Hot Mama Chronicles Recap - Cheryl Straughter
Show Notes Recap with Cheryl Straugther
Cheryl Straughter is a lot of things. Chef, restaurant owner and board member are some of the ways you would describe her. She recently opened Soleil in the heart of Roxbury’s Nubian Square in Boston. She gives back and was a joy. Amelia talks with her as she drops gems.
1:00 – Cheryl’s favorite thing to eat as a child
2:16 – How Cheryl was introduced to the restaurant industry
3:25 – She talks about being an alum from Johnson & Wales and some of the challenges in ownership
4:15 – Cheryl talks about the challenges in learning all aspects of the business and real estate
5:20 – 8:07 – She talks about naming her first restaurant after her son and going back to school at Simmons in social work and opening up Soleil, named after her granddaughter.
8:08 – She talks about how what it means to own in the community
9:19 – She explains how she put together the menu and how she named the food.
10:12 – Cheryl talks about the impact of COVID-19 on her business and how she is working to reopen
12:52 - Cheryl talks about some of her best tips for aspiring chefs from what to have in your kitchen and the number one thing you should have in your arsenal.
16:39 – Cheryl talks about his admiration for Marcus Samuelson from Red Rooster in Harlem
19:09 – Cheryl talks about the importance of giving back to the community
It’s important to be a part of what’s coming and to have a voice in what’s happening.
22:37 Cheryl talks to her mentors and what she has learned from them.
24:36 - She talks about whether hot mamas are made or born.
26:27 – She talks about her legacy
Hot Mama Chronicle Gems
You have to have a seat at the table. If you don’t have a seat, you have to create the seat.
You can’t learn from the mistakes you don’t make. You have to learn from it. Not planning is planning to fail. It helps to inform decision making.
You have to have some fire in you. It is matured and developed as you move through life whether it is in the circle through life whether it is in business or the community.
It is cultivated as you move on. You have to be in learn mode all the time.
