Clear Lake Area Chamber Of Commerce: Clear Lake Connections Podcast Episode 34 | From Passion To People.

Press release from the Clear Lake Area Chamber Of Commerce:

September 20, 2021

This week on Clear Lake Connections Podcast presented by UTMB Health: Meet Nicole McEachern Chef and Owner of Niche Catering. In this week’s episode, Nicole discusses her story and how she turned her passion into a full time business. Nicole also talks about how her love of cooking began, how she took the plunge into jumping back into the cooking world after raising her family and her advice for those who are thinking about going to culinary school.

Her story started when she worked for a catering company many years ago right when she got out of Culinary School. She took some time off from her passion to raise her family and then she decided to get back into the culinary industry. When she was jumping back into it she didn’t know where to begin considering she spent so many years out of it. She was working at a bonding company with her Mom for 15 years and then she left and started from the ground up again. When she left she started form the ground up again and she started looing at catering operations and the problem she ran into was how much the industry has changed in terms of selling yourself. Everything she tried she was well qualified but she could not get a break. After a few experience and a few months she then decided to start her own company. Her experience was invaluable but she wanted to jump back into her passion. At first she thought that she was jus going to be catering to friends and family and it was going to be more of a part time job and then it just so happens that when she stated it blew up.

She started catering because she thought she could control her own schedule and be her own boss. It started taking over in a good way and she started this solo with her finance but he really encouraged her to start the company. She noticed that she was starting to take more time off from her normal job and she realized she had to make a decision and she went from a salary to the unknown gamble.

She said that is has definitely paid off. When she stated this company, COVID hit and it was a gamble, sink or swim. She started with meal prep and catering at the start of Covid and by the time she knew it, it began rolling. It was a challenging time but she loves what she does and she loves the business. IT has been a crazy ride and she has had to change her dynamic but she is constantly rolling with the punches and making this work for her company. She is excited to see what it brings.

She knew she wanted to cook and that this was her passion because she loved to cook. She began cooking when she was living in Pasadena and she was about 8 or 9. She was making eggs but she was playing around in the kitchen and she had fun with it. She says the big difference between the lot of cooking and what she’s doing is that you have to love cooking so much that you know you have to do it everyday. It is a passion and if you want to start it s a business you have to realize you are going of be doing these things 24/7.

Kids are being shown now that this can be a career considering the options they have in and out of school. She few people she has met that want to be going into this industry was really eye opening for her. They were already on the path thinking about their future and she sees that everything they have at their disposal is huge. If she could tell anyone who is doing these programs she would tell them to go for it. You don’t need to pick the biggest and the best, you will learn in the job.

Your education is your first job in the kitchen. Nicole says her Niche is creating diversity with her menu and her palette. She enjoys discovering and trying out new recipes.

Catch the Podcast here:

This press release was produced by the Clear Lake Area Chamber Of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.