Today we’d like to introduce you to Hailee Moore.
Hi Hailee, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I wanted to be a chef ever since I was 15 years old. After obtaining a degree in Hospitality Administration from Stephen F. Austin State University, I moved to New York to attend what was then the French Culinary Institute. Upon graduation, I would then spend the next 12 years working in a variety of kitchens throughout New York including food styling, catering companies, restaurants, and hotels. In 2015, I started a “side hustle” (I don’t really like that term…) with a private dining + catering company to what would turn into a full-time job and business.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Heck no, the road hasn’t been smooth.
If anyone has ever worked in a kitchen professionally or even as a means to make money, there is zero glamour to it. It’s grueling. As a woman working in a male-dominated industry, you either learn how to bite your tongue or clap back with class (and of course always speak up). The expectations from the positions above you are high. The product created is often presented to highly critical clientele. After 27 years, I still love it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Simply Hailee hosts a wide variety of menus and tasting options for all seasons and occasions from formal seated dinners and passed hors d’oeuvres to home-cooked family meals served right at your kitchen table. Simply Hailee’s culinary philosophy is fresh food is clean, easy, healthy, and embodies the essence of family and memories.
Throughout my career, I have made it a point to work in top-of-the-line kitchens and establishments with standards and hospitality at the helm of their business. It’s a business to know when to keep your mouth shut and do the work, trust me you will learn some things.
I have taken these practices into my own business. I love my clients. I work hard to please them and gain their trust. I have learned to weed out those clients who don’t make me or my work feel at its best. I hire teammates who have the same end goal.
We’d love to hear about what you think about risk-taking.
When I started my private dining + catering business, I was on the side of a well-paying yet unsatisfying full-time job, along with being in an unfulfilled marriage. When I had the wherewithal to leave both, it felt liberating to deep dive into something I had created.
I started my business in a major city within a highly competitive industry. When COVID hit, it was lights out for a my business (for a while). Decisions had to be made quickly with some risk being involved. I packed it all up and moved back to my hometown, Fort Worth.
I moved in with my long-distance boyfriend of then a year and a half. I took a job at a brand-new restaurant at a time when most people were not eating out. All the while working on getting my business off the ground in a new city. P.S. The restaurant job ended up not working out but was beneficial when paying the bills.
Currently, the business is getting some buzz and there are quite a few new clients showing up in my inbox.
Pricing:
- Doorstep Deliveries $35 for 2 people
- Private Dining starts at $150 per person
- Weddings & More Formal Gatherings reach out for quote
Contact Info:
- Website: www.simplyhailee.com
- Instagram: @simplyhaileeny
