Meet Joy Braud Sims | Personal Chef/Caterer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joy Braud Sims and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joy, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor behind my success is staying true to what I do. When I make a meal, there are no short cuts. I make everything from scratch. I don’t modify what I know to be good and right in a New Orleans recipe. I put a lot of heart and soul in my cooking. When you cook with love, everything tastes good.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I have a catering business and I am a personal chef. I specialize in New Orleans Creole and Cajun Cuisine. I was born and raised in New Orleans. I have been in the Denver metro area for almost 5 years. I got to where I am today by word of mouth. I started catering for people that I knew who had business meetings and events and as people started tasting my food, word got out. Many people were excited to taste food that had real flavor and didn’t need any extra seasoning in order for them to eat and enjoy the food. I have done crawfish boils with crawfish flown in from New Orleans, I have made King Cakes during Mardi gras season, and of course there’s always gumbo when it’s cold. Along the way, I’ve learned that people don’t eat as much as we do in New Orleans. Sometimes I cook too much food. In New Orleans we live to eat, everywhere else, people eat to live. We eat lunch while talking about what we’re having for dinner. Food in New Orleans is a way of life.
What I want people to know about me, my brand, and my story is that I don’t compromise what I know. I cook authentically, I stay true to my heritage, and I don’t serve anything to other people that I wouldn’t serve to my own family.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I have only been here for a little less than 5 years and I still have a lot of exploring to do. And because I’m from New Orleans, I am very critical of the food here. I haven’t found any food places that are to die for or are must go to as far as my best friend from New Orleans. When I think of good food, i think of seafood and food that warms the soul, and Denver doesn’t really have that. It’s burgers, steak, tacos, and pizza. I would take my friend to the mountains so see the snow and the elk. I would also go to Red Rocks to see the crazy running dude. We would go to Beau Jo’s for their famous pizza. We would also see the Garden of the Gods. And for Taco Tuesday, we would got to Machete’s or Los Dos Potrillos for the big Cadillac Margaritas. Morning walks would consist of the Manitou Incline and walks along one of the many trails in my neighborhood. And we would spend a day shopping at the outlets in Castle Rock. If it’s in Winter, we would either go snowshoeing or snow tubing. If it was summer, we would go white water rafting and camping.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shoutout both of my grandmothers, my grandfather, my parents, and all the people in my life that shared a recipe or let me help in cooking a recipe when I was little.

Website: www.mamajoyscreolecatering.com

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