Today we’d like to introduce you to Chad Cherry.
Hi Chad, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I am a personal chef, entrepreneur, podcast host, and eco-system builder. In the culinary world, I am known for unique fusion cuisine, blending the flavors of the Caribbean & Latin America with traditional Southern and American dishes.
I have owned 2 award-winning cafes and served notables like President Barack and Michelle Obama. I was the recipient of the I am Hope Award and the 33 Emerging Minds of Miami Award at Art Basel.
My passion lies in my ability to use food to build communities and help people improve their quality of life and I do this by performing cooking demonstrations and seminars all across Florida and investing in other foodservice professionals.
As a social entrepreneur, I was awarded fellowships with New Leaders Council (“NLC”), BMe, Breakout, and Red Bull Amaphiko where I expanded my network to include people in other industries. I am co-founder of Refresh Live’s Chef Kulture, an organized resource hub created to support and promote members in the food industry so they can have a social impact in the communities they serve. Chef Kulture has 8 chapters including 5 in Florida, and one each in Louisville, KY, Baltimore & Atlanta. The organization addresses issues in black and brown communities such as food justice & food access, community economic sustainability, and small business development.
In 2007, I was one of the top sales professionals in the division of a large corporation when I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at the age of 26. I spent a month in the hospital while doctors tried to bring my sugar down and remove my gall bladder. When I returned to work, I was having considerable problems balancing my new life on insulin. I was falling asleep at the wheel during my sales calls and when I asked my supervisor if I could have a little time off to adjust, he said that although they knew I was in the hospital for a month, and not just on vacation, I was still penalized for the time I missed because I did not meet my sales quota.
I realized at that moment that the 80+ hours/week I had given the company meant nothing, I quit that job and set out to find healthier solutions for my life. I eventually found that the only place that didn’t spike my sugar was an organic restaurant, which I ended up buying. I wasn’t a Chef at the time but I called my mother and grandmother and they helped me develop the recipes that eventually won numerous awards. I have spent the last 16 years creating programs that would allow other people with food-related issues to find the freedom I have.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think entrepreneurship is ever a smooth road and it certainly wasn’t for me.
It was important to me that we build businesses and an organization that cared about people as much as we cared about profits. My wife, kids, and I were homeless twice as we worked to get to where we are today. With Chef Kulture, we have created an eco-system that promotes excellence and cooperative work opportunities among our members.
Not having many models to follow of organizations doing the similar thing was a challenge in the beginning. We’ve had to spend many years educating ourselves & communities, non-profits, food service professionals on what cooperative entrepreneurship, food access, and healthy food business practices should look like.
As you know, we’re big fans of Refresh Live and Chef Kulture. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Refresh Live is a food, education, & lifestyle company, dedicated to refreshing people’s relationships, knowledge, and experience with food. We believe that food is a common connector that brings people and cultures together, and that personal and social victories can be won when we start at the dinner table. Our passion is to educate, inspire, and share. We change the world, one delicious meal at a time!
Chef Kulture is an organized resource hub designed to support and promote culinary professionals across the country. It is a culinary collective of foodservice and hospitality entrepreneurs and affiliates who have a desire to uplift and share their craft with the world.
“Chef Kulture is the preeminent network for urban food and urban food professionals in the country.”
Services include:
Recipe Generation- Our chefs hail from a variety of cultural backgrounds and specialize in many types of cuisines including Caribbean, Kosher, Latin, French, African, Haitian, Asian, and others. Chefs generate, culturally relevant, recipes and meals which they can use in virtual or in-person demonstrations.
Product promotions/ Virtual Brand Campaigns- Chefs use their knowledge and skills to display and promote clients’ products by using them in recipes and food demonstrations.
Virtual Cooking Demonstrations- Refresh Live provides virtual cooking demonstrations via Zoom and Facebook Live.
Live Cooking Demonstrations- Refresh Live provides live cooking demonstrations for grocery stores, gardens, non-profit organizations, and private entities.
Grocery Store Tours- Refresh Live/Chef Kulture provides grocery store tours to participants.
Chef Kulture Podcast – Discusses topics around food, entrepreneurship, and lifestyle.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
My family makes me happy because, after the great reset of the pandemic, it really helped me refocus on what’s truly important in my life, my family.
Contact Info:
- Email: chefkulture@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefkulture/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChefKulture
