Today, we’d like to introduce you to Kareema Beckles. Kareema was introduced to us by the brilliant and talented Wayne Williams.
Hi Kareema , we’re so thrilled to have you sharing your story with us today. Maybe we can kick things off by having you introduce yourself to our readers? We’d love to have you go into your story and how you got to where you are today.
Hi to all and thank you for inviting me to be a part of Wayne’s interview. How I started cooking and wanting to be a chef is a story in itself. My tagline is “Mom had me cooking since the 80’s”, I started to learn to cook around age 10 because I love eating lol and wanted to learn how to cook like my mother. The way that I was introduced to chicken was having to take it out of the freezer to let it thaw out before my mom came home from work, the first thing I learned to make was Trinidadian Stew Chicken. Fast forward to the year 2000 I was home, married and just had my third child. I was watching the Food Network specifically Emeril Lasgasse and said to myself “I can do that” I had been planning and cooking for family gatherings and small parties for years prior to me going to culinary school. That was the main reason why I said “I could do this”). I went to Culinary school and I’ve been a working chef ever since. My entrepreneurial journey began in 2014 with the help of a business program, after finishing the program Chef Kareema Inc. was born and I had a better grip on how to be an entreprenuer/small business owner. There have been a lot of ups and downs being an entreprenuer over the years but I wouldn’t change anything… well maybe a few things but for the mostpart it’s a learning experience that I am grateful to have experienced. I tried my hand at my own kitchen space (brick and mortar) in 2017/18, the lease was for a year. I continued doing my catering business and growing my name “Chef Kareema” and was doing pretty well until the world took a turn March 2020. That same month I started volunteering with a program “Meals to Go” (JCA) to give back and feed the elders, international students who couldn’t go back “home” and anyone who needed meals, the program was supposed to last 2 weeks but it lasted 7.5 months. I’m so grateful that I was called on to be a part of that. Nov. 2020 in the heat of the pandemic I opened up a restaurant in downtown Toronto. “Chef Kareema Caribbean Fusion”. Jan. 2021 my work tablet was stolen, got through that ordeal continued to grow the business during the on-again off-again closures was hard but we kept going. Ending of March (a Saturday) someone went on a smashing property spree and broke the glass on my front door, to say that I was hurt would be an understatement, got through that work day… Sunday came around I recieved a call from a customer that someone threw rocks through 3 of my windows, I was livid, hurt, sad, angry and so much BUT again got through it with the help of the commuinty and a girlfriend of mine starting a gofundme (because she knew I would never ask for help). I ended closing the restaurant after 11 months, I went back to my catering roots and so far it’s been really good with the ups and downs of being an entreprenuer/small business owner. I have have over 20 years in the food/hospitality industry and I love it, I love feeding people. Food is life!
Please tell us more about your brand, Chef Kareema
Chef Kareema is a trained chef/caterer, I combine my love of Caribbean flavours with my passion for traditional culinary cuisine to create unique tastes “Fusion”. What sets me apart from others, I would say my fun-loving, energetic personality and I cook with love. That may sound like a cliche’ BUT it’s true. I enjoy combining different cultures and foods to make something new, different and delicious. One of my favourite fusion partnership is my Jerk Chicken Lasagna… YUM! I am most proud of as a brand is that I am able to give back to the community via volunteering and mentorship to both adult and youth programs. I love what I do and it shows through my food. Love what you do, do what love!
Wayne Williams and BuffBoy Fitness have been great to us and I know you’ve got a great relationship with them as well. Maybe you can tell our audience a bit about Wayne Williams and BuffBoy Fitness and your experience with them.
Let me first say how much I adore Wayne as a person, he has one of the most giving hearts and best hugs!
I met Wayne about 7 years ago through a mutual friend. I didn’t start training with Wayne until April 2021 after my restuarant was vandalized for a second time, I needed an outlet to both get into better physical shape and mental strength, training with Wayne helped in those areas.
I admire and love how patient Wayne is as a trainier, he is also a cheerleader for his clients he doesn’t allow me/us to “give up” because he knows that we can do it. His tagline is “it’s difficult NOT impossible” and he’s absolutely right.
Wayne is also a good friend, we became friends through me training with him. Working out with Wayne isn’t just weights, boxing or burpees, it’s getting in tune with who you are both mentally and physically at the begining and who you want to be when you reach your goal (whatever that may be for you). Thank you BuffBoy Fitness/Wayne for your support and friendship through exercise/training!
Instagram: @iamchefkareema
Facebook: kareema”chef”beckles
