How I Became The Therapeutic Chef

Early years: where it all began — why did I care about healing through food?

My sister was diagnosed with type one diabetes at the age of 15. Although it didn’t have a direct correlation to diet and lifestyle, it ended up being the catalyst for me to kick my mom out of the kitchen and take my family’s health into my own hands at the age of 14. I started reading men’s health magazines (throwing them on the checkout belt at the grocery store) and being fascinated by the science and studies of how certain foods can have a positive impact on our health. I immediately stopped eating any fast food or drinking soda, and still haven’t to this day, two decades later. I felt like that was an easy starting point, even though I was only 14 years old.

I cooked as much as I could for my family and friends, and shared all the knowledge I was learning. I was blessed that my parents gave me full rein at the grocery store and would let me buy anything I wanted to cook — thank you mom and dad for that.

I continued religiously reading men’s health magazines and frequently visited their site, learning all I could about health and wellness. It hit me then, that food was the foundation for all the other aspects of health.

Culinary school

It was divine to have found the most fitting culinary school for my passion: healing with whole foods, following SOUL food (seasonal, organic, unrefined, local) as the base foundation. I learned so much and deepened my passion for the power of nutrition, clean living, mindfulness, and of course consuming nutrient-dense and delicious food! Really leaning deeper into a lifestyle of health and well-being through food — why we choose certain ingredients, why we choose certain preparation styles, how to get the most flavor out of every ingredient. I can clearly remember the pantry and fridge, stocked full of the most nutrient-dense foods, so fresh and fragrant you felt nourished just being in the room. It was an exceptional experience that set a clear path for my life’s work.

Working in Indonesia

Seeing so many new perspectives opened my eyes to a culture of truly healing foods, and changed my life forever as I wrote about in my Bali post. [LINK: read my blog about this chapter of my life]

Working with functional medicine practitioners

I personally saw a functional medicine practitioner just after graduating culinary school. Even though I was eating healthy and living a clean lifestyle, I was still experiencing some symptoms (gas, bloating, headaches, fatigue) from unknown causes. After getting some blood work and food allergy testing, I found a whole slew of adjustments that needed attention. I had sensitivities to gluten, dairy, corn, and tapioca, all causing inflammation. I also had a parasite, likely brought back from a trip to Indonesia, and extremely low hormone levels and a few other inflammatory markers that needed attention.

After doing a 21-day anti-inflammatory protocol and parasite cleanse, with some added supplements, I felt like I was reborn. No joke. I felt like a whole new human. Bloating and gas disappeared, I had the most mental clarity I’d ever experienced, sustained energy from morning to night, and the craziest rehabilitation was when my vision became crystal clear. Everything was brighter and more vivid. From that moment, I knew this was my life calling: to support, teach, and nourish through food as the foundation to achieve vitality, balance, and regulation.

I personally cheffed, supporting hundreds of clients through anti-inflammatory protocols, and people recovering from different autoimmune diagnoses and other health conditions that needed specific dietary needs and meal plans. Seeing so many people’s lives completely change, once they changed the foundation of their diet. I have learned that real healing starts with food, and everything else follows (nervous system, emotional health, clean lifestyle, environments, and spirituality) and beyond.

The most rewarding part of my work as a personal chef was watching my clients’ lives change, and the ripple effect it has on those around them. Not that it is an easy process for them, or even for me at first. Honestly it takes massive commitment and dedication — your WHY has to be very powerful. I want a life full of vitality, and for everyone else to have the same. I want to do all I can to be as healthy as possible for my family and kids, and the same for them.

Teaching others how to cook has, through my years working as a therapeutic chef, always been my strongest passion — to share the gift of teaching others how to cook. To be able to put healthy, delicious meals on the table for yourself and your family is foundational. I always offered my clients cooking classes, and 100% of the time they learned invaluable skills and techniques.

