Overview: Deirdre Walker, a self-taught private chef and caterer, launched her catering company Deelightful Eats in 2017, specializing in soul food inspired by her mother and grandmother. Walker’s love for cooking was sparked by a childhood accident when she almost burned down the kitchen while making breakfast for her cousin. Despite not having formal training, Walker’s passion and love for food has led to success in the catering industry, serving clients from different cultural backgrounds and age groups. She plans to open a food truck by the end of the year, bringing her soul food to the streets of Los Angeles and Riverside.
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At only five years old, Deirdre Walker found herself interested in cooking breakfast for herself and her cousin while her mother was asleep. Five-year-old Walker used a tupperware bowl on the stove and a towel to remove it, but the towel caught fire and led to her almost burning down the kitchen.
Walker is now a self-taught, private chef, celebrity chef and caterer, who also provides meal prep orders to primarily Los Angeles and Riverside counties. She launched her catering company Deelightful Eats in 2017, after cooking holiday sides and desserts for friends and family more seriously around 2013 and being encouraged by them to pursue her passion.
Walker’s specialty is soul food which was inspired by her mother, Danyl, and her mid-western grandmother who she refers to as her “Forever Valentine” because she was born on Feb. 14.
“I have not had any formal training. Every technique I have learned on my own or also from memories of my mother’s cooking growing up and my grandmother. They were the ones that inspired me to want to cook, because they just made the best food when I was younger. I just want…others to enjoy my food like I enjoy theirs,” Walker said.
As a child, Walker was enlisted as her grandmother’s sous chef, helping her snap and fill buckets full of green beans. Walker’s grandmother came from the Midwest and made the “best” cornbread dressing from scratch, Walker’s favorite lime jello mold, and lima beans which Walker said “there was not one thing that my grandma made that I did not like.”
Walker originally wanted to be a psychologist because of her desire to help and care for others. While taking classes in psychology, she understood that the field was too stressful for her. Walker knew that she would become too emotionally attached to her future patients and the hardships they would potentially face, and share with her. She discovered that she could still give back to others with her natural talent and passion for cooking.
“With food, I am still bringing people together, communicating. Food is a form of love. Food brings many people of many cultures together and everybody likes to eat,” Walker shared. “I put all my soul and passion and love into every dish that I make. My slogan is, ‘Made from scratch with love’ because it’s always love… every dish that I make, from my clients to my family and friends.”
Walker faced struggles when she started her small business such as not having a formal website. She had to learn how to navigate creating business cards and obtaining certain licenses in order to launch an official catering business. She also faced issues with pricing as some potential clients didn’t agree with her costs.
“They want the experience, but they don’t want to pay what it’s actually worth and what I’m worth. I know that what I’m charging, I’m worth what I’m charging, as well as what I’m going to provide for you,” Walker said. “I use high-quality ingredients with every dish that I make. I don’t cut corners because I want everyone to eat the same way that I’m going to eat and I’m going to feed my family.”
Walker loves every aspect of her business, from making the food to receiving rave reviews on it. After over a decade of cooking experience, she still feels anxious when serving a new client and hopes that they enjoy her food. Walker has cooked for people from different cultural backgrounds and age groups, and has found that they all enjoy her food. She is often told by her friends to open up a “brick and mortar” storefront for her food. She is currently seeking to open up a food truck by the end of the year.
“I have something good here, and my passion, it doesn’t feel like work,” Walker said.
Although she does most of the food prep and catering on her own, for large events of 100 people or more, she brings in help. Walker will bring on her staff which consists of her best friend, daughter, sister and mother. Walker shared her gratitude for the help from her loved ones and highlighted her culinary trained chef mother, Danyl, as being her occasional sous chef. Danyl went to culinary school later in life to expand her cooking abilities and now assists Walker with any skills she doesn’t know or can’t carry out.
Walker is successful at not taking on too much, so that she can customize each catering experience to be the best for her clients. When providing private services, she is less likely to pick up other jobs because private catering can take up most of her day with shopping and prepping. Walker does meal prepping on days that she doesn’t have large catering projects which gives her the flexibility to serve multiple clients. Walker enjoys the ability she has to freestyle and create different menus for different clients and shared she already has a client who put in an order for her services nine months from now, for Thanksgiving.
“They want to make sure that they have me on that day and that’s when I feel so good about what I’m doing. And these are repeat clients, so I do appreciate that,” Walker stated.
“I want to take Deelightful Eats to the streets, and it just encourages me more to get out there so that more people can experience what I have to offer and some great soul food. Because [in] Los Angeles and Riverside, we definitely need more great soul food spots and I believe that I am the next one,” Walker said.