Meet Tony Keely | Private Chef

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tony Keely and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tony, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have spent the last 28 years working towards owning my own private chef business. I didn’t set out 28 years ago to once own my own private chef business, I just knew that hospitality is in my blood, and this is where I belong. I love the kitchen and meeting new people who love to eat good food! Some of my favorite experiences over that time have been building relationships and developing my skills to create personalized menus focused on the clients’ likes. During these last 28 years I have traveled and moved to cook in restaurants, owned my own restaurant, managed kitchens, worked in food retail and sales, and the last restaurant I served as Executive Chef and General Manager. I enjoyed managing people, but I wanted to focus on just cooking, and the time was right to open my own private chef business. The stress level and time commitment have changed, allowing me to be more creative and focus on a smaller task with more details. The thought process was to be able to give my clients a fine dining, multi-course meal in the convenience of their home and to find balance in my life to allow me to spend more time with my wife, family, and friends.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Sets me apart from others

It’s not just the food or the service but the whole experience sets me apart from other private chefs. From the first interaction when you call me to book a dinner and we begin planning a multi-course menu to the time I leave your house sparkling clean after cooking a dinner for you…it’s every step of the way that makes a great experience and that is what I focus on. I want to make sure that I meet the clients’ expectations and hopefully surpass them!

What am I proud of
I am proud

I am proud of the cooks that have worked for me and how they have grown. It is nice to see people grow and move on to follow their dreams and run their own kitchens. I enjoy sharing the knowledge!

How did I get here

There are four years of my working life that I wasn’t in some form of Hospitality and that was when I was in the Marine Corps. Though the Marine Corps isn’t considered the Hospitality industry, it gave me skills of organization, attention to detail, and respect for chain of command that allowed me to thrive in the Hospitality business. Most people don’t know that the modern-day hospitality industry was modeled after rank systems and brigades used in the military!

I had my first experience cooking professionally in 1999 when Joan Homarich, my General Manager at Keowee Key Country Club sent me to the Culinary Institute of America in New York for the summer to take some classes. That is when I knew my life was in the kitchen. I fell in love with the kitchen and pleasing customers. I worked in many restaurants where the chef took me under their wing and pushed me to be better. I spent some time in New Orleans at Commander’s Palace where I learned to move your ass and be organized, because if not you were demoted or asked to leave. I owned my own restaurant for a while. I spent some time as a food rep for a nationally known distributor, and I also ran the specialty department at Whole Foods where I was over cheese, charcuterie, coffee, beer and wine. I missed the restaurant business, so I went back to the restaurants and became ethe Executive Chef/GM. Two years ago I took a leap and opened my own Private Chef Business where I develop specialized menus for clients who are hosting 6 – 12 guests.

Was it easy? How did I overcome challenges?

The hospitality business isn’t an easy field to work in. There is a lot of sacrifice and time away from friends and family, hot environments, and long hours on your feet. If you love it, like I do, then it makes all those sacrifices a little bit easier. Also, when you start out, money can be an issue. Pay isn’t the greatest and the hours are long but the skills you learn and the experiences you gain during your beginning years will allow you to move up the ladder to better pay. It’s a lot of hard work, and becoming a sponge will allow you to absorb all the information you can to make you better.

Lessons I’ve learned?

Organization and push through even when the tickets seem to never stop. (If you have ever worked in a kitchen, you will understand that statement!)

What do you want the world to know?

Follow your passion even if it’s not in the hospitality business. Just do what you love and it will make your work life so much easier.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My wife and I live in downtown Greer, so when friends and family visit for a long weekend, we make sure to hit all our favorite spots within walking distance! Greer City Park, coffee and crepes at Barista Alley, shopping and champagne for the ladies at our friends’ store Sparkling Sisters, and dinner and the best espresso martini around (according to my wife) at L’Incanto Italian restaurant. We would spend Saturday catching the amazing views at Bald Rock and Caesar’s Head, and then land in downtown Greenville for an incredible upscale dinner at Scoundrel, one of Esquire’s Top 50 best new restaurants and our favorite spot. On Sunday afternoons, you can often find us drinking local brews on the patio at Southern Growl, where they serve elevated bar food and you’ll always run into somebody you know!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I am very fortunate to have great people who have helped me get where I am but there are two people that I couldn’t be where I am if I didn’t have them in my life. My wife, Amy Keely and Joan Homrich. Joan was my General Manager at Keowee Key Country Club, and in 1999 she saw something in me that I didn’t see yet. She sent me to the Culinary Institute of America in New York to take some classes for the summer. That changed my life and from that point on I knew my life was in the kitchen. My wife, Amy Keely is my biggest supporter, and I couldn’t do what I love if it wasn’t for her support. Our life together has been a lot of sacrifices from her to allow me to miss family and friend events because I was in the restaurant. If you are in the restaurant business you will need to have a strong partner, and my wife is that! She is the reason I started my own private chef business and why I am successful.

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