Today we’d like to introduce you to Jharvis James
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a Miami-born and raised, now Indianapolis based Private Chef & Chef Coach.
My journey starts as early as a 6-year-old kid in my grandfather’s kitchen who cooked for us all the time. One of the best chefs I’ve ever had the pleasure to eat and learn from. My grandfather had a rule – “No one eats for free”. And by that he meant, we had to work for our food. We either earned our plate by cleaning up or helping him cook. I, like many 6-year-olds, had a serious allergy to cleaning so I chose cooking. But jokes on me because I soon realized that apart of cooking IS cleaning – so I essentially chose a double portion of work, even though I didn’t get double portion of food.
That’s where my culinary journey began. As my grandfather’’s “Stool sidekick”. My grandfather always cooked sitting on his famous stool no one was allowed to touch or sit in. And he would give commands while sitting on his stool at the stove to bring him ingredients. I didn’t know it then, but this was not only my introduction to the kitchen life, but training to learn the fundamentals of delegation, call and response, focus, diligence, and trial and error – the foundation of any successfully ran kitchen.
I grew a love for food and for people watching my Papa cook. I noticed that food had this magnetic element that gathered people together. I loved how communal food was and how it wasn’t just about eating, but connecting, sharing experiences, and tangibly expressing love in a delicious way. I knew at 6 I wanted to recreate that. I wanted to serve people in that same capacity.
Fast forward through choosing to go to culinary school vs. traditional college, starting my professional career as the youngest cook hired by my first restaurant at 18, to working my way up the line as a fry cook who got demoted to dessert and cold station to lead line cook, Sous Chef, Head Expeditor, Kitchen Manager and eventually Executive Chef all by 22 years old. I got the opportunity to do a show on Food Network’s ‘Food Truck Face Off”. The exposure from doing that show expedited my entrepreneurial pursuit and I left the corporate kitchen to go into a new world of catering.
From years of catering, I started to get more personal and intimate requests. Requests for dinners for special occasions like anniversaries, birthdays, bachelorette parties, or just because. I was being ushered into a world I didn’t knew existed at the time. The private sector working as a Private Chef.
I fell in love with this because I was able to do what I always watched my Papa do as a 6-year old – bring people together, connect, share experiences, and tangibly express my love.
As a Private Chef I soon begin to work exclusively for celebrities, professional athletes, and other High & Ultra High Network Individuals. I thrived in this space and still do today. I’ve had the pleasure of working for people like Zion Williamson, Caris LeVert, Jaren Jackson Jr., Diddy, Toni & Tamar Braxton, Jim Jones & Chrissy Lampkin, Dana White, the list goes on. And many other names I can’t name.
I am currently the Chef for superstar Tyrese Haliburton the NBA All-star and now Team USA Olympic Team member, which explains my move to Indiana.
A couple years ago I started mentoring up-and-coming chefs and helped them build 6-figure chef brands and businesses. I would get inquiries all the time about mentorship and creating courses around the private chef world. I would also get asked all the time “how are you able to work exclusive for celebrities? I realized I had an opportunity to begin coaching and consulting with the demand that was already present. And that’s when I began my Chef Agency called Gourmé Chef Agency to train, develop, staff, and deploy chefs in these exclusive positions.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Define smooth lol.
If you call me calling it quits more than I can count, having to go back to the workforce to be able to survive, constantly doubting myself and my abilities, fighting with imposter syndrome and self-limiting beliefs, being scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars from sheisty business partners, losing it all TWICE, and having my business intellectual property stolen, then yes. It was very smooth lol.
One of the things I’ve learned from my Multi-millionaire mentor Myron Golden is that disruption always follows intention. I don’t even think about those hard times anymore – and if I do – it’s genuinely in amusement and appreciation.
Those tumultuous times trained me for the triumph I now have. More challenges are on their way and I look forward to overcoming them as I continue to grow and break into new barriers.
As you know, we’re big fans of Gourmé Global Enterprises. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Though we are Gourmé Global Enterprises, we do business as Gourmé Chef Agency.
Gourmé Chef Agency is a multi-vertical company that specializes in Private Event services where you can hire one of our house chef’s for your event all over the US, Chef Staffing where we connect our specially trained, hand-selected chefs to celebrities and other HNIs, and lastly Talent Acquisiton where we help chefs build their personal brands through TV appearances, brand deals, sponsorships, and other media collateral.
We are most proud of our core values of connection, service, excellence, development, and privacy. We understand the needs of our high-profile clients better than anyone in the market. You don’t just want a chef who can cook, but one who have those intangible and invabule interpersonal soft-skills like one’s ability to read a room and acclimate. We also pride ourselves in the fact that we care about developing our chefs and giving them every resource we have to help them grow, scale, and thrive. Chefs aren’t employees here, they are their own entities that share a common vision.
That’s what we’re most proud of.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Being in that yellow-painted, wood-paneled, terrazzo-floored kitchen standing next to the giant my grandfather was learning everything about food and life from the greatest man I ever known. Whether I was scaling a fish in the kitchen sink or learning how to crack and egg with one hand. Being in his presence while learning how to cook with the hope of being able to cook just like him – there is no greater memory.
Pricing:
- 1-on-1 Consultation Calls – $250/hr
- Gourmé Genesis: Private Chef Beginner’s Course – $497
- Gourmé Pro+ Generator (Advanced Course) – $1497
- Gourmé Pro+ Mastery – Contact for pricing.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Joel Henson, Jharvis James