Meet Jeff Bloam | Chef and entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeff Bloam and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeff, what’s your definition for success?
I define success by the level of discipline you have gained through doing the things that most people won’t. I have always prided myself in my I don’t know how but I will figure it out attitude. With my discipline and my willingness to take risks I have got to travel the world, meet amazing people and build a beautiful family. My life has been scary, stressful and flat out overwhelming, but I know that if I wake up everyday try my hardest and just do things that other people won’t my success will be unmeasurable. The key to success is to be brave, consistent and disciplined. My habits and grit are why I continue to have small successes on the way to my end goal. By failing and learning I get closer to my goal everyday. By being discipled enough to keep failing/learning and not give up is why I know I am bound for my version of success. I also believe an important part of success is being a good mentor and leader. You might have to do it on your own sometimes but if on your way up you find some like minded people bring them with you. So in short success is really the discipline needed to inspire others to be their best and taking the time to get them there. If you can do that you can do anything else.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Even though I am a chef I like to consider myself on the more creative side of the business. Working primarily fine dining and elevated food I have had the chance to share who I am with people in an edible form. My biggest accomplishments are working and supporting some of the best chefs in the country and meeting some of the coolest people along the way. I always get excited when me and my team can turn food that most people discard into something delicious. Not only is this a responsible thing to do it also takes a lot of knowledge and sometimes just taking a risk and hoping everything turns out. I love using old world techniques to produce edgy and contemporary food. I feel like food is changing drastically around the world and some people are trying to return to these older methods to preserve history and bring food back to its roots. We live in a society where convenience is valued over integrity and health and I hope through our efforts we can focus on true foods again before we pay the price for , for profit food systems. My most memorable lessons in cooking had little to do with recipes and more to do with being responsible to the environment and your guest when preparing food for others. To get where I am today took countless sacrifices. I left my home in Ohio and moved to Hawaii where I was completely on my own. I used cooking to support myself and didn’t get really into it until I moved to the bay area. There i dove in head first and didn’t stop learning, cook books stages under great chefs, working multiple jobs all have helped me become who I am today. All these experiences taught me that learning never ends and integrity is hard to maintain sometimes and that what really matters.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If any of my friends came to visit and I didn’t have to work with would definitely be out in the wilderness as much as possible. I’m not sure if my cooking career influenced my live for nature or vice versa. During the summer I love to camp so we would head west first and work out way back to Denver hitting every state and national park.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Besides the countless cook books and mentors I have encountered the person that really makes all this happen is my partner in life. Lexi has seen nothing but the best in me since we met over a decade ago. She has watched me continue to try set back after set back and always believes in me. She has dealt with all the sacrifices we both have made for me to follow my dream with nothing but grace. Her loving nature and support have kept the flame in me alive not matter how many times I’ve wanted to quit. Not only do I dedicate all my hard work to her and my family, I would only be half the person I am with out her.

Instagram: @friendsfamilyfood3f

Image Credits
Chad chisolm