Today we’d like to introduce you to Jalisa “Jay” Jackson.
Jalisa “Jay”, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in a single-parent household with my three siblings in Chicago, Illinois. We moved to different places until we finally settled in Atlanta where I was able to start to setup a good foundation for myself. I started cooking at a really young age and was curious about trying different ingredients from watching different culinary shows. I attended culinary school where I was able to further my knowledge of cooking skills and even while in school, I landed my first job at a popular Asian restaurant. Upon completing culinary school, I continued my journey working through different restaurants and in the process of working my way around the culinary industry, I realized that I was going to be limited on my growth unless I decided to take a leap of faith, trust in everything I had learned over the past ten years, and venture into things on my own. So in 2021, I decided to not go to back to my job and work on my catering business full time.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The journey to get me to where I am today wasn’t the easiest. Having had a child at a young age had me make tough decisions between motherhood and pursuing my dreams and I had to stop culinary school to take care of my responsibilities and for a while I didn’t think I would be able to go back. Once I finally got a chance to complete my degree, I found a job with a local restaurant and continued working there while focusing on my family, but it wasn’t enough. I was able to land what was my dream job with a luxury hotel brand and was able to continue learning and growing. But being in an industry that doesn’t shine enough light on women and their talents had me feeling capped at my true potential. When Covid happened it offered me an opportunity to focus on my menu and create some dishes I’d had for a while and I decided that what was going to make me truly happy was following my own dream and that’s when Ember Hospitality was officially established in 2021. Through finding balance, I was able to keep my visions and goals on track and trust when the timing was right for me to take a leap of faith.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Although my specialty is Asian cuisine, I became known for my unique take on everyday dishes and being able to create personalized menus catered to a client’s requests. I am proud of myself because even through my mistakes and lessons learned through this process, I never gave up. I am also proud that I was able to build my own community now that has helped, supported and kept me motivated to not give up and believe that my talents were meant for the world to experience. My fusion of the many cultures I was able to work in during my culinary journey has given me an opportunity to combine that in with my cultural roots and offer a unique experience that is not seen very often in the catering world.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Taking the leap is going to be the hardest part of starting out but the satisfaction of accomplishing your dream greatly outweighs the fear. You’re going to make mistakes, don’t beat yourself up over them and instead use them as learning opportunities.
I wish I knew starting out that it is stressful independently starting out but the joy that I have gotten from seeing my clients happy at the end makes it all worth it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tasteofember.com
- Instagram: @tasteofember
- Facebook: tasteofember
Image Credits
Always Elizabeth Lanae Photography
