We were lucky to catch up with Bre’anna Collins recently and have shared our conversation below.

Bre’anna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I began to cook at the age of 9. My mother was one great cook and she loved feeding people. We weren’t rich and didn’t have much, but I’d watch her in the kitchen everyday creating meals from what we had in the fridge or the pantry.

I always tried to recreate my mother’s recipes and add my own little twist to them. I still do. She’d taste my food and tell me that I used too much pepper, lol. I always used too much pepper. But, she measured until her ancestors said stop and hat’s how she taught me. She also did catering before starting her own company.

As I got older my mother would always tell me that I had a gift and that I needed to use it. She always tried to prepare me to do this, but at that age I wasn’t disciplined. Anyway, I began my bartending business, Liqu’em Mobile Bar-first, but my true passion is cooking. I eventually incorporated food into the services, but later decided to separate the food from the drink business and begin a separate entity for that. That’s how The Soultry Chef was birthed. I’m also a very good singer and that name just captured the essence of me and my passions.

I enjoy creating dishes in my own fashion and watching my client’s experience me through my food. That right there is what got me started on this journey and is what’s helping me continue on this path.

My mom passed in March of this year and her wishes were for me to use my gifts. Going
forward everything I do is to honor her and the great gifts she has imbedded into me.

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

I got into the industry by simply enjoying to cook and then taking a risk to sell to others. One thing led to another after that. Word of mouth helped me a lot.

I offer traditional style eats such as Cajun or soul food, and I also have my own creations and fusions that are unique to The Soultry Chef such as my specialty Eggrolls. Those were created by me back in 2018/2019 and somehow became very popular after that.

I feel like my style of cooking and my flavors are what set me apart from other cooks/chefs. My flavors are bold and creative. They stand out on their own because they aren’t like anything on the market. That’s what grab and hold my clients.

I’m most proud of my resilience and perseverance. Being an entrepreneur is not easy by far and there are so many ups and downs in business. You have to stay mentally strong and believe in your craft. You have to believe in you and your abilities to push through the challenges. I’ve faced and are still facing some very challenging situations, but just as life goes on, so shall I. I hope that encourages other entrepreneurs. Consistency is key.

I want more people to just try my food. I wholeheartedly believe the flavor will do the work for me. It has thus far. It’s taking me time, but I’m growing and networking weekly. As long as I’m moving forward I don’t care how fast.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

My side hustle turned full time when I got pregnant with my son. My pregnancy turned high risk at 7mos and long story short, I couldn’t work. My job at the time treated me as if I wasn’t one of their top, award winning employees and eventually let me go. When I applied for unemployment, they lied to them causing me to be denied. So, then I had no income and I was pregnant with bills to pay. We got helped here and there, but things just wasn’t enough with me losing my job. After that, I lost my car and my apartment. I fell behind on bills and that’s when I told myself that I HAD to do something. I’m bringing new life into this world and I can’t do that in this state. So, I revamped my business and began to start back selling plates.

Via word of mouth business started to grow and I began getting request to cater events and such. Until this day my sole way of gaining new clients is via someone spreading the word about my business. I’m forever appreciative to those individuals who’ve supported me thus far.

Some key milestones are the connections I’ve recently made. I can now say that I’m a celebrity cook/chef. Solidifying my businesses turning them into LLCs vs being Sole Proprietorships. I’ve expanded my material to assist in creating a better catering experience for my clients.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients for me has been a few things. To start, social media has been a huge help in my business getting more recognition. It’s tedious to get and hold followers attention, but it’s worth it for that clientele base. Then there are clients who are recurring and who tell a friend to tell a friend about my business. It’s always me networking at events or doing various pop-up shops that helps as well. In business we have to continuously do the leg work. Some can pay others to that for them, but for me it’s more rewarding to be hands on and present. Integrity is also something that gets me new clients. Being humble and personable takes you far. Although I’m still growing, my business is still thriving and blessed through the process.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/genesetee?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thesoultrychef?_t=8cEaLE9qOcg&_r=1