We recently connected with Keyanu Hogan and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Keyanu thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
When I first started “2 NUWAYS” it was mainly focused on food. I was always struggling with money and I told myself I would focus on my brand as a chef and see what happens. I knew I wanted to do things differently because sustainability, nutrition and wellness was always extremely important to me. I knew I couldn’t use standard packaging or ingredients and that was something that excites me and I’d hoped it would excite customers too!! I knew I was offering an unforgettable experience with the food I prepared.
Keyanu, 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?
As a little girl, I was always expressive and eager to learn new and exciting ways to express myself creatively. I was surrounded by many different traditions and a mixture of cultures. Growing up as a young black girl in Baltimore, MD exposed me to so many different food experiences. My family always played a key role in those experiences and that solidified the value I placed in things like camping adventures, cooking with my mother, grandmother and learning to fish from my grandfather. During these times, I could see how family meals would be the center of every gathering and celebration. I found food to be such an amazing, interesting, and inspiring artform because of how it would start as such simple ingredients and become something so much more complex. Food was something that brought the family together in a way that nothing else could and I was always searching for ways to make everyone around me a little bit happier. As I grew older and began to embody myself fully, I realized just how much family, culture and traditions had shaped me to become the woman I am. It was then that I decided to focus on nurturing that quality and doing everything I could to learn more about myself, my culture, where we’d come from and how to preserve those traditions. Now I’m sharing my love of food, wellness, culture and the art of life with the world. I’m extremely intentional about everything I create, and I intend to help continue this journey that was started so long ago.
I offer many different private chef services to clients as well as host and curate my own private events that people can attend. I also offer wellness consulting to individuals seeking information on how to begin a spiritual journey and heal themselves using the earths medicine.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
When I was eliminated from Hell’s kitchen, I had made it 10 episodes and was probably one of the most consistent contestants on the show. That moment felt defeating and once I arrived home, I was met with even more devastating news that I had lost a close family relative. One month later, I found myself pregnant and 9 months, I would be birthing my first child at the start of the pandemic. Life didn’t get any easier for me for the next two years and it wasn’t until this year that I was truly able to feel like myself again. Through all these tests I reminded myself that I can do ANYTHING and that on the other side of every “condition” is a blessing. These experiences have helped me to embrace all of who I am and see the beauty in every moment.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
My biggest lesson I had to unlearn and continue to learn is that “working hard” doesn’t mean over working yourself. I was convinced that in order to be productive or successful in anything, it meant you had to work until you could no longer. That lead to constant burn out and resentment of my passion and career. It is one of the hardest lessons in my opinion because it’s so hard to realize once you’ve gone from being in love with what you’re doing, to feeling obligated and burnt out. I’ve had the most fun and success with my projects when I allow myself to freely express and do it with love.
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