How many kids do you have?
I have two children. My daughter is 33, she is my unique baby. She suffers from a rare disorder called Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. It’s a severe form of epilepsy that can cause mental, emotional, and physical challenges. And then there is my Joseph, who lifted the black cloud from over my life. He is 19 years old., He played basketball from the age of 4 years old until he graduated high school in 2021. He works at Sam’s Club and is interested in attending Albany University. I also have many bonus kids, and my home is an open door for teenagers and young adults. They all need something different from me. It all equates to me loving them unconditionally.
What do you wish most for your children?
I wish most for my son to be a good, empathetic, compassionate, and imperfect human being. Be true to yourself even if he has to stand alone. I always want him to stand for what is right, good, bad, or indifferent. I pray for him without ceasing that he embrace his God-given gift and his passion for it and be mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and financially healthy and wealthy.
Tell us about your business!
I have had a catering business for about 15 years.. But because of my daughter’s condition and my son who played basketball, I was very inconsistent because they were my priority. And when my son turned 18, I decided to do what I love and to be consistent at it. In 2014 around the holidays, my sister and I were baking little tokens to give out for the holidays. She’s a baker but not professionally, she had a muffin pan. I was in the process of cooking dinner while she was baking and I asked her to give me the muffin pan. I experimented with making macaroni and cheese cupcakes as my mac & cheese had always been a hit with my family and Friends. They came out perfect and they were delicious but I never thought about them again until I decided to create something unique to myself as an extension of my catering business. I gave great thought to what can I do, and the idea just popped into my head – mac & cheese cupcakes with toppings, all of the toppings that people love with mac & cheese. I brought life to them in July 2021.
What are three words you would use to describe your business?
- Customer service, my loyalty is to make my customers happy, and how my employees and I treat people reflects how I want my business to run. I want a positive public persona.
- Professionalism is an attitude we should consistently demonstrate with customers or potential customers. Even with a dissatisfied customer that can be very rude, I will always try to handle it professionally because customer service is essential to me.
- Quality, when people eat and experience my food, I want them to walk away with the thought that the cuisine was fresh and made with premium quality ingredients.
What motivates you?
My kids, because I want to continue to provide a decent life for them and to leave a legacy for my son. And my customers, when I do an event or work at a farmers market or a catering job, the outpouring of encouragement and positive feedback motivates me to keep going!
What is the best mom advice you can give?
Meet your kids where they are and support them even if it’s not what you want for them. You have to evolve to keep their attention, but there have to be unwavering boundaries set. Allow them to have a respectful voice. As parents, we are all perfectly imperfect but make sure you’re good outweighs your bad. As often as possible, be available so you can see who your kids are hanging out with and what they are doing. Be an understanding parent, not their friend.
What is your favorite recipe?
My favorite recipe to make is my son’s and bonus kid’s favorite recipe, Chicken Alfredo.