We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sara Jane Parker. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sara Jane below.
Sara Jane, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?
So, let’s start with the term “successful”. To be successful in any endeavor, you have to be motivated, confident in yourself, and happy with the results. In my career as a chef, with the added responsibilities of a family, I specifically chose a location, various jobs, and level of responsibility that I was happy with. Successful chefs (as in chefs that make large salaries and are known to the general public) usually aspire to be in a large, well known restaurant in a major metropolitan city. This is not possible for many people, and certainly not possible for me. Since I came out of college with a family already, I chose the area I wanted to be in to raise my children first. Then, within that area (Lancaster, PA),I sought out the jobs that suited my goals and that I thought I could be successful in. I was not particularly interested in fame or fortune, just to do the best job I could in the job field that I loved. Now, there is a bit of luck at play as well, as no one can predict ahead of time if any particular job will check all the boxes in your goals list. But I have to say that I had very few jobs that I didn’t like. I truly believe that most people will be successful in a job if they have motivation, confidence, and happiness. That is not to say that all jobs are easy – in fact, some of the jobs I liked the best were the ones I worked the hardest at. Food service, by its nature is a difficult career – the hours are often long and include weekends and holidays, it is hot in kitchens, customers and bosses are demanding, and often the wages are lower than in some other fields. But herein lies the heart of success – if you truly love what you do, then the discomforts will not take over and you will be happy.
I am by nature an independent person so I chose to hone my management skills and to work in smaller facilities. I found jobs where I could be creative and somewhat independent. One of my favorite jobs was Product Development Manager for a family owned food company that ran a village of shops in a tourist area as well as produced jams, jellies, relishes, etc. (Kitchen Kettle Foods Inc). There I developed new products and was able to see them through to the market stage, and I also developed products to showcase at the festivals they held at the facility, as well as developed the menu and participated in the management of a new restaurant in the village.
Near the end of my career, I taught culinary students, a job that brought me incredible satisfaction as I was able to “give back” and help to form a next generation of chefs.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My inspiration came from growing up on a farm, where everything was fresh and food was abundant and appreciated. I knew I wanted to be somewhere in the food industry from a very early age. I began cooking regularly by about age eight. Back when I graduated from high school, the choices for women in food service were limited (this was before The Food Network), so I began my career as a Registered Dietitian. Although I worked in this area about 5 years, I knew I really wanted to get into a more creative area. In my first jobs in kitchens, I encountered some work place bias and had to stand up for myself many times. I am a small person, and kitchens back then were run by large, strong men!
After the birth of my third child, I developed a small baking business that allowed me to have some flexibility in hours so that I could also focus on my family. Later, I developed this business into a catering/baking business, specializing in fresh made decorated cakes and pastries. The business, The Goodie Shoppe, was unique to the Lancaster area, producing specialty baked goods and catering services that garnered some loyal customers and great publicity. Most importantly, it was a family endeavor. My children, even at young ages were aware and involved. My middle son, Chris, announced at a second grade “show and tell” event that “his Mother owned The Goodie Shoppe and we had a dud box”. This was the place that the kids could go to when they came in after school, anxious for a snack!
I moved on to other food management jobs, worked hard at being confident with chef skills, and developed staff management expertise. But, in the back of my mind was always growing the germ of a goal to own my own restaurant. My husband and I developed a plan and early in 1991, The Petite Palate was born. This was, without a doubt, my greatest career achievement. It was a small tea room, bakery. and catering restaurant. Again it was unique in Lancaster, and we had immediate success. Now this gets me back to the definition of success. From a commercial standpoint, the restaurant was not large enough and not in the correct location to sustain itself for a long time, and we closed after five years. But to me, this was a successful fulfillment of my goals, and, looking back, although I would have done some things differently, I am so grateful for this opportunity. Again, this was a family business. My teenage children had great jobs and we were all together in the restaurant every day. My daughter,Andrea, helped with production and served tables after school and on weekends, and my son, Chris, came home from college every weekend to cook. Even our older son, David, who was in another job, came to help on special event days!
After I retired, I had yet another goal to accomplish – I published a book, The Petite Palate Collection, Friesen Press, 2022, a memoir and recipe collection, detailing the story of the restaurant. I never really thought this was possible, but, although it was a journey filled with successes and frustrations, I am incredibly proud of the result. I had a lot of help along the way, especially from my daughter, Andrea, who encouraged, prodded, and celebrated with me.
Currently, I run a small bakery business and give demonstrations and talks related to selling my book. So, there is no full time retirement in my future!! I can truly say that I have had a successful and rewarding career.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Oh yes – So when you close your own business, you have no income, but you still of course, have expenses, both personal and probably some from the business. I was in this situation and my husband was ill, unable to work. I desperately sought employment, while also negotiating with suppliers for payment terms. I took various serving jobs to make ends meet, while also continuing to search for a career type job. It was 6 long months, but I got a management job with a medium sized catering company. I am also proud that I was able to pay all my outstanding business accounts and hold onto my house! I was determined and resilient!
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
So, when I was developing my restaurant, I researched areas and management companies. I was fearless and maybe a little ignorant of the risks I was taking. Although I had a solid business plan, was enthusiastic, and motivated and had a great product, I had very little reputation to rely on. Even back then, a chef usually needed some high profile name to drop. At the meeting with the property manager, I took some of my best pastries, talked confidently, and I was in! He was impressed with my enthusiasm and loved the goodies.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sarajaneparker.com
- Instagram: petitepalatecollection
- Facebook: sarajaneparker
