Hey there ,

  It’s funny how when you give God a yes, it feels like your plans are being train-wrecked while simultaneously falling into place like they were destined to be. 

Learning to trust in Him during His process has been integral to not going into panic mode when He turns my plans on their head. Isaiah 55:8 says My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, and My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine,” and 11, “My word always produces fruit. It will accomplish all that I want it to and prosper everywhere that I send it”. I'm going somewhere with this. 

A lot of people know this, but I’m classically trained in French fine dining. I have my BA in Culinary Arts, focusing on business, hospitality, and nutrition. I’ve interned in restaurants, worked in corporate catering, and took every cooking, business, and hospitality class you could fathom. When you graduate, one of the common things my chef instructors always said was that a great plate and a fancy degree don’t make you a chef. Experience, being able to lead all types of personalities, generate profit, deliver consistency, and handle pressure, all so several people can enjoy a few moments at the dining table, makes you one. I didn’t understand then. But after years of pushing in my own business, I do now. All these aspects make it worth it to enjoy what’s on your fork. When I began the intimate experience and meal-prepping arm of BAF, this was exactly what I set out to do. Every effort for the slices of joy. My slogan became: “Family is who you Feed”. There is beauty in this and beauty in that season. Here’s where the holy rearranging comes in. 

 Last year I took a lot of time to push for myself and give God a real yes, even in business. Though I set out for BAF to be a source of intimate experiences and a fun food blog, He has bigger plans in mind. I wasn’t just called to be a chef, but a healer also. There’s a difference between 1 or 2 joyful foodie moments (or meals, rather) and a lifetime of wholeness.

 Family is still who you feed, but what Beyond a Foodie is (and will be) feeding you is now resources for a sustainable, joyful lifestyle through food. 

I would be lying if I said I had every milestone set out and a plan accurately set in place for how we (myself and team BAF) are going to accomplish this, but that the beauty in giving God a yes; you move on His accord and have faith that his ways will set out to accomplish the goal he had in mind. Yes, Beyond a Foodie is a faith walk. 

So as we walk this transition of Beyond a Foodie out, I invite you to journey along. You can do this by continuing to read the updates I send out (like this email), subscribing to the FEAST recipe newsletter, come visit upcoming events, or even checking out some of the downloadable resources I’ve placed in the new BAF store. Thanks for being here, and I look forward to sharing even more with you, 

Until Next time...

Arica