We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chanel Diane a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chanel, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I learned how to cook from the women in my family! I come from an African American/Bahamian background so we believe in bold punches of flavor. To this day I call my Mom to ask her about pairing spices and flavors when I want to come up with a new dish. I think taking a cooking class or working in a kitchen would’ve taught me more about techniques and food presentation. One of the main ways I continually challenge myself is to step outside of the box and experiment. Similar to what children do when they mix things that we’d never imagine putting together. This is a necessary step in having fun and being creative in the kitchen. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake!

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?

Well, my name is Chanel, and I believe that food is the language of love! There is nothing that wants my heart quite like a warm, home cooked meal that was prepared with me in mind. I feel so seen and adored when people share their food for me, and this is an experience I want others to feel when I cook. This is why I created “cdianewhisk”. It is my mission to motivate, teach, and inspire people to use food as a way to connect with those they love. By creating instructional cooking videos, I show people fun and enticing recipes that they use to share a meal with their friends, children, and significant others. Mealtime, allows us to slow down from our busy lives and spend time with each other. It’s so important that we are intentional about fostering the relationships that matter the most and this is what “cdianewhisk” is all about! I even show people that they can cook with their children, and plan activities around with their significant other around dinner time.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Keeping my brand in mind when creating content has been essential in building my reputation in my market. This strategy, allows me to develop content that reflects the mission of “cdianewhisk” on a regular basis. Things like incorporating brand color, scheduling times to post, and ensuring I give examples of how food draws people together. This all assists with people identifying “cdianewhisk”, and sharing my content with others.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Getting a message saying “I tried your recipe and it was so good”! Those are the moments I live for! Even if someone tells me that they decided to change an ingredient or two, the fact that I was able to get them excited about cooking for themselves and family is what let’s me know that I’m doing something right. I’m staying true to my brand!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cdianewhisk.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c.dianewhisk/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCs24vuxZfmI43BLVjWWA1gA

Image Credits
The last 3 photos are by Courtney Dula from freckled chaos.