We were lucky to catch up with Andrea Renee recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Andrea thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Great souls are born in small towns! I know my Aunt Edna was, my story doesn’t start at, “how did you come up with the idea for your business”. My story is more-like; I was born into it!

My father married my mother when she was very young, My mother shared her story with me, as to how my father’s sister (Aunt Edna)  actually taught her to cook, her exact words were “If you’re going to be married to my brother, you have to learn how to cook for him”…..Let’s just say, between my father, mother, and Aunt, cooking began very early for me. It’s what got me here today.

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

I’m a Mom of two beautiful children, I worked in the Education field for 19 years, and I am the proud owner of She Cooked It Chef Services. So in 2014, I wanted to share my gift of cooking with others, so I launched a small catering business, and almost immediately it took off! I was “Booked & Busy”! But like most things, you always want to reach a new level. After being a caterer for a few years, around 2017, I took some time off & decided to rebrand the business into a “Private Chef/Dining” business. Being self-taught came with a load of trial error, and I’d say I initially failed at everything, at least five times, however, it taught more than I thought to even learn.

I resigned from my full time career of Nineteen years to work full time as a Chef for She Cooked It. I went on to make several TV appearances on KPRC 2 Houston in 2019, a number of magazine publications and releasing a Cookbook on Amazon in 2020, also three Radio interview ads & working under contract for NFL player Kenny Young, of the Los Angeles Rams, during his off-season in 2022.

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

The beginning of 2019 started extremely rough for me, during the first week of January I buried my mother after she was injured in a horrible accident at my home where she resided at that time. After the passing of my mother, my relationship with my family slowly but certainly evaporated. The second week of January, I had a major foot surgery & was unable to walk for several months & needed assistance with normal day to day activities. I was grieving the loss of my mother, I was in pain from the brokenness within my family, and also feeling defeated with my temporary circumstance of being handicapped. My emotional state was indescribable, I fell into a deep depression. I was NOT suicidal, but there were days that I just didn’t want to be here. It’s hard to describe what I felt, in context.

Fortunately for me, my circle of friends & other family members interceded on my behalf & prayed me through such difficult times. As a “black woman & mother” somehow, we have been indoctrinated to carry grief, depression, pain, or stress with SMILE & GRACE. I had to pull myself together, After-all, my 1 year old daughter, And my eleven year old son were watching. By God’s grace, I got through it. I got up again and let’s just say, by mid 2019, when I was able to hit the ground, I definitely started running!

In May of 2019, I resigned from my full time career, to work full time as a Chef for She Cooked It. I went on to make several TV appearances on KPRC 2 Houston in 2019, a number of magazine publications and releasing a Cookbook on Amazon in 2020, three Radio interview ads in 2021 & working under contract for NFL player Kenny Young, of the Los Angeles Rams, during his off-season in 2022.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Deciding to turn my side hustle into something much bigger was really scary at first. I had been employed with the same institution for almost 20 years, and leaving something you’ve been attached to requires strength. I took the leap of faith and resigned.That’s honestly when I realized, my “little side hustle” was going to become my legacy. I submitted my resignation to my full time job, and began to commit my heart & soul into my brand/business & a great thing started to happen & it has all been worth it for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shecookedit.com
• Instagram: SheCookedIt
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shecookedit/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-renee-91036629?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com
• Twitter: @shecookedit
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZK837j9wDxoPwlKaboEL4w
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/she-cooked-it-catering-houston

Image Credits
Christian Obi Photography