Today we’d like to introduce you to Francine Rice.
Hi Francine, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I could really start anywhere. I’ve been cooking since I was old enough to reach and see the top of the stove; I started working in the food industry with my first few jobs in high school at 16 years old. At 17, I started my first professional cooking job as “Cook’s Assistant” for the dining commons at the university I attended, but let’s start at the beginning of FannyB00. I met my husband, Cortes, in 2015, and it wasn’t long before new recipes and at-home dinner dates turned into hosting parties where everyone would rave about the food… But it wasn’t until 2018 when Cortes challenged me to make a peach cobbler cheesecake. I took on his challenge and made one- I made a cobbler crust base, creamy cheesecake center with my own peach mixture sprinkled in, and topped with peaches, brown sugar, cinnamon, and crust crumbles. After chilling it, I posted a picture on my then-personal Instagram page. The comments and DMs went crazy… “Where’d you buy that?” “How much?” “Where are you selling these?” and so on… This is a good time to mention that my husband, Cortes, has been pivotal in the establishment and evolution of FannyB00 as a business. When it comes to marketing and business, he’s a literal genius. Fast forward a few months to the holidays, and we were fully booked with cake orders. By then, I had already added 2 more flavors of the cakes, and they were taking L.A. by storm. Within the next year, we reinvented the specialty cheesecake game and started meal prepping for ourselves. Just like with the cakes, as soon as I posted, they sold! It wasn’t long before we received catering inquiries and had both walked away from our 9-5’s to fully pursue FannyB00 Eats & Sweets. Then the Pandi hit… and we completely blossomed! In a world where everything was so uncertain, one this was sure- FannyB00 was made to not only withstand but thrive when faced with adversity and challenges! In February 2022, we moved to the DFW and hit the ground running. We did weekend brunch deliveries and meal prep within our first week or two of arriving, and by the end of our first month, we had booked our first catering job. Now, here we are 2 years later, and we’ve been blessed to have secured a wonderful regular clientele that grows every week. Our meal prep services always receive rave reviews for the versatility, flavor, and nutritional aspects, and our catering is described as unmatched and the absolute best in presentation, professionalism, flavor, and variety by so many of our new and now returning clients. It has truly been an amazing journey to say the least. We’ve also got our own line of low sodium seasonings, a ridiculously fun and informative podcast, the first of many cookbooks published, and the www.fannyb00.com website has been recently launched!
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?
I don’t think any entrepreneurial road can be described as smooth, but when it comes to obstacles and challenges, we’ve done a pretty good job of converting them into learning opportunities and using them as fuel to find ways to reinvent, grow, and improve. The pandemic challenged us to find a way to get our product and services to the whole city of Los Angeles at a time when gatherings were banned, most of the population had been laid off or put on leave, and the last thing on people’s minds was booking catering and prep. We started offering family meals with a revolving menu and free delivery. When we relocated to Texas from California, we didn’t stop to worry about how we would rebuild the business in an entirely new city and state, instead we did what we knew best and learned our environment as well as its occupants. We focused on items we offered that were in high demand and our strengths- professionalism, presentation, versatility, and things of that nature. We put our hearts into it, and FannyB00 just took that on and rose steadily but quickly to everything that we have achieved to this point, which we are still building on.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
First and foremost, I am a wife to an incredibly supportive husband and mother to 3 amazing kids who find new ways to reinvent being the best on the daily. I am the founder, owner, and executive chef at Fannyb00 Eats & Sweets- a food services company my husband and I built from the ground up that specializes in gourmet catering, nutritionally focused meal prep, specialty desserts. We also have created a flavorful seasoning line, published our first cookbook, and embarked on a fun journey of podcasting. I would say we are both most proud of how far we’ve come. We’ve seen so many businesses start up and fall apart or get forced into redirecting their paths, and it’s just such a blessing and privilege to still be up and running, successfully, and pursuing areas we choose to and enjoy. I would say our passion, precision, presentation, and professionalism sets us apart from other companies similar in nature. We put our hearts into each meal, each client, and each venture. We are very detail-oriented with all aspects of the business. Visual execution is extremely important to both of us, and our background in business and the corporate world gives us an edge that many others (if any) simply haven’t had the chance to experience before entering entrepreneurship.
What’s next?
While we do tend to keep our options far from limited, we do plan for overall growth in the future of Fannyb00. Transitioning to a process where we are able to involve others and grow the business beyond what we can single-handedly do physically is a major goal. Eventually, a storefront and of course, more products on shelves not only nationwide but internationally are definitely up there also!
Pricing:
- Cookbook 24.99
- Seasonings 10.00 each, 3-pack bundle 25.00
- Meal prep as low as 12.00 per meal
- Sealed delivery catering options starting at $50
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fannyb00.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/fannyb00
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/fannyb00EatsAndSweets
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@fannyb00eats
- Other: https://qrco.de/bddt4h
Image Credits
Cortes Rice
