Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michael Eckles . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Michael , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
My team and I have worked in upscale restaurants for many years and with that comes a lot of frustration, anxiety and sleepless nights. Imagine working in a “Gordan Ramsey” type restaurant for 70 hours a week. For a lot of young cooks this is the lifestyle and the only way you can learn to cook great food. But here in Michigan we don’t have the same resources that New York or Chicago have to make great restaurants. So even the best spots in Michigan cannot compare with the standard of food that other cities have.
Thats why i started Abode Fine Dining, we are a private chef company that creates the fine dining restaurant in your own home. Because we are only serving one dinner a night we have the time and ability to really love on the food that is being prepared. This is how we can compete with Michelin starred restaurants here in Michigan.
Not only have we set ourselves apart from fine dining restaurants but we also are a cut above other private chefs. At Abode Fine Dining we bring the restaurant into your own home; we bring servers, bartenders, all the plates, tablecloths, flatware, glasses, pots and pans. We bring everything so the client does not have to do anything except enjoy their evening. And that’s the Abode difference.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I began cooking when i was very young. My mom was battling and beat breast cancer, but at the time she was going through all the chemotherapy and stopped cooking. I began to cook simply because i wanted to eat good food. I started making things that all little kids want like chocolate chip cookies and macaroni and cheese. After that i just never stopped. As i knew that i wanted to be a chef in high school, i began to look for higher education. Because there was no better culinary school in the world i decided to go to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park New York.
After my education i went home and worked in the best restaurants that i could find, but always had my eyes set on the private chef realm. During covid when all the restaurants were closed, i figured that this was my shot; so, I put my two weeks in and started my business plan. And it has been all uphill since.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
I met my sous chef , Marcus Donofrio, at the first restaurant that i worked at after culinary school. We worked at coach insignia together which is atop the tallest building in the Detroit skyline. The restaurant closed a year later because the lease ended and Marcus and i went our separate ways but stayed in touch over the years.
When i began my business i gave Marcus a call to tell him about my aspirations and to see if he would like to be my first employee when i was hiring. 6 months later he was on board part time and 3 weeks after that he was on full time.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
One of the best places that we get new clients in our networking group. Abode is part of BEN BNI which is a business networking group. In this group each person meets with other business’ in the group and finds ways to refer them or use them. This makes all these other business’ your marketing team and you make great friends along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abodefinedining/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/abodefinedining/
Image Credits