We are excited to announce that Kitura Smith is our feature MogulMoxie Maven for April 2022!
Get ready to be encouraged, inspired, and empowered by our virtual chat with Kitura Smith, owner and chef of All About The Minis.
At MogulMoxie® we believe in the value of both formal and informal education, so let’s start here. Tell us about your formal or informal educational background.
For me, the significant things I’ve learned (informal) watching & learning from other chefs. Being taught the proper way to hold a knife, the difference in knives, the importance of making sure your knives are sharpened, all of these play a factor in 1. Which knife is used to cut meats, which knife is used to cut bread, which knife is used to cut/prepare fruit…you catch my drift?! There is a significance to each utensil and no matter what career you’re in, there are tools in your life that are specific to you and you have to become knowledgeable of what they are in order to achieve the goals that you’re striving towards.
What does ambition mean to you?
Ambition means drive & determination to me! Without ambition, I wouldn’t be meeting the goals that I’ve set for myself. My ambition is positioning me to constantly want to go higher, dream bigger all while enjoying life.
What does faith mean to you?
Faith is everything to me! I serve a mighty God and I know that “Our God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think”! Without faith, I wouldn’t be where I am today doing the amazing things that I’m doing and achieving some pretty amazing goals!
Tell us about your company.
My business, All About the Mini’s is bite-size flavor on the go. Not only do we have minis, but we are also a catering business. We provide full-service catering as well as prepared meals where our mission is to give you time back to enjoy your family, complete that project or whatever it is that you want to do.
Tell us about a typical day in your work life.
My favorite kind of day is being in the lab (my kitchen) and working on new creations, new flavors, taking a recipe to that next level. My second favorite day would be when I have pop-ups and meeting new people and watching their faces light up when they taste my food.
Tell us about what motivates you.
My boys and my grandchildren motivate me. I want them to see that they can be an entrepreneur, make their own schedules, provide a service that makes a difference, and to be in control of their TIME! I want to make sure they KNOW THEIR WORTH and I want to be an example to them. I want to educate them on generational wealth and the importance of financial literacy.
Have you ever struggled with confidence or courage?
Oh boy have I struggled with confidence. Not having formal training as a chef has been a challenge for me because of how a few (men) have treated me. Then I realized that that’s typical for this industry and I’ve gotten a lot of support from others because at the end of the day my food tastes GREAT and that I’m confident in. One of the things I did to help overcome this was investing in a business coach who educated me and guided me on this journey and now I don’t have that challenge anymore.
Tell us about one of the toughest things you’ve had to do in business and what you learned from it.
That would have to be sticking to my budget :-)! I tend to overdo things or as my youngest son says, mom you do to much! Well for me, my goal & mission is to change the look of my clients culinary experience while creating a lifetime of memories.
What can you share about increasing and/or managing cashflow to help our readers?
LOL…stick to your budget!
What is your favorite word and why?
Life – Without it, we wouldn’t be here!
What have you accomplished, created or built that makes you the most proud or brings you the most joy?
Building my business. My corporate job was affected by Covid and that was twice in 5 years that my livelihood was placed in someone else’s hands and I refused to be in that position again. I’d already been catering on the side and just hadn’t taken that leap of faith to doing it full time BUT God! Sometimes we have to be placed in uncomfortable positions in order for us to be obedient, it was my time! He closed that door to open my eyes to this amazing life that He has in store for me.
What honors, awards or other recognitions have you received for which you are the most grateful and why?
Being featured in 2 magazines as an up and coming chef in the Atlanta area: SpeakersMagazine.net & iDominate Speakers Magazine was pretty cool, definitely proud moments for me along with winning a stuffed salmon challenge!
What’s coming up in your business or career that you want our readers to know about?
I just completed my first book and I’m in the final stages of having it released along with working on my seasoning line that will be coming out this year as well.
What else would you like to share that hasn’t been asked?
I’d like to share what I like to do for fun and that’s TRAVEL! I enjoy going to different countries and experiencing their culture and tasting their foods. Traveling definitely takes me to a happy place. My goal is to take 3 international trips per year and 3 domestic trips per year.
How can our readers keep up with you?
Interested in following me…well here it is:
Website: allabouttheminis.com
Instagram:@allabouttheminis & @chefkitura
Facebook: allabouttheminis
