We were lucky to catch up with Matthew Lewis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Matthew, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s go back in time to when you were an intern or apprentice – what’s an interesting story you can share from that stage of your career?

My internship was undertaken at the prestigious Blue Hill at Stone Barns, which at the time I began had recently been ranked on the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. I was in awe of the place, the talent, the challenge, and my own good fortune. I remember the hope and the pressure when staging (professional tryout or brief educational opportunity), and the triumph at being given the opportunity. I remember being so excited to live in the off-site housing for the interns, as it meant I could live and breathe my passion with others who share it. It was a culmination of everything I was working towards, and I launched into it with a passion.

I began in winter, and Stone Barns is located in New York. One night after work, while reliving the day with some fellow cooks, I discovered first hand the perils that winter holds for a Georgia boy. Completely naive of the abundance of frozen objects, I wore wildly inappropriate footwear outside–literally “slippers.” Wouldn’t you know it, but I took a spill and twisted my ankle in the first few weeks of being there!

It was clearly badly sprained and swole up huge. I thought “oh no, what will I do–I can’t lose this, no matter what”. Rather than something sensible like seek medical care, I took to crutches while off work and just wrapping it up tight as can be so I can work on it all day at a frenetic pace. I could only hide it so much, but just lied about to my superiors so they wouldn’t make me take a leave. Maybe not the best idea, but fortunately I was young enough that I could still outrun my own stupidity somewhat–I am still shocked that I don’t have lingering problems with that ankle.

In this environment, people are generally seeking to try and set themselves apart positively. Being the guy who hobbles was definitely not what I had in mind. But I was able to work a few days before the Executive Chef Dan Barber noticed. He pulled me aside and asked “are you ok, soldier?”. I lied and said it was just a splinter, with my heart in my chest. I am still not sure if he believed me, but I was just so happy to still be there that I didn’t question it.

Working through the physical challenge was tough; restaurant work at any caliber is usually grueling and physical. But we had multiple kitchens and a huge property on top of all of the physicality of cooking at such a high level. As tough as it was, I just went home every night and iced it while keeping it vertical. After a few weeks, it began to turn around and I managed to stay in the game.

I learned first-hand the value of a few things. I came to appreciate the unbelievable benefit of having one’s health and capability intact; and got just a small taste of how challenging it must be for those of us with physical limitations. I learned the value of tenacity and mental fortitude in overcoming a painful situation. And while unfortunately I didn’t yet learn the value of seeking appropriate medical care, I did perhaps get a lesson in taking the weather more seriously in colder climates.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a personal chef specializing in weekly meal prep services to some of the most fabulous people north of Atlanta, what I call the “Marietta to Alpharetta Corridor”. My business seeks to provide menus tailored to my client’s own preferences, meaning I adapt to being a completely different style of cook for each family I serve.

I am very “from scratch” in my approach, so while I am working in my client’s (awesome) kitchens the air is filled with the aromas of stocks, herbs, seared meats, and sumptuous braises. Working with me means that your fridge will be filled with professionally home cooked meals ready to pop into your oven at the end of a busy day.

It is said that in cooking, one is a student all their life. My passion is in exploring world cuisines, and that means my clients can enjoy an ever-increasingly diverse range of curated menus. We can indulge in your crave-able comfort food classics or custom healthy menus designed to be actually exciting.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I am very blessed to be working with clients for as long as a decade at this point, including 8 years with a Braves Hall of Fame inductee. I have found that the nature of my business is all about tailoring to the needs of my clients while maintaining excellent communicative relationships. My clients are all in different stages of their lives, and those stages can change. Parents of newborn kids have different needs than retirees or jet setting executives. My role is to determine their needs and meet them.

Sometimes that means helping with weight loss, or even learning to adapt to a new dietary reality brought on by a medical condition. Sometimes the client needs to have something indulgent, or simple quick things they can take on the go. All of these radically change cooking style, so learning to adapt to their needs and thus demonstrate the value of my highly customized service has translated to excellent longevity of my client relationships.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

When I got into cooking, I was obsessed with the Michelin level restaurant system. The level of detail and complexity of preparations practically jumped out of the page of these perfectly manicured “coffee table cookbooks” from The French Laundry or Eleven Madison Park. In my career, I was blessed to be able to work in those environments during my restaurant years.

I thought for sure that I would stand out by being cutting edge and trying to prepare elaborate meals for my clients. The challenge of my service, however, is that in many ways–that style of cooking belongs in that style of restaurant. Clients don’t want to be overwhelmed by multi-step, complicated meals from a service designed for their convenience. Ultimately, they need to be able to open the fridge, put it in the oven, and know when it’s done. And this comes as a surprise to many, but eating restaurant style meals all the time gets old and people start craving something more “soul satisfying”. Home cooking is a style, after all–not just an advertising term.

I learned to adapt some of the techniques and methodologies that I had learned for a home cooking environment. Fortunately, my habit of constantly learning about global cuisines meant that I could pull from traditional meals from all over the world–including home–and marry them to my skillset. The result is that my clients get setting appropriate food that meets their needs for ease of preparation and ultimately creates better, more satisfying experiences.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chefmattlewis.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matt.lewis.cooks/

Image Credits

Matthew Lewis, Hannah Reed