Hidden Gems: Meet Chenese Simmons of CJ’s CookHouse

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chenese Simmons. 

Hi Chenese, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My passion for food started as a young girl around age 11 watching the Food Network nonstop in Cleveland, OH which evolved into my love for cooking around age14. It’s what I’ve always known I wanted to do. After a few stints in commercial kitchens/bars, I began cooking for others in my early 20s, just entertaining friends and family at home and on holidays. After much encouragement, I decided to start an official catering business in 2018. CJ’s CookHouse, a full-service company, specializing in event and corporate catering, was born September 22, 2018, in Columbus, OH. Since then, I’ve been blessed to see my clientele grow from individual clients to corporate partners such as United Way of Central Ohio, ROX! (Both nonprofits based in Columbus, Ohio), and the Ohio Department of Education as well as weddings and entertainment events! 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road to today has been far from smooth. I left my full-time job to focus on my business full-time in January 2020… right before the pandemic. Yikes. My business relies on people gathering and events, all which were cancelled for the better part of the year. I had to change the way I thought about catering and servicing my clientele. Offering pick-up catering and a weekly dinner service allowed me to stay afloat and keep my business going during lockdown. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We offer full-service business specializing in Corporate and Event catering. Birthdays, Baby Showers, Weddings, Bridal & Engagement Showers are our specialties. We also offer Meal Planning and in-house Private Chef services. We are most proud of truly starting from the bottom to now partnering with some amazing corporate partners in the city of Columbus, Ohio and growing mostly by word of mouth. Our passion is truly helping our clientele celebrate the most important days and times of their lives for a reasonable price that doesn’t leave them regretting going big! 

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is overcoming fear and remembering to balance work with passion and still feeling happiness at the end of the day. 

Contact Info:

• Email: cjscookhouse@gmail.com
• Website: www.cjscookhouse.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cjscookhouse/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/CJsCookHouse/

Image Credits
LaShae Boyd Art