Exploring Life & Business with Sam Heareth of Chef Mode

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Heareth.

Hi Sam, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I got started with my love of cooking from my dad. From a very young age, I would sit on the counter and just watch him cook. Instead of cartoons, I was watching Food Network. After high school, I went straight into culinary school. I worked through a few restaurants, and though I loved working in restaurants I wanted a change. I saw an ad on Facebook for a farm looking for a cooking class instructor. I went out of my comfort zone and jumped on the opportunity. I quickly realized how much I loved it and started my own LLC. I then became a partner with the market and now also am the Chef for all their events and their food truck

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely has not been. I felt like my two big struggles was my age and my gender. I felt like I wasn’t taken very seriously because of how young I am but I do have a lot of knowledge and talent despite my age. I also feel like there is still a stigma against female chefs, that we can’t compete with men. In a certain way, I feel a little looked down upon.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Chef Mode?
My business has a bunch of different little sections of it. All in one I’m a cooking class instructor, caterer, food truck operator and personal chef. I would say what sets me apart food wise is I focus a lot on using local ‘meats, produce and other products. I love supporting other small businesses. Cooking class wise I love to teach both kids and adult cooking classes. For kids, I want to get kids interested in cooking from a young age because I believe it is such a vital skill to have through life. For adults, I like to teach them that you can have very little cooking knowledge or skill and still be able to cook a great dish.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I would say I was definitely a little awkward. I didn’t have very many friends and wasn’t quite sure where I fit in. I was very quite and shy. I had many different interests growing up from violin, to softball, to cheerleading. For the longest time, I wanted to be a CSI investigator or a marine biologist. I didn’t get truly passionate about cooking till high school and realized that’s what I really wanted to do.

Contact Info:

• Email: chefmodellc@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chef_mode19/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChefModeLLC/