Today we’d like to introduce you to Terence Rogers.
Hi Terence, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Terence Rogers is the Chef and Owner of Sullivan Scrap Kitchen and the TBD Foods family. Terence has over 13 years of experience working in a variety of kitchens. Terence has slung pizzas in Vermont, created sandwich masterpieces on food trucks in Boston and Denver, and cooked farm-to-table fine-dining meals in Boston, New York, and Denver under award-winning chefs.
Not always thinking food was in his career path, Terence attended Bridgewater State University in Boston, where he majored in economics. During a business class his senior year, Terence created his first business plan for a food truck. After graduating, Terence moved up to Vermont to be a ski bum. He stumbled upon a job in a local pizza shop and after a brief interview over a beer, he was thrown onto the pizza line and was forever hooked on the chaos, complexity, and creativity of working in a kitchen.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not really, but I don’t most people starting their own business, especially a food business has a smooth road. We opened a restaurant in spring of 2020, not the most ideal time. Since they the food business in general has been having a hard time from inflation, consumers lack of confidence in the economy and limiting their spending. We always try to adapt along the way but we have been living in very uncertain time for a while now and that does not bode well for small businesses
We’ve been impressed with TBD Foods, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
TBD Foods was started in 2014 with a passion for bringing good people together to share good food and a tax return. Our Chef and Owner, Terence Rogers, started hosting pop-up dinner parties out of his apartment in Somerville, MA with the hopes that it would one day turn into a food truck. To Terence’s delight, the dinners were very popular and people started to hire him to cook at events and private dinners. As TBD Foods began to excel in the personal chef and catering world, Terence decided to follow his clients’ needs and put the food truck on hold.
After serving hundreds of guests in the Boston area, TBD Foods and our owners moved to the Rockies in 2016 continuing with their dream. TBD Foods Personal Chef and Catering continues to provide guests in the Front Range with delicious local and sustainable meals for events ranging from an intimate tasting dinner for two up to a large 150 person weddings.
As Terence continued to cook fine-dining meals for his community in Denver, he started to think about creative ways to use the scraps (imperfect pieces or ingredients that often go uneaten) in other delicious food. In 2020, TBD Foods opened its first brick and mortar location in City Park West, Sullivan Scrap Kitchen, with a focus on creating a unique and delicious dining experience, while reducing food waste and promoting sustainability.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Denver is an energetic and young city, filled with passionate people who care about the city around them, nature and the world around them. This is very much in line with our values of sustainability. Plus the addition of the great farm land around the city and diverse ecosystems in the state make it a great place for chefs.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tbdfoods.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tbdfoods
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tbdfoods
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/tbd-foods
