Be mum, have business, a start-up and also socialise and help others…by Elena Leeming founder of Aircook for you
I am Russian-born but spent most of my life out of Russia…I went to school in Belgium and then relocated to Ireland when I was 18. I had my first business venture there with a friend. We set up a cleaning company and within 18 months had 12 staff working for us and had some big contracts. Money was great, but we worked hard and I was after office based job, so left that and paid my way through college. I did Marketing and Business and graduated in 2009. I then had to struggle through recession and my office based job did not come immediately…I worked for a non-for-profit organisation for a year and then found placement via graduate programme which had me relocating from Dublin to Cork and working between Cork and St Petersburg as a Business Development Executive.
I then saw an opportunity in IT and transferred to IT and worked for some of the biggest name in the software and hardware….still based in Cork. My longing for a more remote and independent lifestyle then drove me to set up a side marketing business. I also met my now husband then. The romance saw us getting married in 2016, having my son in 2017, my side business becoming a full time venture which meant we could live anywhere we wanted. We came to Yorkshire for a holiday when I was still pregnant and I fell in love with coastal towns, history of York and within 5 months, we made a move to Yorkshire. My husband lived in York when he was a teenager, so he loved the idea of kids growing up in a nice city where there is plenty of culture, great sense of community and nature is very close. We thought it would be a great place for a base.
By start of 2018 I got an idea and I started to build AirCook For You, a place for chefs, home cooks and bakers. As a home cook and a foodie myself, I saw the opportunity to unite culinary amateurs and professionals in a Airbnb style way. So the platform was launched in Nov 2018 and we now work with over 50 chefs, bakers and home cooks.
We launched a fun way to celebrate local and brought out a cooking publication Yorkshire on a Plate – local produce, modern dishes.
We then hosted Yorkshire on a Plate supper clubs with one of our chefs. Those a great way to try fine cuisine, celebrate local and connect with other foodies. The response was phenomenal and we plan to go back doing those as soon as we can.
I am a marketing head and I have so many ideas not only for AirCook For You , but other businesses. I still do marketing for others 2-3 days a week. I take 1 day off to dedicate to family completely. I try to work around my now 2 kids (Violet born late 2018). Lockdown meant we were left without childcare for Clive, but we had to completely re-arrange my schedule and design new processes, put some projects on hold. My husband now helps in a marketing business and both of us have been home-based for years now..so there is no change there with the lockdown. We still enjoy our walks and gardening and looking forward to hosting more get togethers at ours!
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AIRCOOK FOR YOU
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