Personally prepared gourmet meals served up wherever needed—yes, please, thought Hunter Sympson. So much so, this Brentwood-based culinary enthusiast started his own on-the-go food business, The Mobile Chef, in 2012. Hunter says he can accommodate large or small groups.
"My crew and I can cook up any and all types of cuisine, from backyard crawfish boils to fine dining, six-course meals. Using new technology for Brazilian barbecue rotisserie, along with a 22-foot custom-built mobile kitchen, the options are endless," he says.
Hunter's passion for cooking began at a very young age, partially due to his father, who cooked some "not so common" meals, such as smoking a whole pig on a spit and rolling their own sushi for lunch.
“As a teenager, my dad took our family on many vacations around the world. He is a true foodie. From that experience, I gained great respect for multicultural cuisines, hence my love for different culinary aspects of food,” Hunter says.
After attending his first culinary school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he headed to Orlando, Florida, where he graduated from Le Cordon Bleu. He then acquired an apprenticeship at one of the largest Hilton hotels in the world, Waikoloa Village Hawaii, on the Big Island. From there, he moved to Sarasota, Florida, doing numerous high-end catering events as a chef for the upscale restaurant, Mattison's. He eventually returned to his Tennessee roots, advancing as a chef at the Hilton Hotel Downtown Nashville for six years before launching his own mobile food business.
“I lived in eight different states on my culinary adventures. But I was born and raised in Brentwood, and I brought a piece of all those state-associated flavors back to my hometown,” Hunter says.
Some of The Mobile Chef package offerings include Backyard Blast, Southern Pride, Divine Swine and Sinful Salmon.
Now, Hunter says no two weeks are like, as he moves from parties and company catering meals to community events and pop-up occasions, meeting more and more people for whom he can cook.
He says cooking on-site versus in a standard kitchen is different, because when at various locations he can send his sous chef to Whole Foods or a nearby grocery store to change the menu at any time as required.
Some of Hunter's favorite meals to prepare at home in his own kitchen are any foods that bring family and friends together, such as crawfish boils and backyard barbecues, to enjoy the company of loved ones.
Future plans within Hunter's business aspirations are to enhance all his customers' food experiences as he expands throughout the Nashville region.
What Hunter says his customers share about Mobile Chef meals is they appreciate that his crew's food is cooked on-site, compared to other caters.
"They like that our food goes straight from the grill to the plate, ensuring freshness," he adds.
"I create gourmet food that comes to you." –Hunter Sympson, entrepreneurial owner of The Mobile Chef and Brentwood native