Hidden Gems: Meet Jeffrey Ilechie of BlessItsJeff

Hi Jeffrey, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Growing up in a Nigerian family of 7, I am the middle of 5 siblings. My parents did all that they could do to give my siblings and I the best opportunities possible. As a Nigerian, food is a major staple in our culture, and ironically both my mother and father cook really well. As a child I never really cared to cook, however, it wasn’t until I was in my 3rd year of undergrad that everything changed. 

During my 3rd year of undergrad, I lived off-campus and so I did not have access to the school dining halls and at that point, I had two options; either learn to cook or eat fast food every day. As a broke college student, I choose to learn to cook, so whenever I would come home during school breaks, I would watch my parents and replicate their recipes whenever I returned to school. 

Fast forward to 2014 I graduated undergrad and entered the workforce and landed my first major post-graduation job, an associate scientist. While working, I soon realized that I needed a creative outlet and so on the weekends I started cooking and trying new recipes and I would post them to my Snapchat. I soon started to get a lot of positive feedback on Snapchat and so I then created a YouTube channel and followed by an Instagram account. At this point, I was literally cooking every day and started to create unique never before seen recipes and I then started to pick up a lot of traction on social media. 

By the Grace of God, I was able to be consistent with my food content and then in 2020 I created a TikTok account and things just skyrocketed! At this point, I had several viral recipes and amassed a total following of more than 350,000 followers and I knew the time was now to start a company. After this, I officially registered by Business BlessitsJeff LLC and from there the rest is history, I have been blessed to work with some of the biggest companies in the food industry such as; Walmart, Ninja Kitchen, Takis, Kraft Heinz, Anolon Cookware, and etc. just to name a few. In addition to this, I have also been opportune to cook for a few celebrities. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I thank God for the journey but the road has had its fair share of bumps. As much as a I love and enjoy cooking, I have faced my share roadblocks. First and foremost, my professional background is 100% biology, my undergrad degree is Biology & Chemistry and my Master’s is in Biotechnology. So, when I would tell people I wanted to transition into the food industry many people mocked me and thought I was crazy. On top of that, I had to learn food photography, I had to obtain various food licenses, I had to learn how to create and edit content, I had to learn how to build a brand starting with nothing, But through it all, I prevailed! While it’s a marathon and not a sprint, I try to pace myself and whenever roadblock to come up I face them with an open and positive mindset. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about BlessItsJeff ?
BlessItsJeff is a one-stop-shop for all things culinary. It’s a brand that focuses on positivity while in the kitchen by the form of teaching people how to cook via recipes, kitchen tips & tricks, cookbooks and online cooking tutorials. It also has a catering sector which focuses on providing grandeur catering services for an array of events such as weddings, special events, Brunches, Parties and etc. The final sector is content creation which focuses on creating engaging and fun food content for various companies to make your cooking experience easier. 

What sets BlessitsJeff apart is the fact that the cuisine is so diverse! With flavors, cooking technics and spices inspired from Nigerian Cuisini and a cooking knowledge and experience inspired by Caribbean and southern cuisine, the flavors are so unique and delicious. 

For all catering inquires, cooking technics and questions they can be directed to [email protected]. 

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
For me, I think it’s extremely important to be able to learn from those who are ahead of you and those who are doing the things that you want to do. It’s imperative to network and reach out to those people in your respective field who are doing great things. In the food industry, there are several chefs that I look up to and ask for advice and input. Always have an open mindset and be open to learning from those who are more experienced than you. 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/blessitsjeff
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/jeffreyilechie
• Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@blessitsjeff?