Danai and her husband, James, opened House of Chef James Mitchell on his 40th birthday. This small business has a big heart that is centered around happiness, love, family and marriage.
Like with many entrepreneurs, their business started with trying to solve a problem. Danai and her husband had long dreamed of having their own business but they were moved to take action because of a hectic work life that was tough on their young family.
At the time, Danai was working in business development in Ville St Laurent, Quebec, her husband was working long hours as a chef in a restaurant and they had a three-year-old daughter. Danai was frustrated and would say to herself,
“How am I supposed to get home from my job in Ville St Laurent at five o’clock, pick up my daughter, go home and figure dinner out. Now, I’m married to a chef so I’m exaggerating. My husband could whip something up in a second. But realistically, he was working as a chef at that time and he was leaving to go to work for the night. I am left alone at that point, and I said, I don’t know how to do this. I’m never gonna see my kid. I’m never gonna see my husband. And I said to myself, there has to be a better way.”
And so, their business started as a side-hustle. Their first offering was a weekly meal menu. They started in their home kitchen with James and another chef-friend working all night on orders they would get from Facebook messages. Once the meals were ready, they, as a family, would get into the car to make deliveries. They would put Sponge Bob on the iPad for their daughter, Helena, and drive around Pincourt, Ile Perrot and Vaudreuil delivering.
Quickly, their business went from a side-hustle to a full-time gig. Over the last five years, they have expanded to include catering, weddings, rustic rentals, chef’s tables, catering on private jets and, most recently, they created a Junior Chefs program (for kids aspiring to be chefs).
As their business grew, they needed more space. House of Chef James Mitchell moved into a beautiful commercial space in St Lazare, Quebec. Their family has also grown and, along with their five-year-old daughter, they now have a one-year-old son Demetrius.
DANAI’S BACKGROUND
Danai has a true passion for food and has spent many years in the food industry. She has worked at restaurants of all kinds, her family also had a restaurant and catered events, and Danai assisted her mother who was a wedding cake artist.
Danai has is a hard worker and has always embraced challenges. She started working when she was 15 and always sought work that would help her expand her skill sets. Not only has she worked in the food industry but she has worked for an airline (as a flight attendant), a bank and for several large companies such as Bell and Suncorp.
She credits these work experiences with having taught her how to implement systems, which have been an integral part of their company’s growth.
THE POWER OF DETERMINATION
It’s hard to believe how much Danai and James have accomplished in the last few years, especially considering that Danai was on bed rest during her last pregnancy.
Sadly, before their daughter and son were born, they had lost two other babies during late stages of pregnancy. And so, as a preventative measure, Danai was bedridden last year. She did her work from bed while her husband took care of their 3-year-old daughter and carried on the other parts of the business.
During that challenging time, her goal was to sustain the business. Amazingly, not only did they sustain the business but they continued to grow it.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SYSTEMS
Danai believes strongly in having systems in place and works very hard to execute them. Systems are what helped her during her time of bed rest. And systems have been essential in growing their business, which has so many moving parts.
Most recently, they launched Junior Chefs – which is part of House of Chef James Mitchell. Danai has big plans for their latest venture and she firmly believes that systems will be critical for its success and for scaling it.
Junior Chefs is a program for kids who aspire to be chefs. They are not just making yogurt parfaits, these kids are learning true chef skills. They work in a real commercial kitchen with real kitchen utensils. The program is for kids 7 – 11 years old. Like Karate, as the kids progress they attain a new colour level. In the case of Junior Chefs, they earn a new jacket in a new colour (white, blue, yellow, etc). The goal is to progress from a white jacket all the way up to black jackets.
Danai is in her element, planning and executing the classes. She is teaching this first round of classes herself so that she has first-hand experience with what works and what doesn’t. Then, she can create a standardized curriculum and training program ready for teachers.
FAMILY FIRST
Danai and James know that their kids will grow up in their kitchen and they love it! Their daughter is at home in their commercial kitchen as much as they are. And their son has his own pack ‘n play nearby so that he’s part of the action too. It may not be easy to have uninterrupted family time, but they work hard to have it. Danai and James look forward to quiet moments together at the end of the day, even if they are brief because everyone is tired. Family outings are sometimes planned on weekdays rather than weekends, due to catering jobs.
It’s clear how deeply Danai loves her family and her work. She loves that their business is, what she calls, “a family show”. She loves that they are in it all together, she loves the hard work and seeing her visions come to life. She believes in making the most of every moment and she certainly has. It will be amazing to watch where they go from here!
Thank you so much, Danai!
Photos: courtesy of Danai Alexopoulos-Mitchell. Top photo taken by Bianca Morello Photography.
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2 comments
Thank you so much Jen!!! It was an honor to take part in this interview and we look forward to a grear year ahead! We also wish you success and happiness in your new venture and endeavors!!! I am proud to be a momentrepreneur!!!!!!
Thank YOU, Danai! You are doing amazing work!! xo