Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyle Krum.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve had a passion to cook since I was a boy at the age of 6. My earliest memory cooking was with my Papa. I’d pull up a step stool just to reach the stove top and we’d make spaghetti pomodoro with his “secret” ingredient. Ever since then, I wanted to chase a passion in the culinary field. That passion led me through 5 years of Culinary school and an apprenticeship with Colby & Megan Garrelts, at their restaurant Rye KC. Later moving on to their sister restaurant Bluestem, along with a few other notable restaurants around Kansas City over the years.
As a line cook in these local fine dining restaurants I learned an immense amount of skills and dedication, along with the lifestyle that came with it. I applied that dedication to everything I did from then on out. All while being a father, a mechanic and a handyman. I’ve made a lot of sacrifices to become the chef I am today, One of those was seeing how much time at home I was missing with my family.
My priorities changed after the pandemic. I put my handyman skills to work doing home repair and remodeling to get more time with my son before he started school. I then bought a house which needed some heavy repairs, again honing those handyman skills. After a couple years, I started really missing the culinary world. I had thoroughly enjoyed helping people out in their homes and seeing their reactions to my work. There was only one field I felt I could really shine in, and that was becoming a personal chef. I carried the personal chef career on for nearly three years before I decided to combine all my skills and start off on my own – That’s when Renaissance Chef KC was born! A year and a half strong now and I am so proud to be able to represent myself and incorporate all my interests into one business plan.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It all has had its own struggles. Between work/life balance, Reprioritizing work, finding new clients. advertising, insurance, putting myself first, learning when to say no, or just not being able to make enough money to stay afloat.
Finding the proper work/life balance has been amazing for my mental health, my relationships with family and friends and just flat out having a life.
Putting culinary arts back in as my main focus has been big help with my confidence and my creative side.
finding new clients has been a struggle because of my work being so niche. Also my schedule fills up quick with very few clients. The word of mouth advertising does my company wonders, but when I don’t have several clients speaking about my work, the word doesn’t spread as fast as you’d hope.
Insuring my company has been a bit of a hassle because of the mixed services I provide for my clients, but I realized insuring as a handyman service and adding on food service insurance has been the best plan for me.
I’m a yes man, or a people pleaser so finding the balance of work I’m capable of doing without a project taking me too long or just biting off more than I can chew has been a struggle. I do my best to be able to provide several types of help to my clients.
finding the right price to sell myself and my services at, has also been a struggle. My goal is to be able to be helpful in any type of household. rich or poor, busy or slow, single client or a large family. Bending to my clients needs is absolutely necessary skill, but not overcharging or judging clients by their cover is also a learned skill.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My main service is meal prep, cooking and catering. Doing everything from private multi course dinners, to take and bake meals for busy families.
I’ve noticed over the years of cooking in peoples homes, there’s an opportunity for me to provide my other skills to them from someone they know and trust. Someone who is in their homes on a regular basis and on most occasions turns into a family friend.
I absolutely specialized in cooking and providing tasty and personalized meals to my clients. My cooking style, I like to consider is, Midwest comfort, but elevated and thought out. I don’t limit myself to any specific cuisine and actually really enjoy venturing out and cooking all styles of food.
Now being as handy as I am, is only a benefit that comes after I get food on my clients table. A skill that sets me apart from anyone. An added set of skills that leaves me with nearly no one to compare to.
I am most proud of how I’ve never given up on my main career of Culinary arts, but still shaped it to be something that caters to all my skills and interests.
How do you think about luck?
As important as luck is, a talent can take you farther. And having a good attitude will keep you afloat and happy with clients/customers and vice versa.
I have yet to experience any notable cases of good luck. fortunately bad luck hasn’t been knocking on my door either.
Pricing:
- hourly cost of $60 for all meal prepping and handyman services
- freshly plated meals and dinner parties @$80 per hour
- major holiday rates do vary with hourly cost
Contact Info:
- Website: https://renaissancechefkc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renaissancechefkc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Renaissance-Chef-KC/61552902474598/#
- Other: https://g.co/kgs/eHA6fkW
