Chefs Without Restaurants

In this episode of Chefs Without Restaurants , Chris Spear sits down with Meghan Kix, a marketing and branding specialist who's worked with major brands like Flying Dog Brewery, and now runs her own creative agency, BeeCat Creative. They delve into the essentials of branding, the importance of knowing your target audience, and the challenges of balancing creative integrity with client demands...

In this episode of Chefs Without Restaurants, Chris Spear welcomes Steve Sando, the founder of Rancho Gordo, a company known for its heirloom beans. Steve shares his unconventional journey from a diverse range of careers, to becoming a renowned bean entrepreneur. They discuss the importance of preserving heirloom varieties, the benefits of cooking with beans, and the growing interest in sustainabl...

In this episode of Chefs Without Restaurants , Chris Spear sits down with Carolyn Phillips, a renowned expert in Chinese gastronomy and the author of acclaimed cookbooks such as All Under Heaven and the upcoming The Art of Chinese Baking . Carolyn's deep knowledge and passion for Chinese cuisine make this episode a must-listen for anyone interested in exploring the rich diversity of Chinese f...

Today, I’m diving into a unique and cost-effective marketing strategy that has worked wonders for my personal chef business: using your vehicle as a mobile billboard. If you're a service-based business owner, you’ll want to hear about this!   Episode Highlights: Introduction to Vehicle Marketing: Learn why using your vehicle as a mobile billboard can be a game-changer for your business. My Ex...

 In this mini-episode of Chefs Without Restaurants, host Chris Spear is joined by the acclaimed author Carolyn Phillips to discuss the art of writing a successful cookbook. Known for her works such as At the Chinese Table , All Under Heaven , The Dim Sum Field Guide , and the upcoming The Art of Chinese Baking , Carolyn shares invaluable insights for aspiring cookbook authors. With accolades inclu...

This week on Chefs Without Restaurants, I speak with Brian Baumgartner, the actor best known for his role as Kevin Malone on the TV show "The Office." Brian’s portrayal of Kevin provided countless laughs and unforgettable moments, especially the iconic chili scene. Beyond his on-screen persona, Brian has ventured into the culinary world, turning a 30-second cold open into a culinary jour...

🎙️ This week on Chefs Without Restaurant I speak with Pat Lee, a food content creator and private chef who resides in Delaware. 💰 Pat started his career working in the financial industry. But in the early days of the Covid pandemic, he lost his job. Like many of us, he was spending a lot of time at home. Being unemployed, he was looking for ways to tighten his budget. One of the things he did was...

This week my guest is Billy Zureikat, known online as The Real Billy Z. He's a home cook, baker and pizza-maker who's life took an unexpected turn. He went from an active lifestyle, playing basketball and working at ESPN radio, to a challenging 8-year medical journey that resulted in a diagnosis of limb girdle muscular dystrophy 2L. As his body underwent changes, he found solace and a ne...

This week my guest is Nathan Myhrvold of Modernist Cuisine. Nathan graduated high school and went to college at 14. He holds a doctorate in theoretical and mathematical physics, as well as a master’s degree in mathematical economics, from Princeton University. His master’s degree is in geophysics and space physics, and he did postdoctoral cosmology work with Stephen Hawking. Nathan then spent 14 y...

This week I'm sharing a clip from another podcast I was featured on a couple of years ago. I share a couple of funny stories that I've never shared before. The first story is about how actor Bill Murray inadvertently ruined my anniversary dinner. I love Bill, and this isn't something he intentionally did, but the story relates to good (and poor) customer service. The other story is...

This week my guest is "the whiskey professor" Bernie Lubbers, Heaven Hill Distillery's national brand ambassador. If you want to learn more about bourbon, and one of America's oldest and best distilleries, this episode is for you. Bernie explains the criteria for bourbon, as well as the bottled-in-bond classification, something he's championed since beginning his bourbon c...

This week my guest is Shawn Niles (aka The Fat Pastor). Shawn started his church in 2015, but his love of cooking led him to competing on MasterChef in 2016. What chef Gordon Ramsay told him would change his life forever. Wanting to combine his two passions, Shawn started a program for at-risk youth in Yakima, WA called Urban Kitchen , to teach them culinary and business skills. At the end of the...

