Dominique Woolf on the secrets of a successful side hustle
Image credit: Nada Photography
Dominique Woolf is a busy mum of three, winner of The Great Cookbook Challenge with Jamie Oliver and a successful businesswoman, who launched her range of sauces Woolf’s Kitchen - during the pandemic no less.
She was the ideal person for Mother+ to have speak at an event on how to turn your passion into a thriving business. Dominique shared her insight into the ups and downs of life as an entrepreneur as well as providing practical tips for those looking to start their own business while raising a family.
She started out as a singer/songwriter but soon realised it wasn’t the path for her. After having children in fairly quick succession, she decided to pursue her passion for food taking a course at Leith’s cookery school, before realising the answer actually lay in her fridge!
Devouring the unlabelled jars of sweet, spicy, fresh sauces from her Thai auntie Dang she decided to create her own version and so The Woolf’s Kitchen was born.
She launched in the middle of lockdown 2020 with three young kids (then aged, 3, 4, and 5) and began selling to local shops and delis. With no childcare due to the pandemic she improvised and took her kids with her on daily trips to the post office, to retailers, and even to some meetings!
The Woolf’s Kitchen has grown from three sauces to include two cooking pastes and two chilli oils and to top it off 5 out of 7 of the products have a Great Taste Award star.
Dominique was such an inspirational guest to have speak at our event, and if her story has sparked a passion in you here are her three top tips for budding entrepreneurs:
Ensure you have a good support system in place, so you are able to give your project some time and space to develop.
Show how you are offering a solution to stand out in a crowded market, essentially what problem does your customer have and how can you solve it?
Ultimately get out there and network as much as you can because you never know who you might meet and how that could help you later down the line.
Staying true to her word and offering a solution to time poor families, her Sunday Times No.1 best selling cookbook, Dominique’s Kitchen is a real saviour for those who want to cook delicious, flavoursome meals inspired by her mother’s Thai cooking, but also need to negotiate bath and bedtime.
Image credit: Nada Photography
The book has a wide range of easy to cook Asian-inspired recipes from salads and noodles to stir-fries, curries, as well as desserts. Using store cupboard staples as well as some more exotic spices and herbs, there is something for everyone in this book.
You can purchase your copy here and if you would like to try some recipes from her book click here.