service and a variety of food options that fit all clients that request my services. I started off heavily on soul food as my main food choices to render. I am now a lover of halal, kosher, bread making, a lover of sauces and exploring all cultures of food depending on my clients likes (Caribbean, Indian, Mediterranean, Italian, Latin etc).
I have a product line of garlic butters that I absolutely enjoy making, I started off with seasonings and hot sauces but soon realized not to take on so much so soon and stick to what your known for. That mindset has reduced stress and anxiety with being able to produce in a timely fashion.
As a chef and a person who prides myself on being as close to perfect as possible, I value that my clients feel they can depend on me outside of being a chef. I would like to call myself the plug or one stop shop as I can possibly link a client to any outside resource needed.
I remember one event I did where my clients Dj stood her up for her birthday dinner. I was trying to work on minding my business and staying in my so called lane but I’m a natural fixer and after discussing it with her I made a call to a Dj friend who met her price point and was at the birthday dinner site in under 40 min. This made her night and she has been thanking me ever since as the after event with music was an important highlight for her her and her guests.

I can say that being a resource and an ear for my clients makes me very happy. To know that I’m more than a service to them, and they see me as a person outside of the business structure.

I think it’s important to know that being a business owner isn’t solely providing a product or service. It’s your personality and presence and knowing that it’s okay to network and be open to feedback from clients and others who have been in business through the pitfalls and uprisings. I believe in allowing my clients to be the determining factors to many of my business acronyms and future revisions.
I literally grew this business from a life threatening condition and fueled through that to walk this journey. If you can’t stop thinking about something, then you need to begin creating the vision and mood board to manifest that into your reality. I work hard, real hard. I go the extra mile because at the end of the day I rest peacefully knowing I didn’t miss a beat and if I did, I work to correct it. Please note, that everyone will not be satisfied, but put your best effort forth and document your willingness. Protect your brand and name, but always remember that your business is consumer driven so never outcast them. It’s a slippery slope, but that’s a learning curve that takes time to smooth over. If your like me and what you do is executed naturally, then your client will taste it and value it.

One finally thought is , always work on the business of your business. Pay attention to what’s happening outside of your mind and work to implement those shifts in your business plan and updates. Carve out time for this and then for you. Your no good to your passion if your not passionate about ensuring your mental health and physical well being is in tact.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that I can do everything on my own . I spent all my young adult to adult life only knowing how to be self sufficient and independent. I always just figured it out and got it done . As a creative and business owner I had to learn how to release responsibilities and delegate with confidence. I had to reframe my mind to be okay not being in control and allow others to free up time in my day for me to focus on food and client contact.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Building my reputation was mainly Personality and follow up based. I’m very big on being the business owner that the client actually speaks too. I also feel like response time and the personal touch of offering the client options to view (ie. menus, price points, photos of clients in different atmospheres).
I want to say it was built off of word of mouth. I used to always say, when I first started; how can I get word of mouth when I don’t have any clients yet , hhhaaaa! Now I understand how ! When you show up and show that you actually love what you do and go the extra mile , it builds your character up and the business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tasteofcatore.com
• Instagram: @chefcatore
• Facebook: Taste of Catore
• Linkedin: @chefcatore
• Twitter: @chefcatore