Meet Jayy Riera

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jayy Riera.

Jayy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Originally I was a medical field brat. I went to a technical high school, studied nursing, continued extra courses after high school for additional certifications and I was loving it. My Nana was too in the medical field and was always teaching me more and sharing any knowledge she held.

After losing my Nana to cancer, the medical field did not feel the same. It gave me anxiety. My family was impacted greatly with this loss but my mother stayed a trooper as always. Everyone who knew my Nana knew she was a baker, she always delivered goodies to our door, from cookies on every holiday to her famous tomato soup cake.

After Nana’s passing, I noticed my mother took to the kitchen, that had become her outlet. She started off baking, then began exploring all types of dinners. Food network was always playing on the TV, trial and error dinners became a thing, and repeat dinners didn’t exist. Something about my mother’s fascination to food drew me in as well. I was already working part-time in restaurants as a server and a bartender but I slowly made my way to the kitchen. After my first line cook position, I was hooked, I wanted to learn more. Watching food network and “talking food” with my mother became more constant and from there on food was my focus. Any cuisine, any technique, any challenge, I wanted to attempt it. When I met my fiance, she was a vegetarian, challenge accepted, I cooked many meatless meals that I was very proud of. This was only the beginning. After moving to Colorado a year later, I knew I needed to share my food with the people around me. So I did.

I began to do tray deliveries, also known as “Jayy’s Trays”. I picked a different meal every week, to sharpen my knowledge and versatility, I wanted to attempt it all! I wanted to know Asian cuisine, Mexican cuisine, American cuisine, Cuban cuisine, Polish cuisine, anything, I wanted to say “yes, I have tried that.” After all the feedback I received, and the requests I got for my sauce and spice recipes, I decided to bulk batch and sell my spices so anyone can feel confident in the kitchen cooking with Jayy’s Spices. The love I have gotten from Colorado Springs and the support I received back home in Connecticut boosted my spirits beyond belief. I am ready to share with the world. I am ready to face situations I never thought I would. Today I am still learning, still growing, still experimenting and still sharing. Today I am more ready than I was before. The support of my mother, my fiance, my family, my friends, my growing group of Jayy’s fans, lead me to where I am today and will continue to guide me to my full potential!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Smooth road? Do those exist today? It defiantly has not been easy. Trying to start your dream and still having to be an adult has many challenges. I began doing my business in my spare time because, of course, bills need to be paid. It was a super slow start and difficult since I knew no one! New state, no family, no friends, no one who knew who I even was. I knew I needed to advertise. I began creating my social media pages for advertising and shortly after shaking the shyness off, I began spreading the word about my food. Small business, current co-workers, cork boards in a larger business, anything. I even handed out flyers at the local food truck rallies. After all the advertising, still not much action.

I will admit I was upset. I already felt defeated but I didn’t give up. Week after week I continued to post my flyers I continued to cook my trays even if I only had two sales. I posted my work with pride and knew one day I would have more fans. After a few months of a dry spell, I began to receive more tray orders, I was getting uplifting reviews and remarks, I had people tagging and sharing my food. I was grateful. Things seemed to be going well until I had to sacrifice my personal time for more time at my “real job.” I started working more often, longer hours, am to pm, pm to am. I no longer had all the time I did before, so due to inconsistency, I lost clientele. Again, defeated. My fiance, sister, and mother kept me moving. They kept telling me it was okay and to keep going for it. So I did. Thanks to their support and the few solid fans I had, I kept my head up and I kept going. And I am still going! Jayy’s will be known and I know there will be more struggles but I am okay with that.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Jayy’s is an “about the food fans” catering business. Jayy’s has goals to one day become a food truck but currently does small pop up events and catering events, as well as, the “Jayy’s Trays” deliveries mentioned before. Jayy’s has become known for multiple food items that all made their way to our special events menu. Some of these items include our Binya’s BarBecue Chicken Grilled cheese (a.k.a The Triple B), the crunchy taco quesadilla and our grilled wings. Jayy’s wings have been such a big hit for us because each seasoning or sauce is house-made and served with Jayy’s ranch slaw, which too has become famous to even the non-coleslaw lovers! Best part about it is once you fall in love with the flavor of the wings you can purchase the spices online for your very own use! As far as specializing in something particular, that is one thing that separates Jayy’s from the rest. VERSATILITY!

I am a try it all, do it all, bring it all, type of cook. I love suggestions and requests and we’re all about personalizing each catering event to your cravings with a twist of Jayy’s cooked in! Besides the versatility, I am a huge food truck fan which inspires me to take my favorite food truck items and make them different as well as my own. What makes me proud is the excitement in our Jayy’s fans once they take a bite of our food. I have had the pleasure of knowing that people have tried food items, that they would not normally eat, and absolutely love it! It makes me feel great! My proudest moment for Jayy’s so far has defiantly been the interest in our spices and being able to share that with people all over the states!

We are looking forward to being proud of so much more!

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Honestly, if I had to start over, I might not have left my home state so soon. I probably would have begun my business then relocated, rather than, have relocated and started up a business. Do not get me wrong, I love it here. Colorado is beyond beautiful and inspiring. The only difference between here and home is the backbone. Back home, I would have had not only my fiance and younger sister but I would have had my mom, dad, and older sister as well. Six working hands would have been twelve working hands instead!

Pricing:

• 3oz Spices $8.00
• 6oz Spices $12.50

Contact Info:

• Phone: 203-525-8636
• Email: chef.jayys@gmail.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/jayys_
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/chefjayys
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/jayys_trays
• Other: linktr.ee/jayys_

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