We were lucky to catch up with Ely Navarro recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ely Navarro, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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 went to culinary school and have worked in the restaurant industry over 20 years. However the flan is my mom’s recipe that I grew up eating and never thought to make it professionally until I found I needed to. The pandemic kind of forced me to speed up my process but I feel more grounded now because of the need the pandemic created. The pop up life of New Orleans is definitely a crash course as pop ups are so embedded in the culture of the city, probably more than most. Not just knowing how to cook but how to plan and sell your product, really makes your usual back of the house type of chef stretch the skill set. Financials do make it hard to go bigger than one might want right off the bat but it is certainly an ever learning process.

Ely Navarro, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a classically trained chef focusing in the savory realm. I went to culinary school in Austin, TX. Then moved to New Orleans 18 years ago for the restaurant industry. When the pandemic hit something happened with my name in the system of Louisianas unemployment payments and I never got any. Not a cent, though I was fully employed. So, needing to figure out a way to make money, and with restaurants closed and the pop up scene growing from necessity, I pulled my mom’s flan out of my pocket. Seeing it as the easiest way for me to be a one woman show and make money in those hard times. With a clever name locked in, I started selling whole flans around town under the name Only Flans hehe. Then I started doing markets with slices, until I was able to build up my name enough and am now also on 10 different restaurant menus around town! I still do preorders for individuals and even have a few weddings under my belt. All only flan being sold (pun intended). I used my mom’s classic Cuban flan recipe and created different flavors, I love this and never would have thought after years in the biz, a dessert would get me the most noteriety!

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I run all of my marketing off of instagram. It took a while to build up but I find the constant posting to stories, especially for fun clever content is key. I post the rules/more information context with fun songs to help with reach. I love Instagram for the free resource that it is, not getting sucked into can be difficult. But keeping up with daily posting really keeps you in the eye of the public. Starting during the pandemic did definitely help me, I do find things harder now than when I first started. But partnering with another local business also helps and builds more
Community which is always a win! Clever, making people smile or laugh in a positive light is always a way to lead and I find will get you the followers that stick!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson I had to unlearn was definitely needing things to be perfect to start something. Only Flans has been the most beautiful example for me of JUST START! Things will work themselves out, you will learn what you need more or less of along the way. You’ll never be “ready” so just start it and feeling ready will become more and more clear.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @onlyflansbychefely