Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer Levasseur. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Jennifer, thank you so much for agreeing to open up about a sensitive and personal topic like being fired or laid-off. Unfortunately, there has been a rise in layoffs recently and so your insight and experience with overcoming being let go is relevant to so many in the community.
Slowly. I was fired from one of my previous positions with no warning. I had never been written up but I knew I was unhappy. It came very swiftly – definitely felt myself watching the whole thing happen from outside my body. They told me they would not contest me receiving unemployment – that helped me not to feel rushed. But still, it was so jarring that I had to get out of the area and went about an hour away to stay with my friend and distance myself from the whole situation. I was nauseous for three days – I had never not been able to eat before. Finally on the third night, my friend went out for the evening and I cozied up and watched a movie, I finally felt myself calm down. After that I didn’t force myself to get over it, I healed and my mind shaped what had happened in a different light. I knew that I had to leave that position to achieve the things I really wanted in my life. So after that I asked myself what would I like to try/experience next, and slowly went in that direction.
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?
I have a personal chef company that services Breckenridge, CO and the surrounding area. For the first 5 years, I was the sole chef, but I took a leap to expand and bring on more chefs. Currently I have a team of three chefs with some awesome servers, and prep chefs that assist us when we need extra hands. I’m so excited to have a team of people that love what we do. We have certain staples on our menu which are based on the Colorado regional cuisine which is a combination of mountain and southwestern cuisines. Then from there I flesh out the menu with foods that are approachable and delicious – We did an elevated sloppi jo slider appetizer last winter. Really it wasn’t that elevated, the trick is just to make as much of it from scratch as possible and add on some extra flair – that’s where the personality comes from. We made our own sloppi jo sauce and added fried jalepeno and beer cheese sauce to it. Just by doing that alone- it takes away from the taste of the preservatives and gives the dish freshness and brightness. It is so fun to take a dish that usually comes from a can, etc., that you wouldn’t normally make from scratch and cook it.
One of my chefs is relocating to Denver, so I think the most exciting new news for us is that we are greatly expanding our service area.
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?
Education. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Here is the thing. I wanted so much to head straight to culinary school but I went to university first. I could have done both at the same time, but it’s not uncommon for someone in our life to talk us out of doing our passions. When I was 26 years old I got straight with myself and my passions and went to culinary school. It was THE best time of my life. Some people may go straight into restaurants but if you take the time to get a culinary education it will go a long way. They compliment each other and schooling offers foundational teachings – I have made almost every dish one – or used every technique at least once so if I’m facing cooking a new dish, I already know how to make it because I have done something similar before. Also, I went to community college, I did research and everyone was saying it doesn’t matter the school you go to, you’ll learn all the same. I was so excited to cook that I got a restaurant job right off the bat while going to school. I graduated with no debt because they had special tuition for in-area students. When you are starting off in a restaurant at minimum wage, that’s huge.
The next is – follow directions. I could go into every restaurant I worked at and be stubborn because the previous chef told me to do things differently. You ego could keep your growth stunted. There are techniques I liked better than others and I got to learn from people that knew more than me. Be a sponge – especially when starting out. Plus it’s ALWAYS better to have the favor of your boss.
The last is be proud of the work you are doing. Even though I was making very little money – I looked at it as paying my dues. I knew that wasn’t going to be my situation forever but I enjoyed the journey. I loved working on the line with my coworkers, especially being female in a male dominated industry and knowing I’m a rockstar at what I do.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
Most of the time when I feel overwhelmed I want to just hide away from the world. It could be the smallest thing that triggers me and makes me want to shut down. Usually that’s an indication I’ve been putting up with a lot and I’m hitting my breaking point. So yeah – sometimes I will take a day and shut everything out if I can afford to. I found it is better to do that than to force things and make them worse/more tedious. The next day after that, I’ve calmed down a lot, and I can get back to work with a clear mind and I’m twice as productive as I would have been if I forced myself to push through without giving myself rest. I’m not sure if people would agree this is the best way to handle things- Other people may say “oh, go for a walk” etc. But this is for the extremes when I just need to create a little bubble or safe space from everything thrown at me. It’s important that this is not days on end, it is a rare occurrence when I am extremely overwhelmed On the polar opposite of things- if it’s just a minor feeling of being overwhelmed – take a deep breath, be productive in areas that are less overwhelming, and come back to the main issue once you feel better. Usually getting a lot done around the situation allows you to come back and be like ok, I can handle this.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thehappycuisiniere.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehappycuisiniere/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmQeJ-wgzI2nCnqTKCP3S6Q
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