Meet Kate Velasquez

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kate Velasquez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Kate with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My parents, definitely my parents. My mom and dad didn’t go to college but they both had an entrepreneurial spirit and both ran their own businesses. My mom owned a greeting card store with her sister and my dad owned and operated a commercial roofing company. Albeit all of their hard work and success, they both managed to be present as great parents and now as truly wonderful grandparents.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My career has pivoted quite a bit since Covid. My undergraduate program was Interior Design and after interning in both New York and London, I took a full time job with an architecture firm in NYC. I worked in commercial interiors for nearly 20 years and then ultimately stepped away from interiors when Covid hit. It was during that time I decided to go to culinary school and I now focus on private cheffing and my smoothie delivery business.

I’ve always been an avid food lover but didn’t make the connection between food and health until I started working with a functional nutritionist and ultimately graduated from a health supportive culinary arts program. These experiences, along with working in a professional kitchen post graduation, led me down a path teaching people how to put delicious, nutrient-dense meals on their tables in minimal time. I teach private cooking classes and also deliver home made frozen smoothie packs (ready to blend on demand in my customer’s homes) to my clients locally. Westchester Smoothie has been my focus and bread and butter (pun intended!) for the last couple of years.

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?
1) Work hard – be the first one there and the last one to leave 2) Pay attention to the details – listen, learn, observe and always be thoughtful in your responses
3)Be open to constructive criticism and learn from your superiors

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
I’ve been lucky enough to work under several incredible bosses. Throughout my career in corporate interiors and then also later when I parlayed into food, I worked with smart, talented people that I learned a TON from. I was pushed outside of my comfort zone and challenged to do things I hadn’t done before and I think facing challenge makes us stronger, more resilient people.

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