Meet Arshiya Farheen

We recently connected with Arshiya Farheen and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Arshiya, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience comes from a combination of personal experiences, professional challenges, and the environments in which I grew up and now operate. Here are some examples of my sources :

1. Early Life Experiences: People growing up in India typically do not have a very structured and planned day to day life. It’s normal to be faced with setbacks, unexpected circumstances and because of this, we learn crucial coping mechanisms and problem-solving skills that are valuable in high-pressure environments like professional kitchens.

2. Professional Challenges: The French culinary industry was demanding, with long hours, high pressure, and intense competition along with an added language barrier. Overcoming these professional hurdles built resilience as I learnt to manage stress, adapt to changing situations, and persist despite setbacks. Embracing failures as learning opportunities rather than setbacks helped build my resilience as well. I often see challenges as chances to grow, improve, and innovate.
The whole process of starting our business from scratch at a Farmers market, baking during the night followed by selling at the market in the morning working brought a level of physical and mental fortitude that has stayed with me a decade later in life.

3. Educational and Training Opportunities: Formal education and training in culinary arts under strictly traditional French chefs also contributed to my resilience by providing me with technical competence and the ability to handle various challenges.

4. Support Networks: Strong support networks, like family, colleagues, and other chefs in Chicago played a critical role in building resilience. These networks provide emotional support, practical advice when I needed it most.

5. Personal Motivation and Goals: I love creating culinary experiences. I am deeply passionate about my craft, and have clear, long-term goals of being able to promote the economic development of women working in this industry and promote farm to table food in schools. This intrinsic motivation helps me endure long hours and challenging work conditions.

6. Cultural and Social Influences: My background as an Indian, growing up in a household where food is always cooked from scratch and then proceeding to learn the cultural heritage of the very technical French culinary arts, imbued me with a strong sense of identity and purpose. Learning to handle criticism, manage stress, and adapt quickly to changing circumstances are key skills that I developed during this time. This is particularly empowering in a field that values unique voices and perspectives..

7. Innovation and Adaptability: The ability to innovate and adapt to new trends, technologies, and customer preferences helps me stay relevant and resilient in a constantly evolving industry.

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?
I grew up in India, trained professionally in Paris, and now am the head chef and owner of Verzênay, a French patisserie/cafe in Chicago. After graduating from the Ferrandi School of culinary arts Paris and training at hotel Le Meurice & Delmontel, Verzênay became the means to share my passion for high-quality bread, pastries, and desserts. Living in Paris helped me recreate the most authentic and flavorful French desserts in Chicago.

With help & support from my husband, Aqeel, I started Verzênay in 2014 at Green City Farmers Market and grew by catering to hotels and coffee shops. In 2021, we opened our retail store in Lincoln Park.

At Verzênay, our mission is to provide customers with food that is best in taste and quality, with locally sourced clean ingredients. I value my direct relationship with farmers as it supports the community directly and gives me the accessibility to use great quality produce.

We are a minority, woman owned and operated small business with focus on training, supporting and providing a safe and stable work environment for women working in restaurant/bakery kitchens. As a mom, woman of color and chef, I am able to relate and empathize with women in similar roles and position. I personally work with them and their schedules – making it flexible for them to be able to continue their passion at work as well as take care and provide for their family with work schedules that work for them.

There’s so many reasons why I love what I do… I love that I can connect with complete strangers via/because of the food I make. When a person cooks for another, it’s personal – they are sharing a part of themselves by making things with their hands, spending time and effort to make food that is meant to nourish someone else and to bring them joy. Being able to participate in organizations like “Chicago Chefs Cook” and offer aid in time of need. Help support local farmers, building a community of friends and a creating a safe place for people to come in, relax, and build memories around food that we make.

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?
-Ability to adapt and evolve when faced with challenges -Not giving up
-Learning from mistakes and growing from them

A good life journey (personal or professional) is never easy. Often times, our fear is worse than the actual situation and persevering in the toughest of situations will makes us stronger and better prepared for the future no matter the outcome.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
Enrolling in a good school. It was almost beyond their means financially. But the education, confidence and the overall school environment groomed me to be the person I am now.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Cindy Kurman Lightleakpictures

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