Founder Feature: Claudine Dagit of Cooking with Claudine
Name: Claudine Dagit
Title: Natural Chef
Business: CookingWithClaudine.com
HQ Location: San Francisco
My amazing friend, client and natural chef, Claudine Dagit of Cooking With Claudine, is constantly inspiring me (and: making me hungry) with her beautiful, nourishing, delicious meals and treats. I’m excited to share the inspiration with you all, with look behind her business.
Claudine and I met years ago and it’s been incredible to watch her business evolve and grow, and most recently powerfully pivot into plant-based meal delivery.
I’ve been lucky enough to both partner with Claudine on food shoots, and also capture her in her element to through a personal brand photos. As you’ll see, she brings warmth, beauty and an extremely thoughtful approach to all she does
Read on to learn about Claudine’s cooking story, her wisdom for entrepreneurs and where she seeks inspiration - both in the kitchen, and in business.
First off, tell us all about your business and the services you’re currently offering clients.
I offer a plant-based meal delivery service to families throughout the Bay Area. My clients care about high quality ingredients, eating seasonally and clean food. However, since they are too busy to do the menu planning, shopping, cooking and cleaning themselves, they’ve turned to me.
My absolute favorite part of my job is going to the farmers markets, talking with the farmers I have created relationships with over the years and base a menu off of what looks beautiful!
What inspired you to first start cooking professionally? And how did your business evolve to meal delivery over the years?
My business has evolved overtime as I have grown and changed. I started my business 12 years ago (then called Sugar and Spice - ha!) after having lived in Milan, Thailand, Paris and Mexico on separate occasions. It was during these years living amongst other cultures that I learned the importance and the joy of eating seasonally and locally.
In addition, while I played college soccer and saw my teammates eat processed-sugary-cereal for dinner after a game I realized that not everyone grew up learning the importance of having a home cooked, sitdown family dinner together (and not in front of television).
So I began my career by giving cooking lessons, which then evolved into full service catering for events from 6 people to 200 guests. By 27 my body was exhausted from the physical labor and I transitioned into becoming a full time private chef, serving lunch and dinner six days a week. This job definitely challenged me and forced me to grow professionally in many ways. However, after 3.5 years, it still felt out of alignment.
Cooking meat six days a week was not resonating with my core values. I then decided to shift my business to offer exactly what it is I love putting into my own body and serving to the people I love most: plant-based and gluten-free meals, sourced locally! It’s been 2.5 years since I made this transition and I still look forward to every week!
You bring so much creativity and beauty into every single dish you make! Where do you find inspiration to develop meals and treats that are both new and nourishing every single week?
Aw thank you! I really do find food to be so beautiful and I believe we taste it first with our eyes. Therefore, I am always planning my menus around how I will plate and present it to my clients.
I am also addicted to buying cookbooks and I love using instagram and Pinterest to search for ingredients. However, I can not follow a recipe for the life of me, so I use cookbooks, Instagram and Pinterest for inspiration on presentation and flavor combinations. I also love taking traditional recipes, like lasagna, and tweaking it to make it more healthy and nutrient dense, while also being delicious and leaving clients feeling energized and not overly full.
How have photos and creative content supported your business growth?
Professional photos elevate my business and my brand and give my website and Instagram the professionalism that I bring to my service and cooking. Also, having been photographed and captured naturally in my element while cooking has helped me tell a story and show a more personal side of myself. As opposed to just having a head shot of myself, I am bringing my clients into my home and to the farmers market with me.
If you had to pick, your top three favorite meals or treats in your meal delivery (your own, or clients favorites!)?
Oh this is so tricky. I honestly just love vegetables so much and I feel like a mom having to choose a favorite child - I just can’t :)
Maybe a few things that come to mind are a Caesar salad I did with roasted romanesco, blanched Brussels leaves tossed in evoo and lemon, over beautiful chicories, a tahini based Caesar dressing and a farm fresh poached egg on top, and I recently made a lemongrass coconut milk based broth with purple sweet potatoes cooked in it - turning the broth a beautiful light purple! It was magic.
A few favorite treats have been a healthy take on the butterfingers bar, mini raw Meyer lemon tarts topped with local bee pollen and rose petals, and a blood orange custard cake served with orange blossom coconut cream and honey almonds.
What’s ahead in your business within the next year that you’re excited about?
I am moving into a commercial kitchen this year! I have been hesitant to work out of a commercial kitchen because I am sensitive to space and energy and I did not want to be creating from a dark yucky kitchen with buzzing fans. However, I found a kitchen with tall ceilings, white walls, floor to ceiling windows, skylights and a beer garden in the back. It is perfect and the energy feels so abundant and uplifting. Which is also 10 minutes from my home.
I have also added two people to my team who are as equally obsessed as me with beautiful food, creating meals from a place of love and spending hours at the farmers markets.
What’s one piece of advice for entrepreneurs or small businesses who are just getting started?
Just do it and know that there will be ups and downs along the way. But learn to look at it as feedback, not failure! Don’t get hung up on not launching because you can not decide on pricing, packages, color or font on our website. Those things can change and evolve over time. My business name has gone through three iterations and my services and pricing have changed over the years, too.
And finally, who are three founders or small businesses that you admire?
Three women who I know personally who inspire me are:
Andi Teggart - business owner, designer and mama
Cricket Wardein (owner of Mighty Pilates, and an amazing mom)
Molly Alliman (health coach who is so real - there’s no filter there and I really admire her for that)
Three women I do not know personally, yet I admire them for running successful business and being mamas are:
Thanks, Claudine! You can follow along with Claudine on Instagram at @CookingClaudine or head over to CookingWithClaudine.com to join her meal delivery in the Bay Area!
