October 14, 2019

Meet Eric Chiappetta of Chef or Death in Lakewood

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Chiappetta.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Eric. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was actually writing a cookbook to keep myself busy and engaged in something productive. It was borne out of a writing assignment that my therapist suggested. I started seeing her because I suffer from depression and anxiety. I originally thought that my feelings were a product of my 30 years as a chef. It was such a high stress environment that I just went with it as part of the deal. I sought her out because I was at the end of my rope. Suicidal thoughts consumed me all the time. I had no answers. I was tired of me, so I assumed that the world was also ready for me to go. She gave me something to do, and I started writing – a lot. The cookbook turned into a cookbook with social commentary, that turned into just a blog about how I was feeling about everything – music, food, wine, sports, etc…
She was a big podcast fan and suggested that I look into the medium. I had never once listened to a podcast and didn’t understand what the hype was all about. To this day, I’ve only listened to a handful. As chefs, we tend to ‘borrow’ from other’s ideas and I didn’t want to ‘accidently’ adopt an idea that wasn’t mine. Truth is, my idols were David Letterman and Johnny Carson – not Julia Child and Thomas Keller. I’ve wanted a talk show since I was a kid – So I made one.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s funny what the universe does when you’re doing what you are ‘meant’ to do. As soon as I started, literally every door imaginable opened for me. A friend from 15 years ago asked if I was interested in a show – he had no clue that I was working on something. Just out of thin air did he reach out. It was crazy. Then, I asked a some friends if they’d be interested in coming on – and they agreed. Back then we filmed the show, so I asked some folks that had camera experience and it was a success. I got press almost immediately – I was somewhat known in that arena from when I was an active chef, so that helped. I also promoted the show pretty heavily on social media and that moved the needle quickly.
I wouldn’t say it’s been easy at all. Exposure was easy because I tried hard to get well-known guests on, and they helped spread the word. But two things that make this successful are: Staying relevant and being authentic. No one cares about you if you’re not being yourself. People can tell if you’re trying to ‘sell’ them something, or if you have an agenda. I just tell their stories and people listen.
I do my show in a professional studio, so I have to pay for recording time. Financing that has always been the hard part, but I solicit sponsors and they carry the water. I operate just like a magazine or newspaper – Sponsorship is the only money I receive. There are other models that are more ‘pay-to-play’ that receive funds from their guests. I won’t do that. Ever. It’s important to me that these are real stories that my listeners can learn from. Profiling a restaurant or product that paid me to be on isn’t authentic. Authentic stories from industry folk is my show.

Chef or Death – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Chef or Death is a name that I came up with to illustrate my commitment to the craft. It’s this, or that – like Liberty or Death. It’s a lifestyle. I tell stories about the people that do this out of love. Incredible smart, passionate icons that are both humble and committed to making the world a better place through true hospitality. It’s funny, deep, dark, and always authentic. I’m most proud of my show for two reasons: We resonate with, and impact our listeners in every show. People care about what’s being said and they identify with people from all areas of our industry. The community is stronger because of what we’re doing. and secondly, We’ve never deviated from the mission – Just Do Good. I’ll never sell-out to something that isn’t in line with that ethos.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
We deal with every aspect of the industry – including mental health and addiction.

Opening my email and finding that we’ve gotten someone to take a step to better their life is the only thing that matters to me.

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