We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chef Evelyn Jeanette. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chef Evelyn below.
Chef Evelyn , sincerely appreciate your selflessness in agreeing to discuss your mental health journey and how you overcame and persisted despite the challenges. Please share with our readers how you overcame. For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
I think the first thing that is important is acknowledging mental illness or mental health issues. Acknowledging to yourself that you might need a little more help than just a hug. I feel it’s really important to always check in with yourself, ask yourself how you are doing, ask yourself if you need anything of importance that can help you through your day. It could be something as small as saying positive affirmations to yourself. I personally make sure that I journal; it’s something that I have been doing as a child. I stopped journaling in my 20s but now in my 30s I find myself writing more. I find myself acknowledging my true feelings and finding ways on how to deal with those feelings. Learning to protect my peace, no matter what. Any bad thoughts about myself I try to think of five positive things about myself. I know bad situations or bad experiences are a part of life; but it doesn’t last forever.
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 am Chef Evelyn Jeanette, I am the Owner and Executive Chef for Evelyn & Company Catering LLC.The most exciting thing about my job is going to all these different places I get to attend some really cool, creative, fun events. My company has been going on for about four years at least three years strong minus the pandemic. It has its own challenges, but I have learned so much and grown so much in the process. We are expanding to meal prep as part of our catering and trying to make it one of the go to meal prep companies in Austin,TX and surrounding areas.Austin is a huge music and food kind of place and we just want to be a part of it. We have brought out some apparel at these local events and have gotten great feedback on them so we will be expanding our apparel, and just growing as a business. We are also going back to YouTube. I’ll be adding episodes where you can see us in action, handling our catering. We are going to be sharing a lot of behind the scenes, the processes of completing a catering event, attending different markets, and just the hustle of it all.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
When I really sit back and think about things, I think one of the most important qualities that I’ve learned to have and gain would have to be patience. I’ve heard that word so much growing up that as an adult it’s I think I’m finally understanding what it means because everything is about timing in this business. You really are walking your own journey and things don’t just happen because you want them to happen. I’m learning it’s OK to sit back and sharpen your skills and to start all over again; as long as you start and never give up. I had to learn how to become a sponge again, how to become the best student again with owning your own business. Things are always changing and you have to know how to adapt to those changes. Rather if it’s in my business or personal life, I take those changes head up and chest out. I embrace those changes, because it’s necessary . I’ve learned that if I’m not open minded to always learning and to be OK with being a student that ultimately my business would not go anywhere, so keep an open mind. Try to always work to do things that are better for your business. For instance, I hired a business coach for two years of my business to help me to just concentrate on my business. I joined the Black Women In Business of Austin, to better myself as a business woman, and to meet other people who I can scratch their back and vise versa. The grind and hustle in me is so real out here.
I would also say learning your business inside and out, and not according to what you see other people doing, but what works best for you and your business. You can see someone in the same field as you, and even like their ideas and how they work their business that doesn’t mean that that’s going to work for you. We have to remember that we are individuals; so finding out what you bring to the table is what’s important. Finding a skill that interests you, learning your skill and mastering your skill would be keys to you having a successful business. The best advice that I could or would give anyone is accept change, learn to roll with the punches and stay a student.If it came to you in a dream then it’s yours and don’t let anyone take that from you.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
The most impactful thing my parents have ever done for me is believe in me. My mother believed in herself enough to accomplish all her goals that she had in her life, and she accomplished every single one of them. You talk to her and she would say she still has more goals. And when you are raised around someone who is goal oriented and believes in themselves, then that’s the kind of energy that they feed into you. So while I was growing up, I was always told I could be whatever I wanted to be, I could do whatever I wanted to do , and that she always has my back. Now my father wasn’t around as much to raise me, but he also accomplished certain dreams and his life. I feel like because they knew who they were as people and what they wanted to do that same spirit was inside of me so I didn’t have to look far for encouragement. I can look at my mother, my sisters, my brother, my cousins , my close friends, even my children, etc. To me, it’s very impactful because if I didn’t have a supportive “team” that didn’t believe in me, or have my back, then it would make things a little more difficult not impossible just a little more difficult.I truly know that I’m something special, I hope everyone feels like that!
Contact Info:
- Website: Evelyncompanycateringllc.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/evelyncompanycatering?igshid=MjEwN2IyYWYwYw==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChefEvelynATX?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chef-evelyn-jeanette-653586223
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@chefevelynjeanette1143
