Black women Heal when they are surrounded by other black women.
Today’s guest truly believes and embodies that motto. Vernetta Stewart, also known as Chef Vernetta is the founder of Footprints of Angels a nonprofit organization aimed to support women impacted by infertility and recurrent miscarriages. This nonprofit organization provides women with support so they can no longer live in silence and shame. In this episode Vernetta takes us on her journey of recurrent miscarriages and becoming the mom of 3 Angel babies. She also shares how her non profit is helping women like her with fertility challenges. This episode is for you to listen to if you want to know what life after loss looks like.
Vernetta Stewart’s Bio
Chef Vernetta started her culinary career with a drive to gain knowledge. With her mother working as a chef, she began cooking at an early age. Helping her mother prepare Sunday dinners were her favorite. Those Sunday afternoons planted a seed that blossomed into a passion for all things culinary. After high school, she went into the field of finance. However, she still had a passion to become a chef. Vernetta graduated from culinary school in 2008 with an Associate’s Degree in Culinary Management and an Associate’s Degree in Restaurant Management. She graduated on the President’s List and became a Certified Culinarian with the American Culinary Federation(ACF).
Her culinary career began at Amelia Island Plantation in Amelia Island, FL, a Triple AAA, Four Diamond resort. She provided culinary services in all dining venues within the resort. These included: casual dining, fine dining, banquets and the bake shop. The experience and knowledge gained from the Amelia Island Plantation enabled Vernetta to advance to a position as Dinner Chef for the Prestigious Bolles School in Jacksonville, FL. Her position with Ponte Vedra Inn & Club a Triple AAA Five Diamond resort, allowed her to continually hone her craft. She was invited to serve as a chef for Super Bowl XLIII 2009 in Tampa, Florida. She was featured in the Taste of Jacksonville, as well as the Taste of Ten for the Jacksonville Women’s Business Center’s ten-year anniversary celebration. Vernetta has a heart to help others.
Through her culinary skills, she supports local non-profit organizations in the city by providing culinary training, safety and sanitation training, meal preparations and meal delivery. She is a Caring Chef for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Jacksonville where she is the Kitchen Manager for their new state of the art kitchen, at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Jacksonville Vernetta works directly with dinner and brunch groups. Her role includes communicating with the dinner groups, assisting with menu planning, nutrition and kitchen training, as well as scheduling all meals with the dinner groups. Vernetta is also the Board Chair for The American Heart Association GoRed for Women Open Your Heart Chair.
She has overseen several fund-raising campaigns for non-profit organizations throughout the city of Jacksonville.
