Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jacob Schroeder. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jacob, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
Crafted Food Services is what I like to refer to as “The all purpose flour of food and hospitality” Offering services ranging from in home private chef experiences, to pop up events, collaborative events and professional consultation. I try to highlight and celebrate local producers and businesses as much as possible while drawing culinary inspiration from the cuisines and cultures of the world
My business was born of me utilizing my circumstances to try and help improve some aspects of our society and culture that I felt I was uniquely equipped to improve.
I see our current society as being disconnected with our food and food systems, ours and others cultures or histories and our neighbors or communities. The last point ranging from our next door neighbors to the small businesses run by passionate people who are chasing their calling to make the world a better place.
This idea is based on my own lived experiences. My life has been made so vibrant, beautiful, and interesting by connecting with people from other cultures or people who are extremely passionate about something. Often times food was the main if not only thing that connected us. As an example, there have been many circumstances where I couldn’t speak the same language as the people in my immediate vicinity, but through food and the shared language that comes with it we have been able to connect.
For many years, I lived with the idea that “I can be more useful to society” than just being a cook in a restaurant or food service operation. I worked in private restaurants, hotels and country clubs in numerous cities and countries over the span of 12 years. It wasn’t until I started cooking private dinner parties that I started piecing together the model that I currently operate by. People responded very well to having me face to face to talk about the inspiration behind what I was serving them, the techniques that I used, where the ingredients came from and the stories of the people who produced those ingredients. I understood that being a strait, Caucasian, American male put me in a unique position to help validate some of parts of humanity that aren’t celebrated as much as they should be. Its a big world, people have been around and cooking for a very long time. My hope is that people find some of the joy for life that I do by embracing, absorbing and celebrating the many facets of humanity.
Jacob, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I grew up in a small town just outside of Des Moines, Iowa. As a kid with lots of natural creativity and not many outlets for it, I was eager to move out of my small town and never look back.
A counselor suggested I would be a good server in a restaurant because of how empathetic I was. That got me thinking about getting into professional cooking as a career. I figured it was a creative job that I got to use my hands in, something that could help me travel, something that had lifelong learning potential, as well as being fairly safe because people always have to eat.
I went to school at a The Iowa Culinary Institute and worked a lot in my 20’s. I got started in Des Moines, moved to at worked in Denver where I really cut my teeth in a wide range of skill sets such as baking, line cooking, butchery, pasta making, sauce work, some customer relations type jobs and the occasional private chef gig. Through one of my chefs, I got connected to some chefs abroad and conducted a self funded “stagiers tour” of Portugal and Germany, working in 2 and 3 Michelin starred restaurants for 6 months. After returning home I got a job at a Corporate company where I took advantage of the creative freedom we were given to really dig deep into specific cultures and techniques. It was at that job that I started cooking private dinner parties for friends and family which was the start of the current phase in my career.
Crafted Food Services is what I like to refer to as “The all purpose flour of food and hospitality” Offering services ranging from in home private chef experiences, to pop up events, collaborative events and professional consultation. I try to highlight and celebrate local producers and businesses as much as possible while drawing culinary inspiration from the cuisines and cultures of the world.
One thing I think sets me apart is not having a set menu or list of services that I offer because I think a personalized approach to this kind of work is very user friendly. Being able to curate a custom experience from menu to circumstances has served me very well and makes for very memorable experiences for my clients. I often times get very unique reference points for the food that I serve. Most recently I did a “Great Gatsby” themed finger food party. The deepest dive I’ve ever had to do was “19th centruy colonial American + underground railroad”.
The things Im most proud of is the community I have built with other small businesses and being able to connect them to the people of Des Moines. I’ve also changed a lot of peoples opinions on what foods they like. The best compliment I can get is “I didn’t like this ingredient before, but whatever you did to it is amazing!”
One of my goals is to help people find some of the joy in food and living that I have by being exposed lots of different cultures and cuisines. Life can be more more beautiful if you are painting with a bigger palatte of experiences.
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
I started by opening a business checking account and putting $500 into it. I operated my current business as a side hustle for 3 years, putting every cent I had into infrastructure like plates and equipment so that I can execute a wide array of services.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I’ve got a strong entrepreneurial spirit. I have started dozens of mini “concepts” in an effort to serve niche needs in the community while also testing what resonates well with the general public. Its been 6 years and I feel like Im close to filling out a solid schedule of public events to help get the word out for the private services I offer and stabilize cash flow for my business
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.craftedfoodservices.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craftedfoodservices/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/craftedfoodservices
Image Credits
Figment Art Photography