Chefs Without Restaurants

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...

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 fa...

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...

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 sh...

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 sho...

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 Food...

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. Ch...

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 ar...

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...

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...

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 restauran...

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 care...

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 schoo...

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 f...

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 fou...

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, Ma...

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 Vizava...

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...

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 an...

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&a...

This week’s guest is Jorge Gaviria, founder of Masienda, and author of the new book Masa . On the show, you’re going to get the Masienda origin story, and find out why it all started with the corn. Jorge explains nixtimalization, which is the process of turning corn into masa, and how to nixtamilaze and grind your own corn at home. For those who just want to buy the masa harina, I asked him about...

This week's "What is a Chef" episode is with Clark Barlowe. He’s a chef, former restaurant owner, cooking instructor, forager, and now... law student. Stay tuned for my full episode with him which will be released soon. CLARK BARLOWE Clark’s Website Potential Pantry Clark's Instagram CHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTS If you enjoy the show, and would like to support it financially, chec...

In this episode of the Chefs Without Restaurants podcast, host Chris Spear chats with Chef Taffy Elrod. With over 20 years in the culinary industry, Taffy shares her emotional journey of closing her restaurant in upstate New York due to COVID-19. She discusses the impact of the pandemic on small food businesses and her decision to pivot into recipe development, food writing, and content creation....

This week, I speak with Luladey Moges. She's the author of the new cookbook Enebla: Recipes From an Ethiopian Kitchen. Growing up, first in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa and then in the United States, she learned the art of traditional Ethiopian cuisine from her grandmother, mother, and aunts. She has long been an enthusiastic home cook, introducing the tastes of Ethiopian cuisine to h...

This week, in preparation for Season 5 of Cobra Kai, we're re-releasing our episode with  Dan Ahdoot . who plays Anoush on the show. He’s a standup comic, actor, writer, producer, and podcast host. He's also the host of Food Network's Raid the Fridge . He's garnered fans as a character actor on the shows The Crew, Bajillion Dollar Propertie$, Shameless, Workaholics, and Disney...