Her Story
About Shornalee
I've been in the food service industry for over 20 years, and my journey has been anything but conventional. I studied to be a chef in India, where I faced the challenge of having a birth defect in my right hand. When the dean of my hotel school tried to dismiss me, saying this wasn't a career path for me, my father stood up and told them to make it extra tough for me - to prepare me for the real world. I fought to stay, was validated by one of India's finest plastic surgeons who said 'it's all in the mind,' and I graduated with good marks. Disney hired me right out of campus to work on their cruise ships, which is how I came to America - I had no plans, but I love Mickey Mouse. After meeting my husband in Virginia and getting married 23-24 years ago, I worked at Harris Teeter for 13 years while raising my two daughters. For the last 8 years, I've been with Compass and Eurest Hospitality, where I really blossomed. I ran one of the big kitchens at Freddie Mac serving 6,000 people daily, where I started cooking authentic Indian home food - the kind I feed my kids, not too oily, not too spicy. After winning Eurest's Women in Culinary competition, I became 'Compass Famous' and created the Tapestry program, which allows passionate chefs to travel and bring authentic food experiences across America. I just returned from cooking at the Tesla Gigafactory for 20,000 people. What drives me most is my Kind Kitchens initiative - promoting kindness to staff, guests, and the planet through sustainable practices. I believe we need to change kitchen culture and break the cycle of harshness. I'm an eternal optimist with a great sense of humor who doesn't take myself seriously, and I've learned that being vulnerable about my challenges empowers others to believe they can succeed too.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Shornalee
01What do you attribute your success to?
I am an eternal optimist with a great sense of humor. I don't take myself seriously at all. The ability to laugh at myself, I think, gives me great courage to show up again and again, and sometimes I have to try much harder than the others. That was a mindset growing up, where, you know, I was taught that nothing is impossible. If you can't do it the first 10 times, try, you know, 90 more times. And that is the mindset I show up with. I always look at the brighter side of things as well, which helps me, I think, greatly in my day-to-day. Most Mondays I take a flight to go into work, right? I prep the same day, so I am an eternal optimist. You know, planes land in wrong airports because of weather, I still make it work.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say, don't overthink it. It's okay to fail. When I first started, I was a terrible cook. It only came through practice and years of practice that I became good. You don't have to be good right out the shot. You don't have to be perfect the first time, you just have to show up and try.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the biggest challenges are retaining our people. It is finding good people who want to do this, and then retaining them, I think, is the biggest challenge. We, as veterans in this industry, have to come up with ways how to make this job worthwhile. We are still one of the lowest paid industries. How else can you show up for our staff to help them, you know, sustain these jobs.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think, you know, being passionate about something, and then showing up for it every day, even when it's inconvenient. I think resilient, yes, but, like, consistency in doing what you do. It's the way you show every day with that same enthusiasm, with the same excitement, and you do it again, and you do it again, and you do it again. And that's how, you know, you build something to last.
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