We recently connected with Jeanette Marcelle and have shared our conversation below.
Jeanette, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?
As a black female chef from the English-speaking Caribbean, being the only one in the room who looked like me was kind of the norm for me when I just started in culinary/hospitality 2-decades ago. I recognized very early that the rules of success were somewhat different than they were for my counterparts. At first, it felt scary being the only one in the room that looked like me, what if I messed up and they never let in another one like me? At first it it felt like a disadvantage being the only one in the room because they were so much like me in my class. Where did they go? Often when we are the only one in the room, we feel the need to suppress many of the qualities that got us into the room. But, this should be the time for you to bring more of your true selves into the room.
Instead of being afraid to speak up because people were making fun of the way I said “water and picture” I embraced it. I became okay with being the only one, after all, I did go to school and study to become a classically trained chef, I was the one who decided to become a traveling chef instead of staying in one establishment for my whole life. My talent is what got me into this room in the first place.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Handmade by Jeanette Company which is a sustainable agri-food brand – started as a creative expression by Chef Marcelle, while living and working in Barbados. However, it was not until the pandemic collectively sent us to our rooms that I had to rethink and reshape my career as a traveling chef. I was out of a job, but I had a wealth of knowledge and experience about cuisine from around the world, not to mention that there was a surplus of indigenous ingredients available. Thus, our line of clean granola, unique sauces, and spice rubs was born. The Chef – Jeanette Roxanne Marlene Marcelle has been working in culinary/hospitality for 2-decades. How I got my start in the industry is the same way most of the greats start. From dishwasher to server, then to culinary school, and as they say, “The rest is history” Lol!
Cook trainee to Chef de Cuisine – I did my mandatory industry training at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Centre; as much as I loved it here, I knew I wanted more than just going to work and cooking the same thing over and over, so when the opportunity presented itself to work on Cruise ship dived in headfirst. After three years with a luxury cruise liner, it was time to return to Trinidad & Tobago and sharpen more than just my knife skills. While reading for my BA (Hons) in Human Resources Management I started my first official business – a catering company, which was very successful for several years. I also did my MBA in marketing with electives in Entrepreneurship. After my business studies there was another opportunity that took me to Barbados as a kitchen manager, then to the platinum, or the Riviera of the Caribbean as it’s fondly called working at the world’s first and original luxury beach club. Then it was off to the French West Indies at a small gastronomy restaurant in the capital of Martinique as Chef de Cuisine.
Chef to Agri-processor – what do you do when a pandemic obviates your career as a traveling chef? First, you have yourself a good cry – this will help you to deal with all the inner turmoil. Then you dust off your recipe book, put on your apron, and get down to creating a job for yourself while manufacturing clean and unique products from indigenous ingredients such as cocoa, coconut, tamarind, Scorpion pepper, and West Indies herbs. My first product was the chocolate steak sauce which placed third in the Cocoa Research Centre’s innovative chocolate cuisine challenge. Since I started with chocolate Trinidad & Tobago produces some of the world’s finest grade of cocoa beans such as “Trinitario one of the most flavourful cocoa beans you will ever find. Therefore, it was only natural that the key ingredient in our products feature the “food of the Gods.”
Trinidad and Tobago – for over 200 years, has been one of the best cocoa-producing locations. Some of the world’s finest and best varieties of cocoa such as the Trinitario, Criollo, and Forastero are indigenous to T&T. Our cocoa profile is dominated by medium cocoa notes blending into vivacious fruity notes and secondary floral, nutty, caramel, and spicy flavors. The chocolate movement in T&T is young, we are just learning how to use our beans to produce chocolate and a variety of products such as our chocolate tamarind steak sauce and chocolate steak salt.
4-years later, Handmade by Jeanette Company now has a full suite of agri-food products that is being sold in Trinidad, St Lucia, and the US. It has not been easy getting to this stage, but we did.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
For me it would be:
1. Persistence
2. Belief in myself
3. My training as a chef
These are just a few of the qualities and skills that have been useful in getting me to this stage thus far. But what has been truly impactful for my journey is being able to help those who are coming after me, being able to stand in a room full of young ladies who look like me, and inspire them to have a seat at the table. Being able to assist the small-holder farmers in my community during a time that seems so hopeless. Recently, I heard someone repeat a quote that said “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth”
My advice to aspiring entrepreneurs – or anyone early in their journey, Just Do It! There will never be perfect conditions.
You will gain more knowledge by trying and failing than by reading everything and doing nothing. Another thing to note; remember it will get hard, but the hard times will not last. Surround yourself with other like-minded individuals and do not be afraid to ask for help. Take each day as they come, do not try to do everything at the same time. Everything you do – do it with gratitude.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
I have always been an avid reader, it started at the age of 12 – I love books as much as I love to travel, it take you to places that leave you breathless. Not to mention that from 300 pages of someone else journey, you can correct and adjust your own. For me, these books would be: 1. The richest man in Babylon – There’s more to life than paying bills, but you have to create it for yourself and be willing to make the necessary sacrifice when needed
2. Shoe Dog – My little business, can become a big business but it takes a lot of hard work
3. Rich Dad Poor day – Changed the way I save and how I thought of money
4. Grow and Think Rich – It’s all about your mindset
5. Long Walk to Freedom – reminded me that there’s always light at the end of the tunnel
6. Seabiscuit – anytime I feel like everything is against me this book reminds me never to give up
7. The Green Mile – You must know the whole story before you give judgment
8. Who Moved My Cheese – You have to be uncomfortable for a short while to be comfortable in the long term
9. Talking to Strangers – making friends as an adult is not difficult
10. The 48 Laws of Power – being the only one in the room that looks like you means, that you need to learn about other people’s emotions and adapt to succeed
11. Losing My Virginity – How to pivot
12. The Only Woman in the Room – People will understatement you, but use it to your advantage
Contact Info:
- Website: handmadebyjeanettett.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/handmade_byjeanettett/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Handmadebyjeanette
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanette-roxanne-marcelle-84b81319/
