The Beginning

Since childhood, owner and head chef Caleb Hoag has been obsessed with cooking. In school, he could frequently be found nose deep in cookbooks, imagining the flavor combinations that the pictures portrayed. Growing up obese, he was certainly not a shy eater. Food was a passion, but health took a back seat.

By 10 years old, he weighed at least 200 lbs and wore pant sizes that were, quote, “husky”. Being the fat kid both in his school and home life gave him a surprisingly optimistic and cheerful outlook on life. He never let his body image negatively affect his confidence, but rather, he embraced it. Although this badge of honor was harmful for his physical health, it allowed him to be a much happier person.

As his life progressed and he became a three sport athlete for his school, Caleb was still considerably overweight. Both football and wrestling coaches even encouraged him to maintain his size in order to fill needed positions. By age 23, he had reached 280 lbs, eating pizza and wings on a daily basis and chugging soda after soda.

In 2012, he decided it was time to change. He set out to do a deep dive on health and nutrition, as this was the area in which he needed guidance. After all, physical activity was not his problem. At that time, he did not even own a car. Biking to work and school was part of his normal routine. After ordering a book on Amazon called “Bigger Leaner Stronger” and poring over its contents, he came to see that it was his eating habits that were the biggest influence on his size.

He set out to make small changes. First, he cut out the soda and all drinks that had calories. Easy peasy, right? No more fast food, no more chips, and no more snacks besides healthy ones. Then, he began planning out all of his meals, usually eating the same exact thing every day.

One year later, he found himself 120 lbs lighter. He was now 160 lbs for the first time since early childhood. Most importantly, over time, he had learned the skills to make a change to his lifestyle. He had not succumbed to the low-hanging fruit of fad diets, and he had not starved himself to see results.

An Idea Forms

Flash forward to 2016, and Caleb had become a new person yet again. He alternated between periods of time of putting on muscle and trimming back down, honing the body he wanted. Along the way, he learned new tricks in the kitchen to keep his taste buds happy and to avoid the stereotypical burn out. His goal became achieving sustainable nutrition rather than body transformation. He loosened up his more rigid dietary practices and learned how to enjoy certain foods in moderation.

His newfound outlook on dieting brought him to an idea: what if he could pass on this power to others? What if he could use his culinary prowess to benefit society as a whole? He decided to start Savage Chef to do just that. He wanted to create a fresh new meal service whose food would not be bland or boring. To him, meal prep did not have to be the dull chicken, rice, and broccoli meals to which people were accustomed. He set out to devise a menu of meals that he himself could eat day after day without complaint.

Thus, the business’s first meal, the Savage Mac and Cheese, was born! Over the course of two years in his own home kitchen, tinkering with recipes and techniques for a small list of clients, he grew Savage Chef from nothing into something. With only the little bit of cash in his bank account, he transformed his initial idea into what it is today: a business that serves over 2000 meals per week to its hundreds of clients. From 2016 to now, the Savage Chef Fam has become a force in the community. Discover what the Savage Chef difference is for yourself. Place an order with us, and we know you will not regret it.