We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Yolanda Monic. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Yolanda below.
Alright, Yolanda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?
My grandmother-Bernice/NaNa and my mother-Cherrie Gail are my heroes.
My mother was a teenage mom and in my younger years my grandmother was instrumental in helping my mother navigate motherhood. These two women have inspired me in so many ways. My Nana is the reason I fell in love with cooking. I was in awe of her especially when she’d be in the kitchen cooking up something amazing. I get my strength and no nonsense attitude from my mom. I would not be where I am today without them.
At 6 years of age I remember my grandmother coming to me and asking me “Do you want a husband someday?” My response was classic and I stated “Ewww no way!!” Her response in grand ma fashion was, “Well you will someday and the way to a mans heart is through is stomach. Now get your butt in this kitchen and learn how to cook these greens!” That is where it all began. Everything she cooked was so good. I followed her around everywhere. I jumped at the chance to be in the kitchen with her. I started off as her helper/Sous Chef. During the holidays or parties she made sure I was right by her side to help her prepare feast after feast. She gave me little tasks at first like cutting up the vegetables, peeling potatoes, cleaning the greens and yes she taught me how to properly use a knife at age 6. Then she graduated me to seasoning some of her dishes which for me was everything! A little salt here and a pinch of pepper there had me feeling confident and ready for more. Over time I fell in love with cooking. By time I was 10 I was able to prepare a full meal on my own.
My mom always took care of home and was an immaculate woman. Our home felt like home because she made sure that things were in order. I get my organizational skills from both ladies. Both were big on the kitchen being clean and orderly. My most memorable times in the kitchen was during the holidays. That kitchen would be tore up during the holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas meals were insanely delicious! Every year my mom would bake me a birthday cake from scratch. My birthday is on Christmas Day. My birthday cakes looked like she had them professionally made. Both my mother and grandmother were amazing at baking and cooking. Both self taught. The way they’d prepare meals you’d think they had been to culinary school. They cooked from the heart. No measurements, and every recipe executed from memory. Baking on the other hand was serious business. My grandmother would kick us out of the kitchen when she baked. This is probably why I don’t bake. Baking is stressful for me…LOL. My mom on the other hand was naturally gifted and could decorate a cake like a pro. My birthday cakes looked like a Christmas Parade in the form of a cake. As a little girl I looked forward to that time of year and still do to this day. Both ladies made my birthday and the holidays so special.
These two women are passed on now yet they are still with me. They both guide me in the kitchen and in life on a daily. I would not be the woman that I am today without them. Here I am at 52 years of age ready to take the world of culinary by storm. This next chapter as a business woman/Executive Chef is going to better than I could have ever imagined. Thank you Momma and thank you NaNa. Much love always!
Yolanda, 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?
I am Executive Chef Yolanda Monic. I formed My NaNa B’s Juke Joint in 2019 just after I finished Culinary school. When I formed my business I had my grand mother’s vision of her business in mind. She decided to leave the corporate world and go into business for herself in her 50’s. She opened up a Juke Joint in her dining room. It was set up like a little Diner. There were tables, chairs and a little red classic Juke Box in the corner. She’d start cooking in the early evening and by 7 PM folks in the neighborhood would line up outside. Her friends and neighbor’s could not wait to experience her Louisiana inspired soul food! I was 14 at the time and spent a summer there. I had so much fun. I would have never imagined that would be the last time her and I would be in the kitchen together. She tragically passed away a year after going into business for herself. Now here I am in my 50’s wanting to honor her memory and vision in every way possible. I knew she wanted her business to be successful. I got you NaNa and just like you I want to share your amazing Louisiana inspired soul food recipes with the world.
My first attempt at business was when I partnered with a dear friend of mine, Executive Chef Val Crawford back in 2013. We formed All In One Culinary Services. At that time I hadn’t been to culinary school. Stepping into the kitchen with Chef Val was a God send. He was poised and could do all of the things I wasn’t able to. He was studied so he knew all the tricks and is an artist when it comes to food. I sat back and absorbed all I could. He truly inspired me and woke something else up in me. Sure at that time I was a talented cook and make no mistake self taught I was a force to be reckoned with yet after being in the kitchen with him I was quickly humbled to the fact that there is more to this cooking thing than my days in the kitchen with my grand ma.
