Ellen Geller Kamaras
“I was named after my Grandma Grace Sasson who published the first Syrian cookbook in the community. Through her name, she passed her talents to me. B”H, I’m able to earn parnassah and bring people together through food.”~~ Grace Sitt ~~
Please meet Grace Sitt. Her name is so appropriate for her as it connotes, kindness, charm, goodness, ease, and elegance – exactly her qualities.
As we follow Grace on her personal and professional journey, you will see that Grace’s spiritual and entrepreneurial voice grew strongly and steadily from her teens until now.
Roots
Grace Sasson Sitt, the daughter of Marcelle and Sammy Sasson, lived in Brooklyn until her family moved to Deal when she was in eighth grade. She is the oldest of five children and has three sisters and a brother. Sadly, her sister Marjorie, a”h, passed away in her thirties due to complications from an illness.
Grace’s paternal grandparents and maternal grandmother were from Aleppo, Syria.
The Sassons could only afford to send one child to yeshiva, so only their son had that privilege. Grace happily attended Talmud Torah classes at East Midwood JC in the afternoons. She learned to read and write Hebrew and learned about Jewish history, Humash, and hagim.
School studies came easily to Grace except for math and science. She was shy in school butwith time she became more sociable as she adjusted.
Grace felt her transition from Brooklyn to Deal was fairly smooth. It helped that Marcelle’s friends’ daughters warmly welcomed Grace into their friends’ group.
High School Years
When Grace was 14 years of age, there was no girls yeshiva high schoolin Deal.To the girls’ good fortune, a local teacher, Mrs. Jacobowitz, taught limudei kodeshto the high school girls twice a week.
During 11th and 12th grade, Grace felt engaged in the school’s co-op program. She used her new skills at her job at the Tactical Library at Fort Monmouth.
Grace’s father began to learn with the rabbi of the shul they had joined. Her father became observant, and Grace followed his lead, out of love and respect.
After graduating high school, Grace began working in a wholesale company in NYC.
Married Life
Grace and her husband Steven have been married for 38 years. The couple has seven children and many grandchildren. Family is a priority for Grace and Steven, and they adore seeing their children and grandchildren.
The couple moved to Deal from Brooklyn around 27 years ago. They are proud of their community, with its wonderful schools, organizations, and centers, where they appreciate that children can spend time safely.
Steven has been an EMT since the Jersey Shore Hatzalah was established in 2002. He is now the Executive Director, and their son Sammy recently completed his paramedic course and is one of the coordinators. Grace has been a dispatcher since Hatzalah began responding to calls in 2003.
Grace’s Essence
Grace describes herself as caring, loyal, fun, and easy-going.She also exudes warmth, ease, and calmness, which fit perfectly with her name.
In the morning Grace asks Hashem to help her make her clients happy. Her parents and grandmothers significantly helped to shape the woman Grace became.
Marcelle and Sammy taught Grace about independence, responsibility, respect, and ethics. She learned from them that failing provides a lesson to learn from, and to keep moving forward.
“Grandma Grace was my role model in the kitchen. We went there for Shabbat meals and holidays. She had everyone’s favorites and put out a table that could feed the whole block.”
Cooking – A Family Affair
When the Sassons moved to Deal, Grandma Grace stayed with them for the summer. She was always making something delicious.
Grace had no interest in learning to cook or bake as a teenager. Grandma Grace would beg her to join her. “I chose my friends or the beach instead.” Her grandmother had sons and no daughters and so she taught her daughter-in-law Marcelle how to cook, bake, and entertain.
Grace’s Grandma Marjorie worked very hard. She was always put together, smiling. and laughing. She didn’t have a lot, but she lived life to the fullest, dancing, laughing, and smiling.
Grace’s Trajectory
When Grace married, she started to cook as a creative outlet and enjoyed entertaining for Shabbat and holidays. When her children began yeshiva, Grace studied more and grew spiritually. She felt very fulfilled being a mom.
Until seventeen years ago, Grace was a full-time mom. Then,Grace decided to work to supplement her family’s income. She wanted a job where she could still be home with her youngest, two-year-old Racheli. She tried babysitting but didnot enjoy it. Someone suggested she make and sell mazza out of her house.
