Have you ever felt stuck in a job that drained your energy, even though you were good at it? After 30 years in food service management, Maricel Gentile found herself overseeing operations for 11 schools—managing staff, planning menus, and handling endless paperwork. Despite her success, something was missing. “I was so done with the corporate world,” Maricel shares. “After years dealing with large-scale operations, tight budgets, and endless administrative work, I was burned out.”

What Maricel really wanted was to share her passion for Filipino cuisine with others. While attending cooking classes in her area, she noticed something surprising: “There were people teaching Thai food, Japanese food, French pastries…but no one was teaching Filipino food.” This gap became her opportunity. Instead of dreaming about escaping her corporate job, she took action—starting small with weekend cooking classes at a local church while keeping her day job.

Maricel’s story shows how you can turn your expertise and passion into a thriving business without making a blind leap. By testing her idea with minimal risk, listening to what customers truly valued, and gradually building her confidence, she created Maricel’s Kitchen—a culinary destination that’s appeared on Food Network and PBS. Whether you’re fed up with your current career or simply have a skill you’d love to share, her step-by-step approach offers a practical blueprint for moving from thinking about a business to actually starting one.

Finding Her Flavor

What started as simple encouragement from friends and family turned into a business opportunity when Maricel noticed something missing in her community.

“I started noticing something—there were people in my area teaching cooking classes for Thai food, Japanese food, French pastries…but no one was teaching Filipino food. It made me think: Why not? Filipino food deserves a place alongside these other cuisines.”

This observation became the spark for Maricel’s Kitchen, a culinary experience business specializing in Filipino and Asian cuisine. Instead of opening a traditional restaurant, Maricel focused on cooking classes, Chef’s Table dinners, and catering.

Her market research was hands-on and practical. She attended cooking classes at different price points, including a sushi-making class where the Italian chef announced in the middle of class that he doesn’t even eat sushi! Despite this disconnect, the class was full—a lightbulb moment for Maricel.

Maricel’s vision has always been to make Filipino food as accessible as any other cuisine. “Filipino cuisine has been on the rise—Filipino restaurants are gaining international recognition, earning Michelin stars and James Beard awards. Even Gordon Ramsay recently visited the Philippines, calling Filipino food the hidden gem of Asian cuisine,” she explains.

First Steps: Testing the Waters

The first big question for Maricel was simple but scary: would anyone show up? “I remember being so nervous those early days and thinking who would want to learn cooking from me,” she recalls. Friends and neighbors came first, providing essential early support.

But Maricel knew she needed more than friendly faces to build a real business. “I focused on one thing: interest. If I could get people I don’t know to come to these classes, then there was a possibility it would work.” The turning point came when a woman named Donna—someone Maricel didn’t know—showed up for a class. “I remember the feeling of when she showed up in the class, and I realized I did not know her, she was not a friend of a friend, that’s when I knew this had a chance.” Like a snowball, each class afterward brought more new faces.

Maricel’s first cooking class took place in a local Presbyterian church kitchen. She taught Filipino/Asian 101, featuring Lumpia (Filipino Spring Roll), Pancit (Filipino Rice Noodles), and Pancit Molo (Filipino Dumpling Soup)—dishes that remain popular in her classes today and appear in her cookbook.

The cooking came naturally to Maricel. The challenging part? “I was nervous over how to speak to it all while cooking, and would I misspeak and sound silly. Would someone hear what I was saying and think that I was a fool?” Even now, after thousands of classes and TV appearances, she still gets butterflies before teaching. “But today I have learned how to use that as energy and project it in what I am doing.”

That first class had about 6-7 people—all neighbors and friends. The pressure was actually higher because “they knew me, so if I messed up I could not disappear.” But everyone had fun, and her husband captured photos that day that were so good they still use them in marketing materials.

Building Experiences

Maricel’s business approach reflects a deep understanding of what today’s consumers want.

“More than ever, people crave experiences. They don’t just want to eat great food; they want to do something memorable. The way people dine has changed—they can get any cuisine delivered to their doorstep in minutes.”

This insight shaped Maricel’s Kitchen into what it is today—a culinary experience destination rather than just another food business. Her offerings have evolved from simple cooking classes to immersive culinary experiences, including Chef’s Table dinners and specialty events like Anime Cooking Classes, where she teaches fans how to make Japanese dishes from their favorite anime.

Her business path took her from a church kitchen in her hometown to a shared commissary kitchen in Marlboro, NJ, then to a small space in Old Bridge, and finally to her current location in East Brunswick. Each move represented growth and expansion not just in physical space but in her vision.

“The day I announced my move to East Brunswick, I was welcomed with such incredible enthusiasm from the Chamber of Commerce, the township, and so many local groups. Even though I don’t live in East Brunswick, they’ve made me feel like a true neighbor and part of the community.”

Her early success came through word-of-mouth and social media. “I was shocked by how powerful simple Facebook posts were. My friends and customers became my best marketing—they told people, tagged me in their photos, and recommended me in local groups.”

The Business Behind the Food

What surprised Maricel most was the amount of behind-the-scenes work. “The food business is like an iceberg, what most people see is the food, either on their plate, in the class, or even in a cooking show – but the other 90% of the effort is behind the scenes,” she explains.

