In a thriving city like Nashville, there’s a plethora of talent in nearly every industry. In the dining scene specifically, local chef Shacuria Jackson is one to watch. As an entrepreneur, Jackson has dabbled in the private chef business over the past two years after graduating from culinary school and working in various restaurants. Now that she’s gained traction through catering any-and-all events from bachelorette parties to intimate dinner parties at her business Canvas by Cheffusion, she has big plans to expand her services soon.
Jackson is looking into transitioning her day-to-day private chef and catering services into a passion project called Claremont St. Bao which will bring Music City gourmet bao buns through multiple pop-ups in the upcoming months.
What Now Nashville spoke with Jackson to learn more about what’s in store for Claremont St. Bao.
“I’m paying homage to my hometown, Chicago, and elevating Bao Buns with my own twist. I’ll be doing pop-ups throughout Nashville in the upcoming months, bringing some of the city flavor to the South! I’m super excited. The goal is to turn this into a food truck,” Jackson shared.
In terms of the upcoming months, Claremont St. Bao’s pop-ups will be a main priority. However, for her five-year plan, Jackson aims to take her concept on wheels while collaborating with other local entrepreneurs through her second business, a local networking company she co-founded called The Olive Pressing.
“The Olive Pressing helps bring people together to express ideas, dreams, and aspirations. My friend Bennie Harris II came to me with the idea, and he expressed that he needed a chef for the event, and ongoing. Ultimately, it started as an idea with the other Co-Founders Drew, Kendall, and Jonathan. Now we’re hoping to expand on this and take it further. We’ve been working with a professional photographer and videographer, Vitalii Garbulinskii, who’s helped us get great content of our events so far,” Jackson explained.
As an innovative and adaptable business owner, Jackson knows that adaptability is key to making it in this market, which is why she’s taking alternative routes to the more traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant concept. “Oftentimes, working in different parts of this industry such as restaurants, corporate hospitality, hospitals, etc., suppresses creativity because you have to follow certain guidelines and rules,” Jackson said.
“The 5-year plan for Canvas by Cheffusion is to acquire a food truck to make my concept a little more accessible, and just see where God takes me from there. I have some great things up my sleeve! The future for The Olive Pressing is just to continue to bring people of all backgrounds together. We hope that we can build a community not only in Nashville but across different major cities. We plan to secure some corporate sponsorships in this timeframe as well,” Jackson added.
To learn more about Chef Jackson and her services, visit canvasbycheffusion.com.
