Today we’d like to introduce you to Rashad Jiles
Hi Rashad, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve always been a wanderlust! Even before I had ever been on a plane. I’d daydream about the places in the world I wanted to visit. On Sunday’s my mom and I would watch cooking shows on PBS and I would imagine myself tasting the dishes cooked my Michelin Star Chef!
Fast Forward 20 years and I had my dream job as a Flight Attendant! I got to travel all over the world for both business and leisure and I also got to eat the foods I had only dreamt of trying! Then Covid turned our world upside down. I was stuck in the house day dreaming again but this time I decided to keep traveling right in my kitchen.
It caught me completely off guard and the content took off. I built an audience that wanted to travel the world and eat everything just like me! My goal was and still is to inspire people through food to get out and see the world. I have just released my first cookbook, Rashad Eats The World: Using Your Palette As A Passport, in hopes of helping people find their way around the kitchen and venture out into the world.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
This journey has been far from smooth sailing. I quit my job as a flight attendant to pursue food full time with little knowledge of chef life, full time content creation, and entrepreneurship. At one point I regretted the decision because travel didn’t come as easy as it did before but, I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a a reason and at the exact time it’s supposed to. I questioned if should have stayed at my job longer, saved more money, or even done more research. I threw my self into it and had to learn to swim! I had no choice but to become a strong swimmer. I became more confident in who I was and what I could do. I have and still do have moments of imposter syndrome. Like the opportunity is RIGHT THERE and I doubt myself, then I remind myself that “everything happens for a reason”, it would not be presented to me if I were not ready then I go for it, hoping for the best and trusting in my skill.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a self taught chef and world travel enthusiast! My goal is to inspire people, especially people who look like me, to travel the world. I want to introduce them the places they may have never even imagined with food.
Majority of my content is me cooking foods from all over the world and trying as well as introducing my audience to new foods on my travels.
My hope is that I can be a bridge. A familiar face introducing you to sometimes unfamiliar that you’ve been curious about.
I’m most proud of my recent accomplishment, my cookbook! The recipes are all inspired by my life and my travels.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I took a risk on myself. I bet on me 100% and that was a scary thing to do. Meaning I have to hold myself accountable. If I don’t do it, it won’t get done. For the most part, I don’t have someone setting my goals and giving me due dates. It was a big risk because if I’m being honest, I tend to be a procrastinator and stepping into this I was well aware of that fault, it was a big risk!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://found.us/creators/rashadeatstheworld
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/rashadeatstheworld?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rashadeattheworld?si=-fWOlLVkAMrqp8bt
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@rashadeatstheworld?_t=8fkopo1aL1T&_r=1
