Episodes

This week on Chefs Without Restaurants we have chef Kyle Shankman. Kyle is the chef and owner of Speak Easy Supper Club, an exclusive dining experience in the Atlanta area. As tickets for Speak Easy are hard to come by, Chef Shankman also finds a way to feed folks as a private chef and cooking class instructor. A chef for two decades, Kyle has run multiple restaurant kitchens as an executive chef and consultant, taught hundreds of cooking classes for home cooks, been the personal chef to A-List...

This week on Chefs Without Restaurants we have Christine Flynn, the proprietor of The Good Earth Winery in Ontario, Canada, and executive chef and partner at iQ Food Co. She recently released her second cookbook, "A Generous Meal." We talk about her culinary background, including her early love of food and cooking, and how her parents' three-bite rule helped her develop her palate. We discuss her cooking style, which she describes as elevated home cooking that is both approachable and affordable...

This week I have chef Pailin Chongchitnant, host of the YouTube channel Pailin’s Kitchen, and author of the companion website Hot Thai Kitchen. She recently released her 2nd cookbook, Sabai: 100 Simple Thai Recipes for Any Day of the Week. This episode is a primer on Thai food and cooking. She dispels some Thai food myths, and shares her top five items for stocking a Thai pantry at home. We discuss why she was compelled to write another cookbook, and she shares how she grew her YouTube channel ...

On this week's podcast, I address the issue of nickel and diming your customers. Instead, I offer the alternative, which is providing an all-inclusive experience. I believe that many costs, such as providing china and linens, or covering travel expenses, should be considered a part of the cost of doing business. If you want to position your business as high-end or luxury, you should figure out your total costs, and give the client one number instead of an itemized bill. What do you think? Hit m...

I started Chefs Without Restaurants to help other people grow their food businesses. Because I’ve been working as a personal chef for 11 years now, I have a lot of firsthand knowledge about what you can do to grow a personal chef business. I was recently interviewed by meez for their blog about some do’s and don’ts of the personal chef business. If you’re not familiar with meez , they’re an online tool that lets you digitize all of your recipes and keep them in one place. You can easily scale t...

This week I speak with Bobby Hicks, the man behind Retro Recipes Kitchen, the online video series where he cooks up the good, the bad, and the weird from vintage cookbooks. His videos can be found on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube (all linked below). As a food content creator, we talk about how he came up with the idea, and some of his challenges. I ask him about some of his favorite, and least favorite, recipes he's made. He also discussses his "Antiquated or AI-Generated" recipe experiment. ...

On today’s show I have chef Sam Fore, the Sri Lankan-American chef and recipe developer who’s known for her wildly popular Tuk Tuk Sri Lankan Bites pop-ups. She was recently honored by The James Beard Foundation Awards as a semi-finalist for best chef in the southeast. On today’s show you’ll find out how this former marketer made the jump into the pop-up restaurant world. In 2016, after hosting a number of traditional Sri Lankan brunches at her place, Sam decided it was time to move these gathe...

This week is a follow-up episode with Chef Derrick Fox. You might have heard my full episode with him last week. Derrick went from being a punk rock drummer to cooking on MasterChef season six where he was the runner-up, followed by a season of all-stars. He currently works as a private chef, and is also the man behind the Epic Mega Cookie Co, and host of the podcast A Bunch of Losers. In this short episode, we jump right into the topic of getting paid for chef referrals. Should you ask for mon...

This week we have private chef Derrick Fox. You'll learn how this punk rock drummer went from playing the Warped Tour to cooking for Gordon Ramsay, Derrick was the runner-up on season 6 of MasterChef, and then returned for all-stars. He's since started a private chef business, the Epic Mega Cookie Co, and a podcast called A Bunch of Losers where he speaks to other non-winning reality show contestants. DERRICK FOX Derrick's Instagram Epic Mega Cookie Co A Bunch of Losers Podcast Derrick's YouTub...

This week I speak with chef Terence Tomlin for the second time. In 2017, Terence suffered two strokes while working at his restaurant, leaving the right side of his body paralyzed. Despite this setback, Terence has been able to regain much of his strength and has even gone on to compete in Baltimore's Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament, and winning the seafood competition at The Maryland Foodie Fest. Terence has spent the last few years hosting both private and public dinner parties. Now, he's ...

On the Chefs Without Restaurants podcast this week I have chef Christina Pirello of Christina Cooks. After already losing her mother to cancer, Christina was diagnosed with terminal leukemia in her mid-20s. Not wanting to undergo traditional treatment for cancer, she ultimately changed her diet and lifestyle, and her cancer went into remission. She’s been cancer-free for more than 37 years now. Christina wanted to share what she’d learned about food and cooking, and Christina Cooks was born. Sh...

This week I talk about working for free. More specifically, I discuss why giving away free food, and doing events for free didn't work out for me. I'm not saying that there isn't a place for it. But before you do an event, I think you need to make sure it's a good fit. Does it make sense to give out free cupcakes at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new car dealership? There are lots of people looking to trade your services for "exposure", but does it actually ever help move the needle from a bu...

