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.
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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 c…
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 C…
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. Du…
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 …
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 i…
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…
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 pivo…
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 episod…
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 …
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 …
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 sec…
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 Simp…
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 p…
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 …
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…
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 Bear…
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 …
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…
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 setba…
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 m…