Meet Caryl Chinn of Caryl Chinn Culinary Consulting

Today we’d like to introduce you to Caryl Chinn.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My first job in food was at the legendary Stars Restaurant in San Francisco. I lucked out by getting my start with chef Jeremiah Tower – I was his assistant and also did PR and events for the restaurant. He was incredibly well connected and revered in the industry, and really taught me the importance of relationships and the right way to do things. [If you’re not familiar with him, Anthony Bourdain produced a documentary about him called “The Last Magnificent” available now on Netflix or iTunes.]

After 3 years, I was ready for new challenges, so I moved to New York to manage special events for Bon Appetit magazine. The magazine and the job grew quite a bit and I wound up staying at the publication for 10 years. I did events across the country as well as France, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and more; everything from 3-day food and wine festivals to exclusive lunches for 10 in the Bon Appetit kitchen.

In 2005, I was approached by Karlitz & Company to join the agency and establish a Culinary Division. The group grew quickly, and we created some amazing events such as the Foxwoods Food & Wine Festival, the Legends Guest Chef Series at Yankee Stadium and more.

The biggest challenge was collaborating with Festival Founder Lee Schrager to create the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival – sister event to the wildly successful South Beach Festival. I produced the first 4 years – the Festival just celebrated its 10th anniversary and has raised over $10 million dollars to date to fight hunger!

After 16 years in New York City, I decided to move back to California, and I started my own company: Caryl Chinn Culinary Consulting!

Great, 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?
For years, event planning had the usual challenges – making the event perfect, keeping out gate crashers, watching for over-served guests, things like that. Then in 2001, the attacks on September 11th happened and everything changed. In the immediate aftermath, events had to be postponed or cancelled, and security became much more of an issue when planning things. But this coincided with the Dot-Com Bubble collapsing, so business was really tough. Eventually the economy improved and business rallied back and reached even higher highs, only to come crashing down again with the Financial Crisis of 2008. This one hit a lot closer to home since the failure of so many banks and financial institutions hit New York City harder than the rest of the country. Any company which had accepted government bailout funds (TARP) were restricted on how they spent money, so you had companies like Citibank or American Express who were always major sponsors of food festivals and events suddenly go into austerity mode.

But through both of these economic crises, I learned something interesting – food is somewhat recession proof. I found that in tough times, people stay home and cook more, so Food Network did well, and so did cookbook sales. I continued to work with clients like Barilla pasta and Godiva chocolate because people might not be buying new cars or homes, but they are going to eat. I’m sure there’s a lesson in there about how important food is, but I was just happy to keep the business going even in tough times.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Caryl Chinn Culinary Consulting – what should we know?
I produce special events with celebrity chefs. I kind of made up my career as I went along – I had no idea how big it would become when I started, but my success is due in large part to being in the right place at the right time. I started just as the Food Network launched and the public was beginning its fascination with chefs and food. I’ve definitely done my share of hard work, but I always say it was serendipitous.

I’ve been lucky to work with amazing clients since launching my company. My focus is pretty unique, so some find me through word of mouth or some have worked with me on previous events, so they reconnect. Sometimes people bring me on to produce an event they already have, or at least have a strong idea of what they want, and sometimes clients engage me to help figure out the best way to support their brand with a culinary event and we get to brainstorm new ideas. I worked with the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas when they first opened, and also helped produce a cooking demo for chef Roy Choi and actor / director Jon Favreau when they premiered their film ‘Chef’ at SXSW. When chef Giada De Laurentiis was tapped by InStyle Magazine and Warner Bros to be the chef for their Golden Globes party, she asked me to work on the event and be the liaison between her, the magazine and the hotel kitchen – it was fun to be a fly on the wall for that party! I also served as executive director for Los Angeles Food & Wine and the All-Star Chef Classic which were both a blast. There really never is a dull moment!

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think the best event producers have an innate hospitality – the desire to make people happy. It’s what drives you to care about the little details. In my job I take care of the chefs, so they are able to take care of the guests.

In Daniel Boulud’s book ‘The Fourth Star’, there’s a great passage about the concept of “soigne,” which is exactly what I’m talking about.

“‘Whether it’s other chefs or reservations managers or hosts or dishwashers or whatever, it’s all about how soigne you treat them. There’s a French word, it’s called soigner, and it’s what we do with our guests. Soigner means ‘to care for’ or ‘to take good care of something or someone’…. In restaurants, soigne is used to describe everything from the little pieces of paper the reservationists distribute to the dining room and kitchen requesting special treatment for people with birthdays, to the care a line cook takes in cutting a shallot into brunoise.”

Contact Info:

• Address: Los Angeles, CA
• Website: www.carylchinn.com
• Instagram: @carylchinn
• Facebook: facebook.com/carylchinn
• Twitter: @carylchinn

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