Within a short span of six months, the most innovative culinary content company has emerged from relative obscurity, to being a powerhouse in the industry. Emerging Chefs has been a successful and most talked about company virtually overnight. We interviewed the three partners: Rick Turner, David Moss, and Michael DeAloia, to gain an insight as to how their company is taking the culinary world by a storm.

How do you define the concept of Emerging Chefs?

RT: Emerging Chefs is a unique concept that acts as both a virtual agency for culinary and event talent, in addition to being one of the city's premier event production and design firms. We offer unparalleled marketing and PR solutions, chic and unique venue transformations, and the ability to procure the city's top talent for your event.

DM: We are a culinary content company, with the signature events as the primary content right now but we have an opportunity to kind of surround the culinary community as an agency for everything from the up and coming chefs, up and coming restaurant culinary trends, and just how that impacts a region. We are focused on Cleveland right now, but how can we take it to other cities. The idea is we become a creative partner to, not only restaurants and chefs, but food companies like Great American Lamb, like how do you take this existing brand and help with everything from sales to web.  

MD: We have a number of media platforms that we now have in play, so obviously, the event is the key thing. We love doing these signature events. We record everything that we do on a video platform. Now we are going into radio, we are going into TV, with these monthly WKYC Emerging Chefs segment. We have got the ticketing system which is it's on social media platform. We have a social media platform that has got thousands of followers that we kinda dole out information to. And it's a culinary platform to plug in chefs, trends, and events.

How did you come up with this concept?

RT: The concept started as a conversation, and in this age of instantaneous communication, was a viable operation within hours.

MD: Years ago, I was asked by the City Club to do this series called "Emerging Cleveland". And every month it would change. The first one was Emerging Female Entrepreneurs, then Emerging Leaders, Emerging Fashion Designers, Emerging Architects. The last one we did was called Emerging Chefs, and it was packed. We had five chefs, they each had a station. And the City Club was initially against it because they did not want to upset their Executive Chef. So we actually did a surf-and-turf that I don't think was ever done at the City Club. We did a really beautiful filet and a salmon with this crust on top. One of our business partners, Rick Turner, was there and I mentioned to Rick, I think there's a business model here. With all these people there. I mean it was packed. The chefs were having a great time, we recorded all of it. So two weeks later, Rick and I met at the South Side and literally mapped out all these concepts of what we wanted to do. Then that Sunday I called David. When David said yes, it made everything click. Two weeks later, we were incorporated, 26 days after that, we had our first event.

Your concept has a very strong brand involvement, especially with the branding of your events. How important do you think this is in setting yourself apart?

RT: My partners and I are all strong brand advocates. We each bring a unique facet to the table and that is reflected in our brand. We've spent countless hours perfecting our brand, and have worked to make sure we have set ourselves ahead of the pack. Emerging Chefs has some long legs, and we've been completely blown away by the scope of our brand and the support it continues to receive.

DM: There's a really common thread in everything that we have done, and it's brand strategy. We branded every event to where it's portable. When I mean portable, it could end up in another city. We could have 20 Prohibition parties next fall. Might be a lot to manage, but if we have a principal in each one of those markets, they dial it up and we hit it out of the park. These things have a way of running themselves, once you get the chef, the venue, and the theme. So if we already have the theme, we already have the marketing collateral, or at least the vehicle, this time next year you can believe it, we will have more than one Prohibition party. You could see it being an exponential opportunity for us. As a content company, we brand each event, we trademark those brands. We have: Theatrical, Sacrilicious…names that don't come easy but we have that skill set. So if we looked back, we would have about 12 well-cooked brands that are portable.

MD: The whole thing that makes us tick, is the branding around what we are trying to do. David is key. We need these subdesigns and brands underneath that total brand.  Branding is so important to what we do. Even the menus are branded.

What kind of experience do you want people to get during one of your events?

RT: An experience like no other! I've spent the last fifteen years in the special events industry, and Emerging Chefs has given me an amazing opportunity to "play" with the ideas and products I've seen used in other markets. We have a tremendous talent pool here in Cleveland, and we've worked hard to bring these companies and individuals into the spotlight. The lighting, decor and rental products each event has showcased have really created a "wow" factor...that's exactly the reaction we want.

