We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeanclaude Ba and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeanclaude, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
Yes. My favorite quote is actually from finding Nemo. “Just keep swimming” ….. since starting this journey there have been so many points where I hit rock bottom and didn’t know how I would get through things. Getting denied loans, denied properties for the brick and mortar, etc. For some reason this is the quote that always pops into my head. Everything will always work out if you just keep moving forward, just keep trying, just keep working. Just keep swimming.

What should our readers know about your business?
So I have a food brand that is. Food truck, brick and mortar and ghost kitchen. My food is all about fusing different cultures , tastes, recipes and enjoying anime while you do it. I’m so happy to see how far It’s grown. I started out selling dinners on sundays out of my apartment. Then it grew into a food truck. Then a brick and mortar. Now I’m in the process of franchising the brand into several locations. It was far from easy. There have been a lot of lows but through it all, everything always seemed to work out. I just had to put my head down and work through every obstacle to keep things moving forward. Hopefully my story will encourage others to take the risk and bet on themselves atleast once in their life. Line your chips up and Take that
risk. You never know what could happen and it’s never too late to become what you’ve always wanted.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Wow a whole week?. Man I’m so spontaneous I don’t think I could.come up with a forsure itinerary. I guess I’d visit some of my fellow chefs restaurants because everyone’s is so unique.
Fish burger, more than soulfood, Creole to geaux, maki cafe, str8 out the kitchen, new yorican, smittys bbq, togoforyoursoul, vontes kitchen, blasian grill, Ana sawarma, Lathams tacos, jems moving kitchen, meg bakes, Stephs way, cobowl shop, island express grill, taste of trini….. litteraly all our time would be spent eating at these 5 star grade A establishments found all across the city.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Man there were so many influences I don’t think I could pin point just one. I’d say the book “rich dad poor dad” changed my mindset, but then there were a few people in my life that helped motivate me. My mom and dad always loved and encouraged my cooking even though I didn’t see the value in it early on. Then my sisters and friends always supported me when I first started selling food out of my apartment. I guess I had a really strong village around me that I have to shoutout.

Website: https://Www.chefhiro.com

Instagram: @chef.hiro

Twitter: @chefhiro

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chef.hirocolumbus?mibextid=ZbWKwL

Image Credits
Columbus underground

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