Why Small Businesses Matter in Ridgefield: Meet Chef Brian Bender!
Why Small Businesses Matter
Shop small, do big things for your community
Why Small Businesses Matter puts a spotlight on the local merchants who donate their time, talent, goods, and services for the betterment of our community. The shop local movement spreads virally as local businesses who are “tagged” have the opportunity to share their story.
Meet Chef Brian Bender.
Why did you start your business?
My current private chef business organically evolved as a direct result of covid. I lost my full time catering chef job in the early stages of the pandemic. Fortunately, I was able to tap into my history of private catering and personal and private chef clients from before and during The Cutting Board days. I made some calls, sent a few texts and emails, and started cooking in “social distance” settings. Word of mouth and some social media posts helped me grow and gain clients.
What led you to specialize in private chef services, and how has it shaped your career path?
What began as a temporary step back into the culinary world has evolved into an exciting new chapter of my career. Today, I’m busy with daily dinner clients, weekly meal prep, and seasonal contracts, including summers spent in the Hamptons with ultra-high-net-worth clients
What is your best selling product or service?
My most common request is for dinner and cocktail parties. People love my hors d’oeuvre. I have always been extraordinarily passionate about hors d’oeuvre, and over the years I have created and re-created hundreds. No two menus are ever alike.
Have you tailored your cooking style to meet the needs of clients with dietary restrictions?
Perhaps what attracts people to me most is my experience with gluten free and allergen free cooking. I seem to have found a niche for preparing the same or better quality meals for people who are gluten free, vegetarian, vegan and with a list of allergies and dietary restrictions. Taking dairy, gluten, garlic, onions, salt, pepper, coconut, eggs, soy, and nuts away from a chef and expect them to not only prepare you a delicious meal, but prepare all your meals every day for an extended period of time is a tall order, to say the least.
How has your small business evolved over the years?
I have in a way reinvented myself to adapt, and lately it occurs to me that tackling these challenges has made me a better chef and person. I will always, of course, love butter and salt, but I can manage just fine without them!
Find Chef Brian online https://www.chefbrianbender.com.
And follow along on Instagram @chefbrianbender
HamletHub thanks Fairfield County Bank for making our Why Small Businesses Matter series possible!