Meet Josephine (Josie) Scherer

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Josephine (Josie) Scherer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Josephine (Josie), we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I have always been drawn to cooking and baking ever since I was a little girl. My family is Italian (explains a lot) but beyond this, I have always had a strong relationship with food. I would always turn the channel from Disney Channel to Food Network, I would beg my mom for food magazines and cookbooks, and I would constantly be in the kitchen learning what my mom was doing and mimicking her until I was old enough to use the stove like a “big girl.” Food has remained a cornerstone of my life for as long as I can remember: to celebrate milestones, to show my love to someone, and to gather together and enjoy each other’s company. Food is very emotional for me in many regards and I feel it every time I am in the kitchen and wish to convey that to others through my food.

I went to college and was enrolled in pre-business courses, excited to pass with flying colors and follow in my dad’s footsteps. However, that did not happen at all. I ended up failing my courses and went home after first semester crying because I had, quite literally, never received a D as my final grade on anything, let alone my transcript. I was mortified and didn’t know where to turn. My parents told me I was not going to go back to school with my major being “Undecided” so I created three different PowerPoints outlining different major options that included where the graduates of those colleges were now. Those three colleges were Interior Design and Fashion Merchandising, Communications, and Social Work. Yours truly decided to put all of my energy into the Fashion Merchandising degree after passionately presenting this PowerPoint to them and came out of my second semester of college with all A’s. Go figure. So, I continued down that path, working at various retail stores and interning at a wholesale marketplace and at a fashion and e-commerce PR company based out of New York City during COVID. I graduated with a BS in Fashion Merchandising and a minor in General Business. Since I graduated only a year after COVID hit the world, there weren’t many opportunities in the fashion realm so I decided to move back home to San Diego and work at my dad’s accounting company. At first, it was only temporary as I continued to look for a job in the fashion world but when I continued to not receive any fashion job offers, I decided to do a solo trip to Europe.

When COVID hit in 2020, I was studying abroad in Florence, Italy. My group was the first batch of students to be sent home only 4 short weeks after arriving. I had worked two jobs while being in school, missed social events and missed seeing my friends all so that I could save money for my semester abroad only to get there, get settled, and then be told my housing was being shut down and that I had to leave the country within 7 days. So, you could imagine I was still itching to travel my heart out. After working and living at home for about a year after graduation, I booked my flights to Europe and was off for 2.5 months of pure bliss. Truly, it was the best time of my life. I went to pasta making classes, olive oil tastings, wine tastings, croissant-making class, a prosciutto factory, a family-owned farm that has been making balsamic vinegar for over 300 years, you get the picture. I trained to Bologna and had bolognese and tortellini en brodo in their actual birthplace! I dined and stayed at Massimo Bottura’s bed and breakfast off the beaten path in Modena, Italy. My travels revolved around food: learning about its origins, tasting and evaluating, and eating at restaurants alone, ordering in broken Italian and French (big deal for someone who was not used to this). So, when I returned back to the States, I re-evaluated what I was truly looking for. There was one night I was standing in my kitchen, making dinner (ironically), and asking my parents what I was going to do now with a lump in my throat. They said, “Why don’t you actually give this cooking thing a try?! Do what you have loved for so long, but ‘for real’!” I truly had never even considered this. It was a revelation. I began my Instagram page, then built my website….then built a Tik Tok…. and nothing has been the same since.

I am eternally grateful for a family and for parents who support me all the way, no matter what. They empower me to do what I love most and to not be afraid of failing, because that’s how you learn! Creating my own business and showing others how to make, love, and enjoy food as much as I do is my passion and brings me so much joy. I find my purpose in every recipe I develop, in every new city and culture I experience through food, and in every person who supports me and encourages me to keep going.

Cheers to failing forward and following your dreams!

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I specialize in Italian, Italian-American, and Californian cuisine and am self taught. I have been honing my skills since I was little, watching almost every episode of Chopped, Giada at Home, and Barefoot Contessa and testing different cooking methods in the kitchen. It wasn’t until 2022 that I began sharing my cooking, baking, and recipes online through social media pages and my website. I am focused on building my business through recipe development, brand and content creator collaborations, and attending culinary school to continue my culinary education (in the near future!). I am most excited about attending culinary school, the upcoming brand collaborations I have in the pipeline, and the cookbook clubs I have been hosting here in San Diego, CA.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I would say compassion for myself as I learn different skills and try new things is a big factor in shaping how my recipes come out and my creative process for developing recipes. I would also say courage, in both trying new foods and being confident in myself in the kitchen. I have personally struggled with this and food has slowly begun to be the area in which I shine and have the most confidence in myself. This process has taken me years worth of recreating recipes, honing my skill(s), and becoming more confident in the various techniques and flavor combinations I use and experiment with in the kitchen. The final quality I would say that has been the most impactful on my journey thus far is adaptability. Early in 2023, my family began a kitchen remodel that was supposed to last 4 months and ended up taking a year. I created a schedule to cook at a friend’s or family member’s house every weekend (since I still was working a 9-5 during the week) so that I could film my content and still release recipes while this was going on. I would pack up my Jeep, do a giant grocery store run, drive to a friend or family member’s house, and cook/film for about 8 hours, pack everything up, and then drive back home. This was quite the testament to my determination in getting Jo’s Kitchen off the ground and I would say I came out stronger for SURE! I learned how to be flexible, adaptable, and laugh when things were definitely not going my way in someone else’s kitchen, especially if the person didn’t have the appliances or tools I needed to complete my recipe(s). I believe I am better for that experience and am beyond grateful for the beautiful kitchen I get to cook and create all my content in today.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

I would definitely attribute this to my parents. They continue to support, encourage, love, and challenge me to be the best version of myself and continue to reach for the stars. There are no limits and anything is possible if you put your mind to it (and work your butt off!). I thoroughly enjoy working on a project and working through a challenge, especially in the food world. My parents have instilled in me a strong work ethic, perseverance and determination, and optimism that I am eternally grateful for. I would not be where I am today without them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://injoskitchen.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/injoskitchen/
• Other: Tik Tok handle: https://www.tiktok.com/@injoskitchen

Image Credits

Robyn Scherer Photography for headshots. All other photos taken by myself, Josephine (Josie) Scherer.