Life and Work with Tanya Moore

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tanya Moore.

Tanya, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I took a liking to cooking when I was a young girl. I used to watch my grandmother & great grandmother bake and cook for many people over the years. Cooking was a gift that came naturally for me and I’ve always enjoyed how creative I could be with food. By the age of 12, I was preparing full meals for my family. I had an offer to go to Johnson & Wales after high school but decided to attend a 4-year university instead. I kept cooking throughout the years and then in my early 30’s, I started selling dinner plates and that’s when I realized I could take my talent and make it a legitimate business. I relocated to Atlanta from Virginia and after a few years of being here, I started my catering business TND Good Eats. I continue to learn daily and improve my craft to stay relevant. I am currently working on creating a cookbook & my YouTube channel to share some of my best practices in cooking.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As with anything that involves success, I definitely experienced my share of challenges. Money was definitely an obstacle. Catering equipment can be costly and trying to budget to invest in myself along with day to day bills was a struggle. Also, because I relocated from my hometown where I had a large clientele base to Atlanta where I had no clients I had to rebuild my brand and contacts. As a business owner, I was lacking the two most important components, money, and resources. Eventually, I progressed in my corporate career and that opened the door for me to put money aside to pour into my business. I also started using social media and friends in the business to gain contacts and attend networking events around Atlanta. I would encourage anyone that wants to have a successful business to keep pushing no matter how tough it may be, the resources and money will come.

Please tell us about TND Good Eats.
I offer catering, private dining, meal prep services & cooking lessons for my clients. I also do a lot of vendor events which are my favorite because it gives me an opportunity to showcase some of my best dishes to a diverse group of people. I specialize in soul food or what I like to call food for the soul. Children call me the mac & cheese lady, while most adults refer to me as the young lady who cooks like someone’s grandma. As a brand, I am most proud of the joy I bring to people through food and the inspiration I give to others who may be interested in starting a business. I can take someones bad day and change it to a great day with a scoop of macaroni. My food is like therapy, once you try it your life will never be the same and that’s what sets me apart from others. I create a food experience.

Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well-positioned for?
Opportunities for Women are unlimited. Women are well-positioned for entrepreneurship, politics, & leadership. Those are specific areas where women historically took a back seat to men. Women are now at the face of change today and are some of the most influential beings on the planet. Women run the world.

Contact Info:

• Email: tndgoodeats@gmail.com
• Instagram: tndgoodeats
• Facebook: tndgoodeats

Image Credit:
Tanya Moore, Tamara Takor, Angel Strickland, Ayanna Moore, Crystal Thomas

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