Valley woman turns passion for cooking into thriving catering business

The blackened salmon pasta is just one of Joelle Grijalva's specialties.

"I love cooking with seafood," she said. "I love spices. I love pasta."

She even made the sauce from scratch.

"One of my love languages is being able to show love through my food," she said.

The self-taught chef is the culinary artist behind Yummy J's.

Through catering, meal-prep services and to-go plates, Joelle loves pushing the boundaries when it comes to traditional cuisine.

"I'm super passionate about it, so I wanted to learn more and started experimenting with different recipes," Grijalva said.

Yummy J's versatile recipes have gained a following from fans and fellow chefs.

"I'm definitely known for my homemade mac and cheese," Grijalva said. "I've done a collaboration with a good friend of mine, Anthony's Tacos. We do a birria mac and we literally always sell out."

Joelle found her love of cooking during the pandemic.

"I started posting pictures and videos of making strawberry pizzas and banana puddings, and people started to contact me," she said.

Soon, she'd turn that passion into a profession.

The thriving business would outgrow her home kitchen, so she teamed up with the Clovis Culinary Center, knowing their services would help her take her business to the next level.

"When I'm here, I'm usually cooking for my catering, my meal preps, also prepping for anything that I have going on," she said. "If I am going to do an intimate dinner at a home, I'll come here, prep everything and I'll cook at their home."

Weekly meal prep and monthly to-go plate pop-ups are posted to her Instagram, where you'll also see the experience she creates through catering.

Pricing ranges depending on party size and menu.

"I enjoy getting to know people," Grijalva said. "I enjoy them welcoming me into their home. I think it's so special I get to feed them, their family and friends. It just makes me so happy."

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