Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Katt.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve been cooking since I was about 14. I’ve worked in so many different types of restaurants over the years but found my passion at an Italian restaurant that used a ton of ingredients from local farms. It was there I saw my first purple heirloom tomato salad and my first vanilla bean being scraped into the ingredients to make creme brûlée. I was hooked and decided to enroll in Culinary School at the Secchia Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating I decided to move to Chicago to continue my education in Chicago’s restaurant scene. After spending a few years behind the stove, I decided I wanted to do something different – I wanted to orient my life in a different way which meant walking away from the restaurant scene. My passion for food wasn’t gone, just the restaurant lifestyle that came with it. I ended up helping out with a non-profit in Chicago called Common Threads and taught students in an after-school program all about healthy cooking. During that time, I was offered a personal chef job for someone who was recovering from cancer and wanted some food prepared according to the anti-inflammatory diet. I began to read about the diet and fell in love with that style of cooking. So simple and clean, all while using the best ingredients from quality sources. I learned how powerful food could be for the body and decided to continue to learn and grow. my knowledge of that style of cooking. My personal chef business began to grow and soon enough I was cooking for multiple families each week. At one point I could no longer take any other clients and I knew I needed to get my own licensed kitchen to be able to handle serving more people! Once I did this Kitchfix was born. I put a menu online, started taking orders, and there has been know looking back since.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has not been smooth, but I wouldn’t have it any other way! I’ve learned so much from mistakes and failures. In fact, it’s made our business so much better along the way. Learn from your failures is the cliché, right? A few of the mistakes we’ve made have ended up creating processes that are a major part of our operation now. Things like listing all of the ingredients on our meal, our transparency in sourcing program, hiring practices, etc. It’s impossible to think of every little thing and launch a perfect company from day one. Having a team that is able to adapt, pivot and change quickly without it impacting their pride has been a key to our success.
So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Kitchfix story. Tell us more about the business.
Kitchfix is an omni-channel healthy food brand. We started as and still are a meal-delivery company serving fully-prepared Whole30 and Paleo meals here in Chicago (check out Kitchfix.com to see our weekly rotating menu) and have expanded that into a thriving catering and CPG line. We sell our products direct to consumer, through retailers like Sprouts and Whole Foods, and to corporate offices located through Chicago. Each of our businesses have a little different product offering, but each of them was born in our healthy food philosophy which is to provide nutrient-dense foods with best-in-class ingredients from quality sources!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
You can’t ever count on good luck, but at some point, it does swing your way! I read once that you should live in a way that you’re prepared to take advantage of that good luck when it comes around and that’s what we’ve done. When an opportunity comes our way, we rally and put our best feet forward.
Pricing:
- Our meals available throughout Chicago via Kitchfix.com range from sides priced at $5.95 and up, to entrees starting at $12.95 – $18.95.
- Our Grain-free Paleo Granola is available on amazon and on our site for $9.99. Our waffles are available in Sprouts nation-wide for $6.49, and in Whole Foods Midwest for $5.99.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1165 N State Street Chicago IL 60610
- Website: www.kitchfix.com
- Phone: 3124020221
- Email: info@kitchfix.com
- Instagram: kitchfix
- Facebook: cjkfoods
- Twitter: kitchfix
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/kitchfix-chicago-3
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