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11: Chef Chantel Jackson
83 Plays4 years ago
Grit and Grind podcast is brought to you by Grit City Women - A female forward organization that nurtures a creative approach to empowering female entrepreneurs, small business owners, and leaders in Tacoma.
Join host Krystle Edwards and Entrepreneur and Chef Chantel Jackson of Thyme Well Spent as we discuss Chantel's journey and big things she is bringing to Tacoma!
Learn more about Chef Chantel:
Join host Krystle Edwards and Entrepreneur and Chef Chantel Jackson of Thyme Well Spent as we discuss Chantel's journey and big things she is bringing to Tacoma!
- Breaking into the food business
- Grass roots learning by doing
- Overcoming obstacles
- Power of love and positive attitude
Learn more about Chef Chantel:
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to Grit and Grind, a podcast by Grit City Women, where gritty is the new pretty. Grit City Women is empowered by Melissa Newell, Edward Jones, financial advisor and Columbia bank. On episode 11 of Grit and Grind, we're featuring chef Chantel Jackson from Time Well Spent.
00:00:32
Speaker
Hi, Chantel. Welcome. Hello.
Chantel Jackson's Early Journey
00:00:36
Speaker
Hello. Thank you for joining us on Grit City Women Podcast Grit and Grind. Why don't you go ahead and start off by telling us a little bit about you. Okay. Well, my name is Chef Chantel Jackson. I want to raise some Tacoma. Um, I'm pretty much just a foodie. Um, food for the Tacoma, like
00:00:58
Speaker
I just started my journey a few years ago. People know me from social media, starting off with selling plates out of my house not too long ago. Um, and then I just took every small business program from here to King County on how to start a legit business. And, um, people have just been following me. So now I'm owner of timeless bank catering and consulting and man, I just do a lot of stuff, yo. Um,
00:01:26
Speaker
Yeah, that's it. So I do catering, consulting, private chef, government contractor, dinner, theater. It's just like 50 shades of food business. Well, it's kind of hard to like say what I do. It's just, I just do a lot. But yeah, I've just been evolving. You got a ton of experience and a variety of experience, it sounds like.
00:01:57
Speaker
Yeah, I'm just one of the people who haven't mastered to just focus on one thing. And because of that, I just like to learn everything and then teach it to people that I know can do something with it, if that makes sense. Because I'm also a big teacher and big on consulting and teaching people that are still on the journey like me of learning how to get into the food business. So I just really, in a quick way, try to learn whatever I can and then
00:02:27
Speaker
give the information back to the community.
Chantel's Education and Experience
00:02:30
Speaker
I can totally relate to that. And it's nice to speak with someone who sort of has that same energy as I do. I love to get my hands into different things and get different experiences because it's all learning. And it doesn't feel like learning because you're doing, if that makes sense, but you have to just do it. I feel like to learn. Yes.
00:02:53
Speaker
So and I love that you want to give it back to the community. That's that's similar to, you know, why I started Grit City Women is I noticed that I learned some things about just entrepreneurship and I wanted to give that back. But I also, you know, realized that I didn't have that resource. And I think that's something that.
00:03:13
Speaker
is awesome when people like you and I can turn around and realize that there's a need for that and help lift people up to find like their, their dream, you know, and execute that. That's so cool. Absolutely. So where are you from originally? I'm from Tacoma, born and raised. Hilltop native. What high school did you go to? I went to Bellarmine and Foss.
00:03:39
Speaker
Bellarmine and Foss. Okay. What year did you graduate? Oh six. Okay. So you're, you're a little bit younger than me. I was going to say I have some friends that went to Bellarmine, um, too, but so that's cool. So you decided to stick around Tacoma. Yeah. Uh, went to, um, after I graduated, went to Johnson and Wells university.
00:04:04
Speaker
Because I want to follow in emerald chef emeralds footsteps becoming a chef And I didn't really last long cuz you know Miami from Tacoma. I was just hanging out on the beach But no I just started working immediately And then ended up coming back to Washington And then just worked my way up pretty much every restaurant out here I pretty much worked in
Tacoma's Community and Connections
00:04:34
Speaker
And that's pretty much where my chef journey started. Fantastic. So you, you're one of those people that would rather be out of the classroom than in the classroom. Facts. Facts. Facts. Yes. I, so I love this. I feel like, I feel like we have that in common and I'm really excited because I was the same way in college. I would.
