An Executive Chef and Entrepreneur Shares Her Recipe for Success

Cajun Cafe Chicago has an impressive client list: The Obama Foundation, Chicago Bulls, The Blackhawks, and the YMCA. When you're providing catering services to such prestigious organizations, your product, operations, and customer service have to be spot-on.

Owner and executive chef Lashon Burrell’s background includes a culinary arts degree, an MBA, and long hours perfecting her craft. Having grown up in East St. Louis, Illinois, one of the most economically disadvantaged cities in the US, Burrell was determined to share her success.

"I felt like it was important to share my knowledge, but also to be able to create generational wealth for people. That was kind of my inspiration to start my business,” says Burrell, a BMO client who has actively engaged in BMO’s networking events for business owners.

Ronald Milsap, Director of Zero Barriers to Business sat down with Burrell to learn how she has successfully grown Cajun Cafe Chicago, a catering company that specializes in corporate dining and special events.

Ronald Milsap (RM): You started out in restaurants and hotels but became interested in corporate catering. Why concentrate on this very niche market?

Lashon Burrell (LB): I really like the consistency of corporate, working with a lot of wonderful repeat customers, and being a one-stop shop for clients. Corporate catering also gives my employees opportunities to work with and be exposed to professionals that they may not have access to otherwise.

RM: You started your business under a different name, but really got going in 2022 when you changed to Cajun Cafe Chicago. ?Why shift your brand strategy?

LB: We wanted to be a New Orleans-style Creole breakfast bar, so originally we were called Sugar and Spice: "sugar" for the sweet and "spice" for the heat. But people just always thought we were a bakery, not Cajun food.

I learned that "Sugar and Spice" is not all that great when it comes to searching online. It brings up all kinds of crazy results, so when people were searching for us, they'd have to be specific. Is there an & symbol in it? Is there an exclamation point?

So we changed to Cajun Cafe Chicago. It's straightforward. It tells you what it is. It's searchable. And it also brought some consistency to our branding that we didn't have before. Cajun Cafe Chicago: That's the website; that's the Instagram; that's the Facebook. That's the email. It's consistent. It's on brand. It's on point.

I went through the mistake of not doing it right the first time. But it was well worth taking the time to fix it and do it right.

RM: Besides getting the naming right, what advice do you have for start-ups?

LB: It wasn't just the branding that I learned, but also the logistics and the organization part of it. As small business owners, we sometimes go in backwards. We go in with the food or whatever our product is first, and then we get our systems together on the backend afterward. I think that's pretty common.

If I can give someone any kind of advice, it's to get all of your backend stuff together first. Make sure you have your licenses together, that the recipes are together, make sure that you have everything that you need—the logos, the trademarks—get this stuff first, and then dive into the actual running of the business.

RM: You're obviously a culinary arts expert, but how did you learn the financial management aspect of being a business owner?

LB: The financial piece was one of the biggest surprises for me in learning to run my business. You have slow seasons and peak seasons, and I didn't have someone backing me financially. I was working with cash. How was I going to keep paying employees during slow times? How was I going to take a contract I needed to earn money when I needed money to fulfill it? There was a lot to figure out.

To start with, I made sure I had a good CPA. I also talked to my friends at Allies for Community Business, which is a business support group that provides capital, coaching, and connections for entrepreneurs. The team there was a great help in sharing with me what I needed to know. They also helped me get my first business line of credit, and they were able to help me get some grants, which were great for helping me fix some working capital issues I had in the beginning. I wouldn't have known about those opportunities without working closely with an experienced business organization like Allies.

RM: How have your corporate clients helped connect your team to new opportunities for their careers and building wealth?

LB: We have a few different amazing organizations we work with: the YMCA, the Obama Foundation, the Chicago Bulls, the Blackhawks. I'm able to take my team with me to catering events, and they get to see the business side of working with these different sports teams and be a part of it.

And while we're doing that, I'm also teaching my team how to be professional, how to set up food correctly, how to be a working-class citizen.

RM: Networking and building community have been important to your success. How did these relationships evolve?

LB: Connections have been super important for my business. One of the first was partnering with my friend Dion Dawson, who runs Dion's Chicago Dream, a nonprofit focused on food security and workforce development. He was able to connect me with a lot of people that I work with now, like the Chicago Bulls. When I first got started, I was actually cooking for Catholic Charities for seniors, and that's how I actually got into my kitchen, with my first annual contract with them.

Being at The Hatchery has allowed me to promote myself and get in front of some different people for new opportunities. And then working with the Obama Foundation, the YMCA, Breakthrough Urban Ministries, and community leaders like Dion, that's all helped me gain recognition and a reputation for what we do. I think those kind of connections have really made my business what it is today.

RM: Any final words of wisdom to other entrepreneurs and small businesses?

LB: The hours you think you're going to work are not the hours you're going to work. You're going to work way more than that. So get ready for those hours, friend!

BMO is driven by a single purpose: to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life. Through BMO Zero Barriers to Business, we’re committed to helping business owners gain better access to capital, educational resources, and partnerships. Reach out if you’re looking to take your business to the next level. Specialty Lending Programs: Zero Barriers to Business - BMO