Chef Val taught me the business side of the culinary world first. His saying was “Get the check, and cook the food!” I was new to running a business and wanted to give every one who asked a deal or cut our pricing just to earn their business. That was my first mistake and very damaging to the financial side our business. He was trying to teach me to not get into the practice of bartering or making deals with potential clients. He’d state, “Our prices are what they are and If they can’t afford us then they will have to find another catering company to meet their needs.” I was stubborn of course and thought it won’t hurt to bend a little. That was not the right choice at all and it proved to set us up for failure. I then tried to recover by developing my Sports Nutrition menu. Catering is seasonal so I thought if we create a consistent stream of revenue within our set up we’d be set. My business partner gave me full reign over that project.
In 2013 I was 41 years of age and I had worked hard in the gym. I was in the best shape of my life and at that time I lost over 60 lbs. I started to play with healthy foods, herbs etc. I began to play with ingredients that I’d never used before such as Couscous, Quinoa, and learned about herbs that increase your metabolism. I learned my bodies relationship to food and began to test these amazing recipes out on myself and my closest friends. Proper nutrition without cutting the flavor was my thing and I had accomplished alongside Chef Val creating some of the most amazing recipes that were healthy and packed with flavor. Chef Val nick named me “The Flavor Saver” My healthy recipes were fire and embodied every aspect of a tasty healthy meal. I could not wait to share these amazing recipes with the masses especially the woman in my age group who struggled with weight loss. I had so many woman ask what was I doing to get into such great shape. That is when I had my “Ha Ah” moment. and I decided that I’d share my healthy recipes and we’d deliver healthy meals weekly to our clients. It went well for a while yet we got busier and busier. We were under staffed and certainly under priced. Chef Val would always tell me to narrow down my menu choices so we could get a better handle on food costs yet I wanted our clients to have a wide range of food options which ended up being my second mistake and it cost us on the financial side of things as well.
To say the least my first business venture did not go so well yet I learned so much from that experience. Chef Val and I decided to venture out on our own however we have still remained very close friends. He is who inspired me to attend culinary school. I started culinary school back in 2018. I attended the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts and graduated in 2020. Attending culinary school changed the game for me. It gave me the tools and confidence I needed to get back out there and try my hand at running a business again. I now specialize in Southern Cuisine and Sports Nutrition. I created a YouTube channel named My NaNa B’s Juke Joint. I am looking forward to creating content, growing and building a following. Once my channel becomes a success then cook books and more will follow.
Thanks to my NaNa, Mom and Chef Val I am now looking forward toward making my mark in this highly competitive industry as a food influencer, food blogger, and cook book author. The sky is the limit and the limit is the sky. The beautiful thing about food is there are endless recipes to prepare. My famous saying is to Eat Well, Laugh Often and Love Much.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I had just graduated culinary school and then COVID 19 hit. I always thought I’d own a food truck or restaurant some day. Once the world shut down it forced me to pivot. I saw some of my most favorite restaurants close and for me it made me rethink things quite a bit. I began to see so many amazing cooks, chefs etc. move toward the internet/ YouTube to share recipes and cooking tips. This peeked my interest as I have always loved acting and the stage.
I am a creative spirit and thought I’d end up on Broadway someday. When I was younger I dreamed of becoming an actor. I truly believed that my acting career would launch my cooking career. I was heavy into theatre and even was able to perform in a couple of plays as well as to be in a couple of TV commercials. My acting career did not take off as I made different choices in my early 20’s that were more geared toward marriage and building a family however my cooking dream never left me.
When COVID practically destroyed the food industry I started to wonder what would come of my dream to share my grandmother’s famous recipes. What do I do now?
The world started to hone in on the internet. Watching these food influencers build amazing YouTube careers inspired me. I started to focus on becoming a food influencer. I started to feel that a YouTube presence would be genius. I could share my recipes with people around the world and I could do it without the overhead expense of a restaurant/food truck. I could cook from my very own kitchen and make amazing money doing it.