00:05:00
Speaker
I would, I'm not going to use the word skip because I was actually doing stuff in the community, but I was volunteering in neuroscience labs. I was responding to trauma calls to provide emotional aid. And to me, I just learned so much better getting out there and engaging with people than sitting in a classroom.
00:05:24
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, and there's nothing wrong with that, you know, like, I feel like there is a little bit of a stigma around, you know, some people were classroom learning and that sit and study and read. That is not the best way for me to comprehend things. Like, I read a page and I'm like, oh, thinking about something completely different the entire time I'm sitting there. So,
00:05:50
Speaker
I think that's something that's great to shed light on is that there's other ways to learn and there's other ways to become successful. But you know, you have to do something. And as long as you're doing something that drives you forward, go for it.
Adapting to COVID: Virtual Dinner Shows
00:06:05
Speaker
Yes. What kind of projects are you working on right now? Right now, I'm doing a lot of consulting. So like, there's a lot of up and coming restaurants that are getting ready to open in Tacoma.
00:06:21
Speaker
I can't really disclose, but helping them get their permitting done, the layouts of the kitchen, how to organize the kitchen, where to put equipment, how to get a good flow of service, things like that. Got about three of those. Getting ready to take place by summer should be opening. Those are my main projects. And then personally, with my own brand, I've been doing a lot of
00:06:42
Speaker
So right now I'm helping them.
00:06:50
Speaker
dinner theater shows. So organizing, getting people that are into music that are artists out here, independent artists, and then incorporating that into plated meals. So it's like a R&B dinner show or it could be a musical theater show. So just really get onto the
00:07:12
Speaker
production side of bringing food to life rather than just people sitting down and eating, just really having a great overall entertainment with my brand. Is that in people's houses or is that at a restaurant? Both. So we're doing like some time mostly takeovers where we come and we'll bring the band to live experience and we'll go virtual and then have limited seating inside. And then they can also experience the dinner
00:07:43
Speaker
at home. So it's like a virtual dinner show or live experience. That's one aspect of it. And then we also do the in-home ones too. So we'll come bring the whole brand set up and seeing while we're doing a plated dinner course for you and your family.
00:08:03
Speaker
Wow, that is so cool. How long has that been going on for? Since COVID. Yeah, so we had to get a real creative with, well, I had to get real creative. Once everything started shutting down. I see in February, March of last year, when COVID first happened, we got quarantined.
00:08:26
Speaker
you know, all the weddings were canceled and pretty much all the corporate food events and catering side of a branch of my business pretty much got shut down. So I just started picking up music. So I started writing some singing and I was like, well, okay, I could probably incorporate this into food somehow. So when I had, um, I had to actually finished a whole album last year and I had a dinner, uh, album release party.
00:08:55
Speaker
And instead of people just, you know, coming to enjoy your typical album release party, I had dinner sent to their homes. So they watched me sing my whole album virtually while eating the dinner that I prepared for them. It was dropped off delivered to their homes. So from that one experience, I was like, well, it doesn't just have to be about, you know, me doing my own personal album. Let's see how many other artists are out there.
00:09:25
Speaker
And so I started just doing virtual dinner shows to where we send the food out to you. You watch us on your home screen. And then now that things have started opening up, now it's like, okay, well half you guys can come actually experience it for yourselves. And then the people that still want to stay at home, you guys can still have the meals delivered to you.
Tacoma's Tight-knit Community
00:09:46
Speaker
So that's the kind of the projects I've been working on lately. That's amazing. I really love that idea.
00:09:54
Speaker
Yeah, it's been quite fun. Still doing what I love to do, which is feed people and now incorporating the more creative art side of myself and getting that, being able to do both has just been great. Yeah. What a really clever way to adapt and turn a situation that was a negative into something that
00:10:19
Speaker
is a positive and really unique. I've never heard of anything like that being done before. Oh, yeah. They're starting to pick up now, man. They're picking up now. But just remember, it started with me. It started in Tacoma, Washington. It started in Tacoma.
00:10:43
Speaker
Isn't that how it always goes, right? You know, what do they say? Is it like copying is the most or oh god, I don't even I'm gonna butcher it. Yeah, sign a flatter. The proverbs. Yeah, and then it's like, no, they're just copying my idea. But it's cool. It's cool.
00:11:13
Speaker
That's so cool. I love that idea. And I love that. I love everything about it that just made me really happy to hear the creativity that you have going into two things that you love. And I think it's funny because I actually so we met before because I was getting pre-planned meals from you. And then but I think we met sooner than that, that out on Mason Lake at a friend's giving.
00:11:43
Speaker
Do you know what I'm talking about? I think that you were hired to cook out there for the Smiths. Oh, is that how I know you? I think that was the first time that we met. Yeah. And it was, I think, you
Creativity and Adaptability in Events
00:12:02
Speaker
know, because you were busy cooking, but I did a lot of the dishes in the back, but I don't think we got a lot of big chance to talk or anything.
00:12:11
Speaker
And I actually was, I got married in September and we were just having a small wedding because of COVID and we were looking for someone to cook dinner for my family. And I had messaged her about who was it who used to cook all your meals and she told me about you.
00:12:32
Speaker
And I had been already talking to somebody else and they were like, yeah, we're good to do it. And I was like, okay. So I stuck with whoever, which I totally regret because they were horrible. And so, yeah, I almost had you, um, cook at my wedding. Oh, wow. Well, that's cool. But they, the Swift's, bro, they are the best. Like I, they are, they're like in my top two and they're probably the number one of like families like that are lit. Like.
00:13:02
Speaker
just just the whole just like what was it the fact that they had and because of them i still keep some of this uh creativity you know whenever i go to spaces but the fact that they had probably 40 people in a living room had all the dudes push all the furniture to the front of the house or to the by the door
00:13:29
Speaker
and just made it into one long night at the round table type dinner. You know what I'm talking about? And they did it in a small space, but they had 40 people inside of there. I've never seen it. And I recorded it, too. And I put it on fast forward, so that goes pretty fast. And it was like 10 minutes to get all the tables and chairs into one long L shape to fit everybody in there. And that was just so dope. I'll never forget that first in my life.
00:13:58
Speaker
Yeah, that was that was incredible. And so when she mentioned you, I was like, oh my gosh, I that's where I met you first was that that night. Wow, that's crazy. Yeah. So I just thought I would share that with you. I was like, we have some friends in common.
00:14:18
Speaker
Wow. Dang. Man, I tell you, you never know who you're going to meet at any kind of... That's one of my favorite things about catering is that it's like you go there for one person because they hired you and there's 10 people there or there's 200 people there or there's a thousand people there, but there's always somebody there that's going to like remember you and keep, and you will keep on the same journey with them. You know what I'm saying? And boom, now we're doing a podcast for you. That's crazy. Yeah.
00:14:46
Speaker
Yeah. And it just is a reminder of how I feel like how small Tacoma is. It's big, but it's small. It's such a community. And I feel like I have connections with so many people in the community, but I'm always growing them through other people and through other things that I see happening. And it's just really cool to continue to see that build and to continue to see
00:15:12
Speaker
you know, all the stuff that you're doing that I didn't even know that you did, you know, that's really cool. Yeah. And at the time, I'm sure you didn't even know that I wasn't even doing any of this, so. Yeah, that's crazy. So, OK, so what are some lessons that you've learned in your work? I mean, definitely how the show must go on.
00:15:40
Speaker
like no matter what obstacles come your way especially in catering you have to get the food out or you have to finish the job so um i mean there's a lot of different incidences where uh disasters have been blessings okay like boom here we go here's the perfect story so one time i was out in king county and i was doing this um uh it was like an appetizer for like
00:16:07
Speaker
Uh, what was the event? But it was just some kind of event to where a whole bunch of caters would come and we'd show off our brand and our food. And, um, the theme was bacon. So I did a bacon slider and it was so bomb with like the oily sauce and the bun was toasted. It was amazing. But we get there and I figured, and I found out that I, we forgot to bring the buttons.
00:16:33
Speaker
And I was like, dude, we have like over 500 samples and no buttons for the sliders. And I'm just like, okay, well, what are we about to do? So I took the bacon, the, it was a BLT slider. So I took the bacon, the lettuce and tomato, and I stuck it onto a skewer.
