Meet Rachel Roberts

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rachel Roberts . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Rachel , really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
You always see the food that fills the belly but you never really know the story behind the chef. I started cooking at the tender age of 9 because I was always just one of those curious children that loved to sit in the kitchen watching my mom cook and sometimes trying to help by either peeling vegetables or cleaning meat . My mother always let me go food shopping with her and eventually she said “Rachel go on and add the foods you like to eat into the cart!” Little me loved that she allowed me to do this and I started filling up the cart with lots of shrimp and steaks. Soon after, my mom allowed me to cook the shrimp and steak that I added to the cart. Preparing shrimp has always been the most exciting thing for me because I was the only one in my household that actually ate them. One day, my mom decided to try my signature shrimp dish and the smacking noises that I heard come from my mom confirmed for me that cooking was going to be my thing, my passion.

As I got older, I would cook burgers and fries for my friends. My friends really enjoyed my famous burgers and hand cut fries. They would always ask, “Rachel when are you cooking next for us?!” Their enjoyment of the food that I created with my hands made me always look forward to cooking for them again. So when I graduated junior high school, I knew right then and there that I wanted to be a Chef. I decided to go to William E. Grady high school to focus on culinary arts. Unfortunately, culinary arts at Grady didn’t quite turn out how I expected it to be. First, I had a horrible teacher and then my older sister passed away. My older sister’s passing really shook me to my core and I eventually just got distracted and strayed away from my path of cooking.

But you see when something is destined for you, it will always reappear back in your life. Twelve years later, I got a call I never thought I would get in my life which led me back to one of my first loves, cooking! I knew I would need a certificate and signed up for culinary arts school at Hostos community college. I also knew school wouldn’t be free and I needed to make sure I had these payments every two weeks to continue my program. So one day as I was cooking dinner at home, my sister showed me a picture of a shrimp deviled egg which inspired me to make them one day with dinner. At this time, everyone loved posting food pictures on social media and I decided to share some pictures of the shrimp deviled eggs I prepared. Well, these photos went viral and folks were messaging me to make these eggs for them which eventually allowed me to make enough money to pay for my entire culinary arts CUNY certificate! In fact, the shrimp deviled eggs did so well that I soon pivoted to selling dinners, which I never saw coming. Dinners eventually led to me receiving catering orders. I never saw all of this coming but I stayed consistent and dedicated because I didn’t want to lose cooking again. Cooking opened up so many doors for me; I started meeting more people, seeing more places and expressing myself through my food. Here I am six years later – a testament to all the great work I put in – as the proud owner of Chef Kitty’s Cuisine where I pour my heart and soul into making amazing food for my people!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
What makes cooking and being a chef so special to me is hearing and seeing the retuning customers knowing my food is the reason it brought joy to an event whether it was a sad occasion or a joyful one. I treasure these moments even when things aren’t as busy as usual it’s keep me afloat with faith, so that’s keep me motivated to keep going and knowing I couldn’t quit even if I decided too because my customers will look for me and remind me. I launched my very own usda approved seasonings blends. One is a seafood blend and is a vegan vegetable blend. Taking the time to package and create all labels by myself to now have my seasonings blends located in a grocery store located in Brooklyn at 437 Tompkins Avenue and a very popular fish market located in Brooklyn named Shipwreck seafood boutique at 1047 Bedford Avenue so if you are ever in the neighborhood of Brooklyn show kitty some love !

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I would say the three qualities and skills that’s been the most impact to me on my journey is determination, faith & passion. I started with determination first because anything I wanted to accomplish on this journey I’ve been determined to get done & actually have got it done. The more I seen for myself and for my business I knew it was capable to get done because of the faith that was kept from the beginning til today. It’s so easy to get distracted when you feel you should be doing more and not recognizing how far you actually come from when I started. So it’s very important to keep the faith when it’s good, bad , busy or slow. Passion is the most important. When you are passionate about what you are doing as a career you eventually love it so much more so it not even like work for you more like doing what you love to receive income. My advice for those younger than me that will like or love to be a chef “start today make it perfect later “ I didn’t have anyone tell me how to do things it was trail and error for me so it taught me so much more about myself and my business.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I would love to partner up and collaborate with chefs from different states and countries. I feel networking can get you in doors degrees can’t and places you wouldn’t even imagine yourself in position to be in. So if you reading this and located all over or in any where in the world and you are dedicated and passionate about your craft I would love to collaborate being a New York CUNY certified chef.

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