Bumbu Bali food truck

After a few trips to Indonesia, I really wanted to share the flavors and healing food with my community in Boulder, CO. I opened up the Bumbu Bali food truck in 2013 — 100% organic, local foods, Balinese style (ginger, turmeric, and galangal were my only non-local ingredients, as they’re a little tough to grow in Colorado). I served food at many events and festivals for a few years, and had quite a following of die-hard fans! [LINK: read the Bali blog post to hear more] I had to retire the truck, as it wasn’t in alignment for my own personal health to be working 7 days a week, some days working 20 hours — both supporting clients one-on-one and running the food truck business. It was extremely hard to let go of, but I had to put my health first.

Commissary kitchen & home-delivered meals for Medicaid / Medicare

While operating the food truck, I started planning and building out a commissary kitchen (a certified commercial kitchen, for mixed use). I had a vision of getting into the retail packaged food business, and had an organic green banana flour empanada product in mind. At the same time, I had such a hard time with how backwards the medical system was, with such poor quality food being served to those sick and in need of REAL whole foods that would support their recovery. I decided to become a home-delivered meals provider for Medicaid — think meals on wheels, but all organic and anti-inflammatory ingredients. This project took me more than 18 months just to get a certification and license through the state of Colorado. I figured once I was licensed, it would be fairly simple to get the business off the ground and nourishing food delivered to those heavily in need. I worked with Medicaid caseworkers and case managers who were extremely stoked about my new offering and thought it was really revolutionary and could make a massive positive impact. Same with all of the meetings I had with doctors and RDs at the hospitals. I continued working as hard as I could, and the walls continued to show up and really shined a light on how bureaucratic the healthcare system is. One door would open and two more would close — one day hopeful, the next depleted. If I’d found investors and been able to build out a team, I think this program would have been a massive success story. Unfortunately, I had to close this chapter of my career. I was still personal cheffing and working with functional medicine practitioners, and needed the energy and time to take care of my clients. The commissary kitchen was wonderful to have — space and the ability to expand my services to the audience I’d been working with over the years.

Life transitions and Covid

In 2019 my family and I decided to move to SW Colorado. We were pulled to move for the vastness, the beautiful mountains, seeing the milky way every night, and living a simpler life in the mountains. When we moved, I was traveling back and forth from Boulder, CO to our new home near Durango, Colorado weekly to cook for my clients, as I built up new relationships with doctors and nutritionists in our new stomping grounds. Then… Covid hit, one year after we moved. Clients stopped their services temporarily as everything was shut down, which inevitably forced me to sell our commissary kitchen and close my cheffing career in Boulder. I made some new relationships with doctors and nutritionists in SW Colorado and continued personal cheffing.

Local, health-focused catering company

Fast forward: in 2022, three years after my family and I moved to SW Colorado, we decided to make an entry into the wedding and event industry and opened up Global Kitchen eatery and catering company. The tapas bar was amazing; at the same time, I was much more passionate about catering. Having set numbers and menus and knowing exactly how much food I needed, it just fit much better into my life than working day in and day out running a brick-and-mortar food service business. We focused heavily on building out the catering, and have been serving up local ingredients to the masses at events and weddings over the years. Near 100% organic, local meat and veggies — really the most sustainable and healthy catering company we can possibly be.

The birth of The Therapeutic Chef

Since the beginning of my career working as a therapeutic chef, my true passion has been teaching and sharing the gift of how to be confident in the kitchen. Really, it predates working as a chef. I taught friends and family growing up, and was even told I should start my own TV show when I was 16 years old. Over the years, having an online cooking school was always buzzing in the background. One day, I just committed. Got the camera out, and filmed the course. Kitchen Essentials by Chef Jake came to life — a foundational cooking course to teach you all the basic skills and techniques you need to be confident in the kitchen. My dream and goal is for everyone to have the knowledge and ability to nourish themselves and their families. It’s the foundation that all other aspects of health and healing are built off of. This is only the beginning of The Therapeutic Chef — I can’t wait for you to be a part of the evolution and unfolding of all that I have to share and teach.

Thanks for being here, and for being a part of my story.

— Chef Jake