Clarina Cravins is a French African Creole chef and entrepreneur from Burlington, Vermont. As lifelong nutrition enthusiast and passionate foodie, Clarina shaped a career in the food world, starting her work in restaurants at age 16. She graduated into many culinary roles, including spending nearly half a decade teaching hands-on cooking classes, serving as the head of food education for a health food store, having her own cooking show on television for two years and working as both a personal chef, caterer and food educator in her community for over a decade.

Clarina ran and still runs her own catering business. Surrounded by a ring of other successful and inspirational women, Clarina recently decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship, launching her own brand, Little Miss Taco where she not only sells catering services but also has a weekly meal prep business called the Monday Meal Program that make the service of a personal chef available to average people. Clarina is knowledgeable, genuine, hardworking and a notable woman in the industry.

Monday Meal Program 

The Monday Meal Program is a meal prep business designed to bridge the gap between hardworking people and home cooked meals (this is our mission statement!). We work with local farmers to source the best ingredients and cook small batch homemade meals for preorder each week. Each meal is packed in compostable or recyclable packaging and is easy to reheat or eat on the go. Our menus are always changing but we also rerun favorites and have staple menu items that never leave. People of all ages love having our meals and snacks stocked in their fridge each week, allowing them extra time to live life while also knowing they are able to nourish themselves with delicious, high quality food every day. We are defining the future of food and making the world an easier place to live.

Something I’ve been learning that interests me:

Finance! My two best friends are both women in finance and they have been a wealth of knowledge to me as I start thinking about my financial future. They made thinking about my finances feel interesting and less scary.

Fav ways to learn:

I love people so much. I love when I meet someone who has knowledge about something I know nothing about. I’m a talker but I actually LOVE listening and getting to learn alongside someone I respect. I love meeting people I aspire to be like and learning from them and their habits. I’ve also learned so much from podcasts over the years its insane. 

Podcasts:

I just discovered Sad to Savage and the chick who does it is amazing. She’s made me rethink how we view hot chicks and their intelligence.

I absolutely love Huberman Lab. Its one of the most valuable podcasts I’ve ever encountered and it has entirely changed my view on so many aspects of my health. One of the most amazing cost free resources available in the entire world if you ask me.

Fav music artists:

Embarrassing, I’m weird but I don’t listen to music on my own, I just listen to whatever anyone else is playing.

Overcoming challenges:

I pretty much always have to overcome challenges because I came from nothing and had kids young. I usually just assume I’m going to lose my house if I don’t get up and make it happen every day so I guess fear of dying is what gets me through hard times. Not a cookie cutter answer but its my reality. I’ve never had the privilege of feeling like I had the option of not getting through hardship.

Fav spots in VT:

100% the swimming hole in the brook behind my house. It’s my little piece of heaven and no millionaires pool comes close to comparing. My back deck is number two.

I also love the NEK, every swimming hole in the state, bringing picnics to the docks at the waterfront, sunsets from Lakeview Terrace, riding a bike down north street…

Something you are most proud of:

Getting a business up and running with three kids at home, especially when the youngest was only 3 months old. I’m proud of how much I believe in myself. I’m always pushing and along the way there are always the people who give you some head trash and ask if you can really do it. My mindset is always to prove them wrong by just making it happen. I’m proud that I can model perseverance for other women and mothers so they can point to me when someone tells them they can’t. Fuck that- we can!

Check out more about Clarina and her meal programs & catering here!