Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tesia Bunton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Tesia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.
As some may know the Food Service & Hospitality Industry is one that can be unforgiving when it come to your time. When you are committed to dedicating your time to your passion it’s hard to face the truth about
Tesia, 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?
My name is Tesia Bunton and I am a Restaurant Chef & Culinary Consultant & Coach who has dedicated 20 years of my life to the Food Service & Hospitality Industry. I have been classically trained at the world renowned Culinary Institute of America, have won Food Network’s Chopped, a published cookbook author, who has provided culinary consulting services to several hotel & restaurant owners to better strategize, collaborate, and support them in increased profitability and day to day operations. For 13 of my 20 years in the industry I have also been blessed to have had the opportunity to manage and lead teams as large as 75 employees to building the success and continued growth of multi-million dollar corporations ranging from boutique hotels, resorts, multi-concept restaurants, cafes, as well as independently owned restaurants . I began my professional culinary career at 14 working my first “real kitchen” job at a catering company in my hometown of Buffalo, NY as a prep cook. Here is where I learned that I could actually make money doing what I love. With the opportunity to have dual enrollment during high school I was able to get hands on culinary training and my high school diploma simultaneously. Upon my high school graduation I was able to attain my Certification in Culinary and Baking&Pastry Arts. I have been able to get a thorough understanding of both the day to day operations of the restaurant business but more importantly the business side: analyzing operational costs, profitability, business marketing, insurance, importance of proper accounting, financial reporting, training, the build-out of a restaurant and so much more. As a business owner the focus and emphasis on these things will literally make or break you. No one tells you that your passion alone doesn’t pay the bills or keeps the business going. It takes profits, discipline and systems.
I am transitioning my Personal Chef career focus to provide coaching and resources to minority female owned businesses/entrepreneurs who I personally feel are under served in my industry; women who may have not been provided the same opportunities as myself in a very bias and male dominated industry. Women who run food businesses who may need more accountability and coaching when it comes to maximizing profitability while living in their purpose. Women who have had to choose their career or their child(ren) as a single mother in the Hospitality Industry. I’ve lost count of the times where I have had to turn down hundreds, yes hundreds of opportunities over the years, because even when over qualified for a position I have missed the mark as fitting into the cookie cutter image of what a “real” Chef looks like solely based off of what I looked like. For years I have had to spend 16 hours away , working 6 days a week, from my daughter as a new and single mother to be sure to give my undivided attention to a career that didn’t care about a living wage, a sick day, work/life balance, or the need for a mental health day. After this it clicked. I had to create the balance, time freedom, and financial freedom I was looking for because it was non-existent in restaurants. I’m finding new ways to that everyday and will continue to get comfortable with the uncomfortable when navigating this path for myself and women around me that are also looking to women wanting to grow culinary businesses without opening restaurants
I want to continue to provide my expertise to serve minority owned businesses/entrepreneurs and share my knowledge and 20 years of expertise from hotel & restaurant management; so that they can scale their businesses and become more efficient, profitable, productive, Whether it be re-training staff, vendor relationships, providing culinary mentorship, or assisting with systems & operations ; I provide these resources and so much more.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I am so passionate and dedicated to changing the narrative for minority women in my industry because I am JUST transitioning out of who my ideal client is. Tesia….what does that even mean? I’m glad you asked. Let me explain, when moving back to Atlanta, GA from Buffalo,NY for being away for a couple years I spent hours and hours looking for a job that would provide work/life balance as a single mother ( time freedom) but also would be able to allow me to keep on tract with my financial goals ( home ownership and financial stability). At the time I had to pick or choose. If I found a job that slightly looked like it provided both it was more of a 80/20 rule. Pay was good but don’t even think about enjoying a weekend game for your child(ren) or brunch with the girls, and you can forget about all the major holidays because you would be working those days to serve the other 85% of the world who had the time freedom to enjoy that time off. Or the flexibility was there but don’t think you had enough money come payday to fill up your tank let alone pay your bills ( ya’ll see how this inflation been)…unless you had 2 full time jobs but then there goes your time freedom. A scale that would never balance out. But wait sis! You figured it out. You would use your on the job training to stay in the food service industry and start your own business. Maybe a food truck, vegan cafe, juice bar, meal prep service, or personal chef business. You would start working crazy hours but it was for you so it made you feel better about it. But your a few clients and several months in and the math ain’t mathing. You are leaving money on the table because you don’t have systems in place, staff training is sub par, and your time freedom is nowhere in sight because you are doing EVERYTHING! Yep, I know because that was me. Purpose was there but not the profit. Talk about resilience! I did this on and off for years. In 2019 I took on a position that sounded good to help me get by as I figured out this employeeprenuer life. Left that position in early 2020 to “take the leap”, then the pandemic happened weeks later so yeah… Then I went back to my former employer and was just not happy at all with what the position morphed into. It had a pretty title but just was not where I was supposed to be. So I left and began this rocky and uncertain career pivot into consulting…again… But that’s the part of entrepreneurship people tend to leave out. The process doesn’t present well on social media so we see the end product glamorized. No one speaks on the instability, self-sabotage, insecurity, fear, inconsistency, mentally exhausting, and physically draining aspect of building a business and a team, whether in a brick and mortar or online. Resilience and prayer are the ONLY reasons I haven’t turned back because this is not for the weak. This is apart of the process and it is hard. And because of this I want to help other women minority businesses find solutions to their business problems so they can run the business and live they life they deserve. But when you know God put this on the inside of you for a reason it’s really no other option than to do, even when you have to do it scared.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I had to unlearn very quick a ton of things. Especially when it came to making decisions that wouldn’t only effect me personally, my growing business, and my daughter. A few things that I prioritized to unlearn are not having clear boundaries, trying to always people please or caring what other people who don’t pay your bills think, being uncomfortable to make other people comfortable, being to scared to start and fearing failure, self doubt & self sabotage,looking for validation and success at others peoples tables instead of building my own table. When I tell you these kept me and at times STILL keep me paralyzed in my personal life and life as a small business owner. I understood that no one is coming to save me. When bills are due it’s up to me, when my daughter is sick and I have to miss work it’s up to me, when I wanted to buy my home it was up to me, when I wanted figure out how to grow a small business with no capitol and limited resources it was up to me. I want to be able to look back 5 years from now and know I exhausted all options to build the life that I deserve as well as my daughter and future children. That’s why I’m so passionate about helping other women who may be going through the same thing. It’s all about unlearning, growing, praying, and getting up and doing the work no matter who uncertain it may look.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cheftesiabunton.com
- Instagram: @ChefTesiaB
- Facebook: Chef Tesia Bunton
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tesia-bunton-a6969a64/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/cheftesiab?lang=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoFWHPmULKgkzIueCIFmUhQ
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tastes-with-tesia-buffalo