Chef Tamra “Tam” Patterson Of Chef Tam’s Underground Café On 5 Things You Need To Create a Successful Food or Beverage Brand
An Interview With Martita Mestey
Passion. You need to have a passion for your product and industry. You’re nothing without passion. I love food, I love creating food, I love being creative and coming up with new ways to create or serve a recipe. If you’re not passionate, there’s a greater chance of not being successful.
As a part of our series called “5 Things You Need To Create a Successful Food or Beverage Brand,” I had the pleasure of interviewing Chef Tamra Patterson.
Chef Tamra Patterson, better known as Chef Tam, is the owner of Chef Tam’s Underground Café in Memphis, Tennessee, and Chef Tam’s Express in Arlington, Texas. Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Chef Tam comes from a long line of chefs, bakers and restaurant owners. Beginning in 2018, Chef Tam has made several appearances on Food Network, appearing on Ultimate Summer Cook-Off, winning Guy’s Grocery Games and being crowned a Chopped Champion. Chef Tam has built a strong clientele of regulars that include Grammy award winners, actors, producers, NBA champions, NFL players, comedians, dignitaries and more.
In addition to Chef Tam’s wildly successful restaurants and cooking competition participation, she has also launched her own cast-iron cookware, hot sauces, spices, and cooking and kitchenware accessories. You can follow Chef Tam’s incredible journey, viewing her restaurants menus, shopping her cookware and more by visiting www.thecheftam.com/home, and following her on Facebook.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?
I come from a long line of cooks, bakers and restaurant owners. My grandfather owned a BBQ restaurant, my father owned a homestyle restaurant, and my paternal grandmother, who I affectionally call Nanna, was a professional baker. As my father was a caterer and chef (his mother, my grandmother was the baker), I didn’t necessarily want to cook, I just wanted to eat all of the delicious food!
However, I gave into my destiny, and started to cut my teeth by polishing chaffing dishes and holding them — securing them — so they wouldn’t rock in the back of our catering van. As I started exploring cooking and baking on my own, I found my own love of creating food, by making mud pies and baking in my Easy Bake Oven.
Can you share with us the story of the “ah ha” moment that led to the creation of the food or beverage brand you are leading?
My ‘ah-ha’ moment came to me in series of dreams (truly!). The dreams were of various recipes, and they kept reoccurring every night as I’d close my eyes to sleep. One morning, I woke up and decided to make one of the recipes that came to me in my dreams. From that moment on, I walked away from my former life as an international hair instructor at a beauty salon, and I’ve been serving the best food, the best way I know how, ever since.
Little did I know that those literal dreams would lead me to creating an authentic cuisine that’s all my own — Cajun Soul Food, as well as three Food Network competitions, and now, my own cookware line, and collection of sauces and spices.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When you’re first starting a business on your own, there’s a great need to feel like you have to do everything yourself — ordering, cooking, delivering, and everything in between. And there’s one mistake I made very early in my culinary career that always grounds me whenever I feel like I have to do everything myself.
I had a catering order that I had prepared, delivered and ready to set-up for an event. I arrived, full of pride and with plenty of delicious food, only to be told that the event was the next day! It wasn’t my best moment. However, I take away a lesson from everything that comes my way — good or bad — and the lesson that day was, I cannot grow without a team.
Now I have an amazing team that works alongside me each day, and my business continues to prosper. It’s true what they say, you’re nothing without the people you surround yourself with and work alongside.
What are the most common mistakes you have seen people make when they start a food or beverage line? What can be done to avoid those errors?
I’m often asked this question, and I have the same response every time — hesitation will hold you back! I’ve seen hesitation from brilliant people who have amazing ideas and know how to implement them, but nine times out of ten, I see them struggle to launch due to hesitation.
Just because someone else is doing something similar, or you don’t have all of the answers at your fingertips, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. If you continue to inflict self-doubt or hesitate, you’re setting yourself up for failure before you even try. You need to shift your mindset, and then you try; then try again, and again.
Let’s imagine that someone reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to produce. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?
First, write down anything you have an idea for. I’m sure many other entrepreneurs have said what I’m about to say, but always have a notebook and pen or pencil within reach, because you never know when an idea will come to you — walking down the street, middle of the night, in the kitchen — always have a vessel to write down your ideas and business thoughts. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve revisited a notebook or notepad days, weeks and months later to review thoughts and ideas I’ve had to garner inspiration from or build upon.
Secondly, I’d say research. Always stay curious and continue to research as much as possible about the industry, competitors, materials — everything! You need to be an expert when you walk into a room to try and sell your product, so you need to be as well rounded as possible and speak not only to your own product, but also be able to clearly communicate what sets your product apart from the rest; and you may have to answer questions about your competition, and you don’t want to stand there without anything to say.
Thirdly, create and then perfect. There’s a famous saying that expresses something like, “Your first three ideas have already been done, and your fourth idea is where magic happens.” Always continue to create something new and perfect what you already have. You’re as good as your last product, so your next product needs to be better. Never settle for one version of your product; push yourself to see where it can lead you.
Fourth, find the market for your products. This goes back to researching, but you need to really dig and ask yourself where does your product fit in the marketplace? Make sure you find the right market for your products.
Lastly, don’t be afraid of hard work, and opening your mouth everywhere you go and telling everyone about who you are and what you have to offer. You never know who is in the same room as you, and if you continue to tell your story and vision every chance you get, you will breakthrough the noise and find a place for your product.
Many people have good ideas all the time. But some people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. How would you encourage someone to overcome this hurdle?
Simply put, fear is not your friend, and your friends are not your customers. This mindset can be a major obstacle for entrepreneurs and product developers at the onset of their business.
As I mentioned above, hesitation and fear set you back (and can sometimes set you back by years!), so you need to change your mindset from “should I do this,” to “I am doing this.”
Additionally, your friends are not your customers. Friends and family often want to support you by giving you unsolicited advice and perhaps planting seeds of doubt in your vision. Your vision is your baby, and you need to nurture it to grow. Keep your ideas as close to yourself as possible, because eventually, your friends and family will get to support you by purchasing your product or service, and that’s when their support is most valuable.
I also recommend finding someone you can pattern yourself after, and go for it! If someone you admire presents themselves or a product in a way that speaks to you, try to mimic their approach with your authentic voice. Learn from others as much as you can.
Lastly, frustration and doubt are inevitable hurdles all entrepreneurs face. I tell everyone, pause and embrace the struggle, doubt and frustration. Acknowledge it and work through it, but never, ever quit. Pause, walk away for a short time if you need to, but never quit.
There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?
I don’t feel I’m in a position to tell someone to hire a consultant or not, primarily because I’ve never had the experience of working with a consultant. If consulting with someone is of interest to you, certainly explore it. There’s nothing wrong with exploration.
Personally, I created my products. I sketched out my cookware, I blended my spices and hot sauces, and I started a lemonade line by squeezing lemons. The hands-on approach is what works for me — I need to literally get my hands dirty to achieve the result I want. So, if you’re reading this and you like to be a part of the process, really work with your hands and challenge your mind, then go for it! But there’s nothing wrong with going the consulting route; just stay true to your vision.
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
This is another route I never explored when building my brand. If it feels right, explore the venture capital route.
However, I bootstrapped. And what I can is, money should *never* be a deterrent. It’s similar to the self-doubt mindset, money, or lack of money, shouldn’t stop you from moving forward. I say this, as I literally went and looked at restaurant space with no money. However, I knew it was my time to step out and “do,” and I couldn’t be stopped.
Can you share thoughts from your experience about how to file a patent, how to source good raw ingredients, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer or distributor?
Everyone’s process is different when securing a patent or sourcing. First, I’d say you need to do your due diligence and ask every question; don’t hold back. Secondly, don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. Ask for it, and then negotiate; never undersell yourself.
When sourcing, I recommend seeking out boutique-type stores, as well as purchasing from larger companies that can stock your product. Experiment a bit — sometimes the answer to your sourcing comes from a local place, but other times sourcing comes from a large supplier that can consistently stock or provide the items you need to sell your product.
Here is the main question of our discussion. What are your “5 Things You Need To Create a Successful Food or Beverage Brand” and why?
1). Creativity. Take something old and mix it with an entirely different culture or generation and adapt it to meet your audience. For example, there’s a dish on my menu called “Peach Cobbler Nachos.” I took a classic recipe that’s been a staple for generations and served it in an entirely new way — I made a classic fork-and-knife dish and transformed it into finger food!
2). Tenacity. No matter what happens, you cannot give up. A while back, we were slandered online for a few weeks because someone received what they described as “hard” yams, and “too much” cheese in the mac and cheese. I was mortified and wanted to ball up, but I refused to give up. I took the feedback as it came, acknowledged it and moved on. In these moments, I always remind myself why I started the business.
3). Passion. You need to have a passion for your product and industry. You’re nothing without passion. I love food, I love creating food, I love being creative and coming up with new ways to create or serve a recipe. If you’re not passionate, there’s a greater chance of not being successful.
4). Greatness. Never stop making sure the product you’re putting out is perfect. This goes back to a previous point I made; that you need to get your hands dirty and continuously perfect what you’re putting forth. Perfect, re-perfect, and perfect again.
5). Support. Like I mentioned in my “embarrassing” moment story above, you’re nothing without your team and the people you surround yourself with. You can build something on your own, but I guarantee you can’t grow without a team and adequate support.
Can you share your ideas about how to create a product that people really love and are ‘crazy about’?
As I noted a previous question, do your research, fill a need, place your product in the right markets, and continue perfecting your product. It’s not necessarily an idea, but rather a philosophy — never stop working, never stop creating, never stop perfecting. If you’re going to make it, you need to constantly be working and pushing to get your product seen and seen by the right eyes.
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
As much as humanly possible, we give back. We feed our homeless brothers and sisters. We look out for kids in our communities and feed our teachers. We also host events and provide anything our city needs from us, and we offer it freely. I give back as much as I can, and I encourage others to do the same, because you’re never too busy to help someone or give back to your community when it’s in need.
You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
You never know what your idea can trigger and lead to. As far as pushing a movement, I would say giving back to the community would provide the most impact. For example, we are about to host a shoe giveaway event and giveaway 200+ pairs of shoes for those in need in our community. Always find time to help and give back, you’ll be a better person for it and your name will be associated with the good you put out in the world.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Chef Tamra “Tam” Patterson Of Chef Tam’s Underground Café On 5 Things You Need To Create a… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.