I immediately started looking into how to make a YouTube channel successful. However, building a channel to a point of earning money definitely requires discipline and consistency. It is doable yet you have to work at it daily. I thought, wow I can combine my love of acting with my love of cooking to create an amazing cooking show on YouTube. Here we are 4 years after COVID 19 hit and I finally decided to create my YouTube channel . My start was rough as I do not have an editing bone in my body yet I gave it a shot and have uploaded a few make shift videos to my channel. LOL I even have over 100 subscribers!!! The main thing is that I got started and am working toward accomplishing my goal of becoming a top food influencer, food blogger, cook book author, and so much more. I can’t wait to see my channel grow into a huge success. My ultimate goal is to have over one million subscribers within 3 years. I have studied so many successful food influencers over the years and am armed with what will make me stand out from the crowd. Get ready because here I come. I paused on filming for now as I am wanting to make sure my videos pack a powerful punch. I want to do more than just put a video up etc. I want it to be clean and edited. That is key. In 2025 I will start filming again and I have so many recipes that will make your taste buds sing! You know those “Slap yo momma” recipes. Taking this time to revamp doesn’t mean I gave up. It does mean that my channel is important to me and what I do put up needs to be organized and consistent in its approach. I was all over the place before as editing and filming were so new to me. Once I return it is going to be for good. My NaNa B’s Juke Joint will take off and be the topic of many household discussions around the dinner table. Get ready for some amazing dishes to come your way!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I am a single mother of 4 amazing daughters. I also have two beautiful grand daughters. At the age of 52 my life is full and rich yet it did not start off that way.
I have been on my own since I was 17 years of age. There were times where I did not know how’d I’d make it through. I did have help along the way yet with those challenges came emotional instability, mental challenges and a lack of confidence. For me it seemed that no matter how hard I prayed trauma seemed to follow me. I had a great deal of childhood/adult trauma to get over and had not even began to do the work toward healing. I had not started my healing journey until my mid to late 40’s. I suffered from depression/PTSD throughout all of my 20’s and 30’s. I masked it well and put on a brave face yet the internal struggle would catch up to me often. What I went through in my younger years up and through my early 30’s was very traumatic and overwhelming. One day I had to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask myself what do I want out of life? I had to admit that I needed professional help. I did not know where to turn yet I knew that I needed to figure it out. The pain was unbearable at times and I could no longer hide the pain.
I finally started seeking professional help. It was a long journey and it was definitely challenging trying to find the right therapist yet eventually I did. I am not ashamed to admit that there was a lot to work through nor am I ashamed to admit that I was once broken and did not think highly of myself at all. Therapy helped me find my way. Initially I wanted the help because I had daughters and I wanted to get healthy for them. Once I started to heal that changed. As I went through session after session I started to come into the present. Eventually I wanted to heal for me. I began to love myself flaws and all. I found me in the process. I began to know my worth and come into my own. Oh believe me there were days I wanted to quit because it was so hard yet I stuck with it. I had to reprogram myself and understand that I am in control of my destiny. I learned that my yesterday is not my today. I also learned thoughts become things and our minds our powerful in creating our realties. My mind was stuck in my traumas, rejection and all that mess. Because of doing the work and seeing my healing through I found peace. Peace of mind. I now have the tools I need so that when challenges come up for me I can address them knowing that no matter what happens I am always supported and I am never at a lack. Therapy was the key. I’m truly thankful that I took the initiative to address my mental health when I did.
The biggest take away in my understanding of this life is that I have the power to create my reality. There are no accidents or coincidences in life. Everything happens for a reason. I follow this amazing leader, and public speaker Louise Hay. In one of her speeches she stated in order to find peace through your challenges say this daily, “All is well and everything is always working out for my highest good, and out of this experience only good will come. I am safe.” I say that every day and it is incredible in that even when faced with a challenge my body relaxes in the knowingness that everything will work out. I protect my space and I only surround myself around those who love me. If it is not a contribution to me no matter what it is I walk away. Family, friend, foe, career, job or situation if it no longer serves me on the level I deserve I walk away. This chapter of my life is peaceful. In this beautiful life of mine I am living. I am well. I am also a huge advocate against child abuse and domestic violence. I support these groups and want to reach as many as I can to let them know if they are suffering please know there is help out there for you. You are worth it!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ymonic?igsh=MWh6MzB3MXo3amhwYg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yolanda.monic.5?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/executive-chef-yolanda-monic-4166222b
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@mynanabsjukejoint?si=sT_0jm_DEDYoB8ny
