Meet Chef Keesha O’Galdez, founder and owner of the Gourmet Diva Inc., a Together We Thrive business to unite working professionals through the medium of great food. Based on the idea of Culinary Edutainment (Education + Entertainment), The Gourmet Diva hosts cooking classes to empower working professionals by gaining culinary confidence, learning ways to eat healthier, and becoming part of a community built around great food. Additional programs, such as Women in Rum and cooking demonstrations for The Dinner Table Doc’s “Miseducation of Brown Girls”, highlight women-owned businesses and include personal chef services for retreats, individuals, and corporations. “I wanted to create a community brought together through the love of food, culture, and fun” said Chef Keesha. “When I teach cooking classes, I’m not trying to groom the next master chef. These are functional skills you need to know to survive, and to be a more savvy consumer. I want to change the image of cooking, making it something that people enjoy doing, experiencing and connecting with others. I find that how people show up in the kitchen is how they show up in life — some with trepidation and others ready for adventure.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chef Keesha pivoted to online cooking courses as well as wine and spirit tastings, bringing in different culinary experts for her audience. She also joined the Together We Thrive network, a UWNYC initiative dedicated to providing culturally appropriate technical assistance, access to financial resources, and community support for Black businesses. These wrap-around services, coming from those who understand what it means to be a Black entrepreneur, strengthen the Black business network to promote self-sustainable and equitable neighborhoods. As Chef Keesha put it, “My name is Keesha O’Galdez – so I can’t ‘hide’ who I am or where I’m from. When starting my business and making certain decisions, I knew that being a woman of color in business has it challenges, people tend to discriminate on grounds of race whether they are aware of it or not. Business name, logo design, picture of me–– and being a personal chef. A lot of my clients are white, male, and come from higher-income families. So, yes, race and how I represent myself and my culture is on my mind.”
Through Together We Thrive, Chef Keesha receives mentorship and has been able to access resources designed for small businesses. Moreover, she built strong connections through intimate networking events and was an employer partner for Facebook’s Career Connections Summer 2021 program.This fall, she hopes to launch the Vibrant Cooking Community, an online cooking community with dynamic programming involving a wide range of perspectives and in-person components. She attributes creating a solid launch to the support she’s received in marketing and business systems: “If your business doesn’t have a solid foundation – it’s hard to expand. So I’m positioning the company for growth. It is a prime time for Black entrepreneurs to go into business. There are so many resources being offered to Black businesses and Black women-owned businesses that weren’t there before. And you can be unapologetically YOU!” The Gourmet Diva is based out of Bronx, NYC. Visit her website today to help support this great local Black-owned small business.
