After spending several years in college with a focus on social work, Syerra Donaldson never imagined she would be serving jerk chicken and lobster tails to customers from her North Miami Beach condo in December 2020.
But with more free time than ever during the pandemic, the trained therapist began cooking frequently in 2020 and posting her dishes on social media. That was the start of a major lifestyle change for Donaldson, who within a matter of months was selling platters of food out of her kitchen at all hours of the day, starting with the morning breakfast crowd and ending with hungry late-night customers.
Nearly five years later, Donaldson, 30, has parlayed her affinity for cooking into a catering company, EasyCookinWithSy, and a win on the Food Network show “Supermarket Stakeout.” She recently placed third in the quarter finals of celebrity chef Carla Hall’s Favorite Chef contest, competing against a formidable group of talented chefs from across the country…