Big Changes Ahead: What’s Next for Chefs Without Restaurants

[00:00:00] Chris Spear: Hey everyone, Chris here. Thanks so much for tuning in to another episode of Chefs Without Restaurants. This is going to be a quick episode, so just me today. Before we get into it, I really want to say a big thank you to all of you who've been along for this journey, whether you've been here from the beginning or just found the show recently.

[00:00:18] Chris Spear: It's been an amazing ride and I'm so grateful for your support through the years. It truly does mean a lot. So here's the deal. Episode 250 is coming up, and around the same time we'll be hitting the five year mark for the Chefs Without Restaurants podcast. I can hardly believe it. Five years of incredible stories, lessons, and conversations with chefs, food entrepreneurs, cookbook authors, and so many more people.

[00:00:44] Chris Spear: One of the things that really stood out to me is how so unique everyone's journey is. Everyone's been figuring out their own way of making this industry work for them, which makes me really happy. Honestly, it's been so inspiring to see how diverse these paths are. Now, I want to give [00:01:00] you a little heads up.

[00:01:01] Chris Spear: After we hit episode 250 and celebrate 5 years, I'm going to take a little break from this podcast. Don't worry, this isn't goodbye. The plan is to take some time to focus on a new project that I've been thinking about for a while. I'll be coming back to Chefs Without Restaurants in early 2025, so this isn't the end of the road.

[00:01:20] Chris Spear: In the meantime, I'm really excited to share that I'll be launching a new ish podcast. It's something I've had my mind on for a while, and I think it's going to be super valuable. Especially for those of you looking to start your own culinary business or take it to the next level. If you've ever thought about starting your own thing, specifically a personal or private chef business, this new show is going to be right up your alley.

[00:01:42] Chris Spear: I'll be diving into all the tactical stuff to help you build and grow. The show is called Personal Chef Business Startup Guide. At first, it'll be some of the Chefs Without Restaurants greatest hits. The episodes that I get emails and DMs about. The ones solely focused on taking your personal [00:02:00] chef business to the next level.

[00:02:01] Chris Spear: But of course, there will be new episodes as well. Do you think you could provide some high level insight into the world of personal chefing? Reach out. I'd love to have you on the show. And during this time, I'll still be interacting on social media and working inside the Chefs Without Restaurants community.

[00:02:18] Chris Spear: And I just want to say I've really enjoyed where this path took me, even if it went in some surprising routes. I started with Andrew Wilkinson, who is the owner of Pizza Llama. Pizza Llama We wanted to build a companion podcast to the already existing Chefs Without Restaurants community. And when we started, it was very tactical.

[00:02:37] Chris Spear: We talked a lot about how to build and grow a personal and private chef business. And then we had other types of operators on, like Jerrod from Bub-B-Que, teaching you how to build and grow a food truck business. And as the show continued to grow and get some traction, I got a lot of different people wanting to come on the show.

[00:02:57] Chris Spear: And that was really fun for me. We talked to distillers. [00:03:00] I talk to people in the business space, I've had celebrities on the show like Brian Baumgartner from The Office. Crazy, right? But recently, I've kind of felt that I strayed too far from the original premise of the show. I know a lot of people first tuned in because they wanted to learn about building and growing a small food business, predominantly a personal or private chef business.

[00:03:25] Chris Spear: And then I got a bunch of new listeners who wanted to come for the entertaining and inspiring stories. It's And I've struggled with the fact that I've had two kind of separate shows in one. So that's why I want this new podcast to be for those of you who really just want to stay focused on building and growing a small business.

[00:03:48] Chris Spear: And I think there's a lot of transferable advice here that even if you were, let's say a plumber, hopefully you could listen to this show and pick up some advice on maybe marketing or [00:04:00] customer acquisition. I think we have a lot of great ideas that we've been presenting on the show. And then the people who want to come and hear Carla Hall talk about her time on Top Chef.

[00:04:08] Chris Spear: They're a different group of listeners. They probably don't want to build or grow any business, and they just want to be entertained, which is fine. I think this is going to give me an opportunity to maybe take Chefs Without Restaurants down that road a little more, where I can have a more diverse group of guests come on the show.

[00:04:26] Chris Spear: So I hope you continue to follow along on this journey, and maybe even listen to both shows. And along with this, I'm going to be building out my consulting business and spending a lot more time in the Chefs Without Restaurants community, really helping people with the tactical aspects of building and growing their businesses.

[00:04:45] Chris Spear: But hey, we're not done with Chefs Without Restaurants just yet. I've still got a couple fantastic episodes lined up for the next few weeks. They are mostly focused on people who wrote cookbooks because whether you're a chef or someone who just reads cookbooks, you probably know that fall is [00:05:00] cookbook time.

[00:05:01] Chris Spear: So definitely stick around for those because again, I really enjoyed those conversations. As always, the easiest way to get ahold of me is on Instagram or threads at Chefs Without Restaurants. Though I am on every other social media platform, or reach out to me at chefswithoutrestaurants at gmail dot com.

[00:05:18] Chris Spear: Your support means the world to me, and I'm really looking forward to what's coming next. As always, thanks so much for listening, and have a great week.