Relish Indi-Soul food dishes include Indian-inspired foods.
Photo courtesy of Relish-Indi Soul
*This four-part series highlights four runners-up, female-owned food and beverage businesses that competed in a Samuel Adams’ pitch competition in October in Detroit. These are their stories and this is how you can support them. Here is part two.
Do you know where your food comes from?
Two Black women are on a mission to answer that question by bringing flavorsome culinary delights to the community that are locally sourced and globally inspired through their catering company, Relish Indi-Soul.
The catering company that “connects people through the universal language of food” is run by Detroit natives Brittiany Peeler and Le’Genevieve Squires who intentionally blend the home-cooked tastes of their roots with fresh flavors and dishes from their travels.
“Relish was created from many different influences and desires we had growing up, stemming from the memories we wanted to create,” they told the Michigan Chronicle, adding that they met in college.
Relish sells samosas, offers pop-ups, private dining experiences, and dishes out more for a targeted audience of on-the-go consumers and experimental diners, according to their company. The business partners-turned couple have also linked up with land-based projects and more to further their sustainability goals. Some of their clients include non-profit organizations like Detroit Phoenix Center and Ruth Ellis in addition to larger companies.
“Relish believes that Detroit’s community was the place most deserving of a community for food lovers for change, for better food in a way that doesn’t sacrifice your health or your environment,” the two stated in an email.
The duo is a perfect business blend because Squires envisions Relish as a magical time to come together and celebrate fellowship around food with quality ingredients while Peeler envisioned the space “where all were welcomed, fed and nourished.”
From Squires attending school for food marketing (and pursuing a second degree in culinary arts) to Peeler joining the U.S. Navy and becoming a chef-turned butcher at the Eastern Market – the team has layers to their multicultural food ministry. Let our palates say “amen.”
“Our community deserves quality foods,” Peeler told the judges. “As native Detroiters, we wanted to recreate childhood favorites that are full of flavors and combined flavors from our travels and sustainable meals.”
The co-owners brought their business ideas to life during a pitch competition in October through professional networking organization SheChef, Inc., and the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program featuring emerging Detroit food and beverage brands. Relish pitched their business ideas to a panel of five experts judges in hopes of winning $10,000.
They described to the judges how they blend the home-cooked tastes of their roots with the fresh flavors and dishes they discovered through their travel experiences to combat the “oversaturated” fast food market locally through “intentional relationships with food.”
The judges encouraged the business partners to focus on prioritizing what their specialty is and growing from there to narrow their focus.
Jasmine Haskins, owner of Detroit-based Gajiza Dumplins, won the pitch competition, where she discussed her ideas to expand and grow more of her pop-up shop that secures pre-orders.
Elle Simone Scott, founder and president at SheChef, Inc. and a judge, said that this was an important one because of the representation of women business owners in the room.
“Coming out of culinary school I did not see a vast amount of representation,” she said. “[For] Brown people it is important for us to not only have a place in the industry but … building our seat and tables [along the way].”
For more information on the pitch competition visit https://www.brewingtheamericandream.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/shechefinc/.
For more information on Relish visit https://www.experiencerelish.com/.
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