This week my guest is pizza maker and founder of Women’s Pizza Month Christy Alia. Women's pizza month is an online party taking place the whole month of March on Instagram. Of course, you can follow along by checking out the hashtag #WomensPizzaMonth.  Christy wanted to shine a spotlight on many of the women in pizza, so she took to Instagram to start this. Anyone can participate, and she en...

This week my guest is Mike Traud, founder of The Chef Conference (formerly The Philly Chef Conference). We talk about the history, and evolution, of this food and beverage conference. You'll hear what you can expect from this year's conference which is taking place in Philadelphia from April 12th through 15th. Some of this year's guest are: Sean Brock, Tom Collichio, Alain Ducasse,...

This week my guest is chef Christine Van Bloem. For 15 years Christine ran the successful Kitchen Studio Cooking School in Frederick, Maryland, a recreational cooking school. When the Covid pandemic hit, she had to stop doing in-person cooking classes. She pivoted to online cooking classes, hoping to go back to in-person. Then, her husband had a stroke, and she had a heart attack, On top of that,...

In this week’s solo episode of Chefs Without Restaurants, host Chris Spear delves into the controversial yet effective business practices he's adopted for his personal chef business. Chris reveals how he's successfully run his culinary business without the reliance on contracts, invoices, or deposits, placing a significant emphasis on trust and personal connections over formal paperwork....

This week I have chef Sunny Soto-Brisco. With her wife, they started Sunny Street Outreach to cook and serve restaurant quality meals to the houseless and underserved communities in Oceanside, CA. They're currently working on fundraising for a mobile cafe trailer which, once open, will serve the Oceanside community with coffee and breakfast on the go. YOU CAN DONATE HERE SUNNY STREET OUTREACH...

In this episode, Chris Spear interviews Althea Brown, creator of the popular blog Metemgee and author of Caribbean Paleo . Althea shares her journey from Guyana to the U.S., discussing how she’s preserving traditional Caribbean recipes while adapting them for the Paleo diet. They dive deep into the challenges of food blogging, including mastering SEO, creating engaging content, and staying true to...

This week I have part 2 of my conversation with Scott Blackwell, owner/distiller of High Wire Distilling Co in Charleston, SC which he runs with his wife Ann Marshall. This part of our conversation starts with how and why he started the distillery. If you're interested in his entrepreneurial journey up to the point of starting the distillery you can find part 1 here . We talk about taking a c...

This week I have part 1 of my conversation with Scott Blackwell, owner/distiller of High Wire Distilling Co in Charleston, SC which he runs with his wife Ann Marshall. This part of our conversation focuses on his entreprenurial journey up to the point of starting the distillery. Scott’s been a Ben & Jerrys distributor, owned a coffee roaster and bakery, and started a line of frozen doughs. He...

This week on Chefs Without Restaurants I'm sharing part two of my conversation with Tony Moore. Tony is a seasoned marketing executive and the host of the "Winning at Work" podcast. I was a guest on his podcast, and this is a portion of that episode. Episode Highlights Using a blog as a tool for content marketing to provide people with insights into business and the behind-the-scene...

This week, we're venturing into the vibrant world of Mexican cuisine with executive chef Sarah Thompson of Casa Playa at Wynn Las Vegas. At Casa Playa, she presents a vibrant and creative menu featuring bright, California and Baja produce and seafood, woven together with a robust masa program–drawing upon her culinary expertise refined at New York City’s lauded Cosme. Chef Thompson graduated...

In this episode we dive into the world of pop-up dining with Chef Jonathon Merrick of Family Meal Boise, an in-home pop-up restaurant he runs. You get a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges and triumphs of running the successful pop-up, and gain insights into menu creation, guest interactions, and the intricacies of hosting unique dining experiences. This episode is a must-listen for anyone in...

This week on Chefs Without Restaurants we're diving into the world of food and beverage marketing with Tony Moore. Tony, a seasoned marketing executive and the host of the "Winning at Work" podcast, brings his extensive experience, sharing invaluable insights into the intricacies of brand marketing in the food industry. Episode Highlights Understanding Grocery Store Product Placemen...

In this solo episode, host Chris Spear delves into the 'More, Better, New' principle, a concept coined by entrepreneur Alex Hormozi. Chris applies this philosophy to his own business, discussing its impact on decision-making and efficiency, particularly in the realm of marketing his personal chef business. This episode offers valuable insights for entrepreneurs and culinary professionals...