Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica Tuggle.
Hi Erica, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in a household that really valued homemade food as my mom is an amazing cook. That was the beginning of my relationship with food as a source of nutrition and connection. I also always had a creative spirit as a child. When I got older, I wanted my career to reflect these things so I focused my studies at New York University and Harvard Business School in marketing and business and ultimately gained jobs as a brand builder in the food and beverage industry. While I was advancing in my career, and leading the food and beverage strategy for Coca-Cola, I was also building my family with my husband. We quickly found that the demands of our careers and raising a family with young kids were a lot to manage simultaneously. We needed solutions to make the life we worked so hard for more enjoyable and for us that meant figuring out how to eat well and still spend time together as a family. After discussing these woes with other moms, I learned that some people were solving this problem by hiring a home cook – a person with cooking skills and reasonable rates. The ease of having someone shop for you and prepare and store meals in your own kitchen sounded like a dream to me and everyone else I talked to. So I set out to figure out how to make the benefits of personal cooking – mainly better health and time savings – available to more people.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Entrepreneurship is never a smooth road! That was the scariest part of the decision I made to leave corporate and become an entrepreneur. Everyone will initially find challenges in finding your market, securing funding, building the right team. Those are some of the fundamentals and what most people talk about, but the mental and emotional trials have been the greatest challenges for me. When you are building something from nothing, you will be faced with opposition, really tough questions, and very long days. I’ve had to lean into my faith, my family, and confidence in my proven abilities. For me the greatest lesson has been to check in on me and adjust as needed. If I’m not healthy, then I can’t expect the business to be.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Cookonnect?
Cookonnect is your family’s in-home chef. We connect busy families with accessible, pre-vetted chefs for in-home meal preparation services. We help families save time and eat better by completely eliminating the burden of meal planning and preparation. It is essentially a more affordable way to have the dream of a home chef! At Cookonnect, we pre-screen up-and-coming chefs in Atlanta and provide them with the tools necessary to deliver exceptional, in-home meal services. Chefs in our network shop for the ingredients, cook in the customer’s kitchen and leave the kitchen clean. In order to book a chef, our customers only have to go to our website at cookonnect.com, select their menu items, and let us know any customizations required for their order. We aim to provide the easiest and most accessible way to enjoy a fresh, homemade meal and our incredible chefs deliver that every day.
What makes you happy?
My family makes me happy. I am happiest when we are enjoying moments together. My husband is truly my best friend and our young children light up every room (they are full of personality and are just so special). We have a home that is full of laughter and lots of hugs. And while there are certainly stressful moments, I always know that I will be most comfortable, most seen, and most loved with them. Honestly, this is the driver for me behind Cookonnect. We spend so much time in our kitchens (more time cooking than anything else we do in the home) and that takes away from our time with our loved ones. I get so much joy from hearing that other people are enjoying their families instead of completing another chore in the home all because they booked a Cookonnect meal service.
Pricing:
- Meals as low as $21 per person for 4 or more people
Contact Info:
- Website: cookonnect.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cookonnect/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cookonnect/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cookonnect-inc
Image Credits
Jeffrey Dansby