00:16:52
Speaker
no bun so I had to drizzle the aioli sauce over the skewer and when I tell you not only did other vendors have sliders but everybody came to our booth because it was keto friendly with no bun and everybody they were so ecstatic about the fact that it was a cute little skewer and they could walk around with it and it wasn't messy like everybody else is
00:17:17
Speaker
So that's kind of like, and people still remember me to this day about the BLT schoolers. And even though it was a total accident and I totally messed up, it's like everything works together for the good. You know what I mean? So you just have to just roll with the punches sometimes and get creative, get innovative, and some of your best work comes from disasters.
00:17:43
Speaker
Huh. Oh, I love that story. I agree with you. I've there's times when I've done events for Liz Rocks, you know, big events. And when I've been focusing on these events for months, you know, every detail I have planned out, this is what I'm going to do here. This is what I'm going to do here. And it starts to not go to plan. You know, you kind of feel that panic set in. You're like, oh, no, oh, no. And you have a moment there where you can decide
00:18:12
Speaker
I can either like break down and let this get to me and get, you know, be a negative impact or I can just either do something fun and creative or maybe that thing just wasn't meant to happen, right? And I find that things that to me seemed really important
00:18:33
Speaker
most of the time, people just don't even know. They won't even know that that was a problem. Like you said, they didn't even know that you made a mistake. They thought that you probably did it on purpose. And awesome. Just roll with that. And I think that that was a lesson that I've also learned. And I love that your story is just was a cool one about food because
00:18:58
Speaker
Panic is something that I think a lot of us can feel, but if you
Venturing into the Food Truck Business
00:19:03
Speaker
can just think about the BLT skewer and move on and enroll with it, you're going to be good. Thanks. I'm going to think about that story now next time something happens for sure. I saw something about food trucks. So do you do work with food trucks?
00:19:25
Speaker
I do. So I have a trailer myself. It's called CJ's Phillies. I'm not really operating it right now because I have a lot of things going on. So it's just posted in the backyard, just chilling. But my first dream was owning a food truck. So while I was selling plates back in the day, I was making Philly cheesesteaks and I would walk up and down 56th Street in Tacoma and I was selling to barber shops.
00:19:50
Speaker
But then, you know, you can't do that legally. So that's why I started taking all these business courses and figuring out how to make a legit business. And the food truck was the first thing that I got. But before I even got my food truck, um, I was teaching at TCC and Highline how to start a food truck course. Um, and from there, um, my course has been at different places. It's been at Mountahoma. It's been at,
00:20:18
Speaker
TCC Highline, and a lot of different other small community workshops. So whenever somebody is new to Tacoma,
00:20:30
Speaker
Or they're trying to open up a food truck business a lot of times they go through me first because they know Like I'm the plug so I'll give them everything that they need to know from where to go find a commissary yet Who's good at building this? Because yeah, when I first started I was just a food truck fanatic I would stock all these local food trucks out here and
00:20:51
Speaker
They'll tell you I was knocking on their windows asking a billion questions getting on their nerves And about food trucking so I became my expert before I even had a food truck But that's yes, that's where the food truck branch of my business came from
00:21:09
Speaker
I love that story. I love that you were knocking on their windows asking them all the questions. I think that so many times we wait for like the right opportunity to learn, you know, like a class or, you know, one day that's going to happen. And I love that you just went out there and started knocking on windows. Yeah. Because it would have better tell you than the people that are actually out there living it.
Keys to Success in the Food Industry
00:21:38
Speaker
Yeah, I love that. And I that's something that I do, you know, I reach out to people that through their email and ask them questions. And, you know, I am one of those people where I feel like I really just like you said, I annoy the hell out of them because I want to know so much. But that is how I learn. Some people can read a book and they can
00:22:04
Speaker
learn the whole book and be able to regurgitate everything from that book. And that's not me. I'm a person that could go knock on a window and talk to someone and get so much more information and retain it. And I love that. Yeah. What is your best piece of advice to any great city women out there that are looking to either get into catering or starting a food truck or becoming a chef? What would you recommend for them?
00:22:34
Speaker
Um, I would say think about your one signature dish and kind of build off of that. Whatever you make the best, whatever you make the greatest, that's pretty much your first stepping stone to you owning your own business or your own food business. For me, it was Philly cheesesteaks. I love Philly cheesesteaks.
