Today we’d like to introduce you to Samone Lett.
Samone, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started out as a personal chef fresh out of culinary school. I had already worked in many restaurants but it wasn’t until I began working for a catering company that I realized what I really enjoyed: forming a connection with people, taking a blank canvas and creating a full event. The American Personal Chef Association came to my school (Le Cordon Bleu Orlando) and I signed up with little hesitation. After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in 2004, my culinary degree, chef bag, and knives were all I needed to aggressively pursue private chef jobs throughout Central Florida. However, things took a turn in 2005 when, just as the business was starting to take off, I found myself homeless.
My previous marriage and catering business fell apart, and I was in a period of instability. I later wrote about it in my spiritual memoir, Lily In The Valley, which I published in 2007.
Having gained a whole lot of wisdom from life’s ups and downs, I made sure that my other experiences were just as important as developing my culinary career. These included volunteering my time at the Lowell Correctional Institution, mentoring women at The Orlando Women’s Work Release, volunteering to feed the homeless and participating in an overseas mission trip to Africa. Helping others shaped me into the chef I am today. After remarrying in 2010, the road to rebuilding Wishful Concepts Catering began, and I was inspired to focus on my passion for culinary arts full-time.
My company was resurrected and rebuilt with a small team of faithful family and friends; the new foundation would be family. Since 2011, we’ve run more than 400 events. From Orlando to Vero Beach, my company was able to deliver a high-quality service despite lacking so many resources. Restarting the catering business meant starting from scratch, so there was very little money, help or access to working capital. With that said, in 2013 we won our first “Best Of Weddings” award from The Knot (the leading all-in-one wedding-planning resource) in a commissary kitchen! Just a year later, we were eventually able to set up our own brick and mortar business location that included our own consultation space, kitchen facility and storage area for our linens and catering equipment. We would go on to receive The Knots “Best Of Weddings” award seven more times, with our first one right here in Atlanta GA!
We relocated to Atlanta because we recognized a better opportunity for growth. I also discovered a camaraderie among so many chefs here, especially black women chefs, and this was something I didn’t have in Orlando, Fl. After meeting with a chef who I consider to be a fantastic mentor, my husband and I decided to relocate. It’s the best thing we could have done! We feel incredibly blessed to be here – Atlanta is home for us now.
Has it been a smooth road?
It was not an easy road – not at all! While first launching my catering business in 2005, I became homeless but I was able to rebuild the company with the assistance of my husband and his family in 2011.
Restarting the catering business meant starting from scratch, with very little money, help or access to working capital. We had a multitude of challenges, from food production to inventory packing to transportation – all while in a commissary. Although it may have been impractical and inefficient for a professional catering company to operate this way, we worked like this for three years, staying committed to our vision every step of the way.
By 2014, we were eventually able to set up our own brick and mortar business location in Longwood Fl, which included our own consultation space, kitchen facility and storage area for our linens and catering equipment. This meant that we could spread the word about our business and offer even more clients the opportunity to experience our excellent customer service.
Although we lacked access to working capital in the beginning, a personal investment of $12,000 from family members enabled us to complete an office build-out over one year. Although we did face challenges with licenses and permits, this was something my male counterparts didn’t struggle to get approved.
The next issue would be approved venue lists; we found ourselves constantly fighting to be placed on lists even after meeting all of the set requirements. We were invited to do bridal shows at particular venues and became highly recommended by both the vendors we worked with and the brides, yet every year we were told that there were already enough caterers on the list – the same caterers every year. The brides who wanted to book with my company had to pay a higher rate because we were not on those particular venue lists, but they still paid because my company is personable, we provide value and I enjoy getting to know who we are working with; hearing their story not only helps me to better understand their heart, but also their menu needs. Our clients told us that we provided a vast selection and catered to their family’s’ cultural needs. We offered our services to many different ethnic groups and cultures, providing foods that others just weren’t making in an authentic way.
In spite of all the challenges we faced, we’ve been able to:
• Win the “Best of Weddings” from The Knot for seven consecutive years since 2013, including our very first one here in Atlanta GA.
• Stay debt-free during the growth of the business.
• Serve three diverse customer segments: (1) personal chef clients; (2) corporate clients; (3) engaged couples.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Wishful Concepts story. Tell us more about the business.
My company is a personal chef and catering company currently known as Wishful Concepts (although new developments to the company may include a possible name change). I believe that as I have evolved, so has my company. With that said, I want to bring more of what I learned in Orlando to Atlanta by incorporating all of the foods I grew up with and the foods I cooked for my clients, including Columbian, Haitian and Caribbean – to name just a few.
Our company specializes in cultural/international cuisine. I first fell in love with international cuisine when I was stationed in Germany as a food specialist. I traveled all around the surrounding areas and absolutely loved it! Living in the south (my mom is from North Carolina) I’ve had to pull out some of the families recipes – my collard greens, mac & cheese, and fried chicken are the bomb! I like to say that both my clients and my husband’s family upped the ante with the Caribbean and South American Cuisine, especially with his mom being raised in Venezuela. I have recipes that were given to me from a client’s grandma, who trusted me to recreate their Columbia family empanadas and Gallo Pinto recipe (Nicaraguan Rice and Beans); we’ve had Haitian clients come in and try our Haitian Lambi and say it tastes just like their grandmothers – something we get often. A lot of our clients tell me that the taste of my food makes them feel like they’re back at their grandmother’s kitchen table, and it’s those compliments that I live for! I want my food to transport you back to a time when you were with family. I believe that every culture has a soul food and I am privy to know how to make it. I also have a clientele who are more on the healthy side, so for them, we place a large focus not only on healthy food but also on incorporating freshly made juices.
What I believe sets me apart from others is that I don’t box myself in by creating only one type of cuisine for one group of people. I have a diverse culinary selection within my menus. I have found that every culture has its own soul food.
With our catering business, we currently specialize in small intimate weddings – nothing over 75 guests – and we have packages that provide the linen, china, flatware, and glassware.
I am most proud to have been a finalist on Food Network’s Cooks vs. Cons and Food Network Star. A lot of people don’t know that during my period of homelessness, I journaled a lot and from that came four self-help books for women. I am a big advocate for women entrepreneurs and helping women live out their best lives.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
In the next 5-10 years, I will have at least two venue spaces in the Georgia area offering onsite catering.
I’d love a spot big enough to host the Oscars when it comes to GA – and they will come!
On top of that, it would be a dream to have a team doing catering in the film industry as well!
Pricing:
- Personal Chef Services start a $425. We offer Weekly, Biweekly and Monthly Services that include lunch and dinner or just dinner options
- Catering Packages Start as low as $30.00 pp.
- Private Dinner Events Start as low as $75.00.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chefsamone.com
- Phone: office: 404.829.2782 or cell: 404.652.9335
- Email: hello@chefsamone.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefsamone/
Image Credit:
Food Network
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