Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Barrera.
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am the daughter of Colombian immigrants, and food has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.
My dad came to this country determined to build a life for his family. He worked incredibly hard, even when he didn’t speak the language. Eventually, he opened Los Cisnes, a Colombian restaurant in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and ran it for 15 years.
My sister was a server there, and my dad always wanted me to be one too. I pushed back. I didn’t want to be out front. What I loved was watching my mother in the kitchen. So instead, I found my way into the kitchen by prepping the salads and milkshakes.
When our family moved to Greenville, South Carolina, my dad opened Los Cisnes again and asked me to run it. Once again, I pushed back. The restaurant closed after about a year. But food kept finding me.
Friends began hiring me to cater parties and cook private dinners. My sister eventually convinced me to go to culinary school—not because I had decided I wanted to be a chef, but because I wanted to learn more, discover new techniques, and get new ideas.
While I was in culinary school, I worked for a catering company and worked my way from serving to kitchen prep. Then, at one point, I felt like I needed a change. I needed some space and honestly thought I needed to get away from Greenville for a while. So I took a job as a kitchen assistant at a summer camp in the middle of nowhere in Massachusetts. Then the chef quit. Someone asked me if I felt comfortable running the kitchen. Umm… no. But I said yes.
Suddenly, I was responsible for feeding 150 teenagers every day. It was terrifying—and it was exactly what I needed. I learned that I could actually do this. I gained confidence, learned to trust myself, and realized that maybe the kitchen was where I was supposed to be after all.
My former employer in South Carolina eventually asked me to come back and offered me a kitchen manager position. I returned home. While at work I reconnected with a friend who had been wrongfully fired from the company and I rehired him. That friend is now my life and work partner.
Ironically, I ended up where I had resisted being all those years ago: I work primarily in the front of the house, while he runs the back of the house.
Together, we have owned and operated Black Sheep Cafe & Catering for 10 years.
Black Sheep is really the culmination of everything my parents taught me. My dad taught me determination. My mother taught me the joy of feeding people. My family taught me that food is how you take care of people.
Today, Black Sheep is a little different from the traditional restaurant my parents operated. We’re open for lunch during the week, we make take-and-bake dinners for busy families who want to put a good meal in the oven and actually sit down together, and we cater everything from corporate lunches to weddings and celebrations.
Catering is especially meaningful to me because I get to be part of people’s important moments. My job is to make sure that, when the event is over, the food is something people remember.
I didn’t grow up dreaming of owning a restaurant. In fact, I spent a lot of time trying to avoid it.
But somewhere between Colombian kitchens, culinary school, feeding 150 teenagers in Massachusetts, and eventually opening Black Sheep, I realized that I was doing exactly what my parents had been teaching me all along:
Feed people. Take care of them. And make them feel like they belong at your table.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The biggest obstacle has probably been me. 😂
I have a tendency to think I should be able to figure everything out myself, and owning a small business has taught me that isn’t realistic. I can spend an entire day at the shop,then go home and realize I still have ten business decisions I haven’t made.
I’ve had to learn that being passionate about food doesn’t automatically make you good at every part of running a business. You have to learn the numbers, the people, the marketing, the customer service, the mistakes—and sometimes you learn those things the hard way.
I’ve also had to learn how to keep going when things aren’t exciting. There are plenty of days when running a restaurant is not glamorous. It’s cleaning, fixing something that broke, figuring out what didn’t sell, worrying about whether people will show up, and then getting up the next morning and doing it again.
But I think that’s also where I’ve grown the most. I’ve become much more confident in my ability to adapt. I don’t necessarily need to know what the answer is when a problem comes up anymore. I just need to know that I’ll figure it out.
And after ten years, that’s probably the biggest thing this business has taught me about myself.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We believe great food should surprise you.
We create lunch meals that stand out—bringing together unexpected ingredients and flavor combinations you may never think to pair, but somehow just work. Every bite is designed to make the flavors pop and leave you wanting more.
Our Take & Bake meals are created for real life. They’re made for those days when you want the feeling of a home-cooked meal but may not have the time to prepare one from scratch. They’re convenient, comforting, family-friendly, and delicious enough that even the kids will be excited to sit down for dinner.
For all events we also believe everyone deserves to enjoy good food. That’s why we’re happy to accommodate dietary restrictions and customize meals whenever possible.
What makes our brand especially meaningful to us is the combination of our two culinary backgrounds. My partner brings the rich, comforting flavors and traditions of the South, while I bring the vibrant, bold flavors of Colombia. Together, we blend these two cultures to create something truly unique—food that feels familiar, yet completely unexpected.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Podcast we listen to together is The Best One Yet.
I love cookbooks, Martha Stewart, Wichcraft by Tom Colicchio
Contact Info:
- Email: Blacksheepcafecatering@gmail.com
- Instagram: blacksheepcafecatering
- Facebook: blacksheepcafecatering
- Other: Blacksheefcafecater