As 2022 comes to a close, I want to thank all of the listeners, guests, and people who have supported this podcast. As I get ready to continue with shows in 2023, I want to know what you want to hear. Please take 5 minutes to fill out this survey. It's only 7 questions and is anonymous. I'm going to use this information to make the Chefs Without Restaurants podcast even better. THE CHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTS PODCAST FEEDBACK SURVEY CHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTS If you enjoy the show and would like t...

This is the olive oil episode. This week, I speak with David Garci-Aguirre, the master miller at Corto. This one ingredient probably touches more dishes than any other ingredient except salt. But how much do we know about it? David likes to say that it's the ingredient that farm-to-table forgot. Nobody knows where it came from, who made it, or how it got made. But on this episode, we're going to change that. Did you know that much of the oil on the market is already rancid when you purchase it?...

Chef Imrun Texeira is the chef and owner of Wanderlust, a personal chef service based in Toronto, Canada focused on blind tasting menus. Whether you currently have a personal chef business, want to start one, or are any type of culinary entrepreneur, this episode is packed with valuable tips on growing a food business. Imrun’s worked in some of the world's best and most influential restaurants, including Noma in Copenhagen. Most recently, he was named as a recipient of the Top 30-Under-30 Award...

On this week's episode, we have chef Nikko Cagalanan. Born and raised in the Philippines. Nikko grew up in a family that loved food. His dad cooked. His aunt cooked. And his grandmother, Mansueta, cooked. Sure, he didn’t always want to be in the kitchen, but food was an integral part of their family. Eventually, he moved to the United States, landing in Massachusetts. Cooking wasn’t his career back then. Nursing was. But, like many of us who feel the kitchen calling us, Nikko decided he wanted ...

On this week's episode, we have chef Russ Zito. Russ has been a culinary instructor at Johnson & Wales University for 26 years. You might have heard our "What is a Chef" mini-episode. Chef Zito was one of my instructors and my senior advisor when I was a student at Johnson & Wales University. But a lot has changed since I graduated in 1998. I wanted to find out how the school, and the curriculum, have changed (or stayed the same) since I've been gone. He talks about the newer courses and classe...

Thank you for three years and 100,000 downloads. This week marks the three-year anniversary of the podcast, and last week we hit 100,000 total downloads, so I thought I'd do something a little different. This is a re-post of the first podcast episode. The show was co-founded with Andrew Wilkinson of Pizza Llama, and back then, Andrew took on much of the hosting duties. He was with the show for the first four months. On the show, Andrew and I talk about the foundations of Chefs Without Restauran...

On this week's show, we have chef Carla Hall. She was a contestant on Bravo's Top Chef and Top Chef All-Stars. Carla spent 7 years co-hosting ABC’s Emmy award-winning, popular lifestyle series “The Chew”. She's been on multiple Food Network programs, was a judge on Netflix's Crazy Delicious, and is a culinary contributor to “Good Morning America”. She's the author of four cookbooks, in addition to a number of cookbooks put out by The Chew. We discuss her Top Chef experience, and why she wanted ...

On this episode, we have chef, author, and TV personality Mary Ann Esposito. She's the creator and host of the nationally televised PBS series Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito. The author of fourteen cookbooks, most recently, Ciao Italia: Plant, Harvest, Cook!, Mary Ann has worked beside world-renowned chefs Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Martin Yan, and countless others. When not filming, Mary Ann can be found giving hands-on cooking classes. Her new book takes the reader on a seasonal home gar...

This week's guest is Shannon Smith. She’s a cook, teacher, and traveler based in Tulsa, OK. She's traveled to more than 50 countries, meeting and cooking with people, from home cooks to restaurant chefs, while documenting it on her blog. She also uses her travels to teach women how to cook, and helps to finance their businesses using micro-loan programs. Her charity work includes Vizavance, a program that provides eye care to the homeless, as well as Hope Haven Rwanda, a school for impoverished...

On this week's "What is a Chef?" episode we have chef Russ Zito. Russ has been a culinary instructor at Johnson & Wales University for 26 years. I asked him what his definition of a chef was, and his response revolved around leadership, mentorship, and exchanging ideas. This segment will not be included in our full conversation which will be released in a few weeks, so subscribe now so you can catch the rest of our conversation. RUSS ZITO Russ's Instagram Russ's Twitter CHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURAN...

Clark Barlowe is a seventh-generation North Carolinian. Growing up learning how to hunt ginseng with his grandfather, Clark learned to look at the plants around him for the potential nutrients and delicious ingredients that they held while respecting their limitations and responsible foraging. He was formally trained as a chef at Johnson and Wales University. After stages at The French Laundry and El Bulli, followed by positions at Chez Pascal and Clyde’s Restaurant Group, Clark refined his exp...

This week we have a "What is a Chef?" episode with Carla Hall. Carla is a chef, cookbook author, two-time Top Chef contestant, and former co-host of The Chew. Our full conversation will be released in a few weeks. Subscribe to the podcast now so you don't miss it. CARLA HALL Carla's Website Check out Carla's Books Carla's Instagram Carla's YouTube Channel Carla's Facebook Page CHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTS If you enjoy the show, and would like to support it financially, check out our Patreon, or yo...