We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stephan Bourgond. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stephan below.
Stephan, thanks for taking the time to share your lessons with our community today. So, let’s jump right in – one of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. Where does your self-discipline come from?
I learned self-discipline at an extremely young age. Before getting into the culinary world, I was a professional ballet dancer. I went to a private ballet school from the age of 10, moved to Germany when I was 17 to pursue a professional career, and at age 20 went to Les Ballets de Monte Carlo in Monaco where I was a Principal Dancer.
Working towards a career at such a young age, we were training daily as well as keeping up with a full academic schedule. This vigorous activity required a lot of self discipline- making sure you’re eating what your body needs, working outside the scheduled hours to improve stamina, strength, agility, and continuing to feed the mind with studies. The only person that would truly make us great was ourselves, and there was no shortage of teachers and ballet masters reminding us of that. It became clear that, even with all the knowledge, corrections, and criticism that came from the staff, it was up to us dancers to truly push ourselves.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am the chef and co-owner of Baskette, a grab-and-go cafe in the Fremont area of Seattle. Baskette is a culinary playground where gastronomy meets grab and go. We wanted to create a place where people could be more intentional about how they eat when they are on the move. It’s all too easy to grab something that seems “filling” but doesn’t check other boxes. Using fresh, seasonal ingredients, we make food that is both a pleasure and nutritious. Eating on the go doesn’t have to be a chore, and taking the time to offer delicious choices to people truly makes their experience more enjoyable.
As an added bonus, we also carry a lot of local goodies – tea from the San Juan Islands, chocolate that supports women owned cocoa bean farms, tinned fish and seafood that comes from the surrounding areas, and some mocktails from women owned businesses.
We also have a curated collection of natural wines, both local and international. Drinking natural wines in a great way to indulge, but again, with a little more intention. The minimal use of sulphites means minimal headaches and a much more enjoyable drinking experience. The last Wednesday of every month is dedicated to our Wine Tasting at Baskette. Usually driven by a theme (the next one, for example, is California wines), I create small finger foods to pair with the wines and customers have a chance to learn from our distributors about the joy and benefits of natural wines.
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?
Whenever anyone asks me what advice I would give someone who is planning on starting their own business is, first and foremost, be in therapy. There are A LOT of challenges, a lot of new situations that cannot be planned for, and a lot of disappointment, stress, and exhaustion. Alternatively, there is a lot of fulfilment, pride, excitement, and beauty that comes from owning your own business. I think it is important to have a dedicated outlet to be able to organise all the new emotions that come with this adventure. Being able to allow time to process those things has helped me to be more present when I am home with my partner, or gives me the tools to be able to talk about my day.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I feel overwhelmed, I have found that the best thing I could possibly do is put on my favourite song, loudly, and have a one minute dance break. It completely resets my rhythm, allows me to be silly, and tends to help me cool down.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mybaskette.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/basketteseattle/?hl=en
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/baskette-seattle
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
