Today we’d like to introduce you to Delanie McGuire.
Hi Delanie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Growing up, I was always fascinated by cooking; it felt like a science experiment. I enjoyed the trial and error, figuring out food science, and learning why certain ingredients worked the way they did. My family and I joke about it and how I was always meant to cook. When I was a toddler, I would frequently take sauces and spices from the kitchen and take them to my room to my Fisher Price play kitchen, and I would season my plastic pretend food. I would then serve my mom and wait for her reaction.
Being the eldest sibling in a Hispanic household, I helped around the house by cooking for my family. I first got excited about cooking in elementary school, learning to make basic things like oatmeal, scrambled eggs, and maybe some mac n cheese. I started to fall in love with the Food Network and cooking shows, trying my best to learn from them. I would then give my mom a little grocery list so I could make some of the dishes I saw on TV at home. It wasn’t after much time that my family liked me taking over the kitchen and enjoyed what I prepared for dinner, and my mom told me, “If you keep cooking like that, I’ll get whatever you want from the store,” of course, in moderation.
Growing up, I volunteered with my mom with an organization that sought to help undocumented farm workers get access to things they needed and overall support. These experiences taught me a lot about where food comes from and how. Once I saw the reality of farm workers and animal agriculture, I couldn’t eat a meal the same way without thinking of the people who were working out in the fields, exposing themselves to harsh chemicals and the beating sun, or the animals that were brutally killed for our consumption. By age 12, I told my parents with full conviction that I was going to be a vegetarian. In our Puerto Rican-Mexican household, they couldn’t believe I was severe as meat was very prevalent in our diet. About 3 years later, I learned about veganism and the dairy industry, yet I was compelled to make another life change. I was giving up cheese. All my life, I had been fighting with my weight, asthma, eczema, and acne. I knew if I listened to my body and gave up dairy, maybe that could be the secret. Wildly enough, after about a year, I lost 60 pounds, my acne and eczema went away, I didn’t need my inhaler anymore, and I felt better than ever.
Year 15 was the big game changer. I went to a fancier vegan restaurant and was amazed by the menu and how they made everything in-house, completely vegan. I said to my family, unaware that the owner was behind me, “I wish I could work here just to get the chance to work in a vegan restaurant learning to make food like this!” she told me if I was interested, that I could come in the next day at 2 pm and if the chefs liked me that I would have a job. To say that I was excited would be an understatement. So I came in the next day as a home cook, and to my surprise, the rest of the kitchen was ready to show me the ropes. How to dress for work, how to hold a knife, and, of course, how to cut an onion the right way. I realized immediately that this was what I wanted to do forever. It never dawned on me that I could do this for a living. I came in as much as they would let me, learning as much as I could. When it came time to graduate high school, I knew culinary school was my next step to advance my career. Since growing up not vegan, I learned how to cook traditional foods, and through my vegan journey, I learned how to make the things I ate growing up that were traditionally made with meat and dairy but vegan with the goal that it didn’t look or taste vegan. This became my specialty as I understood why ingredients did and their purpose in a recipe and did well in school.
I worked full-time in different kitchens in Orlando, from Disney World Resorts and Universal Studios Resorts to local places like Ava Mediterranean, to support myself through schooling. Determined, I finally graduated in 2022 from Valencia College with an associate’s in culinary arts. By age 20, I had finally landed my first Sous Chef position and started to see that I was indeed doing the damn thing. With the start of the pandemic, like many who felt bottled up at home, I began making cooking videos to post on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to start working on my recipes and sharing them with others who want to try eating plant-based foods. With this came the motivation to start my private chef business cooking for people in Orlando looking to have a more intimate dining experience or have some meal prep ready.
I continue to hustle in dedication to my future of having a restaurant one day. I am working on my Bachelor’s in Business Administration to be the chef and business owner I aspire to be. With my combined efforts in the field, school, and even my social media presence, I plan to build a foundation that will allow for a successful restaurant one day to employ others like me who are passionate about food and creating an experience for others.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Since I started working at 15 years old, working in kitchens with men who were rough around the edges it has not always been easy. It took years for me to realize what I was capable of; however, it didn’t take much time for my peer line cooks to see what I was capable of and use my doubt against me. In my earlier years in the kitchen, people took their time to train and explain things to me, making me feel supported by the others in the kitchen team. After some time, I realized that most kitchen folks would not welcome me with open arms like my first job and show me the ropes. It started to become a new normal for chefs and other cooks to see how much I could take in efforts to get me to be emotionally reactive from sabotaging my prep to throwing plates, locking me in the walk-in fridge, yelling in my face as if we were in the military, calling me just about every name under the sun and oh yes, sexual harassment. However, when things got tough, I knew I couldn’t give up because I knew that’s what they all wanted, and I knew that they were secretly jealous. Jealous that I was half their age doing the same damn thing they were. The guys in the kitchen would always pride themselves on their insinuation that the kitchen was the man’s place and was too much for women, and that’s why I was the only woman there. I knew they would always do their best to try to make it unbearable for me, which made me even more of a force to be reckoned with. I remember several kitchens I was employed to work in almost as a joke to see if I would even come back after my first day after throwing me on the sauté or grill station with nothing but the menu they gave to guests to set myself up with and to teach myself how to make the dish. Imagine going through all this while also being a student. Looking back, these experiences were outright abusive, and I know that these situations are not unique to me as this is the reality for many women in the kitchen. However, as much as I wouldn’t want to do it again, I am grateful that this made me the thick-skinned chef I am today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
I am a professional private chef specializing in plant-based cuisine and fine dining and a content creator for social media outlets such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. I am most proud of taking the leap of faith to start working independently, which comes with twists and turns as you are not working; however, it is much more gratifying. One thing that sets me apart from others is my ability to remain calm and collected when things get tough. I am known for my love for tofu and my wild blue hair.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
An essential quality to my success is my ability to remain calm, think and act quickly when things get tough, and create a new plan or solution to problems.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.delaniemcguire.com
- Instagram: Delanie McGuire
- Youtube: Delanie McGuire
Image Credits
The one photo of myself, my mother and sister was taken by photographer Angela Louise who has given permission to be used and has been compensated for her work. The rest of the photos were taken by me.
