From Executive Chef to Tech Entrepreneur: My Career Evolution

Last week, someone asked me the question I get at least once a month: "Why would you leave a successful chef career to start a tech company?"

Fair question. I mean, I had it pretty good. Executive chef at a high-end resort in the Cayman Islands. Great salary. Respect in the industry. My own kitchen where I could create whatever I wanted. What more could a chef want?

Here's the thing though – and I'm going to be brutally honest here – I was miserable.

The Turning Point

Picture this: It's 11:30 PM on a Friday night. I'm sitting in my office, manually counting inventory for the third time this week. My wife has texted me three times asking when I'm coming home. My kids are already asleep, and I've missed another family dinner.

After 21 years in the industry and 14 years as an Executive Chef, I realized something had to change. I was spending more time managing inventory and paperwork than actually cooking and creating amazing food experiences. The manual processes that had worked for years were now holding me back from what I loved most about being a chef.

"I became a chef because I love creating amazing food experiences. Instead, I was becoming a glorified data entry clerk."

The Food Waste Problem

But here's what really killed me: the food waste. Every single day, I watched perfectly good food get thrown away because there was no efficient way to connect it with people who needed it. We'd have 50 pounds of fresh vegetables that were going to expire tomorrow, and I had no idea how to get them to a local shelter or food bank.

I tried everything. Phone calls to charities. Posting on Facebook groups. Even driving around town myself to drop off food. But it was impossible to coordinate at scale. The system was broken, and I was tired of watching good food go to waste while people in my community went hungry.

The Lightbulb Moment

One night, after another 14-hour day, I was sitting in my car in the parking lot, too exhausted to drive home. I started thinking about all the problems I faced every day:

• Manual inventory tracking that took hours
• No way to efficiently redistribute surplus food
• Constant stress about falling behind
• Missing family time because of paperwork

And then it hit me: what if I could build an app that solved these problems? Not just for me, but for every restaurant, grocery store, and food business that was struggling with the same issues.

Learning to Code at 40

I'll be honest – the idea of learning to code at 40 was terrifying. I had zero technical background. The last time I'd done anything with computers was playing Solitaire on Windows 95.

But I was desperate. I started with YouTube tutorials. Then online courses. I spent every spare moment (and there weren't many) learning JavaScript, React, and mobile app development. My wife thought I'd lost my mind.

Six months later, I had a working prototype of ShareTable – an app that connects restaurants with surplus food to local charities and people in need. It wasn't pretty, but it worked.

The Leap of Faith

Quitting my job was the scariest thing I've ever done. I had a mortgage, two kids, and zero guarantee that this would work. But I couldn't keep living the way I was living.

The first year was brutal. I was working 18-hour days, learning as I went, and constantly questioning whether I'd made the biggest mistake of my life. But slowly, things started to click.

ShareTable started getting traction. Restaurants were using it. Food was being redistributed instead of wasted. People were getting fed. And I was finally solving the problems that had kept me up at night for years.

Why I'm Sharing This

I'm not writing this to convince anyone to quit their job and start a tech company. That would be insane advice. I'm writing this because I know there are other people out there who are drowning in manual work, watching their time disappear on tasks that could be automated, and feeling like there has to be a better way.

There is a better way. And you don't have to learn to code to find it. That's why I started XenoSoft Solutions – to help other businesses automate the processes that are eating up their time and keeping them from doing what they actually love.

If you're reading this and thinking "this sounds like my life," let's talk. I've been exactly where you are, and I know there's a way out.