Hi,

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I'm Shapray Hendricks, founder, owner & operator of Shapray's Kitchen Creations. I would like to start out by saying Thank You for your visit today and Thank You for your support throughout this journey! 

 

Here is a little (or a lot) about me:

 

I was born and raised in Duluth, which is a Seaport City of about 80,000 people located on the banks of The Great Lake Superior in Northeastern Minnesota. I was born in 1976 and am the eldest of 6 children born to parents Helen Hendricks and McKinnis Johnson. I am a proud Mother of 2 wonder children, my amazing, creative son Alexander and my precious, nurturing daughter Samara. After many years of attempting to get Shapray's Kitchen Creations off the ground, I was never able to set aside enough time to get my company started until this year when the stars finally aligned! I have always had a strong love and passion for being in the kitchen and have always wanted to take that passion to another level by dedicating my life to owning and operating Shapray's Kitchen Creations.

 

This love and passion was instilled in me throughout my upbringing. My sisters and I often spent every opportunity we could as kids, watching and helping Mom & Grandma bake up amazing recipes. We were always there in the kitchen offering a hand and learned a lot from them about the art of perfecting a recipe. Besides Mom instilled in us, the idea that a recipe isn't worth making if it isn't made right! Some of my fondest memories are spending time with my siblings in the kitchen baking for the Holidays. My sisters and I would conjure up some amazing mouth-watering dishes and never write down how we did it. A little bit of this, a little bit of that....some..."Oh you know what would be perfect?"...and…. “Viola”!!! Mouth-watering, amazing, bold flavors dancing on your taste buds every time! Holiday baking and cooking with my family has always been something like the stuff you read about in books or see in movies. Love, Laughter & Fun...plus some of the best tasting food you'll ever eat!​

 

After graduating for High School, at the ripe old age of 18, I picked up and moved out of town to attend private college in the suburbs of St. Paul, MN. I studied Business Management & Administration while also working on a second major in Legal Studies. After funding my education, became a bigger challenge than finding work, I walked away from school after landing a job in a Criminal Defense firm for one of Minnesota's top Trial Lawyers. Although I enjoyed my time at the firm, after only a couple of years, I became very ill and eventually had to leave my position there. At the age of 20, after struggling with complications from a surgery which I was told would leave me unable to have children, I spent several months unemployed and bitter with the world. Nevertheless, I had a whole life ahead of me and decided I would dedicate my life to building and working on a career for myself. I got back on my feet when I was referred to a Medical Office where I was immediately offered a job and worked along-side a friend of mine for a number of years. That job prompted a career path change that transitioned me from the field of Law, into the world of Healthcare.

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I spent the next 18 years of my life working my way up through the corporate chain of command for various different facets of the Health Care Industry all over the U.S.  Throughout this journey I'd held positions from Receptionist or Secretary, Auditor or Supervisor to Management and Operations. This path eventually led me to South Florida where I worked for one of the most prestigious Health Insurance Companies in the country. Despite my success and dedication to my career, I found that although I had spent the better part of 2 decades in Healthcare, I simply lacked that internal passion and sense of connection I desired. Being thousands of miles away from home, I often spent holidays with co-workers and friends. I would bring one of my dishes and they'd always be a hit. This was a major confidence booster for me and may have even been the first twinkling of the idea that someday I would start my own baking business when the time was right. 

 

Now, over the period of those 18 years, I'd spent a few years facing some of life’s greatest blessing as well as its gravest challenges. 

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I met Alex, my life partner and the Father of my 2 beautiful children on New Year’s Eve 2005. We met over that holiday weekend, while he was vacationing in South Florida from Chicago, IL. After spending nearly a year and a half dating long distance, Alex moved from Chicago to Hollywood, FL and we decided that although neither of us was really up for getting married, we did want to build a life & family together. Despite having been told I could never have children, we discussed fertility options with a local physician, and found out we were pregnant in April, 2006. With a bun in the oven, we were eagerly anticipating the arrival of our first child. Such a miracle within itself being that I had spent the better part of 10 years thinking I'd never be able to know what Motherhood felt like.

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Tragedy struck, in September of 2006 when the unthinkable happened, only 5 months into my pregnancy, I gave birth to a 1 lb. 2 oz. baby boy. Whom doctors informed us would most likely not survive, but even if he did, there was a very likely chance that he would remain in a vegetative state; since the survival rate in 2006 gave him a less than a 10% chance to living longer than a few hours. Facing these circumstances, the doctors told us we had to make a choice. Hold him in our arms and say goodbye or fight for him and deal with a life of uncertainty, and still have no guarantee he’d even survive. Boy, were those things hard to digest. We didn't even think twice. No matter the challenge ahead, we were going to face it together as a family! We would not give up on our baby boy. After Alexander’s birth, his 6 month hospital stay, 5 surgeries and $1.9 million dollars in medical bills, I walked away from my career and dedicated the next few years of my life to helping my son get through many of the physical, developmental and occupational challenges he faced.