“My career chose me. A book on emunah that I read, said that Hashem gives us talents, not just for ourselves but [our talents] should be shared or used to make a living or to help others. When it was time to work, I saw Hashem’s hand in following Grandma Grace’s path of cooking.”
Grace also worked in the kitchens of local food businesses where she learned how to cook very large quantities and she learned about food safety.
Catering by Grace
Someone asked if Grace would help them to cater a party and Catering by Grace was born.
“I completely self-taught myself everything, from figuring out quantities of food needed for 100 vs. 200 guests, how to display the food, how to charge my clients, how to be cost efficient without compromising quality, how to create menus, and how to store and transport food. I never went to culinary or business school. I went online and did the research. I learned everything on the job. It was a lot of trial and error, but I kept learning and growing every year. I really enjoy cooking, otherwise the food doesn’t come out well.”
Many of Grace’s firstjobs were cooking for shiva houses. She cooked three meals a day for a week for mourners and extended family. “I prepared the favorite dishes of the grandparent or wife who had passed away. It was healing for those sittingshiva.”
The Business Grows
She began as a one-woman show, working out of her home and sometimes getting her husband, her older children, and teenagers who were off for the summer to help.
In Grace’s early catering days, she sometimes worked from 5am to 2am and then slept most of Shabbat.
Her husband and children support Grace’s career and are proud of what she has accomplished. “I can honestly say that none of my kids would go into catering – LOL.”
As her business expanded, life normalized and Grace was able to afford a commissary, employ staff, and have an assistant help her manage parties.
Grace caters bar/bat mitzvahs, brit milot, engagements, sebets,sheva brachot, birthdays, baby namings, weddings, and pizza ovens. She has organized parties ranging from intimate dinner parties for 20 people to events with 500 guests.
A New Partnership
Grace recently partnered with Susan and Jack Zayat under the name Hungrymom Catering.
“It was a sign from Hashem. My commissary where I cooked was closing. The Zayats approached me wanting to enter the catering/meal prep business and they had a commissary.”
Hungrymom is the Zayat’s Instagram/baking business. The partners are in the process of rebranding.
Their menu is diverse and is made up of traditional kosher Syrian specialties, American, Italian, Mexican, Asian, and Israeli cuisine. Grace always specialized in homemade mazza, both dairy and meat.
Everything is homemade, from their doughs for mazza to their marinades and dressings. The recipes are passed down from grandparents/parents and contain no preservatives or fillers. “We make everything fresh to order and we treat each client’s event as if it was our own party.”
Quality is a priority for Hungrymom – the best advertising is a happy client. Most clients come from word of mouth.
Their vision is to continue with catering events and to expand within the kosher meal prep industry. They want to offer delicious homemade food whether it’s for vacation, or for the home where both parents work and don’t have time to cook, or just to make life easier.
Lessons Learned
“Make your best effort and leave it to Hashem.” Grace’s secrets to success – keep learning, ask for expert advice, never compromise on quality, respect your clients, treat your employees with gratitude and deference, and be ready for the unexpected in off-premise catering.”
To de-stress, Grace loves the beach where she can watch the ocean. She wants to make more time for self-care and for traveling. “There is nothing better than spending time with family. There is no greater reward than raising a family, seeing your children as adults and parents, seeing them passing on the values you instilled in them to the next generation. I always wanted a big family. I love the noise and commotion and seeing everyone together.”
What’s Next
“We are creating a new website to facilitate meal prep orders for home, travel, and shipping. We will have a spot at Khasky’s this summer for fresh meals takeaway, both dairy and meat during the week, and Shabbat food and mazza on Thursdays and Fridays.”
Contact Grace at gsitt@yahoo.com or on Instagram: Hungrymomcatering.
Ellen Geller Kamaras, CPA/MBA, is an International Coach Federation (ICF) Associate Certified Coach. Her coaching specialties include life, career, and dating coaching. Ellen can be contacted at ellen@lifecoachellen.com (www.lifecoachellen.com).