Amore Kitchen

From school teacher of 12 years to the proud owner of Amore Kitchen, Chef Angela shares her journey to becoming a business owner and the challenges she’s faced.

From school teacher to chef

You may think jumping from school teacher to becoming a chef is a complete 180, but for Chef Angela, it was just a melding of passions. Finally taking the leap in 2017 to start Amore Kitchen, she says it was almost a natural progression for her. “Cooking has always been my passion and what I gravitated towards,” she says.

“Offering these cooking classes, I get to continue working with kids, which I’ve done for so long, but just in a different capacity.”

With her mother hailing from Italy, it’s no surprise that Chef Angela has a passion for cooking. “I feel so fortunate to have so many special traditions and recipes that have been passed down to me,” she says. “To be able to share my family recipes either through my cooking classes or through catering is just the cherry on top.”

After over a decade of teaching kids in a classroom environment, Chef Angela decided it was important to pursue something that came naturally to her. Having so many family members who have owned their own businesses, including her parents, her aunt, and her brothers, entrepreneurship almost runs in her blood.

Success doesn’t come without challenges

Although she had support from family, a family full of successful startup owners, and a burning passion for her craft, Chef Angela still struggled with her own confidence. “At the beginning I definitely had doubts about my ability to pull this off,” she says. “I struggled to believe in myself from the get go. Looking back now, it’s one of the things I wish I could have gotten over faster.”

Instead of letting her self-doubt turn into self-sabotage, Chef Angela pulled through and established a successful business within just a couple of years. “One my proudest moments with Amore Kitchen was being featured on the local San Diego news twice within the first two years,” she says. “It was so exciting to be cooking with kids on the news and to know that so many people were watching.”

“I definitely struggled with some things when I first started Amore Kitchen,” explains Chef Angela. “Things like accounting, designing my website, and even just figuring out the best pricing structure for the classes—it was all new to me, so it took some time to figure that all out.”

“I really enjoy learning new things, so although owning a business comes with its challenges, I love the variety it gives me every day.”

What the future holds for Amore Kitchen

So what’s next for Chef Angela and Amore Kitchen? “I’d love to offer online cooking classes where people can cook along with me,” she says. Already in the process of offering cooking classes to Sea Cadets in the Navy, Chef Angela also hopes to start offering corporate catering services.