For catering, this means logistics, transport, setup, and teardown—hours of work for a brief event. “When a client wonders why a 2-hour catering event costs what it does, it’s because it also has 8 to 10 times that amount of time and effort behind the scenes.”

Cooking classes, while still demanding, allow more of her effort to directly impact the customer experience. “There is a lot to do behind the scenes, such as marketing, scheduling, answering emails and phone calls, stocking ingredients, and making sure the dining room and the kitchen are ready beforehand—overall it’s much less ‘wasted’ effort.”

Financially, success came quickly. “It was not long, in a few months I was making more than I did in my corporate job. That excited me. It still excites me.” Despite this early profitability, Maricel chose to reinvest rather than take a full salary. “For the first couple of years I kept rolling back in my ‘salary’ to keep expanding—adding a food truck, hiring people, getting larger locations, building out and getting equipment.”

As her business grew, Maricel developed systems to stay organized—though she admits to still preferring some old-school methods. “When I was by myself I did everything in a notebook, and a physical calendar—actually my staff yells at me still today because I still use a notebook and a paper calendar.” Today, her business uses Eventbrite for booking classes, Google Workspace for collaboration, QuickBooks for finances, Square for processing orders, and Patriot Software for payroll.

The biggest adjustment was creating clear processes for her team. “Perhaps the biggest shift for me was the need to get out of my head and create checklists and workflows that my team could be part of… The #1 system for our success is communication and clarity when we execute.”

Recognition

Maricel’s path included unexpected challenges that tested her resolve and creativity. One defining moment came early in her business when the church kitchen she was renting suddenly needed the space for a funeral, forcing her to move a class to her house.

“I was terrified. I kept thinking, People are going to think this is a scam! I imagined angry customers posting all over Facebook: This woman took our money and now says we have to go to her house?! But I didn’t want to cancel the class, so I took the risk, explained the situation, and invited everyone over.”

The risk paid off. Her customers showed up, the class went well, and Maricel learned a valuable lesson about trust and transparency.

Today, Maricel’s courage and persistence have earned her recognition beyond her local community. She’s appeared on Food Network, Hulu, PBS, and even became a Chef Ambassador for the Korean Ministry of Fisheries, K-Seafood—achievements she never imagined when starting her business.

Her latest achievement is her cookbook, “Maricel’s Simply Asian Cookbook: A Journey Through Filipino, Cantonese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Korean Recipes for Every Day.” The project involved seven straight days of cooking more than 70 dishes—sometimes multiple times—for photography, resulting in 18-hour days in the kitchen.

“People often don’t realize just how much work goes into creating a cookbook. Beyond the photos, there were countless hours of writing, rewriting, reviewing, and editing recipes to make sure that every single one was clear, approachable, and stayed true to the flavors I love.”

Throughout her development, Maricel has relied on the support of her husband Paul and her two sons. “We’ve talked a lot about my story, but there’s something every entrepreneur needs that often doesn’t get enough credit—a #1 cheerleader. Someone who believes in you, even when you don’t believe in yourself.”

She admits to quitting the business in her head many times, but Paul never quit on her. When she was busy with 3 AM start times and midnight finishes, her family jumped in to help—washing dishes, making deliveries, or simply offering encouragement.

What Makes Food Businesses Different

If you’re thinking about starting a food business, Maricel highlights one aspect many overlook: “The food business is not about food, it’s about people.”

She explains: “Food is personal—it is probably the most intimate and meaningful thing we do with other people and we do it in public, in private, in small groups and large groups. We eat in moments of celebration, comfort, and even in the most depressing times of our lives.”

A meal carries emotion, nostalgia, history, and culture. “How many times have you eaten something and it reminded you of your childhood or a particular experience or time in your life?”

This human connection matters as much as the food itself. “Whether it’s a home-cooked meal, a beautifully plated dish at a fine dining restaurant, or a quick bite from a food stall, what makes it memorable is how it makes people feel.” The hospitality, interactions, staff training, and even small details like a warm greeting shape the experience.

“A great dish alone won’t bring people back; the feeling they had while eating it will.”

Your Recipe for Success

Reflecting on her experience, Maricel offers clear advice to anyone thinking about starting a business: “Put fear aside—you got this.” She admits fear never goes away, but it shouldn’t stop you from moving forward. Looking back, she believes her biggest mistake was waiting too long to expand due to fear. “I was afraid of taking on a larger lease, the expense of renovating a kitchen, and the financial risk,” she explains. Only after taking that leap did she see tremendous growth in her business.

Her path from weekend cooking classes to culinary destination shows the value of starting small, testing your ideas before going all-in, and focusing on what people truly want—not just products but experiences worth remembering. Equally important is finding support. “Find your person,” Maricel advises. “Whether it’s a spouse, a mentor, a business partner, or a friend—find someone who won’t let you quit.” On days when she wanted to give up, her husband Paul’s unwavering belief made all the difference.

Maricel’s story proves you don’t need a perfect plan to begin—just enough courage to take the first step, the wisdom to learn as you go, and the patience to build something meaningful over time. By focusing on giving real value, being honest with customers, and staying true to your vision, you can create a business that not only supports you financially but brings genuine joy to others.

To learn more about Maricel’s culinary experiences or to order her cookbook, visit maricelskitchen.com.