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

Hi Ruqaiya, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

After many years teaching, I was looking for a new professional path. Teaching had been a fulfilling and rewarding career, but I was looking for something creative I could do with my hands as well as having my own business. Cooking for others was not just an option that met this criteria; it was the option. I have been cooking since I was five years old. My mother had a very hands on kitchen when I was little. I was permitted to use knives and utensils and cook on the stove. She stayed out of the way when I explored cracking coconuts and frying squash blossoms and was always a willing taster. Later in life, I loved preparing menus for parties and guests. I would think through each dish, get my groceries, map out what needed to be cooked when, and how I would serve it. The guests’ enjoyment of the meal was very rewarding for me. I often swapped meals with friends too or prepared double batches of dishes to share. I have always enjoyed exploring different cuisines and finding out what ingredients give them their unique profile. As a teacher, I shared with my students too, including foreign cuisines in my syllabus and planning hands on projects from crepes with elementary students to pizza dough and noodles eaten with chopsticks with my preschool class. To me, food is a unifier that brings comfort and joy to people. It was a no brainer for me that cooking would be my new path. Though I wasn’t sure of the exact market in my area, I knew from my students’ parents and others I spoke to that taking the time and effort to prepare healthy, homemade meals was a high priority, but also a daily struggle. I had heard of personal chefs, but I wasn’t sure how it worked or what I needed to do to start a business. I did feel pretty sure that there were families out there who would be willing to hire me if I was easy to work with and if my food was good. From my end, I knew that this intimate relationship of knowing each client’s tastes and preferences and preparing the food they would eat every day would be rewarding for me. During my last year of teaching, I enrolled in the Frederick School of Food–a series of classes about how to be a food entrepreneur. The monthly classes provided so much information and a forum for me to ask questions about starting my business. It was a great experience, and I received a great deal of support through the Frederick County Office of Economic Development. During this time, I also began photographing my dishes and hired someone to help build my website. By the time I completed my last year of teaching, I was ready to launch Homestyle Personal Chef. My first wonderful client was a military family who was looking for 5 vegetable forward meals with some gluten and dairy restrictions. It was a great experience for all of us and helped me get comfortable and experienced with my operation. Since then, I have had a number of regular clients and have cooked for lots of special occasions. I love that I am always learning, looking up new ideas and adding more dishes to my repertoire.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Homestyle Personal Chef offers fresh, healthy comfort food for events and special occasions and for our regular weekly clients. We pride ourselves on getting to know the preferences and requirements of each client, ensuring you love your food. For special events, we ask for your input and prepare a suggested menu. Homestyle comes to your location and prepares and serves for your event. Packaging of leftovers and site cleanup is also included. We have done anniversaries, birthdays, weddings and air b and b weekends. For regular clients, Homestyle does a thorough interview to find out all your personal food requirements before starting service. We prepare you meals fresh each week according to a custom prepared menu and pack, label and store them. Labels include heating instructions. We help clients work towards health goals if requested and can accommodate any special dietary needs.
As the owner and chef of Homestyle, I am proud of being able to give my clients a stress free, nourishing and delicious experience. I understand that I have to work hard and be flexible to meet their needs in order to win their loyalty to my company. Personally, I appreciate my clients’ trust in me to come into their homes and provide their meals.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I had to learn that when you have a small business, you have to win your clients, and you cannot predict how much interest people will have or how much business you will get. I do have a contract for a period of time, but after that, a client can cancel with me if things come up in their life such as moving away or their needs changing. This obviously affects your revenue and plans. I learned that you have to ride this out and keep marketing and pushing ahead until you have interest from new people. It teaches you not to take anything for granted and to always provide an excellent product and work hard to keep the clients you have. I started my business at the beginning of Covid, and I thought this would be an obstacle. But I marketed myself as having Covid safe meaures and that meals were prepared in the safety of your own home. During the first year or two of Covid, especially when restaurants were closed, I found my services to be popular. People wanted to have a fine dining experience in the safety of their home, and Homestyle was hired for a number of personal events. These dinners and parties were fun, and I enjoyed cooking for them. I learned that a situation that initially looks tough can turn out to be an opportunity.

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

A lesson I had to unlearn is that you cannot predict or control the future, and sometimes the things you took for granted and thought would turn out a certain way can change in an instant. I would say that rather than unlearning that I cannot control the future, I did learn that I need to be flexible, have faith and work with the hand I was dealt. I find gratitude to be a huge part of this lesson, and it helps me unlearn control.

Contact Info:

• Website: homestylepersonalchef.com
• Instagram: homestylepersonalchef
• Facebook: homestylepersonalchef
• Yelp: homestyle personal chef

Image Credits
Photos: Ruqaiya Asad