Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth McCann.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Elizabeth. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a native Houstonian, Ole Miss Rebel, professional chef, and entrepreneur. In 2012, I established A Day from Scratch, a boutique catering service specializing in custom cuisine for weekly meals, cocktail parties, intimate dinners, special celebrations and every occasion in between.
I received my Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management from the University of Mississippi. Through living in a few different cities, pursuing a few different careers, I found my creative outlet in the kitchen. My love of cooking and its role in community building and memory-making led me to further my culinary education. I studied my craft at Le Cordon Bleu, cooking cuisines from around the globe and eating my way through Texas. I have worked in various restaurants, a spa, for a catering company all while growing A Day from Scratch through word of mouth and tasteful dinners since 2012.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Wow, owning your own business is never a smooth road; I have done a ton of learning along the way.
It’s so funny when I meet someone new and they ask what I do for a living I’m always anxious to see their reaction to “I am a chef.” So many times, it is followed with “oh my gosh, how fun, what’s your favorite thing to cook?” I usually tell them some new favorite dish I’m working on but in my head I’m just thinking back to the days when it was uncertain if I would have any clients or the fact that I’ve been on my feet cooking for 12 hours and all I really want is a green juice or a slice of pizza, or that I spend some days doing busy work that comes with keeping your own books. Being a chef is so fun and I get to be creative on a daily basis, but sometimes, even something as fun as being a chef can feel like I’m grinding in a tedious job.
Finding a business in itself when I first moved back to Houston was a challenge. I remember for the first few months most of my business came from my mom’s bunco group or my aunt’s dinner parties. It took a while to build up a client base that keeps me working full time. I think that insecurity of not knowing if I was going to be able to even build a business is what keeps driving me today.
Even though there have been many days when it feels like I’m prepping and cooking a Thanksgiving feast days and days in a row, owning my own business has been so rewarding. I love getting to be a part of my client’s family meals during the week so they can sit down and chat with their kids about their day instead of making a mess in the kitchen. I’ve been a part of so many celebrations from birthdays to anniversaries and even a pre-chemo feast. I’m building a little community around food and no matter how many crummy days of busy bookkeeping there are, that little community is what keeps me going.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the A Day from Scratch story. Tell us more about the business.
A Day from Scratch is a boutique catering service specializing in custom cuisine for weekly meals, cocktail parties, intimate dinners, special celebrations and every occasion in between.
I started my little catering company grassroots style, one client at a time. Every day and week looks different. Some days, I am in a client’s home stocking their refrigerator for their family to have healthy meals on hand all week. Some days, I am catering a bank’s board meeting with heavy hors d’ devours. Sometimes, I am teaching a cooking class to a group of women sipping wine having a girl’s night out. Some days, I am plating and serving a four-course dinner party to a group of people celebrating a birthday. What I love about my little company is that everything I do is custom created based on what my clients are looking for. Want a vegan brunch? I’ve got you covered. Want a wild game dinner with your family? Done. One of the things that keeps me excited and creative is continuing to learn new cuisines and finding ways to incorporate them into my client meals.
Staying small and focusing on exactly what the client is looking for is what I think sets me apart. Custom menus, custom nutrition, custom events; everything is specialized to make sure that any culinary vision can come to life.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t necessarily think that luck has played much of a role in my business, more so relationships have.
When I moved back to Houston to start growing my little company I didn’t have a single client. I had some experience from culinary school, restaurants, a spa, and catering jobs; but all I had really was a resume.
The relationships I have in my life really gave me the platform I needed to showcase my skills. My mom would hire me to do dinner for her bunco group, my aunt hired me countless times for dinner parties and many of my friends passed my information onto their colleagues and friends. If I didn’t have these relationships in my life I don’t know how successful I would be today. There are so many people that just gave me a chance and then someone else gave me a chance, and then a few more and a few more and now I have this amazing group of clients. I think the best thing about the way I have grown my business is seeing how invested my family and friends have been in my success, and in a way it makes the success all of ours.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.adayfromscratch.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @adayfromscratch
- Facebook: @adayfromscratch
Image Credit:
Kendall Hanna Photography
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