Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Andersson.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I moved to Austin in 2007 to attend UT to pursue a degree in chemical engineering. I graduated in 2011 and moved briefly to Houston, but having met my now husband shortly after graduation moved back to Austin. I worked as an industrial appraiser for 2.5 years and though the job was unfulfilling, it gave me the time and means with which I could pursue my true passion, food. I built a massive chicken coop and a huge kitchen garden in my backyard and began spending all of my spare time researching and learning as much as I could about cooking.
One morning, out of the blue, I tell my husband (fiancé at the time) that I wanted to attend culinary school. He has always a been so supportive and says that he thinks I should. So in the span of one month, I leave my engineering job, eloped to New York (it still wasn’t legal in Texas), and began my culinary journey at Le Cordon Bleu in Austin. It was one of the most amazing times of my life; I absolutely loved culinary school. I became the captain of the competition team, which is where I met the amazing Megan Smith, a person whose love of food matched my own. Working at the late great Fabi + Rosi while in school, I transition to opening the South Congress Hotel’s Cafe No Se as my first real cooking job out of culinary school. From there, I was able to work my way quickly up the ranks and because of a fortunate Leap Day chance, I found myself working under Yoshi Okai to help open another restaurant, Otoko. Working at such an exclusive restaurant was a dream.
The quality of the ingredients, the attention to detail, the intimate setting and interaction with guests was an amazing place to learn and hone many of the skills that I now depend on every day. It was at Otoko that I also met Whitney Hazelmyer, cocktail guru extraordinaire. We quickly developed a tight bond. Wanting to take the high-end dining out of the restaurant and straight to people’s homes, I came together with Whitney and Megan and formed the foundation of Let’s Eat Austin, the original business, Edamus (Latin for Let’s Eat). While trying to gain traction for in-home dining experiences, I began teaching cooking classes at Sur La Table and realized that I love passing on the cooking knowledge that I gained as much as I had loved learning it during my time in school. To demystify things like pasta making and showing people that they can make something so delicious for themselves is extremely gratifying. I was then able to pivot the culinary experiences into classes taught from my home in the Windsor Park neighborhood of Austin. It was amazing to bring people in and take them to the garden that is now a backyard oasis to harvest fruits and vegetables and herbs, along with fresh eggs from the chicken coop to take inside and turn into a meal for themselves. I slowly turned the home that I lived in into a venue for intimate culinary education experiences.
During the pandemic, Megan and Whitney, both still in the service and hospitality industries, left their respective jobs, freeing them to concentrate on growing our new business. We rebranded ourselves Let’s Eat Austin and using our combined industry knowledge, offer a wide array of culinary experiences, particularly classes ranging from sushi and pad Thai to pasta and paella, brunch to cocktails. It is a great experience for many different group events but also a wonderful option for date night. I love interacting with all of my guests and people are so interested in cooking in recent years that it is fun to see people excited about cooking. I also love to see how the cooking experience brings people together, whether friends or complete strangers; there is something about making a meal and eating together that really brings people closer.
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?
Obviously, COVID was a huge struggle, as it was for everyone. Just prior to the pandemic, the business had grown so much that living in the house that is the venue was unreasonable, so we moved out and decided that it would be only a venue space. Two weeks later, everything shut down and the classes completely disappeared. I was just able to maintain through the worst of the shutdown until business has, fortunately, began to return.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Using my precision developed during the time I spent studying Chemical Engineering, I love to work on recipe development. I have worked with multiple food businesses around Austin to help create menus and recipes, as well as all of the recipes that I teach in my classes.
In teaching classes, I have to not only be concentrating on cooking and making sure that a delicious meal comes out at the end, which requires precision and timing, I also have to act as the entertainment, explaining and fielding questions and making it a fun and enjoyable experience for guests. So there is a lot going on and the ability to multitask is essential.
Contact Info:
- Email: Edamus@letseataustin.com
- Website: Letseataustin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letseataustin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letseataustin/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUuGMVh41pht2_Xv-zUNBjA
