Today we’d like to introduce you to Ted Kelly
Ted, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I moved to San Antonio while i was still in high school, when my father got stationed on Fort Sam Houston. I started taking dual credit classes at St. Phillips college and discovered their culinary program. I had always been interested in becoming a chef so I decided to go for it and I graduated in 2018.
While in school had opportunities to travel to other countries to expand my education. I visited countries like Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and even Paris for the Gastronomy festival held there. I also completed course work for other subjects I was interested in, such as taking classes in Organic Gardening and Farming.
After receiving my degree, I gained experience working at different places around our beautiful Alamo city, at restaurants from the River walk to the Rim, as well as private dining clubs including the Argyle and the Petroleum Club.
Then, the worldwide pandemic in 2020 changed everything. Restaurants shut down, and I found myself out of a job and unsure what steps to take next. I was very concerned about the empty grocery shelves, the disruptions to the supply lines, as well as wanting to prioritize my health. I had always been a proponent of using fresh and local ingredients, and had enjoyed gardening, but something clicked that year and I really started putting in work to figure out how i can grow as many of my own ingredients as possible.
I started out making meal preps for friends and my business has been growing organically since! Every week I feature fresh ingredients from my garden in a menu with an entree, salad, appetizer and dessert. Food arrives in compostable packaging with instructions for heating at home. I deliver to my customers on fridays, or you can find me at Sunset Ridge Farmers Market on Saturdays. Every Week is a new menu so there is always something fresh, exciting, and in season to try!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s been very challenging! Texas has a climate with a lot of extremes, Scorching summer, polar Vortex, drought, flood, and lots of pests. But there are lots of exotic fruits and vegetables that adapt very well here, and are extremely healthful things to eat.
That brings up another aspect of my business that can be a challenge: educating customers about foods they’ve never heard of. This can also be very rewarding as well!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Viridian ?
We are a Chef owned and operated business that specializes in creating meals with locally grown ingredients, many of which we grow ourselves. We are known for offering items made with rare and native Texas ingredients that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. We come up with a new menu featuring ingredients from our garden available for delivery every Friday or pick up on Saturdays at Sunset Ridge Farmers Market
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Don’t be afraid to get out there and try something new or out of your comfort zone. If you’re unsure what direction to go, charge toward whatever is the most exciting & difficult!
Pricing:
- Pricing varies from week to week
- Our portions are large & meant for sharing
- entrees usually range 20-30
- appetizers 8-16
- desserts 5-16
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Goviridiantx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viridian.sa/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ted.Viridian
