We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sue a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sue thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Looking back on your career, have you ever worked with a great leader or boss? We’d love to hear about the experience and what you think made them such a great leader.

JENNY LEVISON. Jenny Levison, founder of the Souper Jenny, Juicy Jenny and Cafe Jonah restaurants was by far the most amazing boss I’ve ever had. I will say, that as a 40 year old straight out of culinary school, (yes, I quit my stable job at 40 years of age with two small children at home to go to culinary school) working for Jenny was the BEST opportunity I could have ever asked for.

Jenny hired me just before she opened Cafe Jonah, a small, eclectic cafe that would end up being the best experience of my life. I was her Chef from the day the Cafe opened until the day it closed. Five amazing years. Was it a lot of work? Yes, but I loved every single minute of it.

I think being a full-on adult at the time may have something to do with my perception of Jenny, because I had so many so-so bosses in the past, and so Jenny just blew them away. I know what a boss is and I know what it’s like for and with someone who respects, appreciates, acknowledges and honors their employees. I know what it takes to be an AMAZING leader/boss. Jenny trained me, mentored me, showed me all the things about running a culinary business and she encouraged me to be creative and to just try new things. She trusted that I could do the job, do it well, and help build an amazing group of people that chose to regularly eat, sit and enjoy life on a regular basis. I have so much respect and appreciation for the opportunities Jenny offered me.

Sue, 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?

When I was 40, I quit my stable job with two small children at home, and with the support of my amazing husband. It was time for a big change. So I did it. I was always a foodie, but culinary school was the official change I needed to make my significant life change towards happy again.

I was lucky enough to create delicious breakfast and lunch menus for five years at Cafe Jonah. As that came to a close, I decided it was time to work for myself, and Leaf and Loaf, llc was born. I started out doing some Personal Chef work, including weekly meal prep and weekend catering for special events. I also created a program called Fun with Food, llc and went into schools to educate, motivate and inspire kids of all ages to eat real food. That became its own company for a few years and then a pandemic decided that it had other plans for me. For all of us.

Weekly Meal Prep services became a popular and much-wanted service, as folks were not eating in restaurants. I found a new love for this, and so the majority of my business hours were fulfilling this service.

What sets me apart from others is that I believe that Food Is Medicine. What we eat can hurt us, but what we eat can also heal us and keep us living our best lives feeling energetic, pain free and fantastic. As a person who has discovered many foods that don’t work well for my body, I decided it was important work for me to help others who have medical diagnoses that can be helped with diet and food choices. Not everyone is equipped to radically change how they eat. It’s a lot to be told you should no longer eat “this” and “that” and definitely not “this”. But to figure out how to cook and feed yourself with those new limitations can feel like a very daunting task. And we need to eat every day!

Leaf and Loaf, llc creates beautiful, nutrient-dense, whole food, real food and delicious food for individuals and families who appreciate, want and need to improve what they put in their bodies. Part of my mission is to help people thrive in the one life they have been given. Let’s make it amazing!!

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

It is very difficult to pinpoint ONE single thing that is helpful for succeeding in anything we do, so I’ll mention a few. It is very important, when making a big career change, to have the support of loved ones, mentors and someone in the business you are about to enter. Customer Service will always be my mantra, regardless of what I am doing in life. Everything we do as human beings should be considered customer service. Be kind, be helpful, be supportive and kindly educate people when you can. These skills and traits will always benefit everyone involved, whether you are selling a product, your service or just walking around in the world interacting with others.

Education in nutrition is knowledge that is very important when working with people of different ages, stages in life, medical and health needs, food preferences and requirements…. education. education. education.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

I don’t like to look back, as it often feels like regret. But, without appreciating what happened in the past, how can we appreciate the new road of happy? I do like to keep that perspective and be grateful that I chose this new career path when I did, which was the right time for me because it happened when it did. What I will say is I am grateful every day that I work for myself, even though there are really hard decisions and challenging days. I absolutely LOVE what I do and it never feels like work. When I left my first career, I told my family and friends that every time my alarm went off at 4:30am to be at the Cafe at 5:30, that I would never again say “I’m going to work.” I changed that to, “I get to go to the Cafe.” I have never worked a day since. It’s all perspective.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.leafandloaf.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leafandloaf.llc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558846153650
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suecoraggiosnape/

Image Credits

Sue Snape