Join Chris Spear as he interviews food and beverage entrepreneurs who have built successful careers outside of traditional restaurant kitchens.
From personal chefs, caterers, and food truck operators to cookbook authors, research chefs, and farmers, each guest has paved their own way in the culinary world. Through candid conversations, they share the challenges, lessons, and successes of creating a business on their own terms.
With over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry—including running his own personal chef business, Perfect Little Bites—Chris is dedicated to helping chefs and food entrepreneurs navigate their own unconventional paths in the industry.
If you're looking for inspiration, business insights, and real stories from those who have stepped beyond the restaurant world, this podcast is for you.
🎧 New episodes available—subscribe now and start exploring the road less traveled in the culinary industry!
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Exploring Landrace Heirloom Grains & Sustainable Farming | Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills
Season 5 · Episode 239
Thursday, August 29, 2024 • Duration 01:21:26
In this episode of Chefs Without Restaurants, Chris Spear is joined by Glenn Roberts, the founder of Anson Mills, a company renowned for its dedication to preserving landrace crops and advancing sustainable farming practices. Glenn shares his fascinating journey from a career in restaurant design and management to becoming a passionate advocate for biosecurity and traditional farming methods.
Topics Discussed:
The Importance of Landrace Crops: A deep dive into what landrace crops are, their significance in agriculture, and why preserving these varieties is crucial for food security and biodiversity.
Sustainable Farming Practices: The challenges and rewards of growing heritage grains like Carolina Gold rice, and how polyculture and biosecurity play a role in modern farming.
The Intersection of Traditional Farming and Modern Challenges: Glenn and Chris explore the impact of climate change on farming and the importance of maintaining traditional agricultural practices in a rapidly changing world.
Polycropping and Agricultural Diversity: How planting multiple crops together can enhance soil health, increase yield stability, and provide a more resilient farming system.
The Role of Community in Sustainable Agriculture: Glenn shares insights on how local communities can engage with and support sustainable farming practices, and the importance of understanding where our food comes from.
The Business of Food Content Creation with Preppy Kitchen’s John Kanell
Season 5 · Episode 238
Thursday, August 22, 2024 • Duration 15:42
In this episode of Chefs Without Restaurants, Chris Spear continues his conversation from last week with John Kanell of Preppy Kitchen. Part 1 of their conversation can be found here. John's a former middle school teacher turned cooking personality, and currently has more than 10 million followers across all online platforms.
In this episode, John provides valuable insights for those looking to transition into food content creation, including tips on lighting, styling, and developing a personal brand. John discusses the challenges and rewards of building a food personality, the importance of authenticity, and the process of creating engaging content. Whether you're an aspiring food influencer or a seasoned professional, this episode offers practical advice to elevate your content, and possibly boost your following.
Cooking with Pat Lee: A Food Content Creator's Journey
Season 5 · Episode 229
Monday, May 20, 2024 • Duration 56:17
🎙️ 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 focus on cooking food at home.
🔪 This eventually led to him creating cooking videos, teaching people how to be better cooks at home. You can find Pat on most social media platforms as Cooking with Pat Lee.
🎙️ On the show, we talk about the business of food content creation, community, and building and interacting with your followers. Pat discusses his creative process, and what inspires him. He also talks about his new podcast Cast Iron Conversations with Pat Lee.
Talking All Things Chocolate (and Vanilla) with Cody Marwine of The Perfect Truffle
Season 3 · Episode 139
Tuesday, April 5, 2022 • Duration 55:09
This week my guest is Cody Marwine of The Perfect Truffle, a chocolate shop he owns in downtown Frederick, Maryland. You might’ve heard my mini-episode with him a couple of months ago about what it means to be a chef.
On this full episode, we dive into the chocolate business. We talk about how he ended up taking over the shop that he had been working at on and off for almost a decade. We discuss chocolate percentages, supply chain issues, tempering chocolate, and how to work with it at home. We also talk about vanilla, and how it’s kind of underrated.
So if you love chocolate, or even vanilla, and want to pick up on some tips and tricks on how to buy, use, and store chocolate, this is the episode for you.
