Today we’d like to introduce you to Alba Elizabeth Ortiz
Alba Elizabeth, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hello, my name is Chef Liz. I started my career back in 2013 when I went to culinary school here in Orlando. I went to the Le Cordon Bleu Orlando & graduated with my AA in Culinary Arts. I originally wanted to get my AA in Patisserie to become a Pastry Chef, but I was interested in the Culinary program instead after I got a tour of the school. I’ve gained so much experience at restaurants, hotels, resorts, Hospitality in general, for 8 years before I decided to start my own business. I started my own business prematurely back in 2017 when I was I was selling tacos from home as a stay at home mom just for fun. I did sell them for actual profit, but it was really just a little side Hobby that was bringing me some extra income. Back in 2020 when Covid occurred, the place where I was working at shut down, many restaurants were closed or cutting hours. So I started selling tacos again & blew up on Instagram. People were ordering trays instead of plates. I started getting requests for other types of cuisines as well. I love trying new things with my craft & seeing what I’m capable of, so I’ve never rejected any requests outside of my menu, on the contrary I’d be excited to expand my skills. Word to mouth was really doing its thing it was a beautiful experience having so many people enjoy my food & services all around my city. I created a large catering menu full of international cuisines. From doing weddings to baby showers, quinces, private dinners, private brunches, brunch events, all over Central Florida. In Davenport, which is also known as Airbnb city (to me) there’s a lot of vacation homes in the area so I have met so many different people from all around the country that come to visit Florida. They would find me on Instagram through hashtags, locations, & generally my content. I had Yk Osiris Manager reach out to me for a Private Chef position, it was an awesome experience. I then had an NBA agent reach out to me offering a position as a Private Chef for Jonathan Kuminga, Forward for the Golden State Warriors. I was cooking for him & his family, every day for Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner. It was honestly one of the best experiences of my career. After that I was then offered a position as a Private Chef for RJ Hampton who at the time was a Point Guard for the Orlando Magic. This experience allowed me to network with many other athletes in the NBA & NFL who I cannot mention due to an NDA, but definitely helped me grow & learn a lot as a Chef. This also impacted my interest in pursuing a degree in Performance Nutrition which is currently in progress. I also became a Chef Instructor during my growing years. I teach classes on how to make Sushi, on how to make Pasta from scratch or even how to make some homemade Desserts. I have fed over probably a thousand tummies. I also participate in events where I donate prepared meals or plates to the homeless around my city. I’ve also decided to do this in other states when I travel for work or for leisure. Feeding the homeless has always felt like God‘s plan for me & like I’m doing something great for my community. I love what I do. I don’t see myself doing anything else in this life. Food is everything to me & the bonds that I’ve created through food have changed my life. I can’t wait to see what else is in store for me.
Alright, 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?
Oh absolutely not, I can definitely say the experience has been very bittersweet. There has been a lot of hardships that come with what I’ve done over the years, including the 8 years of working for other companies. Working in a kitchen is very hard work. It’s always gonna be hard work & it has never been anything less than hard work. When you work with food you’re working with different types of skills at once. You’re working with time management, a sense of urgency, flavor, quality, texture, aroma, creativity, multitasking, heat, standing on your feet for long hours, limited space, & more. You’re working with so many things at once that you also have to know how to juggle different emotions at once. You have to know how to keep yourself calm & focused under pressure. There has been situation where things have failed or didn’t go as planned but the good thing about food is you can always make up for it with more great food & great service during mishaps. During those times where mistakes were made & maybe a domino effect of things going wrong happened, a client would maybe get disappointed that they thought they probably no longer want your services but in the end when they get to taste the food everything changes & common ground is found. I’ve had those situations happen in my rookie days but also not only in my rookie days. I’ve learned that no matter how much you have grown things will still happen. You know as a small business that’s still growing & still finding their people you will face many lessons. I’m still looking for my team, I’m still looking for people who can stick around & grow with me but know how to be patient with the process & unfortunately, it’s not easy. But it’s not a reason to give up either, I have so much hope for what I do. I know a lot is still possible so I refuse to give up on myself. I have a huge vision for my business. I have a lot of love to give. I put so much love, so much passion, so much skill, so much time, so much work, & so much talent into my craft. Every day my creativity is up & running, so I definitely am nowhere near giving up. I’m actually very excited because I know great things are coming, I can feel it & I know that there is a great purpose for my dreams with this business.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
So as a Private Chef & Caterer I deal with many types of people of different cultures & backgrounds. So I can’t say I only work with one specific cuisine, but I’ll tell you this much, I LOVE breakfast. I can definitely throw down an amazing breakfast even if I have to start at 4am. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, it sets the mood for the rest of your day. When I think of breakfast I think of many things at once . I think of fruits.. I think of starch.. I think of smoked breakfast meat.. I think of hearty eggs… I think of dairy… I think of fresh pressed juices with either fruits or vegetables.. I think of something sweet & slightly diabolically daring like that you’re not supposed to eat because it’s too early to eat that for breakfast like something fluffy but soaked in syrup & sweetness… I think of savory I think of crunch. Brunch is very popular & trendy in the food industry. Different ideas with menu items honestly feels like a blessing because it keeps working out & everything is just going great & getting better every time. My Brunch menu keeps growing more & more so I have to say, I think I definitely specialize in Brunch. What sets me apart from others? Hmm I would say my dedication but most importantly my dedication after I fail. Failure can truly trick you. Failure can make you feel like you can’t do it. Failure can make you look like you suck at what you do. Failure can change how people look at you. Failure can make it seem like you’re not capable of getting it done. Failure can destroy you if you let it. Failure can convince you that you are in the wrong place. But if you actually pay attention to failure, failure is teaching you. It has taught me how to do things differently, how to do them better. When you really truly love something you just don’t give up. You really wanna figure it out no matter what it takes. You want to understand it & make it right. So I feel like what sets me apart from others is how I respond to getting hit or smacked with failure but still choosing to get up & keep going. Sometimes the hit is so hard, it could truly knock you down. It can really knock you down & either make you stay there or go a different route. But when you follow your heart, you know better than to quit. You know better than to give up. So one thing I can truly say I’m proud of is how I’ve never let any failures make me give up. I’ll be honest there’s been times where I thought I wanted to, but then I would be reminded that I was not built to, that I got this far for a reason. That I was chosen for a reason. So I let those reminders keep me going & I let them carry me instead of the bruises behind my falls & failures.
How do you define success?
Success to me is stability, resilience, satisfied consumers, peace & happiness all at once. Success is deeper than your income, your status, material possessions, or your fame. It’s your mental health, your heart, your confidence & being so deeply rooted in who you are & your purpose. What your purpose does to others, how it affects others & changing the world in a beautiful way with the gifts given to you, that is success to me.
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