We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jae Moon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jae below.
Jae , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
@ducksaucejax was established in 2014 and inspired by my late Father Kevin Moon Jr. #LONGLIVEK who has been cooking way before I was born and he was the one who gave me my nickname “Ducksauce” which has stuck for years. Thanks to my Dad I named my 1st Business “DUCKSAUCE of Jax” as I was born and raised in Jacksonville, Fl. Being part Filipino I was raised around the most delicious traditional delicacies from the islands. One thing about us Filipinos we love Our “Saw-Saw” in English terms it means “dipping sauce.” My Grandma Moon we call “Nanay Moon” makes this homemade saw-saw that only my Family knows about and it is delicious. As I prepared for myself going into High School I had to make 1 choice for an Academic either Automotive (if you know me you know I love cars) or Culinary.. My whole life I’ve been around and helped in many different kitchens, my entire FAMILY down to my Great Grandfather who is a SUCCESSFUL Chef. I took my experiences and fulfilled my curiosity in Culinary and excelled as a Freshman cooking with Seniors to WINNING 1st place 🏆 at a school cook off against other TALENTED peers to be judged by DCPS (Duval County Public School board) and have the winning dish (Southwest🐔Chicken) SERVED IN EVERY DUVAL PUBLIC SCHOOL MENU as a healthy meal. Taking those ventures made me realize I can take my skills to the streets and serve my platters & custom desserts. I’m just a young kid that loves to cook and inspire others to become a Young CEO like myself. If your interested in private catering for your next event, custom candy apples or need pricing send inquiries to [email protected] || #MyStory #Ducksauce #DucksauceJax #DucksauceOfJax #YoungCEO #YoungChef #CulinaryKid #LoveMyCarsToo #LoveCooking #MixedKids #Mestizo #Pinoy #DuvalRaised #Cooking #Foodie #LoveForFood #ChefJae #Moonster #MoonChild #Capricorn #ProudMoon #ThanksDad #DuckjuiceComingSoon
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
At the age of 15 my parents saw how passionate I was about cooking and being creative with my craft. Aside my delicious entrees I started to sell custom candy apples to my peers while I was in high school and it flourished into baking tasty treats for local businesses. Then I tapped into my Filipino heritage and started to roll Our famous “lumpia” served with sweet chili sauce and it took off. We started selling locally here in Jacksonville all the way to Orlando, Fl. Never realized how much people LOVED Filipino food and culture. My next endeavor for Ducksauce of JAX is mobile bartending, taking my culinary skills and what I learned from high school (YES, they taught us how to make non-alcoholic mock tails) and host private events, weddings, family gatherings and more. The most proudest thing that I can say about running a business at a young age is that the sky is the limit, never limit yourself when you have a wide range of options you can apply your skills too. If you believe you can achieve!
Have you ever had to pivot?
During the pandemic and stores either closed or food was out of stock was a pivot point with Ducksauce but the way my parents raised me is that you can make anything into something and my Mom would literally take what was in the fridge and pantry and make it into something so delicious but my dad was THE GOAT in the kitchen he would make the most simplest thing into a delicacy. Dec 21st 2021 my life and business took a turn as the most important person, my best friend, my mentor, my #1 supporter, my teacher of life.. My Dad Kevin Moon Jr. was taken from us so soon but not many knows my Dad is a HERO and not just my HERO he was an organ donor and was able to save 4 peoples lives. To know my Father was a genuine person and how big his heart was it motivates me to continue his legacy not just in the kitchen but in everything he did.
We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.
The Co-Founder of Ducksauce of JAX is my Mom Larissa Nazareno. She is the founder of Luxe And Company a PR, business marketing/branding, special/noble event coordinator & web design business who trusted my vision and invested in my craft. She would take my ideas and we as a team would turn it into a reality, we started catering for weddings, baby showers, birthdays, family functions, business functions & etc. She would make sure every little detail was on point from the display of the spread to the Ducksauce name tags for the dishes. My Father always taught me presentation is everything when serving food and we made sure everything was on point!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: DucksauceJax
- Facebook: Ducksauce Of Jax
- Other: Email: [email protected]