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Despite all odds he survived, and after the first few years, my son's health drastically improved and he'd nearly made a full recovery.  In fact seeing him today, if he didn't have the scars to prove it, you'd never know the battle he fought to survive! In 2008, although skeptical and afraid, Alex & I decided to try for another child, armed with the tools few parents rarely need, we were ready for anything and in February 2009, although a little over a month early, we welcomed our beautiful 4 lb. 6 oz. baby girl Samara into our family. She was tiny but as healthy as could be and such a welcomed relief for our family to be blessed once again. 

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Just shortly after Samara's birth, we detoured from Hollywood, FL to Peyton, CO where we spent some time with family for a few months before ultimately heading to Chicago, IL. Alex worked while I stayed home with the kids. While in CO, I learned a lot of great tips and tricks in the kitchen from my Father-in-Law which expanded my love and passion for cooking! Nevertheless, in October of 2009, we saddled up the wagon and moved our family to Illinois. Once establishing ourselves in Chicago, I found a job with a Physician Practice and enjoyed being back to work. I'd often spend time with my Brother-in-Law whipping up some amazing dishes and learning a few things from him as well! After just a few months in Chicago, another tragedy struck. I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Malignant Carcinoma Breast Cancer and in April, 2010, I began the fight of my life. After a full Mastectomy, several subsequent surgeries, 6 months of Chemotherapy, Reconstruction and tons of Physical Therapy, I am happy to report that my Cancer went into remission! 

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During my battle with Cancer, I continued to work my full time job and still somehow managed to continue the corporate ladder climb. Unfortunately in the late summer of 2013, the company I had been working for was closed. During the next 13 months I dedicated this time to volunteering at my kids school full time and worked on creating new recipes and perfecting others. I began purchasing lots of Baking Equipment and began experimenting with different recipes. I would bake and bring these creations to share with teachers and parents at the school where my kids attended. Asking for feedback from everyone that tasted my creations, I was amazed at just how well they were received. It was a success! I knew then, that I was on something great!  I would have parents and teachers asking me to make things that they had tasted or ask me if I would make my creations as gifts for holidays, birthdays or whenever there was an event. This is what prompted me to begin creating the contents of my cookbook, which I will eventually publish. Inspired by the instinctive excitement that comes with every season change, I had begun building the early stages of Shapray's Kitchen Creations, from that beautiful Grey Stone apartment building in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. 

 

In the fall of 2014, I had been contacted by a health insurance company in Hollywood Florida with a somewhat decent job offer. (Considering I had been unemployed for over a year, honestly any job offer I received at that time would have probably piqued my interests.) With a lot of thought, some very serious convincing and an extremely heavy heart, I agreed to take the position. I would yet again put Shapray's Kitchen Creations on hold and move my family back to South Florida to follow that career. Only a year into the position, the news of a merger and mass layoffs were the daily buzz and by the time I'd passed my 1st year anniversary, hundreds of people were being let go every few weeks. It was a tumultuous time, stress was at an all-time high and being once again displaced so far away from home and family, the day to day uncertainty was just too much to bear. Ultimately, I made the decision to I walk away from that job. But I knew that although I was far from where I needed to be and had no idea how I was going to make it work, I wasn’t going to allow that to stop me from pursuing my dreams.

 

Alex was supportive and encouraged me to follow my heart and do what I needed to do. He'd always been the one throughout these years telling me that I was really talented and should do something with it. He calmed my fears and did what he always does. He supported me and made it work until I was able to get Shapray's Kitchen Creations off the ground. At this time, I also reached out to a very dear friend of mine for advice. She has always been that one person that I can share anything with and she's always there to be supportive. Her inspiring words were exactly what I needed to hear. The stars had aligned, my universe had presented me with everything I needed to follow my dreams and with that Shapray's Kitchen Creations was born. 

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I take pride in the fact that everything you taste from Shapray's Kitchen Creations is made from scratch. The heart and passion that goes into every one of our recipes is present in each bite. Besides, Mom always told me that a recipe had to be made right for it to be worth making. Our Holiday Christmas Wreath Cookies is a prime example. I believe in that whole heartedly. So those values hold true in the traditions of Shapray's Kitchen Creations. Not only are you getting a great product but every aspect in each recipe is made with love, care, compassion and a desire to produce the very best you've ever had of its kind. 

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At Shapray's Kitchen Creations, I want to bring to the table a great tasting product that you and your family can enjoy. I want to build lifelong relationships and be a part of your special moments. I'd like to help build those memories together that last a lifetime! Let's face it, the world is moving forward faster than most of us have time to realize. Let Shapray's Kitchen Creations put that homemade taste back on the menu and back into your life. I want your experience with our products to be just a pleasant as those memories you cherish. 

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Bringing Family Traditions back, one recipe at a time...

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  Shapray M. Hendricks