Today we’d like to introduce you to Adrianne Walker.
Adrianne, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am Chef Adrianne “A’Bella” Walker, a small-town girl from Greenville, South Carolina with Creole and Caribbean roots. I grew up watching my grandmothers cook everything from Caribbean oxtails and Creole seafood gumbo to homemade yeast rolls, sweet potato pie and Southern fried chicken. In July of 2014, I started “A’Bella Catering,” which then was simply selling plates from my little loft in the heart of Downtown Nashville, during my senior year of college at Tennessee State University. After rave reviews and much success, I knew it was my calling and one month after graduating. I moved to Los Angeles to start my culinary journey at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. While in school, I was a sous chef at a Caribbean restaurant, had an externship at a senior living facility and I also catered for various influencers, athletes, actors and artists.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
You must have thick skin because everything won’t be happiness and fancy plates and most executive chefs don’t walk around giving high fives. If you jump right into entrepreneurship, which is amazing, make sure you’ve done a cost analysis and know exactly how much you’re spending on everything down to the last cent. There will be people who don’t believe you can cook if you’re a woman. The culinary industry isn’t the same as cooking for your family at home. There will be chefs who hire you then fire you because intimidate them. You will feel overwhelmed, overworked and underpaid at times. Let’s not forget you will be in a kitchen 12 hours or more some days and there will be blood, sweat and tears. Those are just a few things I struggled with at some point.
A’Bella Catering – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My company is A’Bella Catering, my services include but are not limited to weddings, baby and bridal showers, school events, business luncheons/dinners, private in-home dining, travel chef and meal preps. I also have a blog called A’Bella-food/health/beauty. I believe that what you eat is the root of everything, that’s why health and beauty is so important to me as well because it all starts with food. All of my dishes aren’t kale and quinoa every now and then I live for a buttery mac and cheese or even a banana pudding cheesecake, but I believe it’s all about balance for overall health and that’s the beauty of mind, body and soul food. I think that’s what sets me apart from being someone who cooks Caribbean & southern comfort food but can also switch it up, go vegan and vegetarian for a month and do two a days in the gym.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment has been being recognized by Upstate Parent Magazine as someone who built a brand and business from the ground up as a parent and single mom. I’ve worked really hard and it has all been for my son and that dope to me that he’ll get to see and read that one day. They also let him be a part of the shoot with me so that was cool.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.iamabella.com
- Email: chefabella@iamabella.com
- Instagram: @chef.abella/@abellacatering
- Facebook: ABella Catering
- Twitter: @abellacatering
Image Credit:
Jeremiah’s Photography
Sasha Q Johnson Photography
Deidre Mills Makeup
The Q Brand PR
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