Today we’d like to introduce you to Tim van Ee.
Hi Tim, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’ve always been passionate about good food and open fire cooking. Growing up in the Netherlands I loved rustic food, full of flavor and tradition. Heavily influenced by countries around us: France, Germany, Spain, Italy, but I was also drawn to exotic countries with bold cuisines like Thailand, India and Vietnam.
My passion for fire started at a young age. Whether I was camping with my family or spending time at the boy scouts – building fires and open fire cooking were my favorite activities. This is when I learned that flavors of food cooked on wood are hard to replicate on a stove and are different every time.
Fast forward: I started my professional career as a business consultant, traveling the country, but I always kept my dream of cooking on fire alive. Two years ago, with a ton of support from my wife, I made the jump from corporate life to entrepreneur full-time and started my own Cooking Studio: Flavors on Fire.
Alright, 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?
They told me I was crazy when I started a business during the pandemic, but it has been a blessing in disguise. You would normally enjoy and learn about food in person, but I had to pivot early on build out the concept of virtual cooking classes, before jumping in the deep end with in-person events.
After a couple of trial classes, I found out my clients really valued ingredients being shipped to their front door – something our competitors were not offering. Virtual classes became a success and Flavors on Fire hosted over 150 online classes in 2021, with ingredient kits shipped across the country.
Virtual classes have allowed me to keep my business running during lockdowns, test cooking class formats and save up for the brick and mortar cooking studio I am building now.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The Flavors on Fire cooking studio specializes in hands-on cooking classes, chef’s table dinners, parties, private events and kid’s cooking camps. We have a deep passion for boldly flavored food that’s cooked over an open fire, served with carefully picked wine and beer pairings. As our guest, you can expect upscale food in a relaxed and open atmosphere – we love to innovate and experiment with food and techniques!
What makes us unique? We are the ONLY cooking school in Texas that offers indoor open-fire cooking on two XL Big Green Eggs! Whether you want to get your hands dirty or rather get wine-and-dined by our chefs and staff, our 15-person chef’s table will give you an up-close view of the cooking action. Join our mailing list or follow us on social media for class schedules and special announcements.
The Flavors on Fire Cooking Studio is located right off of I10 in Katy, at 1806 Avenue D, Suite 102, Katy, TX 77493.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I grew up in the Netherlands as the oldest child of two. My extended family is huge however! All together there’s 60+ of us, and we all got together for every single birthday. I guess this is where I learned what hospitality is – how you host parties, cook good food and make sure people have a good time.
I did well in school and really enjoyed looking at problems scientifically. My dream was to become a consultant and solve hard business problems – which I did. And even though solving problems was challenging and fun, explaining how I solved them was even more satisfying. That has definitely translated to running a cooking school – it’s so cool to see my students improve on their cooking skills!
Contact Info:
- Email: info@flavorsonfirehouston.com
- Website: https://www.flavorsonfirehouston.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/flavorsonfirehouston
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flavorsonfirehouston
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0FlKwrO3Nf-2Ntij6JnHkg
Image Credits
Tim van Ee
