Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jason Baker. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Jason thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start on the operational side – do you spend more of your time/focus/energy on growing revenue or cutting costs?

This is a question as old as the industry. Can you grow your revenue without sacrificing quality; food, staff, etc? The simple answer is yes, but it’s complicated. When asked what matters more; growing revenue or cutting costs, I would declare that they can both be done, simultaneously.
As a chef and business owner, I have experienced the same difficulties as the rest of the restaurant industry, mainly, increased food cost and labor shortage. This has forced me, in a good way, to become more creative in my cooking. I spend a great deal of time researching local purveyors, sourcing products, growing vegetables in our garden, and learning to utilize the lesser known cuts of the animal. While in Barcelona this past month, I had a pork jowl (cheek) dish that blew me away. I asked myself, with the price of pork belly where it is, how can I present pork cheek on our menus in a Flavor Affinity inspired way and make it approachable to my clients? This is the way, in my opinion, you can make your menus more profitable, in turn, growing your revenue, without sacrificing quality or quantity of the ingredients.

Jason, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Chef Baker is a classically-trained and seasoned chef with over 12 years experience in the culinary world. He was born and raised outside Chicago, Illinois, spent his adolescent years in Orange County, and has made his home in San Diego, California. Accordingly, he pulls inspiration from both his Midwest roots and his California base.

From an early age, Chef Baker’s passion for cooking was unmistakable. Working as a prep cook and catering through college in Santa Barbara, his affection for cooking grew further. After receiving his Commis de Cuisine degree from the San Diego Culinary Institute, he went on to win a gold medal at the Midwest Culinary Saloon cooking competition in Cincinnati, Ohio on behalf of SDCI.

Since then, Chef Baker has worked in top restaurants all over San Diego County. Starting his career with the famed Pamplemousse Grille under world-renowned Chef Jeffrey Strauss, Chef Baker’s experience continued to mature at restaurants such as Prepkitchen Del Mar under award-winning chef, Ryan Johnston of Whisknladle Hospitality and Gingham in La Mesa, under celebrity chef Brian Malarkey. Chef Baker went out on his own as Executive Chef in 2012 and opened Mainstream Bar and Grill in Poway. In the years to follow, Chef Baker continued to grow and hone his craft at local favorites like Solace and the Moonlight Lounge in Encinitas, The Red Door and Wellington Steak in Mission Hills, and 28 West at Morgan Run Club and Resort in Rancho Santa Fe.

Chef Baker’s natural talent, innovative techniques, and culinary diversity are what set him apart from others in his field. His comprehensive experience with flavor profiles in upscale restaurants all over San Diego magnifies his unique style. His expertise in the kitchen makes him the perfect chef to create your personal culinary experience.

Born out of the love for food, fueled by the creative mind of Chef Jason Baker, Flavor Affinity is an experience unlike any you will get from restaurant dining.

Flavor Affinity brings you modern, coastal cuisine melded with French technique, Mediterranean and Asian flavor profiles, presented in an approachable way, providing an elevated culinary experience, without the formalities of a fine dining restaurant.

Whether you’re looking to host friends for a dinner party, wedding celebration, bachelorette, milestone birthday, corporate event or any other reason to celebrate, Flavor Affinity will take all the worry and stress out of planning, leaving you to relax and enjoy your guests.

Flavor Affinity hosts events from 10-150 guests, year round, serving San Diego and Southern Orange County. All inquires including for travel and multiple day events are made to jason@flavoraffinity.com

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Flavor Affinity follows an ethos that is the driving force behind everything that we do. “We strive to source all our ingredients locally and sustainably whenever possible. We are a scratch kitchen, making all sauces, dressings and stocks for braises in house. We bake all our own desserts. We purchase fresh and dockside flash frozen seafood from Saraspe Seafood, Catalina Offshore Products, El Pescador Fish Market, and Point Loma Seafood. Our meats are sourced locally from environmentally responsible purveyors.
We believe in tradition. We believe you should know what’s on the plate by looking at it, not trying to decipher it from the menu description. Upscale cuisine from French roots with Asian, Mediterranean and Baja flavors while taking advantage of all that coastal California has to offer. That is who we are and that’s the way we believe food should be.”
We understand that our clientele expects the best. We also understand that it is our duty to provide not only the best possible ingredients but the best possible experience. When we hear from clients that “that was the best wedding food I’ve ever had and I’ve been to a ton of weddings” or “I never liked kale but what you did was magic”, we know we are living that ethos not only at the event but every step from sourcing and preparation to finishing touches and service.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Flavor Affinity is truly a grassroots start-up. At the start, I didn’t have the capital to launch a full scale catering enterprise let alone . Every dollar made was put back into the business to purchase licenses, supplies, new equipment and pay staff. We weren’t profitable until last year, partly by design to grow the business and partly because that’s how it is when you are starting out. Over four years in now, I have set a goal to grow Flavor Affinity into the full scale catering company that it deserves to be. We want to be able to serve more of our community than is currently possible and that is going to take more talented cooks, service staff, and an administrative team. I look forward to the opportunity to serve a large segment of San Diego County in not only the special event sector but in food delivery and large scale, full service dining. Any investors out there, let’s talk!

Contact Info:

• Website: flavoraffinity.com
• Instagram: @flavoraffinity
• Facebook: Flavor Affinity
• Linkedin: Flavor Affinity
• Twitter: Flavor Affinity
• Yelp: Flavor Affinity

Image Credits
Meggy Kern – @culinary_interlude Erik Baldwin – @chaselifephotography