Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer Carmel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jennifer, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I am incredibly happy running and owning my own catering, events and retreat business. It is an incredible amount of hard work, but the payoff with grateful and happy clients is so worth it. I often think about what it would be like if I was still working for others in restaurants or wineries.

For me, many of my unique skills came from working with the many chefs I apprenticed under.I wouldn’t change any of my work experiences for the world, however once I arrived at a certain age I had my own ideas of what would work for me as a business owner. I also love to travel on a regular basis, so working for others in a daily 9-5 job was not for me anymore. I now can create unique retreats in exotic locales, serve my food which I am passionate about, travel and meet incredible people from all over the world.. it truly feels like a win-win.

Jennifer, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For those of you who may not be familiar with me, I am the owner of ZenAgain Catering and Events Company. I also run and own ZenAgainWellness Retreats, which was just launched in December 2020.

I have been in the hospitality industry for the last 35 years ,owned my own catering business for the last 20.

My business I feel is somewhat unique as I was originally an art major, and took my love of art and color and have poured that into my love of cooking. I use an eye popping array of color and design with food and flowers when cooking and designing my dinners or events.

I use primarily plant-based foods in my catering ,trying to limit refined sugar, dairy and gluten. We are a full-service catering company but a “conscious” one. We source only sustainably farmed organic foods, working with many local farms. We try to showcase the various farms foods in each of our events, which in return brings in new business for them.

I am also available for hire as a personal chef for other’s retreats as well as open to collaboration with other chefs. Food/ wine pairing etc.

At ZenAgain Wellness Retreats we offer primarily plant-based meals locally sourced from the area.. We have yoga, meditation and wellness techniques that are taught. I have an incredible staff that I have assembled and am extremely grateful for as we launch new retreats!

We offer many special activities in each retreat, including hot rock massage, infrared saunas, float tanks, arts and crafts, sound healing and cacao ceremonies..

Our clients have been raving about how wonderful the Retreats are and we have been receiving some recent glowing reviews which makes me very happy!

The intention behind my colorful foods and creating these wellness retreats, is to bring people into mind/ body wholeness in gorgeous settings where they can relax unwind and heal, and make new friends for life. We are slowly creating a ZenAgain Wellness community which was also part of my vision.

Extremely grateful for the visions I recieve and am able to implement. Always looking for new ways to learn, grow and serve others.
Please stay tuned .We have our next Retreat coming in Manzanillo, Mexico in October, and one in Portugal early 2023.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

The best piece of advice I think I could give on managing a team and maintaining high morale is definitely clear communication, and allowing your team members to have a voice . All team members should have the ability for input and suggestions , to speak their thoughts, to be heard and valued without being shut down. I feel this is extremely important. I feel that my staff are essentially “family” and treat them as such. We all form a pretty wonderful bond working together.

I also offer a lot of perks for my team members, which I believe keeps the morale high. The travel is paid for and they receive free massages and many other gifts during the retreats, and are encouraged to participate in the group activities as much as possible.

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

I am trying to unlearn the need to do everything myself. I’m still in process of this lesson, it’s an ongoing process for sure, but realizing that I have to delegate more and not try to run so much of everything myself ,as the exhaustion levels are pretty intense.

I think many business owners find themselves in the same position where they feel they need to do everything themselves.. I am discovering that there are ways I can learn to trust again, and I can give more tasks to my employees .

Contact Info:

• Website: www.zenagainwellness.org
• Instagram: @zenagaincatering @jenzenagaindesigns
• Facebook: ZenagainCatering and Wellness Retreats

Image Credits
Jennifer Carmel