Daily Inspiration: Meet Jana Sheppard

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jana Sheppard. 

Hi Jana, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Ever since I could remember I used to watch my mom cook or watch cooking shows. With my mom though we ate a lot of soul food and one day I was just talking her to and said there are some many other things we could try. And from that day on she just let me start buying different ingredients and creating and playing around with them. And from then on, I have always dealt with food. My mom always used to tell me all the time that she thinks I got my cooking from her mother (which I never got to meet because she passed before I was born) and I just always kept that with me and still have one of my grandmother cast-iron pans that I still use to this day. From there once I got to high school I start competing in cooking competitions which always went pretty well and after I graduated, I went to culinary school. Shortly after I graduated culinary school, I started selling dinners And I was really getting great feedback from the dinners I was selling. Once the pandemic hit, I slowed down a little bit with selling and just began to focus on building my content on my Instagram. And this year when I found out I was pregnant I actually stopped selling them for the time being and really just put my energy into content and recipe development for my future projects.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It most definitely has not been a smooth road for me, in June of 2018 my mom passed leaving just my sister and I. That truly took a toll on me and I tried to push myself through her passing without allowing myself to grieve and eventually it caught up with me. Then the following year I really struggled with depression. So, I had to work to pull myself out of that place and learn how to deal with grief. She was the first person that was that close to me and I had to deal with passing in my life.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Personally, I have been working on an e-book of recipes and creating my own sauce line. I think I specialize in Comfort food it’s my favorite to eat, my favorite serve people and it’s just food that gives you a great warm fuzzy feeling when you eat it. I’m very big on scratch cooking as well and really bringing that back into a generation where convenience has taken over. And when I’m not working on my personal business endeavors I work as the Savory Manager at a Bakery and Cafe in Detroit.

How do you define success?
Success to me is accomplishing all of the goals you set for yourself, whether it’s professionally, breaking generational curses within your family, or just personal goals. And just feeling fulfilled and happy with accomplishing those things. 

Contact Info:

• Email: Simplydifferentmeals@gmail.com
• Instagram: @_chefnae @simplydifferentmeals
• Facebook: Simply Different Meals