Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Artiss.
Caroline, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started cooking at a very young age, as young as I can remember. I grew up in a household in London where we didn’t have very much, and food was always an issue. I think this a big reason why I wanted to become a chef so much as I could be around food all day long. I started working in kitchens at 15 years old, washing dishes! I was then soon promoted to cold prep and then went on to culinary school to train be a professional chef.
I’ve had to face my fair share of challenges growing up, like being in a wheel chair and learning how to walk again after a terrible hit and run incident. I was a young single mom at 20 years old and have raised my daughter myself, she’s now 19! Plus losing both my parents was also very tough and big life changing moments for me. All these things taught me a lot of strength and determination.
I’ve now been working in the food industry for 25 years and I still love it. I was laid off from a chef job in London in 2008 and a friend told me I should put my recipes on this new thing called “Youtube” I thought rather than writing my recipes down, as I’m not a writer, it would be better to just show people what something should look like while making my recipes. I had a very old camera which I propped up on books and a lamp covered in baking paper as my equipment and I started posting cooking videos from my kitchen in London. (Youtube/carolineartiss) Little did I know back then that people would start tuning in from all over the world to learn how to cook from me.
After starting my Youtube cooking show it led me to being discovered by TV in the UK, Asia and BBC America’s Chef Race cooking show. I’ve travelled all over the world making cooking shows, worked with huge brands and finally ended up moving to Los Angeles in 2013 just with my daughter Bethany. I now have published 3 cook books, myself and three other female chefs have a restaurant at London Heathrow Airport, Terminal 2 The Queens Terminal, called The Gorgeous Kitchen and we were voted No. 1 airport restaurant in the world!
Currently I’m working on my most cherished food project, my gourmet fries and handmade sauces business in Santa Monica called The Great American Fries Co. I met my business partner while I was volunteering cooking at a homeless shelter in Santa Monica. I signed up my skills as a chef, and his company gave us the money for the food. After the event we all went and had a well deserved drink and he wanted to know what I was doing in America! I told him what I was working on, but that my dream would be to one day open a chain of good quality but affordable food places. He said he loves fries, I said so do I! Within the next few weeks I had drawn up a business plan. 2 years later and a lot of hard work we open for business right in front of the Santa Monica Pier sign on Ocean Ave.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Being a single mom in a foreign in country. When I first moved to America it was for my work. My daughter was just 13 at the time and she was luckily happy to come on the “adventure” with me. We didn’t know anyone out here, I just had some work contacts. She did me so proud though, within the first week of her starting her new middle school she had more friends than me! It was harder for me than I thought it would be to settle into a new country. It was like starting over all again, making and finding new friends. I had no credit and we came with two suitcases each. I soon found my feet and got stuck into work.
Starting a new business. The food business has the highest turn over of all industries, so for me hiring and firing was tough, plus I’ve had to learn some real LA lingo. We now have a small but amazing team of staff who are very dedicated and they are hard to find.
It’s been one of the hardest food projects I’ve had to work on due to the location and logistics involved but we have helped transform that corner by the pier into a family friendly spot to go grab some of the best quality fries and a fresh cooked meal on their way to the beach. I’m so grateful to my business partner for his belief in me and the support from Downtown Santa Monica.
Please tell us about The Great American Fries Co.
The Great American Fries Co specializes in gourmet fries and homemade sauces. We only use fresh potatoes and we twice cook them in a premium sunflower oil which is a heart healthy oil, zero trans fats, less saturated fats and is rich in vitamin E. We use only the best ingredients in our sauces and we make them ourselves. This is what set’s us apart from most fries you get served in America, as most of them are frozen and have a coating on them to make them crispy. Our fries are completely gluten free and vegan. We got famous for being voted one of the Best Fries in LA by @DoLA
We offer fries in a cone and dipping sauces on the side as a grab and go option while you are walking around Santa Monica Pier or to take to the beach. Or if you want a meal our Chili Cheese Fries, and Cheesy Bacon Fries are our best sellers. We slow cook our free range turkey chili with beans, pile it on top of fresh cooked fries with cheese and green onions and sour cream. We are always looking at new menu items and I like to get experimental with the sauces so we have a specials board.
As a company we are most proud of being able to offer our customers the best quality fresh fries and toppings at affordable prices.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I’d of started the new business with a bigger team to cope with the huge amount of work involved. Plus whatever you project it’s going to cost to open your new business, I’d say double it!
Pricing:
- Regular size Fries $5.25
- Large Fries $6.50
- Monster Fries $10.50 (a whopping 2.5lbs of potatoes!)
- Homemade sauces $1.50 each
- Chili Cheese Fries meal size $11
- Sweet sauces $2
Contact Info:
- Address: 1601 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, 90401. We are located on the corner in front of the Santa Monica Pier Sign, on Ocean and Colorado. The closest parking structure is on 2nd and Colorado and you get 90 minutes free.
- Website: www.greatamericanfries.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @greatamericanfries
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreatAmericanFries/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GAmericanFries
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-great-american-fries-santa-monica-2
- Other: https://www.google.com/maps/dir//great+american+fries+santa+monica/data=!4m6!4m5!1m1!4e2!1m2!1m1!1s0x80c2a51132027d9d:0x3c3f7e003b16141f?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiLqtCVzaTlAhXBIjQIHRO1BKYQ9RcwDHoECA4QEA
Image Credit:
Samantha Klose Photography, @occ_44
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