We were lucky to catch up with Corey Woods recently and have shared our conversation below.

Corey, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career.

Provide financial, economical, environmental and social training to all students and specifically disadvantaged communities.

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

I’m a Lancaster native, with a southern style soul food catering business, food stand, and a real estate license. I’ve loved food and have been cooking for myself since I was a kid. Growing up my favorite food was pizza and pastas, so it was no coincidence my first couple jobs were in Italian eateries and pizza shops. I got into the food service industry as a kid in need of money. I started busing tables, and quickly worked my way into the kitchen cooking, and washing dishes. Once inside I started to see how the kitchens worked, and my appreciation for food developed. A few years later I saw job security, and decided to go school for Culinary Arts.

I started my catering business in late 2019 and named it Soulcialize. It took awhile to come up with the name, but instantly knew it would represent everything I wanted my business to be known for. Telling the historic “middle passage” story of enslaved Africans in history and their contribution to what we identify today as “soul food”, people coming together to enjoy a meal, all while having a positive impact on my community. Once the name and concept were clear, I used local business resources and mentors to create my business.

One of the things that I’m most proud of is starting the business right before covid, and being able to make it through these tough times. I think if you were able to pivot and get your business through these last couple years you should be able to get through just about anything. When I saw job security in food over a decade ago I had no idea I’d be making my way through a global pandemic working for myself. Another thing that I am proud of is that we have been able to positively impact the community. I did a fundraiser teaming with other local businesses during covid gathering school supplies, and PPE equipment for teachers and students.

I’m currently starting in November a fundraiser for my son’s youth football team called the Lancaster Rec Jr. Tornados. They’re undefeated at 8-0 and have only had 2 touchdowns scored on them all season. In September, they were placed on a National “watchlist” for their phenomenal performance. They’ve officially accepted their invite in October to the UTN United Tykes Network 2022 youth football playoff held in Panama City Florida December 7-11th. I will be donating 10% of November’s proceeds from Soulcialize to help with food transportation and lodging for the team. I’ve reached out to our community for support, and all and any donations are appreciated. You can send all donations to $soulcializecatering and put “Jr Tornadoes” in the note line. Please reach out to me if you have any questions at 717-808-4076.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Since starting my business, I have had six surgeries. I have missed time with each one, and still deal with pain, I sometimes contemplated if I could continue what I started. But by following doctors orders, and finding good help and enjoying what I do, I have been able too.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson I had to unlearn was that you can’t do everything fast in a kitchen, you need to give yourself the proper time and preparation in order to have consistency. Cooking takes time, and patients, you can’t make something cook faster than it’s supposed to. I’ve learned in every kitchen, but one of the first I was in, I would see the Chef flying around all the time barking orders and just moving fast and thought that’s how you did things. You have to move fast with accuracy among other things in order to complete a task in a proper timely fashion.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.soulcializecatering.com
• Instagram: @soulcializecatering
• Facebook: Soulcialize Catering
• Yelp: Soulcialize

Image Credits
Tyriq Smith 322X Productions & Creations Boom Media