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Meet Mrs. Stephanie Jones

May 12, 2023

We recently connected with Mrs. Stephanie Jones and have shared our conversation below.

Mrs. Stephanie, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I get my work ethic from my father. He runs his own business and is the head of the household. I’ve seen him work late nights and early mornings to ensure he is bringing in revenue for his company. He is the primary stakeholder in his organization. If one of his trucks had an issue in the middle of the night, he would not call another one of his drivers to switch the tracker out. He would get out of bed in the middle of the night, drive to his yard where his trucks are garaged, get another trucks, drive to wherever the stranded truck is, switch it out with the functional truck, or he would ensure assistance is properly met for his other truck and deliver the freight himself. He always tell me “If I don’t work, I don’t eat!” He’s a little dramatic, but I understood his point with that statement. I know if I don’t do it, then frankly it won’t get done. So I “Just Do it.” 😊

I do get tired, the thing is I just don’t quit.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Career wise, I am a full time federal employee. I provide high level analytical work to support the Navy’s mission and reinforce their day to day operations for the fleet. Passion wise, I enjoy supporting my sons and their athletic careers. My part time job and full time passion is cooking. I love trying new restaurants, making new recipes, buying and using new seasonings, collecting new cooking utensils and exploring new ingredients to add to current recipes that I enjoy using. I love cooking, I love the joy that eating brings people. Food is like and can be seen as similar to a powerful drug. If you over utilize it, it can bring you harm. If you enjoy it and respect it, the joy it can bring can be immeasurable. Think about it, if you eat too much food, like anything that is not use in proper moderation it can be damaging to the body. If you respect food and embrace the different variations of cooking styles it can enlighten you to a whole new world. When people find out that I cater, the first question they ask is, “what do you cook?” My answer is, “Everything!” And I literally mean it! I don’t solely focus on Soul Food or American food, I make Italian, Indian, Mexican, Caribbean, Spanish, Asian and Creole dishes.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Some of the things that are impactful on this culinary journey of mine are to keep my passion alive, I keep my passion alive by continuing to enjoy cooking, learning has always been fascinating to me, therefore I am continually learning new skills and tactics to add to my knowledge. You have to be your biggest critic and supporter, you might be overwhelmed by the amount of people that do the same thing that you do. It’s completely ok; I once read an interview with someone that stated, ” when it comes to a product, never be intimidated by the competition.” He or she used the bread aisle at the grocery store as an example of how there is plenty of competition on the bread aisle, however there are individuals whom all have different things that they are looking for and preferences of bread that they like, your products could have that one thing that none of the other products have. That, In itself, makes your product unique. Never be scared of competition, use it as a tool to learn and grow your product. Set yourself a bar above the rest, offer a service or product that is truly unique, and that only YOU can provide. It’s the saying, I can give you the recipe, but I can’t give you my sauce. My products just hits different!!.. Inserts eye wink. ALWAYS know when to take time to and for yourself. If you’re tired, rest. Do not burn yourself out. When you experience burnout, you are cheating yourself and the quality of your brand. Know when to say “yes”, and when to say “no.” I have always been an advocate of being all the way in, or all the way out. I don’t do half ass, in anything in my life. Especially not my food.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
There is one book for sure that has played a role in my growth as a person, woman, mother, wife, daughter, sister, niece and friend. What I know for Sure, By Oprah Winfrey. I began reading this book about seven years ago. It became an intricate part of my development after grad school. I was watching myself let go of people and relationships that at one point I would have never have guessed that those relationships would be seasonal. It helped me understand that everything happens for a reason and God makes no mistakes on showing you people’s true colors. It has assisted in my mental growth and development as a person who accepts their realities and although we have plans for our lives, God ultimately has a plan of his own, his plans are bigger and greater than we could ever imagine. It’s the saying, Let go and let God. Some of the take ways from this book is that gratitude can transform any situation. If you want to be successful, be excellent, if you want to be the best the world has to offer, offer the world your best. It goes back to the title of the book, What I know for sure is one is to always do their best. “Knowing for sure grace has brought me safe thus this far, and Grace will lead me home. – Oprah Winfrey

Contact Info:

  • Website: www.facebook.com/keepingupwiththerealjones
  • Instagram: Keeping Up With The Real Jones
  • Facebook: www.facebook.com/keepingupwiththerealjones
  • Twitter: KUWTRJ
  • Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/keeping-up-with-the-real-jones-oxnard?uid=mdDmS8-931nzVT2ALveazw&utm_source=ishare

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
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