Carley Sheehy, a Northgate mom of three boys, aims to set cooks up for success with her DIY cooking kits featuring globally-inspired foods. “Our DIY kits make it simpler to explore international cooking by including specialized shelf-stable ingredients, cooking tools, and detailed instructions; home cooks add their favorite fresh ingredients,” explains the entrepreneur.
During her travels, Carley experienced many foods that she wished to recreate when she got home, only to find that collecting all the unique ingredients that may only be used once was a lot of work and she wasn’t always sure about the techniques or recipes. “But the actual cooking of new cuisines made me feel adventurous and proud to share her creations. That’s when I had my ah-ha moment!” says Carley. She left the corporate world in 2012 to pursue her dream of starting her own business.” It’s been a crazy rollercoaster since, but I’m so grateful to have a thriving small business, especially during this unprecedented time.”
Carley aims to help create memorable experiences in the kitchen. The kits also make great experiential gifts for friends, couples or families to enjoy together. The most popular kits are Mochi, Sushi, Fortune Cookies and Ravioli. She is also proud to be a “mamapreneur.” Her 6-year-old likes to help her with recipe testing (most recently, devouring countless fortune cookies as she developed this new kit). Carley adds, “He’s very interested in what I do and has a long list of business ideas for when he grows up.” The flexible schedule from running her own business allows her to also be very involved with the kids’ activities and schools.
Carley received a lot of good business advice when she was getting started and would love to pay it forward by helping other new entrepreneurs. She can be reached at Carley@GlobalGrub.com.
The cooking kits are available from GlobalGrub.com, uncommongoods.com, Williams-Sonoma.com and a holiday season pop-up at select Nordstrom stores, including the Walnut Creek location. Let your cooking adventure begin!
By Kara Navolio, Resident since 1991