Today we’d like to introduce you to Mia Preston.
Mia, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I honestly have had a love for food since I was a child. However, growing up in a single-parent household, my mother rarely ever had the chance to make home-cooked meals. I didn’t really have grandparents who were around to pull me into kitchens and expose me to the world of cooking. Playing basketball growing up for school and travel ball teams, I was exposed to a wide variety of cultures and people. I distinctively remember being so excited when visiting teammate’s houses and being able to enjoy fresh home-cooked meals!
It wasn’t until 2009, when I found out that I was pregnant with my first son that I decided, “Hey! I should probably learn how to make some food if I plan on feeding this child of mine!”. And so it began…
I started reading cooking magazines and watching cooking shows while experimenting my flavors on my friends and family members. By my surprise, I had a natural talent for cooking. From then on, my friends and family encouraged me to look into culinary school. I eventually enrolled into Le Cordon Bleu of Pasadena. It was a whole new world of excitement for me! Being able to create using fresh ingredients and learning so much information on the importance of food was simply amazing.
I graduated in 2013 and worked in various settings and styles of restaurants. Unfortunately, now being a single mother of two young boys, I soon came to a roadblock where the pay just wasn’t enough. I had to make one of the hardest decisions of my life and decided to venture away from working in kitchens full time and began to do small catering events, cooking for private clients, meal prepping for people and doing personal dinner parties, all while keeping my regular 9-5 job.
After doing that for about three years or so I completely felt stuck and stagnant. I had a lot of different obstacles with my personal life and the company I was working for at the time. I ended up in between jobs, solely relying on my talent and passion to feed me, my children, and maintain the bills. I was looking into becoming a Culinary Instructor and found out that I needed more schooling. I quickly learned that my degree from Le Cordon Bleu held NO value and none of the courses were transferable.
Which is where I am today. I started a company called Chefin’ Life in order to brand myself as well as give back to people from all walks of the culinary field. While going to school full time at Long Beach City College’s Culinary Program and being a full-time single mother, I still find time to do private chef work and cater personal parties and events. I am also beginning volunteer work at the LGBT Center of West Hollywood with their new culinary program. I am always looking for ways to volunteer to give back to the youth and community.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Absolutely… NOT! I feel like I was hit from all angles in hopes that I would quit and fold. A few months into starting school at Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena, my car broke down. A classmate and I, who both lived in Long Beach at the time, road our bikes to the Metro Blue line, took three trains and walked 20mins…to get to our morning classes. Then walked 20mins, road three trains, and road our bikes back home… every day for five days a week. The amount of obstacles alone that I faced on the trains was enough to make ANY one want to quit.
Halfway into my studies, I became pregnant with my second son. At this time, I now went to school full time (still riding my bike and taking the trains), worked full time in my first ever professional kitchen, and still was a single mother of a toddler.
In between the years of me graduating school up until recently, I have been homeless twice. I was a victim of rape (from an immediate family member) and lost almost everything me and my children owned. Still, I kept a positive outlook on life and never lost hope and faith in my passion of cooking and giving back.
I have felt like cooking was and still is my therapy and the perfect outlet. It literally kept me sane enough to still keep my kids healthy and happy. I believe that everything that I have gone through has been for a reason… for me to be able to spread hope to so many others who have or are going through the same things.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Chefin’ Life – what should we know?
My company is Chefin’ Life. I provide personal services of cooking to a variety of people and families ranging from firefighters to everyday middle working-class families. I specialize in fusing creole/cajun flavors with Italian foods and also finding new ways to twist traditional dishes. I would say that I am most known for my ability to bring bold flavors and healthier cooking techniques to dishes that would normally be really heavy or really bland. I am most proud of being able to not only get adults engaged and curious about cooking but also children. I honestly believe that my personality sets me apart from others. I am not too bold but not too shy and have the ability to relate to almost anyone, including kids. I have been told that I have a gift of making people feel comfortable enough to be themselves. Which I think is the most important thing when it comes to great food being produced! Patience, love, and personal connection.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I honestly believe that my children deserve credit! They are literally the reason that I started cooking and the reason that I keep going and believing that there will be a brighter day. On top of that, I would give a ton of appreciation to the close family and friends who have consistently remained in my life over the years and kept pushing and encouraging me. There have been plenty of times where I was at extremely low points and they always reminded me that I have a gift and as long as I keep working to be better everything will fall into place at the exact timing that it is supposed to. I am still looking to find a positive mentor in the culinary world who can guide and teach me. Even though I have about ten years of experience with cooking, I still consider myself a toddler in this culinary world!
Contact Info:
- Phone: 562-756-5604
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mias_tasteof
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