Felicia Gross’ Recipe for Success: Family, Flavor, & Female Power
In this interview, you are in for a special treat — both literally and figuratively.
Enchanting Tastebuds, a full-service personal chef business, and The Mad Baker, a company with a range of home-cooked meals and desserts, are both owned and operated by Chef Felicia Gross. The names of these businesses were inspired by her time interning at Walt Disney World, Magic Kingdom shortly after graduating from high school. She adores Alice in Wonderland’s The Mad Hatter and “Enchanting” experiences. With her assistance, gatherings are more exciting, less stressful, and incredibly tasty. Career Explorer found that in 2024, just 39% of culinary chefs were female, with men making up 61% of the business. As her company expands, Felicia Gross plans to have an 85% female workforce and change that narrative. She hopes that one day, little girls who get a rush out of playing with spatulas and whisks can turn that feeling into a profession.
Question: Life story
Zara: I know this is a tough one, given the time constraint but can you share your life story in 4 minutes or less?
Felicia: Growing up, I was a military brat and raised in a family that loves to cook. Funny story though. Nobody would have guessed how influential a poster in front of my 7th-grade math teacher’s door would be. The poster boasted about how ALL jobs used math, and I did not like math and even argued with my teacher that letters don’t belong in math. So I ran my finger through the chart on that poster and let my teacher know, “Well, I guess I am going to be a chef because they are the only ones that use basic math and I don’t have to use letters.”
I went on to attend culinary school at Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky, and met my awesome other half at one of my jobs shortly after graduating from college. We purchased a home in Clarksville, Indiana, and are happy to do business on both sides of the bridge. Then we had our son who is autistic, he is 9 now. I also have 3 lovely bonus children, a set of 17-year-old twins and a 19-year-old. They are a big part of the reason I do what I do and help keep me driven.
Question: Dream Dinner Guest
Zara: That’s beautiful. This next question, I thought would be fun given your background. Given the choice of anyone in the world, who would you want as a dinner guest?
Felicia: Most people’s dream dinner guest would be someone influential, famous, someone who does great things in the world. My brain used to go there. However, for me, my dream would be to serve my sister, Denica who passed away two years ago. She was one of my biggest supporters, and always believed in me even when I doubted myself. She even foreshadowed the TV interview I would later get.
Zara: What was the special meal she loved the most?
Felicia: Lasagna :) Anything with cheese or pasta.
Zara: Thank you for sharing that and thank you for being vulnerable.
Felicia: Thank you for asking because before you asked I hadn’t realized my answer had changed… but it’s a good answer though… and I am appreciative that I have grown enough to realize that my answer has changed, and that’s okay.
Question: Self-care
Zara: Speaking of being grounded and having perspective, I’m curious how you take care of yourself as an entrepreneur.
Felicia: Hahaha.. I’ve learned that…
If I don’t listen to my body, my body will sit me down.
There’s an awesome app I recommend to everyone. It’s called Finch. I have a 50-day streak now! It reminds me of important self-care tasks like drinking water, washing my face, and taking deep breaths. I am also conscious of rewording my questions and making sure what I say isn’t triggering to team members.
Zara: Hm. What I am hearing is the importance of being almost trauma-informed or trauma-conscious. Where did you learn that? That was another question.
Question: Continuing education
Zara: Aside from your associate’s degree in culinary arts, how else have you continued to hone your craft and leadership skills? As you indicated, you frequently lead teams and seem to have a mindful approach.
Felicia: A lot of my leadership education stems from empathy, and remembering how it was to be an employee and being mistreated as a subordinate and I always promised myself to be better.
Right is right, wrong is wrong, and treat people like people.
Then, through my business network and other women’s posts, I discovered options for free classes. One of the most impactful courses I took was through E-Cornell’s Women Entrepreneurship program sponsored by Bank of America. One of the courses emphasized the importance of mental clarity, and how we treat ourselves and those around us and our stuff. Being aware of your approach– keeping a balanced, clear, and sound mind so that you don’t burn yourself out and do your best to not burn your staff out.
Question: Role of other women
Zara: You mentioned this a bit, as simply seeing other businesswomen’s posts has positively influenced your trajectory. What are some specific ways other women have influenced and uplifted you on your journey?
Felicia: This year and last year in particular, women have stepped up for me tremendously. There was one event in particular that my sister was supposed to be with me. It was a women’s sexual health expo. However, as I mentioned previously she passed away. So my mom stepped up and sat through it and all of its glorious discomfort. Another woman, Cynthia, comforted me once before a big event I was anxious, nervous, and scared about.
She said,
“Just because you’re scared does that mean you don’t have the skillset, the capability, and know-how?”
And I said, “No.”
Long story short: Do it scared.
Holly, Izzy, and Latoya have motivated me to celebrate myself. My sister’s friends still check in on me. My God sister has also been more hands-on as well. My mentor and friend CJ also helps me a lot.
Question: Evolution of business pricing
Zara: How does your business look different now from when you first started? Specifically, if you’d like to touch on how your confidence around pricing has evolved, I know as women we tend to struggle with pricing our products and services.
Felicia: There are three ways, my pricing has evolved.
- I lean on my friends and mentors who are stronger around configuring pricing. For example, I have a call with CJ today about pricing my grazing tables.
- What tames the gross feeling is to be cognizant of the fact that your target audience will always be okay with your pricing. These conversations are always a lot smoother and these people will not bat an eye.
- FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) should not have a role in pricing. I used to lower my prices when someone would freak out at my pricing (in fear of missing out), but then I would be doing everything at cost and not making any money. So I had to unlearn this pattern of FOMO.
Felicia’s journey is a beautiful mix of passion, perseverance, and the support of a strong community, from family to mentors to fellow businesswomen. She’s learned the importance of self-care, embracing challenges, and trusting herself — and she’s passing on those lessons to others along the way. Whether it’s perfecting a recipe or adjusting her business approach, Felicia’s story shows that success is about growth, balance, and staying true to what matters most. With her heart in her work and her focus on empowering others, Felicia is not just serving up great food — she’s serving up inspiration too.
Stay tuned for the next Fierce Founder, written by Zara Macias.
Interested in being featured? Email Zara at zara@zdmwriting.com. There are still a few complementary features available for fierce female founders with 11+ employees!
