Today we’d like to introduce you to Dominique Graves.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Born & raised on the south side of Chicago, I was the oldest of 5 children with a busy mom so I started cooking early as little as 8 years old. It was one of the things I was naturally great at with help from my aunt (who is no longer with me) who taught me a lot in the kitchen as well. About a year after dropping out of high school I was working at a local grocery store when one of my loyal customers suggested I should start my own catering company since I loved to cook so much. So that’s what I did. I quit that same day actually lol. It started from me selling individual dinners to my neighbors and surrounding businesses 6 1/2 years ago to establishing myself as a well-known chef here in Chicago. I’ve gotten the chance to work and cater with many major corporations such as groupon, fooda, 1st & fresh catering, northern trust bank, university of Chicago etc.
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?
Definitely not! There were countless times I gave up cooking temporarily or wanted to. Sometimes it felt like I’d never get out of the area I was raised in or get away from the people I was around. I endured a lot of issues financially with my business without a loan, lack of support from people closest to me, personal issues with my family and most importantly with myself. I felt discouraged most times either because of other chefs I associated with challenging me or my career because I haven’t been to a prestigious culinary school like them or me simply being hard on my own self. My confidence wasn’t where it needed to be for numerous reasons so often times I was my own worst enemy.
Nique Soul Catering – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My company is a catering and private chef corporation. I have a skilled culinary team that specializes in corporate and sporting events, parties, weddings, monthly meal plans, and more! I’m most proud of making it to where I am now. If someone told me 6 years ago or even 1 year ago that I’d be here now I probably would laugh. It took a lot of studying, trial and error, pain, disappointments and more to strengthen my skin the way it is now. I’m more than suitable to be an efficient business owner which is not too easy at all! Lol
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment of my career hasn’t happened yet actually. I’m catering a charity event this month on the 29th at the Mercy home for boys and girls for a non-profit organization called “A diamonds heart”. Their goal is to help young ladies ages 12 to 19 in the Chicago and surrounding areas who are survivors of sexual abuse with tools to overcome trauma and works towards healing to allow them to build a successful future. This is my very first charity event but most importantly I was a victim of sexual abuse as a child and it’s something I pretty much hid and never dealt with. Since meeting these women, it made me deal with issues I didn’t know I had that was directly related and allowed me to finally heal and be confident like I should have always been.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.niquesoulcater.com
- Phone: 888 373 7086 x2
- Email: niquesoulcatering@gmail.com
- Instagram: Chefnique_chicago
- Facebook: niquesoulcatering
- Twitter: Chefnique_soul
- Yelp: Nique soul catering
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