BUSINESS OWNER PIVOTS TO PROVIDE COOKING CLASSES

Maya-Camille Broussard founded Justice of the Pies in 2014. Since COVID-19 resulted in a decrease in business, Broussard has pivoted to offering subscription-based cooking classes. Photo courtesy of Maya-Camille Broussard
Maya-Camille Broussard founded Justice of the Pies in 2014. Since COVID-19 resulted in a decrease in business, Broussard has pivoted to offering subscription-based cooking classes. Photo courtesy of Maya-Camille Broussard

BUSINESS OWNER PIVOTS TO PROVIDE COOKING CLASSES

BY TIA CAROL JONES

Maya-Camille Broussard founded Justice of the Pies in 2014. Since then, she has sold her pies to local grocery stores and in farmers markets, as well as operating a catering service. Broussard experienced a decrease in demand for goods and services as a result of COVID-19.

As a consequence, she decided to pivot to provide food to frontline workers. She provided food to John H. Stroger Hospital, Roseland Hospital, Advocate Trinity Hospital and Provident Hospital. She also started to go live on Instagram to test new recipes for her catering service.

“I just brought that process online to the IG platform and afterward, people would ask me for the recipes. And, I would scream, I’m not a food blogger, I’m a chef, I’m a baker, so I’m just inviting you all into the experience as I create these dishes,” she said.

Broussard said it was an opportunity to engage with people. Something she had done before the quarantine, with her cooking classes for young people.

The class is once a week, with three recipes per week. At the beginning of the week, participants will get a grocery list with pantry items needed for the recipes they will be making. The cooking tutorials are released at the end of the week on Broussard’s website, Justiceforallrecipes.com. The subscription costs $400 for six months, or three-monthly installments of $175. Subscribers will receive access to the members-only Facebook page, along with the step-by-step tutorials and detailed grocery lists.

“I have some dishes on my catering menu that people wanted to know the recipes for, so this is an opportunity to learn the recipes that I do, such as my Shepherd’s Pie or blue cheese praline pie,” she said. “I try to focus on Global dishes, mainly dishes from the Diaspora because I’m Black, but also dishes that I learn from my travel.”

Broussard said each time she travels, she tries to find someone to teach her how to cook something indigenous to the place where she is travelling. “So, when I was in Costa Rica, I was there for a retreat, and I stayed in the kitchen,” she said.

Some of the dishes she has learned through her travels include red snapper from Jamaica, Brazilian Fish Pot Pie, which is a dish she contributed to a cookbook, called “Feed the Resistance” by Julia Turshen.

“Nobody has seen me execute that dish. So, this is a dish that’s in a book that I already contributed to but now, there are people who learn by reading, then there’s visual learners, so this is the perfect opportunity to watch me make that dish that I’ve written out,” she said.

Broussard said the feedback she has received from people has been positive and people love it.

“People are constantly asking me for recipes, but people love the idea,” she said. “They are loving the pivot, because they recognize that food businesses are struggling right now, and that business is only good if you have a good curbside pick-up model.”

Broussard said a lot of her friends are supporting her and encouraging her with this new venture.

“They recognize it isn’t easy to do at a time like this. They also recognize I’m trying to take into account that more people are cooking from home and people are sick and tired of their own food,” she said. “I am actually giving you a step-by-step tutorial, I am creating a community in which you can come and ask me questions. You can share your insights with other members of the community.”

For more information, visit justiceofthepies.com and justiceforallrecipes.com.

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