MD: I want them to have a wow factor first of all. The venue itself is interesting, when they walk into a venue, they are seeing something they have never seen before. Sacrilicious was very special for us, and this can be confirmed by the Cleveland Public Theater, they have never had a culinary event in that church ever. The Theatrical, the venue has never been used for a culinary event.


What sets your events apart from other culinary experiences in NEO?

RT: We are bringing so many aspects to each event - the food, the chefs, the music, the lighting, the decor....all the way down to the forks, knives and spoons...this is a huge undertaking and we do it with the end result in mind. You would be hard pressed to find anything of this caliber at this price point ANYWHERE in the country.

DM: Our tagline is: Big flavors, bold venues. We bring the spotlight to an underutilized venue. What we are able to do is remind people that no matter how down and out they may be, we will remind them of what they do have. But what may set us apart is evolving right now. We have the opportunity to become more salon. There's a chance that a year from now, it will just be invite only. I don't think we should ever be predictable.

MD: I think we are producing food that even Dinner in the Dark and Naked Sushi don't get to produce. Also a number of things: the menu, the venue, and the mix of music. That combination is not replicated by anybody. Our menu is a New York, it's a Paris, it's a Dubai menu. It really is. It is not a continental US menu. And when you see it produced, it's a feast for the eyes and for the palate. With Emerging Chefs, there's no box. You tell us what you wanna do.


Who do you consider the most prominent Emerging Chef and why?

RT:  That answer changes every hour, every minute. We have such an amazing local talent pool and the chefs are outdoing each other every day.

DM: Kimberly McCune is gonna do an event with us in August at a farm on Route 87.

MD: That's a tough one.


Why do you think there is such a huge foodie culture in Cleveland?

RT: We are an affordable, resilient city that thrives on challenges. We as diners challenge our chefs, and in turn, they challenge our sense of adventure.

MD: You need a lot of independent restaurants, great architecture, and you need a good after hours scene. That mix pulls in the chef, the venue, the right DJ---the right music. We are one of three pop-up concepts going on right now. You have Dinner in the Dark, Naked Sushi, and us. We have all had some form of success and we want all the others to succeed. Cleveland's got a sophisticated palate that I don't think gets credit and Cleveland's a lot more metropolitan and sophisticated than what the outside world, and even natural-born Clevelanders give it credit. It's those that are from out of town who sees it for the real beauty that it is. It's still metropolitan, its got that gritty feel to it, there's no doubt about it. It's got great architectural feel. Like New York, but less expensive, and that's why a lot of chefs are coming in to the city, because they can open a restaurant for a third or a quarter of the cost. I was driving by the stockyards in Cleveland and the Sachsenheim Hall, fantastic place. Could be the center of redevelopment in the stockyards. They serve gourmet food in the ghetto, and it's inexpensive. And it's really a fascinating melting pot. That captures the essence of what we are trying to achieve with Emerging Chefs--just a really cool melting pot, of venues that people have never gone to and seen. So they get to discover a bit of Cleveland  and the chefs are cooking something off the menu that they have never tasted.


How do you envision your company to be in 5-10 years?

RT: I absolutely believe that Emerging Chefs will be a national brand operating in at least ten other major markets in five years. We have grown so big, so fast, and it's been fun. We have the best partners - Event Source, Moss Media, US Foods, Rock the House - who have committed to our continued success through their support.

DM: We are going to be a brand development company, and the events are going to be one of those brands. The chef is a brand, the venue may already have a brand, and we are finding a way to sync those together into a seamless brand. One brand, one night.

MD: We're still very young, six months into it. The events are just the beginning of it. We are talking about events, representation, and production. Either we'll have a cable channel or we're producing content for a number of cable channels. And I really believe we can have our own cable channel where every signature event is it's own TV show, globally.

Fore more on Emerging Chefs, check out their website and don't miss their upcoming signature events: Mardi Gras en Mai and Sushi at Sunset.