Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tyler Jenkins. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Tyler, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?
Being in the restaurant and hospitality industry, it is beyond hard to manage costs when they aren’t always fixed. I’ve had multiple people in my life say to me as a business owner “owe you must be making hand over fist” and “you are probably making thousands of dollars” but in reality, other business owners along with myself will say that we are probably hundred-airs. One of the biggest problems in my industry is the constant rise and fall of food and paper cost. For example, bacon that was originally 3.99/lb is now 7.99/lb. $4 extra/lb adds up overtime. And we, as restaurant and food product owners are forced to buy industry grade materials and equipment that cost more than a traditional grocery store. Yeah it’s simple to say from a residential or consumer standpoint that a jar of pickles is to high of a price at $8 or your meal was too expensive. What they don’t see is all of the cost that goes into it. From labor to rent all the way to a simple thing of laundry prices, everything adds up. And at the end of the day, that plate of chicken and mashed potatoes that should be pulling a profit of $8-$12 per plate is actually running a profit of around $4-$5. Overall the industry as a whole has a multitude of issues that it’s constantly facing, but keeping the cost down to increase profitability is one of the major ones.
Tyler, 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?
My name is Chef Tyler Jenkins and I am the owner/CEO/head chef of Chef T Culinary Services LLC based in Eastlake, OH. Chef T Culinary Services is a combination of 4 different entities; Chef T’s Pepperoni Bread, Chef T Spices, Chef T Catering, and my mobile kitchen, Chef T BBQ. We strive for the best in all we do and work to make products that push the limits and expand the palette.
I have always had a passion for the culinary arts ever since I was like 5 years old. As soon as I graduated high school, I enrolled in culinary school. There is where I gained a true passion and respect for the industry. After graduating in 2020, I decided to start my business. It was a rough start though since I first launched my company the DAY before the pandemic. With the support of family and friends, I pushed through the COVID status quo and kept my business pushing. Some might think that COVID might of destroyed us in sales; it actually did the opposite. I had met with a few local vendors who were willing to put my pepperoni breads in there stores to see how sales would be. Weirdly enough, sales were awesome. People were buying them to keep in there house since they barely went out. On January 12, 2021, I did something I never thought I would do, I went on tv. I was on skype for a segment for New Day Cleveland. At that point I had 3 stores. After that segment, all my stores sold out immediately and I signed on two more stores for pepperoni bread.
Around early 2022, I wanted to do something I had been considering since culinary school, a spice line. I had created some recipes in culinary school that fellow students recommended I bottle and sell. After bottling a few flavors, I launched my line on Facebook. Instant blowup. We were talking to local mom and pop shops along with local butchers, market, etc. all for the seasonings. We are now in 8 LOCAL retailers just for spices. We are also contacted for a few restaurants as well.
Besides from the retail side of Chef T, we also offer catering all all sorts of cuisine. But BBQ was always my passion. July of 2022, I started a mobile kitchen called “Chef T BBQ”. We focus on American style BBQ but with a CLE flare. Starting in 2024, we have redesigned the menu to fit a more simplistic form of BBQ. All of the smokehouse products are dry rubbed with sauces on the side. From a business standpoint, this helps reduce cost but raises quality. All of our sides and BBQ sauces are made fresh and from scratch. I take great pride in all of it.
What we are try to achieve at Chef T Culinary Services is our overall goal, make people happy, and get them cooking. Whether it be from our fabulous 10 flavor spice line, to our mouth-watering BBQ, we want our customers to be hungry to eat and to get cooking.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Its about making connections and providing a great attitude. Working in the industry is also a great help. Making those long lasting relationships, whether vendor, fellow industry member, or customer, will pay off in the end. I also like to focus on keeping it local. I love supporting small businesses and highlighting/using their products. I always try to stay humble and just be the “kid from Cleveland with a dream”.
Any advice for managing a team?
Keep your people happy, pay them good, and treat them right. I’ve worked for people that just treat their people like crap, and that’s why their turnover rate is so high. If you treat people with respect, stay positive (within the lines of sanity), and pay them what their worth, they will stick with you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cheftservices.com
- Instagram: @cheftservices
- Facebook: Chef T Culinary Services
- Other: https://linktr.ee/cheftservices