Today we’d like to introduce you to Chef Travis Chrisman.
Hi Chef Travis, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I started taking Home EC classes in middle school. and again, throughout high school. In the fall after high school, I attended the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.
I learned the most after culinary school. After completing my internship program, I worked for the Four Seasons Hotel in San Diego for 5 years and worked with hundreds of cooks and dozens of chefs from all over the world.
Everyone had a distinct style of cooking and cuisine, but everyone wanted to be successful. I worked my way up to the fine dining Italian Restaurant where I fell in love with fresh pasta. After the hotel, I focused on becoming a chef and manager for a growing fast-casual concept in San Diego for 3 years. From there, I bounced around and tried different roles that included working as a consultant, on a food truck, and in corporate dining.
I’ve spent some of my summers on the East Coast at seasonal camps as the head chef which my two sons get to attend. I have been married since 2014 and my wife owns our business. After 15 years in San Diego, we moved to Nashville where I became a private chef full time for one year then moved to Gilbert. I now work full-time as a private chef and spend my summers in New Hampshire from May-August.
I started working as a chef part-time on the weekends while working Monday-Friday in corporate dining. I realized that I enjoyed working for smaller groups a lot more. The hours are a lot more flexible and give me much more time with family. I have found that cooking high-end dinners for clients in their homes allows me to be the best version of myself mentally which produces the best quality of food I have ever prepared.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Working as a full-time Executive Chef and for a short while a GM, I never had time off and 70 hours was the minimum expectation. The work-life balance has always been the goal.
Now that we own our own business, we can choose when we take time off and when we work as well as structure our days to include time with family. There’s a huge learning curve when making the transition from working in restaurants to exclusively in random clients’ homes.
The size, layout, and equipment are always changing. As different levels of a video game, I’m always on my toes and haven’t stopped evolving and improving the way we do things. Even very subtle changes here and there over time make a huge difference.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I really enjoy making fresh pasta. It’s a very personal experience for me. Few things make me smile like the way fresh pasta feels, tastes and smells. I love to play around with different fusion ideas. The balancing of flavors for various Asian cuisines is a very fun process and very rewarding when executed well.
I think overall my style can be described as contemporary. The dish must be well presented. Everyone eats with their eyes first. It must smell good and be intriguing enough to want to take a bite. It must invite the diner to eat it in a way lol.
What sets me apart is the way I balance a four-course dinner. Even though I cook for new clients every week, I become very bored with preparing the same food. I always try to create new ideas and ways to balance textures, colors, and of course flavors.
The balance of providing a unique dining experience while not overstuffing the clients is a very rewarding feeling.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Say yes to every opportunity. There will always be a lesson to learn from the bad experiences, and you never know who you’re going to meet. Charge what you are worth and surround yourself with the people who you want to be like.
Pricing:
- $125 per person for four courses.
- $1,000 minimum.
Contact Info:
- Email: cheftchrisman@gmail.com
- Website: www.thetwistedtines.com (will be launching late summer!)
- Instagram: @the_twisted_tines
Image Credits
Emma Manning @emmamanningphoto
