Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassandra Faust Gregory.
Cassandra, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As a child, I always had an interest in food!! I watched my dad make delicious meals and my mom bake amazing cakes as a kid. I would sneak and use the Cookbooks when I was home alone in the summer, off from school, and cook all kinds of things! I was totally wasting food…. that my parents still don’t know about, well they will now after today. Eventually, I started cooking meals and having dinner ready by the time they got home so there would be a hot meal on the table and no complaints….. I was only 12!
Since then, my love for food has not wavered one bit. I have had jobs/careers that I thought fit me but when my life changed and I had twins, I took time away from work and began cooking lavish meals at home for my oldest daughter and husband. I posted my pics on Facebook out of boredom. From that sparked the interest of my good friend who needed some extra hands for a job in DC where Former First Lady Obama would be in attendance. I gladly accepted and from that my life changed.
I began working with a well-known chef here in the city and I would learn many tricks of the trade and was well on my way to advance in the culinary field. Or so I thought, until June 4, 2018, when my body went into cardiac arrest and I lost oxygen for over an hour as I lay on the nail shop floor with several people attempting CPR, but, my jaws were clamped shut! I was not expected to live, after all, I was literally a dead body in the nail shop. The doctors at the hospital prepared by parents for the worst!!! Then something happened, they got a hint of a steady pulse. I had to be medically induced into a coma in order to stop my brain cells from dying because my brain hadn’t registered that my body was revived. After being in a coma for a couple of days, my body began to respond and I opened my eyes and I have been in recovery mode ever since.
I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to work or even live a normal life with a defibrillator implanted in my body, but boy was I wrong!! I picked up the pieces and got back to work in less than six months. I have revamped, and I have started my own personal chef service. I LOVE IT!!! I couldn’t imagine being anywhere other than where I am TODAY!!!
Has it been a smooth road?
The health challenges I face get better and better every single day!!! My heart has since returned to 100% functionality and I have a diagnosis for my heart condition so I am able to maintain treatment to suppress further cardiac arrests. I am actually feeling great on most days! My business is moving at a great pace and I am making connections with people who pour into me and my business. So the obstacle I encountered with my health scare definitely made way for many blessings I receive through increased clientele.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Chef Cassi’s Table story. Tell us more about the business.
My company is called Chef Cassi’s Table because we specialize into totally customized menus for events like weddings and corporate events. Our food is cooked on site and it recreates the experience of dining in your favorite restaurant. This is so important to me because there are few things better than delicious food! Once we have arrived to your venue and prepared the items for the evening, our next step is to focus on presentation. I pride my company on creating food you “Eat with your eyes, first…” We put a lot of heart into DESIGNING beautiful plates.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
In the next years to come, I plan to have a fully functioning brick and mortar catering company, as well as an extension of my personal chef services. I believe it is very important to be flexible and find a way to accommodate each audience. I have budget-friendly pricing as well as high-end options. My plan is to maintain the same high-quality standards that we possess right now for each and every client!! This is sure to set us apart…
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chefcassi.com
- Phone: 8322537920
- Email: info@chefcassi.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefcassi/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chefcassistable/
Image Credit:
Justin O’Keith Creative
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