00:23:01
Speaker
I was making it from my dad back in the day. I made the bread from scratch. I did the meat from a great butcher, sliced it myself, and I just mastered the Philly cheesesteak. But from there, I got a food truck, but then it opened the door to so much more other things.
00:23:20
Speaker
So if you're starting your own brand, focus on the dishes that you make the best and then don't be afraid to just take that leap of faith. Like the biggest stopping most people is fear. And it's a four letter word that can destroy you mentally, physically, emotionally. And it's you being afraid and being in a box. That is the reason why a lot of people don't know if they can succeed or not. So I suggest that.
00:23:47
Speaker
You replace that four-letter word with another four-letter word, which is love. You love to do this, so just go after it. And that's the basis for anything. And then another thing is attitude. Like, you have an attitude, can change the whole atmosphere of any place that you walk into.
Future Goals and Community Support
00:24:08
Speaker
any conversation. So if you just have a good attitude at all times, it will open up so many doors for you that you wouldn't even know that would be opened.
00:24:18
Speaker
So just try to stay positive in all aspects and your attitude, it would set you apart with your brand. Like I get a lot of my events and bookings and just all these blessings because of my attitude. You know what I mean? So I just wish people would just really don't have any fear and always put your best foot forward.
00:24:48
Speaker
and just smile while doing it. Yeah, and knock on some windows if you have to. Facts. Thank you. No, I'm just kidding. The police department is recorded. Break it. Just gently knock. Oh my gosh, that is so great. Anything you're working on that we might have not covered?
00:25:15
Speaker
Oh, okay, so I'm in competition with the favorite chef. The winner gets 50K and an advertisement spread in Bon Appetit magazine. So if you can vote for me, you can go to my social media, which is my Instagram, and it is time, T-H-Y-M-E, well spent underscore.
00:25:43
Speaker
and click on the link on the bio and it will take you to the link to where you can vote. And people ask you, what would you do with 50,000? Bro, I will build the biggest, the biggest, best culinary school in Tacoma for people of low income. Anybody that wants to learn how to cook and get onto the business without taking four years of college, wasting all that money, I mean, not saying it's a waste of money, but
00:26:13
Speaker
There is a quicker route and just a comfortable space where you can learn, grow, and make moves together.
Closing Remarks and Support Plans
00:26:23
Speaker
So I want to build the biggest kitchen Tacoma has ever seen that will be immaculate. And that's what I would do with the 50K. So you can vote for me there. And then if you just have any questions and just, you know,
00:26:38
Speaker
want to grow your brand, or you have a restaurant, you're having trouble making sales. COVID is still bothering your income, and you're still trying to figure out ways to get creative with your brand. You can also hit me up on my website, timewholesplaining.com. But other than that, man, I'm for the people.
00:27:01
Speaker
That's awesome. I love it. I love it. I love the idea about the school. So go to what's, where, so where do you go to vote again? Um, so from my IG, uh, time, uh, time well spent underscore. And right in my bio, you'll see a link tree and you click on that and it's the very top button. It'll send you straight to my page.
00:27:30
Speaker
Awesome. That's so cool. I definitely look forward to visiting it and to seeing where your journey takes you and maybe attending some of your dinner theater events sometime. Yes, yes, man. Yeah, it's gonna be great. You're gonna see like a full production. Hopefully I'm gonna get a Christmas one going. That's like one of my main goals is a nice Christmas
00:27:57
Speaker
Christmas play with a four-course plated meal, so. That's awesome. Oh my gosh, that would be so great. Well, when things open back up and we end up having our real wedding celebration, we'll definitely hit you up for some creative food theater action. I got you. I got you.
00:28:20
Speaker
Well, it's been an absolute pleasure having you on. You're doing some incredible work. I'm so excited to have you in the community doing big things.
00:28:33
Speaker
taking your knowledge and your grit to really learn and not be scared of knocking on windows and giving that back to some other people that might need a little extra encouragement and getting started. So I really admire that about you and I'm excited to share this podcast with the community so they can see what awesome things you're doing.
00:28:54
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be here. To learn more about Grit City Women, visit gritcitywomen.com or follow us on Instagram at gritcitywomen, and we look forward to getting gritty with you.