Sponsor- The United States Personal Chef Association The Covid pandemic has clearly redefined the world of dining. Despite over 110,000 restaurants closing around the country, people still want the ambiance and social connectivity that is so critical to the dining experience. Over the past 27 years, the world of the personal chef has grown in importance to fulfill those dining needs. While the pandemic certainly upended the restaurant experience, it provided an Avenue for personal chefs to close that dining gap.
Central to all of that is the United States Personal Chef Association. Representing nearly 1,000 chefs around the US and Canada, USPCA provides a strategic backbone for those chefs that includes liability insurance, training, communications, certification, and more.
One of the big upcoming events for USPCA is their annual conference scheduled July 7-10 at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota, FL. Featuring a host of speakers and classes, the conference is a way for chefs to hone their skills and network with like-minded businesspeople. For those who supply the industry, it’s a chance to reach not just decision-makers but the actual buyers of products.
From Food Truck To Restaurant and Condiment Line with Poi Dog's Kiki Aranita
Season 3 · Episode 138
Tuesday, March 29, 2022 • Duration 46:04
This week's guest is Philadelphia chef Kiki Aranita. You might know her from her Poi Dog food truck and subsequent restaurant of the same name. Unfortunately, due to the Covid pandemic, she had to shut down her restaurant. But Poi Dog has returned in the form of a line of bottled condiments including guava katsu sauce and chili peppah water. We talk about the evolution of her business, deciding to close the restaurant, and what it was like to start a consumer packaged goods product line
Kiki was raised in both Hong Kong and Hawaii, so I really wanted to talk to her about her food experiences growing up, and why she chose to cook professionally. She also does a lot of food writing and recipe development for commercial brands. We discussed tips for those looking to work with brands. We also talked about her hobby of working with yarn, which has evolved from making dog sweaters to pieces that represent packaged foods such as Pocky and Takis. An exhibition of that work can concurrently be found at the Philadelphia International Airport until June 22'.
Sponsor- The United States Personal Chef Association The Covid pandemic has clearly redefined the world of dining. Despite over 110,000 restaurants closing around the country, people still want the ambiance and social connectivity that is so critical to the dining experience. Over the past 27 years, the world of the personal chef has grown in importance to fulfill those dining needs. While the pandemic certainly upended the restaurant experience, it provided an Avenue for personal chefs to close that dining gap.
Central to all of that is the United States Personal Chef Association. Representing nearly 1,000 chefs around the US and Canada, USPCA provides a strategic backbone for those chefs that includes liability insurance, training, communications, certification, and more.
One of the big upcoming events for USPCA is their annual conference scheduled July 7-10 at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota, FL. Featuring a host of speakers and classes, the conference is a way for chefs to hone their skills and network with like-minded businesspeople. For those who supply the industry, it’s a chance to reach not just decision-makers but the actual buyers of products.
Health, Wellness and Vegetarianism with Andris Lagsdin of Baking Steel
Season 3 · Episode 137
Tuesday, March 22, 2022 • Duration 13:42
This week I have a bonus episode with Andris Lagsdin of Baking Steel. During our full conversation, we talked primarily about pizza making, and how he created the Baking Steel. While recording the episode, we discussed health and wellness, abstaining from alcohol, and why he no longer follows a vegan diet. I also asked him about vegan cheeses. I thought that part of our conversation was great, but it didn’t make sense to leave it in as part of the whole show. However, I had always intended it to be a standalone bonus episode, so here it is.
Sponsor- The United States Personal Chef Association The Covid pandemic has clearly redefined the world of dining. Despite over 110,000 restaurants closing around the country, people still want the ambiance and social connectivity that is so critical to the dining experience. Over the past 27 years, the world of the personal chef has grown in importance to fulfill those dining needs. While the pandemic certainly upended the restaurant experience, it provided an Avenue for personal chefs to close that dining gap.
Central to all of that is the United States Personal Chef Association. Representing nearly 1,000 chefs around the US and Canada (and even Italy), USPCA provides a strategic backbone for those chefs that includes liability insurance, training, communications, certification, and more.
One of the big upcoming events for USPCA is their annual conference scheduled July 7-10 at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota, FL. Featuring a host of speakers and classes, the conference is a way for chefs to hone their skills and network with like-minded businesspeople. For those who supply the industry, it’s a chance to reach not just decision-makers but the actual buyers of products.
What is a Chef with Jensen Cummings of Best Served
Season 3 · Episode 136
Tuesday, March 15, 2022 • Duration 21:38
This week, we have a mini-episode about what it means to be a chef. This is something I'm asking many of the guests as part of my upcoming season 3 interviews. I thought it would be great to get as much insight on this as possible, from many different people in the food and beverage industry.
Today's answer comes from Jensen Cummings, the creator, and host of Best Served Podcast. On his show, he talks to hospitality industry leaders to learn about the trials and triumphs of their lives and careers. A fifth-generation chef/restaurateur, Jensen has run acclaimed kitchens, owned restaurants, developed concepts, and now is focused on evolving the restaurant business model, and storytelling through his hospitality strategy brand, Best Served Creative. Jensen is really interested in sharing the stories of people in the hospitality industry who are the unsung heroes.
Sponsor Looking to make better pizza? How about bagels, bread, or English muffins? Then you need a Baking Steel. Don’t just take my word for it. Kenji López-Alt of Serious Eats/The Food Lab said “this is the answer I've been waiting for to produce consistently awesome pizza over and over”.
What is a Chef with Matt Collins of Chef Collins Events
Season 3 · Episode 135
Tuesday, March 8, 2022 • Duration 09:05
This week, we have a mini-episode about what it means to be a chef. This is something I'm asking many of the guests as part of my upcoming season 3 interviews. I thought it would be great to get as much insight on this as possible, from many different people in the food and beverage industry.
Today's answer comes from Matt Collins. Born in Freehold, NJ, Matt has been cooking since he was a child. As a student of the culinary arts program at Freehold High School, he excelled and ran the cafe at 16 years old. After graduating from The Culinary Institute of America, he took his career to NYC, becoming a sous chef at 21 years old, working for The Smith, Keens Steakhouse, Rouge Tomate, Wolfgang Puck, Freemans, Dream Hotels, and Smith & Wollensky.
He continued his education in Europe at Chateau de Lignon and Institute Paul Bocuse, leading to becoming the chef de cuisine at Kilo Food & Wine in Hell’s Kitchen, and earning #21 on Wine & Spirits Top 50 NYC List in 2018. After a decade of working in New York City, he decided to take what he learned back to his hometown where he started Chef Collins Events, a personal chef business that specializes in customized dinners and pop-up events
Sponsor Looking to make better pizza? How about bagels, bread, or English muffins? Then you need a Baking Steel. Don’t just take my word for it. Kenji López-Alt of Serious Eats/The Food Lab said “this is the answer I've been waiting for to produce consistently awesome pizza over and over”.
Bagels, Schmears, and a Nice Piece of Fish - Cookbook Author Cathy Barrow
Season 3 · Episode 134
Tuesday, March 1, 2022 • Duration 33:18
On this episode we have cookbook author and food writer Cathy Barrow. She has written for the New York Times, Garden and Gun, The Local Palate, Modern Farmer, Saveur, Southern Living, NPR, and National Geographic, among others.
On the show, we discuss her cookbook, and how to elevate your bagel-making game. Cathy shares some of her best tips for making great bagels at home. We also talk about her personal connection to many of these recipes.
Sponsor Looking to make better pizza? How about bagels, bread, or English muffins? Then you need a Baking Steel. Don’t just take my word for it. Kenji López-Alt of Serious Eats/The Food Lab said “this is the answer I've been waiting for to produce consistently awesome pizza over and over”.
On Pizza and Entrepreneurship - How Andris Lagsdin Created the Baking Steel
Season 3 · Episode 133
Friday, February 25, 2022 • Duration 41:29
This week I have Baking Steel founder Andris Lagsdin. It’s the inspiring story of how Andris built his successful business. He spent a number of years working in restaurants, which included being on chef Todd English’s management team. Tired of the restaurant industry, Andris decided to go work at his family’s steel manufacturing business. But it was an a-ha moment that led to the creation of what’s now known as the Baking Steel.
In addition to hearing his origin story, we also talk about pizza making and how to get the most out of your Baking Steel. Want tips on successfully getting that pizza onto your steel? Ever wondered if you can put a glass dish on top of it? You’ll get the answers to these questions and more on today’s show.
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