Exploring Life & Business with Ravindra Jayara of Chic Chef Catering

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ravindra Jayara. Them and their team share their story with us below:

December 2015, three friends were sitting around brainstorming ideas for a new business venture. Two of the friends had a background in hospitality, and one of them had an aspiring future in real estate. Thus, the ideas for the business were either real-estate or catering—but wait, no one really knew anything about real estate, so catering it was! With his background in food & beverage Ravi took his knowledge and opened up Chic Chef in January 5th, 2016 shortly after. Chic Chef initially specialized in Indian weddings due to his expert cultural background but quickly made its debut in the universal wedding industry. Three years later Chic Chef is now known as one of Chicago’s top small business caterers, achieving multiple awards and recognition along the way. We have had the pleasure of working with some Chicago’s most talented event industry professionals and hope to continue expanding and establishing our name nationwide.

Founder and owner Ravi Jayara is a man with a strong passion for events and hospitality. His story begins in U.P India from a family of humble roots and passionately driven individuals. The Jayara family migrated to the United States in 1985. Ravi was primarily raised in the north side of Chicago and received his education from Northern Illinois University, graduating with a Bachelor’s in Business Management; major in IT, and minor in business.

With Ravi’s father, Prem Singh, being a world-renowned Chef (RIP), he was quickly introduced to the food and beverage industry early on. From the age of sixteen, he learned the value of hard work by becoming as a busboy alongside with his brother’s. These gentlemen have always been firm believers that “before one learns to lead, they first must learn to follow.” This is an important ingredient for the recipe for a great leader. Being able to learn, perform, and thoroughly understand everyone’s position is crucial to being successful in operating any type of event. As he progressed in his job, he was granted the opportunity by his older Brother, Jagmohan to witness what it truly takes to execute a successful event.

Ravi dedicates a major part of his success to his brother. Without him he wouldn’t be where he is today, learning all of the core values, knowledge and skills it takes to be a good leader, entrepreneur, and business owner. He learned how to integrate all of the several moving parts of private events and it was love at first sight. He found his talent in the chaos, as well as became even more motivated after seeing the genuine looks of gratitude from his clients after a long day of hard work. Ravi quickly came to realize that he wasn’t just in the business of catering food, but catering everlasting memories for beautiful couples and families.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We had a ton of challenges and we still do as we grow as a company. In our earlier days, we had to put on many different hats to keep the company moving forward. We had a hard time finding and keeping office staff, chefs, vendors, event coordinators, event staffs and more. Once we had some momentum, we were able to pay them well and have a process in place to execute a great event. We have different kinds of struggles every step of the way and we will keep having new challenges as we looking to grown in next few years.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We pride ourselves at Chic Chef Catering for building life-long relationships with all our clients. Any catering company can provide food and staff, but it takes a dedicated team of individuals to make your event memorable, ensuring the utmost client fulfillment. Our guarantee to our clients is to always go above and beyond in whichever ways we can to make all events deliciously special for you.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
We must be flexible and adjust to ever-changing workforce. Caterers must be more creative and give clients multiple options when it comes to variety of food, setup, theme, planning and more extravagant/ all-inclusive options.

Contact Info:

• Email: ravi@chicchefcatering.com
• Website: www.chicchefcatering.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chicchefcatering/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chicchefcateringchicago
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/chic-chef-catering-addison-2