We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashley Delrosario a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ashley, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?
My first client is all because of Instagram! I decided to join a virtual Powerhouse Women event and I tagged the host Lindsey Schwartz in my Instagram story of what I was eating while watching the event, and she ended up sending me a voice message asking me if I could cook for her womens retreat in Scottsdale!! I was shocked and so excited for my first ever gig that wasn’t for a friend or family member! Since then I have cooked for all of her retreats! And I also connected with my first weekly meal client because she posted about me, it has been an incredible journey, and all because I put myself out there on social media.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I have been in and out of the food industry since I was 15 years old, always have had a passion and love for it. In 2010 I moved to Arizona to attend culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu, years of bartending, serving, cooking, I found myself unhappy at a 9-5 office job, and I started to really think about my future and what would make me happy day in and day out…..it always came down to food. I didn’t exactly know what I wanted, but being a private Chef was on my list of ideas, and after brainstorming for about 2 years I decided to take the leap and start Delro Cater Co in February of 2020. I specialize in cooking for Retreats, specifically wellness & womens retreats all over the world. My first regular client asked me if I would cook for her first retreat she was hosting in Turks & Caicos and I said yes, and since then I haven’t looked back. Being a travelling Chef has brought a new sense of Joy to my life I never knew existed. Living my true passion & sharing my joy has enriched my life and brings a different energy to those I cook for and makes for a special experience. When I am not travelling I do cook for a few professional athletes here in the Valley full time which keeps me busy, and I get to squeeze in bachelorette parties or birthdays on the weekends, which are always fun!! :) So if you ever have a small party that needs catered around the Scottsdale area, you can always email me, and if you are looking to host a retreat of your own, I would be more than happy to walk you through my process and what I provide!
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
Best source for clients has hands down been Instagram. I find that posting videos of me talking, showing my true authentic self has set me apart from others. People want to hire someone real! Don’t be afraid to be YOU
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
Don’t ever be afraid to put yourself in a room full of powerful people that are better than you. Those are the people you will learn from. If I hadn’t put myself out there, I wouldn’t be where I am supporting myself. Ask questions, be curious, there is always someone with an answer or someone who knows someone to help you. I don’t have a huge social media following but I always put myself out there and then friends of friends would spread the word and then it expanded from there.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.delrocaterco.com
- Instagram: ChefAshDelro & Delro Cater Co