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

Alright, Wendy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Cooking has always been a passion of mine. Being a New Orleans Native, I grew up in the kitchen with my family. Having a home cooked meal every night was normal growing up, so wanted the same experience for my children. The hardest part of changing my lifestyle was introducing the vegan world to my 3 amazing children. My first task as a vegan chef was to recreate my children favorites but also favorites from New Orleans to show my family something different. I’m currently attending Escoffier plant based culinary school. Continuing school to enhance my culinary skills as a mother first but to the community second. As a mother to my amazing daughters and son I want to promote longevity to their generation and the years to come. My children are not vegan but I get to educate them as they walk this journey with me as their mother. A vegan mother to non vegan children but they reap the seeds that I sow. I’ve been without meat, dairy, eggs & seafood for 3 years and it’s been very refreshing. I wanted to try something new and it turned into a lifestyle. Two months into this journey I unintentionally lost 61 lbs. That’s when I knew I had to share my experience with others. Over the years being apart of Bernasconi Group working along side other amazing chefs: Chef Q, Chef Fox & Chef Jah has pushed me to seek more. A lot of my motivation also came from other vegan chefs: like Chef Mal, Chef Sunni & Chef Satis.I decided to create a menu with a variety of creole dishes and favorites from my children. From gumbo, jambalaya, chickpea burgers, carrots dogs and more.
Giving others the opportunity to try household favorites as a healthier alternative.

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?

Building brands that simply means, sending out light through harmony, peace and balance.

– Radiant Life Cuisine promotes wellness through food and herbal teas. Radiant Life came from a journey I began in Sept. 2020 when I started learning about vegan/ plant based foods for a friend and it slowly became a lifestyle I couldn’t turn away from. Going cold turkey vegan my body went into shock causing me to drop weight faster than usual. I truly wanted to be pescatarian but I became sick anytime I got around seafood. 3 years later I feel more energetic in my 30s vs my 20s. I’ve cooked my entire life but this time it’s different showing others who are willing to learn alternatives for their favorite meals.

– Radiant Services 8 offers a simple, yet unique approach to residential & commercial janitorial services, and assistance with odd-jobs and errands.
The initial thought behind Radiant Services 8, was rooted in finding ways to marry my professional entrepreneurial endeavors with my knack for cleaning and organizing. Throughout this life, I have always been the “go-to” person for my family and friends that needed assistance with cleaning, organizing, laundry moving, packing and unpacking.
I wanted to be the helping hand I didn’t have as a mother and wife over the years.

As a single mother, I understand first-hand how overwhelming it can be trying to find the perfect balance in our personal and professional lives. I take great pride in the services rendered and aspire to create new options to help others with their everyday tasks and meals.

From cleaning to preparing healthier meal options any business I create I want to make it easier on others especially mothers.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

My many hustles turned into a business when I realized I was able to control my time with my children. Hustling, being in school and working a full time job as a mother became overwhelming. Even though life is still busy as an entrepreneur, I get to watch and be apart of my children growing into their own personalities. I want mothers to read and follow my journey feeling like that can accomplish anything.

How did you build your audience on social media?

In a social media driven society it can become exhausting trying to keep up with all the trends. I try to stay active but I always say word of mouth will always be my go to gaining my audience.

For someone that’s just getting started or interested in growing , I still use flyers and business cards offline. While promoting specials and using hashtags online to gain more customers.

Don’t give up on self! You will be your biggest supporter! Always be open to workers with other in the same field as you.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: radiant_wendy