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

Louis, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’ve all been there before where things are tight financially and we start asking ourselves in the small/simple joys like a cup of coffee is worth it. Have you had an experience like this and if so how did you think about this sort of spending?

When I first started out my meal prep service, I was working as a private chef making expensive meal prep packages for my current clients. People in my life started to ask me about my pricing and if I considered selling my meal preps, which I hadn’t even thought of prior. I started to consider what I would do if I started to sell my packages and how much I would charge for them, but I had to go through a lot of trial and error throughout the process. In order to conjure up the money to buy the products, I was cutting my daily living expenses and putting all the money into my investment. I’ve been late on car payments, bills, and gifts because I was putting so much money toward my business. I was trying to work extra jobs to help cover all the added expenses. A lot of the time during this period, I felt very left in the dark because I was putting everything towards a hopeful dream with no guaranteed certainty of success. I didn’t have anyone that could potentially mentor me at the time because meal prepping services were nothing like they are now, so I had to figure out packaging, labeling and sizing all on my own. Once I started to grasp the concept of my business, I started attaining profit and business started to flow better. Networking was a really great way to get my name out and build a larger clientele.

Louis, 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 have always had a passion for cooking and creating. Growing up, my family did not have very much income. My grandma was a very hard working woman and loved to cook as well. When I was young, I took an interest to cooking and she would teach me. Our family is very resourceful and has many members, so I would watch my grandma stretch meals that would originally feed about 3 people, to feed about 7 of us ensuring everyone was fed. As I got older, I would volunteer at my school cafeteria to expand my knowledge of cooking and gain some experience. I also interned at many different mom-and-pop type restaurants of different cultural food genres like Indian and Korean in order to learn how true traditional foods were prepared. I then went to Culinary School and started working at restaurants until I branched out more on my own and started my food prepping service, and working private events like weddings, parties, and personal chef jobs. Not only am I a Chef, but I am also a Personal Trainer and Coach. My experience in this field has expanded my mind in a creative aspect and inspired a lot of my fusion cooking. When people enjoy my food, I want to make it an experience for them. I’m most proud of the time that I cooked an entire wedding of 40 people without a kitchen and zero staff. I had complete creative control and had permission to experiment as long as I could pull it off. All I had was one grill, two portable burners and a flat-top griddle. The wedding was a complete success and became a viral story. One of my strengths is being able to create 5-star meals out of any ingredients presented to me, and also being able to stretch meals like my grandma did.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Advertising my services has been a really great way that I have gained new clientele. I post videos and pictures on my social media of my cooking and finished products. Not only that, but allowing people to experience my food with a free meal, or attending my events have new clients coming in as well. I am a fitness trainer, so running classes and creating meal preps naturally go hand-in-hand. The success of current clients that have used my services inspire new people to give it a try!

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

I really started to grow as a Chef when I stopped listening to what everyone else said and started to do things my way regardless of if people understood my concepts or not. I mix blends of different spices and create an assortment of flavor combinations by using my sense of smell versus taste, because I can tell what a dish may need by just the smell alone. I also like to create an experience for people when they taste my food by elevating the flavors using bizarre combinations that most people wouldn’t think would pair nicely, but actually do. Even when it comes to my meal preps, I want my clients to feel like they are still eating a restaurant grade meal, and not just proteins, greens and grains all tossed up together in a Tupperware. Presentation is very important to me whether its a packaged or restaurant meal. Social events, supporting other local businesses with collaborations, and other forms of networking also really helped form and build my reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.loucideatz.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loucideatz/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louissupan?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@loucideatz
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@loucideatz

Image Credits
image credit Luis Vargas Thelosttribeandco@gmail.com And elevatedfotography@gmail.com