Renee Cherkezian
We’re back with our Female Founders “What Beckons You?” series highlighting friends and fabulous female founders we admire. As a female-led company ourselves we are constantly amazed of what women can accomplish and are excited to share their stories.
In this spotlight, we caught up a leading lady, Renee Cherkezian, the co-founder of Epicured! She’s passionate about food science and cooking; founding
Briefly introduce yourself, what is your name, age, where do you live, and what do you like to do for fun?
My name is Renee Cherkezian, co-founder of Epicured. My two greatest passions are helping people and cooking. As a registered nurse and chef, I decided to merge these vocations and create a company that harnesses the natural healing power of food, to help people eat better, feel better and live better.
I live in Manhattan, New York, so the ‘city that never sleeps’ can be extremely intense. Finding balance in life is critical in order to remain focused, productive and level-headed. In my spare time, I love to travel, be outdoors, exercise, meditate, and spend time with family and friends. It’s a bonus when I can cook for the people I love!
What is your company?
Epicured is a prepared meal delivery service offering delicious gluten free and low FODMAP food for individuals with digestive conditions. At the core, Epicured is a healthcare company that combines the best of the culinary and medical worlds together by translating medical research into food products for those with restrictive diets. We partner with clinicians and medical institutions who ‘prescribe’ Epicured food to their patients so that finding the right foods is easy.
What “beckoned” or inspired you to start your company?
In 2008, I was taking care of a friend battling cancer. He was on a restrictive diet and had difficulty finding food that tasted good and met his nutritional needs. So I curated meals to support him through his treatments and witnessed the incredible power food had during his recovery.
I realized that food is about so much more than nutrition and sustenance. Eating is such an important social and emotional experience, and being on a restrictive diet is hard on so many levels. It’s hard to eat with others who are not on a restrictive diet and to just relax and enjoy yourself in the process. So with Epicured, I wanted to give back to people one of life’s fundamental pleasures. I wanted to help empower individuals with the knowledge and confidence of what to eat – ultimately, reverting the ‘fear of food’ back to the love of food’.
Tell us about your team, and what is your favorite part of leading them?
Our team is the best part of the company, (aside of course, from our food;))! They are a group of extremely talented professionals from various fields, driven by passion and a higher purpose of making a social impact. I love being in the trenches with a shared mission and vision, and cultivating a unified culture that builds on individuals’ inspiration and ‘raison d’etre’.
My favorite part of leading the team is fueling our collaborative efforts with our powerful customer testimonials because it’s an incredible reminder of why we wake up every morning to do what we do! Everyone on the team is driving value towards the purpose-driven goal of supporting others live healthier and better lives. There is nothing more gratifying than helping people heal and thrive.
What do you think is special and unique about being a female founder?
Despite the great social progress society has made regarding women in leadership roles, there are still barriers we face. As a female founder, I hope that my intention and perseverance support the inspiration of other women in their professional development and pursuit of their dreams.
What advice would you give your younger self?
There’s about a book’s worth! Haha! ‘Don’t stress so much’ is definitely up there.
What inspires or “beckons” you today in life? In work?
I’m driven to improve people’s health and lives through food and education using evidence based research. It is critical to community health that food is medicine. It can support health and reverse diseases or it can cause illness. We want to help educate people about the truth of food and nutrition so they are empowered to make healthier choices.
And of course, what’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Let’s focus on Beckon, because I love what you guys do! I love them all, but Espresso is my favorite! I also love using the Vanilla ice cream to make affogatos in the office for a mid-afternoon ‘pick-me up’.
