The Big Leap

Probably 4-5 times in our life, we come to a crossroad. It can be a myriad of things - going to university across the country, deciding which career we want to pursue, getting married, having children. Much of who we are, and what we accomplish are defined and shaped by these life changing events. For me, the decision to own my own business a little later in life, is one of those watershed moments.

Your chosen career - where you work and what you do - often becomes routine - and with that routine comes a safety net to guide you along. That safety net literally holds in you place - both a comfort for grounding, as well as a limitation of what you can do. The routine that never changes for years and years works exceptionally well for some - perhaps based on one's genetic makeup, or decisions that were made at a previous crossroad. Other's revel in the chaos of the moment, unsure of what is going to happen next living in the unstable thrill of moving from one career to another. I think that most of us fall in the middle. You continually try to improve what you do and how you do it in measured and calculated steps.

In one of my calculated steps about 8-9 years ago, I took the position of Director, Food & Beverage at the Windsor Hilton, and got to hire Jeff White as the Executive Chef from Casino Windsor. We worked together for almost two years before we went our seperate ways - but we still kept in touch. He was getting tired of the grind of the hospitality industry, and told me about his crazy idea to put cooked food in a bag and sell it to people. I nodded my head and said (as good friends do) "hey that's really interesting!". But all the credit in the world to Jeff as he stuck with it and developed his concept (pardon the pun), literally starting from scratch. Now he's been in business for almost 5 years with month over month and year over year success in the difficult economic environment of Windsor...selling a concept that appeals to virtually everyone. Of course, you can't sell a concept without the product to stand behind it, and that's the beauty of Just Jeff's Gourmet Express.

Most of my entire working life, I've spent in the hospitality business (over 20 now), lots of long hours, weekends, and holidays. I've been married for almost 10 years with two children - I was getting tired of missing everything they did, and forcing my wife to be a virtual single mom for most of the time. So over the last year or so, I began talking a lot more with Jeff about his crazy idea, and how we could work together to build a great business. Coming to the decision to open the 2nd franchise of Just Jeff's wasn't easy - I was leaving a good job as Director of Food & Beverage at Taboo Resort, but with my wife's support, we realized that this was our crossroad to do something different in this stage of our life.

So finally, in the middle of April, I left my job at Taboo and have been working earnestly towards a second "Just Jeff's" in Barrie. It was time to make the big leap to see what we can really do with Jeff's crazy idea!

How Just Jeff's was born.

In 1996 I came up with this crazy idea. I was the Executive Chef at Hilton Windsor and was tired of having to purchase prepared products to save on labour costs. Most of these products were delivered raw and vacuum sealed….I thought, why not take it to the next level?... Cooked and complete….no I’m not a genius…green giant has boil in a bag cream corn and sous vide cooking was well on it’s way….. I just thought, what a great way to have a restaurant quality meal in your own home, without all the hassle? After two years of testing (thanks to my wife and her co-workers) the menu was created. They were all guinea pigs to my concept. They gave me both positive and negative points to what I have done….after further research and drive, I credit my wife to pushing me over the cliff with this concept. In 2002 Just Jeff’s was born. It was a hard sell early on, who would spend 7 to 12 bucks on food in a bag?....but once they tried it, they were hooked. Once they realized and appreciated the quality of the food and the lack of work and time on their part…. they saw the convenience, and how it could help them get more time to spend with their families, and doing whatever they wanted to do. If you were to prepare your own meal in comparison, factor in the following:

All the prep work (cutting/cleaning/spicing all the raw food), cooking time, cleaning and not to mention if you bought the ingredients…how much would you throw out at the end of the week?....imagine all that extra time with your family, or doing the things you want to do day to day. Sure you could save a few bucks buying burgers and fries….but for only a few more bucks you could have salmon, rice pilaf and fresh vegetables…and it’s all fresh…no preservatives.

In closing…I’m a dad with a beautiful wife and two young children….as a working chef in a hotel, I was putting in 60 plus hours a week leaving little time for my family (as I’m sure you can all appreciate)….I came up with a concept that would free up my time and better yet, your time…..it’s a win win for everyone. It’s time now to stop feeling guilty about feeding your family fast food.

Just Jeff’s - Fabulous Fresh Food Fast!

New Location in Barrie

We are excited to announce that our newest location, in Barrie Ontario, will be opening this summer!