Patrick Meyer and Jamie Shea: Today’s Notable Young Entrepreneurs

Today’s Notable Young Entrepreneurs are Patrick Meyer and Jamie Shea, whose meal-kit delivery service, Chef’s Plate, is a leader in Canada’s growing food e-commerce industry. We caught up with the duo to find out what inspired their idea, how much potential it has, and where they love to wine and dine in Toronto…

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WORK

1. Describe what you do in less than 140 characters. Go.
We are working to be Canada’s leading online food brand. We sell meal kits with fresh ingredients and step-by-step recipes to make home cooking more accessible.

2. What was the inspiration for your career route?
Patrick: My family has had a large impact in shaping my career. I grew up in a second generation family business, and I always knew I would start something myself. Chef’s Plate came from a need in my life to cook and eat healthier.

Jamie: The hassles of cooking fresh food at home ended up inspiring me to think about how to tackle this problem in an innovative way that would disrupt a traditional industry and change consumer behaviours.

3. What is the most memorable milestone in your career so far?
Patrick: For me, it was definitely seeing Chefsplate.com go live for the first time in November 2014 with our team of four people huddled around the kitchen table.

Jamie: The day we paid the first Chef’s Plate payroll. Having the ability to employ a team of all backgrounds and skillsets has been an incredibly rewarding, humbling and a memorable career milestone.

4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?
Patrick: I hope to see Chef’s Plate become a national household brand name. We believe there’s so much potential for food e-commerce in Canada. It has been a lot of fun working with our awesome team and I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity for years to come!

Jamie: I see myself continuing to build Chef’s Plate into the leading food e-commerce brand in Canada. I look forward to continuing to invest in the Canadian economy and spending more time helping community organizations.    

5. Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
Patrick: Quit your corporate job and build something. Just do it. You’ll figure it out. And do it sooner rather than later because ‘one day’ will never just arrive on your doorstep. I really like this quote from Steve Jobs:

“Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”

Jamie: You’ll achieve your greatest successes when you have the confidence to be yourself. Avoid playing the perceived role of who others want you to be in order to grow your career. When you focus on pleasing yourself and suggesting ideas that feel comfortable to you, that is when you’ll find your greatest success. 

6. Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is it (or they) important to you?
Chef’s Plate works with the Daily Bread Food Bank on an ongoing basis to support the local community. We also donate extra ingredients and products from our production centre to a variety of local food banks on a weekly basis.

We have also started to work with the YMCA to provide employment opportunities to at risk youth from the community. It’s important for us to give back and we’re passionate about providing equal opportunity to those who are committed to putting in the effort. 

7. What is one major challenge that you’ve had to overcome in your career? How did you overcome it?
Patrick: The toughest challenge was mustering up the confidence to go out on our own and start a new business. We knew there was a large opportunity, but the perceived comfort of a full-time, paying job is very tough to get past.

Jamie: I used to get nervous when working with senior executives – afraid I would say or do something that would limit my career. One of my bosses at the time gave me the advice to look past titles and treat everyone as a person regardless if they are your closest colleague or the CEO of the company. At the end of the day we are all humans and there is no need to be nervous or hold back because of someone’s title.   

8. What does the word notable mean to you?
Patrick: A group of like-minded, driven people looking to inspire one another.

Jamie: Challenging the status quo.

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PLAY

1. Where is your favourite place to wine/ dine in your city and why?
Patrick: Pai – Best Thai food in Toronto. After spending six months in Southeast Asia, it’s become a necessity to satisfy weekly cravings.

Jamie: La Carnita – family owned, food made from scratch, infectious atmosphere.

2. What’s the most visited website on your Internet browser? The most played song on your phone?
Patrick: Google Analytics – Chef’s Plate Real-Time.
“2 Heads” by Coleman Hell

Jamie: Chef’s Plate’s Live Order Tracker.
“Rather Be” by Clean Bandit 

3. Who’s one person you think everyone should be following on social media?
Patrick: Sam Altman, the president of startup incubator Y Combinator.

Jamie: Richard Branson   

4. What’s your favourite country to visit and why? And what’s the next one you plan on travelling to?

Patrick: Favourite: Burma – it was an incredible experience to see a country that has been truly sheltered from travelers until recently and boasts some of the most surreal temples in the world. Google “Bagan Pagodas” and you’ll understand.

Next: Colombia 

Jamie: Favourite: Australia – I love the combination of its beautiful landscapes; its people’s zest for adventure and the ability to surf in the morning before heading to the office.

Next: Brazil

5. What gives you the greatest FOMO?
Patrick: Not spending time with friends, family and loved ones.

Jamie: Missing family gatherings!

6. What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
Patrick: Late night Pizzaiolo and Taylor Swift (question #2 answer may not be 100% accurate).

Jamie: Cool Ranch Doritos.

7.  What’s something you wish you didn’t spend so much money on? What’s something you wish you spent more on?

Patrick: Too much: Eating out – hence the motivation behind Chef’s Plate.
Spend more: Traveling and experiencing as many new places in the world as possible. 

Jamie: Too Much: My first car. Right out of university I bought a brand new car with all the features you could get.

Spend more: My personal technology devices. I will always go for the device with most memory, no matter the price. Deleting emails and pictures to make more room for new ones isn’t fun; I’ve learned the hard way.

8. And finally, what does success look like to you? Work, play, or otherwise…
Patrick: I believe success is being able to work and experience things that you’re passionate about every day.

Jamie: Success is having the freedom to chase your most exciting ideas!

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