Today we’d like to introduce you to Amani Strong.
Hi Amani, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
From a very young age, I always found an interest in being in the kitchen. My great grandmother was a wedding planner, seamstress, baker, and mother of eleven. Although she kept busy raising my family and running her business, she always found time to spend quality time with me in the kitchen; whether it was helping her mix cake batters or licking the bowl at the end, I quickly developed an understanding of love and community through food.
In high school, I didn’t work, yet cooking would be my way of helping out around the house and eventually when I was in college, I hosted events that I catered myself. Throughout school, many of my friends and family encouraged me to open my own business and as I began to go after the things I truly wanted in my senior year of college, I began selling plates to my peers as “Detroit Phoodie”. Given that my college town, Ann Arbor, didn’t have any soul food options (my specialty), my business quickly grew and stayed in high demand. Catering from home can be a struggle sometimes as far as space and hiring a trusted staff, yet with the support of my friends, family, social media following and customers, I continue to work towards my bigger goals of having my own restaurant and culinary school.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Being an entrepreneur, home chef, and teacher has its challenges, yet are very outweighed by the reward of my craft and the purpose I serve to my community. Some obstacles as a young entrepreneur in the food industry may include fronting your own money for food, not knowing if you’ll sell out at certain events or balancing work and time for yourself, knowing you’re your own marketing team, financial advisor, and all-around staff.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Following the start of the pandemic, I took a backseat to catering and honed in on foodie content creation. I develop recipes and review restaurants throughout Detroit and have gotten a lot of support from other Detroiters on Tiktok and Instagram. I proud that not only does my content make me happy, but it’s useful to those who don’t know how to cook at home or need to find a good restaurant in the city and most importantly, I’m proud that I am unapologetically myself.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love everything about my city, it’s who I am. Our hustler spirit, the cockiness in the way we carry ourselves, and the resilience Detroiters have is one of a kind. The food is definitely a plus because I love the variety we have here versus any other city, we have really great taste!
Pricing:
- Private Chef Services start at $250
- Social Media Ads start at $50
- Classes start at $200
Contact Info:
- Email: detroitphoodie@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.detroitphoodie.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/detroitphoodie/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/detroitphoodie/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/detroitphoodie?lang=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWI4QNEe8oD1a9qTqkXFbLA?view_as=subscriber
