Chris Spear – The Personal Chef Behind Chefs Without Restaurants

I never loved that restaurant experience. I applied for jobs out of college and was turned off by the attitude of many of the hiring chefs. These guys sounded like jerks, and I didn’t really want to work for them.

I think if you’re going to culinary school at a young age, you don’t necessarily know what you want to be doing. Get out in the industry and get a taste of things. 

The challenge with being a personal chef is people think of you more like a caterer with a set menu. It’s the same traditional food you can get at restaurants and I always want it to be my own spin on things.

I make my own schedule and do things at my own pace. That’s a benefit and also a curse sometimes. I am able to fully pursue my passion and I don’t have someone always analyzing every move I make.

It sounds crazy to take off my menu dishes that are big sellers, but a part of why I do what I do is because I want the creative freedom to do new things.

When I was new in town, I wanted to network with local restaurants and do events together. Nobody was interested in doing anything. But I found that people who were running food trucks, bakers, or caterers really craved that sense of community and wanted to do events together.