Episodes

This week I want to talk about how complacency can kill your business (or at least hurt it). I run a personal chef business, and have been doing it for 11 years now. When I started out doing it on the side, I was a little scrappy. I did guerrilla marketing. I did a lot of networking. I was regularly sending out my email newsletter. As my business and customer base grew, I slowed down on some of those tactics. Fast forward to this summer...business kind of sucks, and I realized that I hadn't bee...

On this week's podcast, we have Justin Khanna, the founder of Repertoire, a hospitality education company, and the host of The Repertoire Podcast. We talk about measurable metrics for success in the kitchen, including working clean. We also dive into the realm of podcasting itself. Justin shares valuable insights on guest outreach and workflow management. We discuss the dynamics of working with PR agencies, and why it's not always about landing guests with huge followings. We also talk about be...

On this week’s show, I have Lisa Donovan and Julie Belcher of Rêverie Retreats. These retreats are the kind of trips that I want to take. Travel to the Loire Valley... Take a French pastry lesson with an acclaimed baker...Have a natural wine tasting. Plenty of time to eat and relax. Maybe make some new friends. You’ll learn how and why Lisa and Julie started this, and how you can join them on one of these excursions. We talk about how they select the partners and purveyors they work with, natur...

This week my guest is Nick DiGiovanni. Nick was a MasterChef finalist on season 10, which he did while attending Harvard. Since then, he’s been creating food and cooking content online. His YouTube channel recently passed the 10 million subscriber mark, and he has over 11 million followers on TikTok. His videos are both educational and funny, often done in collaboration with other celebrities and and YouTube personalities. He’s made slushies with Mr Beast, chili with Kevin from the office, and ...

This week, my guest is Lior Lev Sercarz. Lior is the chef, spice blender, and owner of La Boîte, a spice shop in New York City. He's previously released the cookbooks The Art of Blending, The Spice Companion and Mastering Spice. This week, he released his 4th book, A Middle Eastern Pantry. In this new cookbook he focuses on the everyday ingredients used throughout this vast region, including Turkey, Tunisia, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Armenia, Jordan, and more, as he offers an homage to the pan...

This week on Chefs Without Restaurants I speak with Ryan Gray and Janice Tiefenbach of Elena, Gia, and Nora Gray restaurants in Montreal. They recently released a cookbook called Salad Pizza Wine. During our conversation, Ryan and Janice shared their insights on the evolving Montreal food scene and how they've embraced change in their own establishments. We discuss the importance of cultivating a healthy restaurant culture for both staff and customers, emphasizing the crucial role of leadership....

This week I have Krimsey Lilleth. She’s the author of The Cajun Vegan Cookbook, and was the owner of Krimsey‘s Cajun kitchen, the world's first vegan Cajun restaurant. Due to Covid, Krimsey made the tough decision to close her North Hollywood restaurant in Spring 2020. She knew she wanted to share her recipes with her fans so they could re-create their favorite dishes at home, which is what inspired her to write her first cookbook. Last year I released my full episode with her, which can be fou...

In this episode, I speak with Andre Uribe, a personal chef and the co-owner of Sustainable Meals Oregon. We delve into Andre's journey as a chef and his foray into video and storytelling, which now includes his own audio and video podcast, Chef Therapy. During our conversation, Andre talks about how he crafted his business model, devised a pricing structure, and strategically positioned himself in the market. His culinary enterprise places a strong emphasis on meal prep using locally sourced in...

This week I speak with chef Matt Collins about payment methods and deposits, with a side or horror stories. Whether you work in the food industry or not, if you receive payment for your services, you won't want to miss this. We cover various options for payment methods, including cash, check, Venmo, Zelle, Paypal and Square. We talk deposits: when to request them and how much to ask for. Additionally, we discuss fees and gratuity. Tune in to gain valuable insights and practical tips on handling...

On today's show, I have Nicolas and Stephen Servis, identical twin brothers who founded Servis Events, a private dining service based in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. You’ll learn how the brothers pivoted during the early days of the pandemic to start their business. Nicolas and Stephen's passion for farm-to-table cuisine flourished during their time as chefs de partie at The Mainland Inn, where they tackled full animal butchery, gardening, and more. Later, while volunteering at Quarry Hill Farm,...

Do you or someone you love have a food allergy or intolerance? Or maybe you're a chef who cooks for people and wants to get better at accommodating customers with dietary restrictions. In this episode of Chefs Without Restaurants, Chris speaks with Kayla Cappiello, the author of the new book "Easy Allergy-Free Cooking," about food allergies and how to cook delicious meals that are safe for those with dietary restrictions. Kayla has celiac disease, is lactose intolerant, and is allergic to tree ...

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 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...