Story & Lesson Highlights with Ali Waks Adams of Maine

We recently had the chance to connect with Ali Waks Adams and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Ali, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What do you think is misunderstood about your business? 
I think people misunderstand all that goes into catering.

There are so many “Private Chefs” on social media who make it look so easy! They film in a huge immaculate kitchen, and just casually whip up some really nice looking food for 20 people in mere seconds without a smudge, a spill, or a schlep.

Cooking is strenuous, and messy and you have to do 5 things at the same time, there’s no time to aesthetically stir one thing at a time. You have to carry lots of things, and organize them. I am constantly shuffling things are to make room in the walk-in on the shelf on the stove. I go to the farmers market. To farms, to supermarket, order from suppliers always always schlepping. It’s not cute!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Ali Waks Adams. I am the Chef/Owner of Balaboosta, Food Made for You, a boutique catering company in Mid Coast Maine.

We specialize is curated culinary experiences, with and emphasis on Non-Profit fundraisers and donor events.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
I don’t know if this counts but it’s not a single relationship but a series, a conglomerate, a posse.

My friends, I have truly wonderful girlfriends two of which I’ve been friends with since 7th grade.

They see me, they’ve watched me fail and been there to pick up the pieces, they’ve celebrated my successes, They stood by me through the tragedies of losing both of my parents and the joy of finding my life partner.

But most of all they believed in me way more than I could believe in myself for many years despite the bad jobs and the bad boyfriends and the poor choices, They are so wonderful, that when I feel truly shitty about myself I can pause and say well if I was so bad I wouldn’t have such incredible friends, so maybe I’m not that bad.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
There are worse things than having body fat- you could be mean or stupid or a sociopath, you could hate animals or have bad taste.

Having chubby thighs that rub together is not a moral flaw. It’s ok to love food, to want to cook and taste and experience the world through food.

The best thing you can be is not skinny, the best thing is to love and be loved and even though your waist to hip ratio is less than ideal you can still love abd you will be loved .

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
The public version of me is very outgoing and sociable, she flits and floats like butterfly, she chatters abd gabs and gossips. She can’t remember your name but she’ll remember your favorite cheese or that you own a cockatiel or that you hate mustard. She’s fashionable and flashy, opinionated and self assured.

My private self is softer, quieter, less sure of herself, she loves warm socks and soft soft clothes, and is perfectly content to not say a single thing for hours.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What will you regret not doing? 
I will always regret not buying properly when I had the opportunity- there were quite few times it was possible and I failed to see how I was missed the opportunity to create wealth and stability.

I work hard, I have low overhead, I do what I need to but I will always regret to buying that condo, that building that apartment that was such a great deal.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.Balaboostame.com
• Instagram: @balaboostame

Image Credits
I took all of them