Hi. I’m Jeff and I’m a recovering foodie.
Jeff Campbell spent 2+ decades as a leader for Whole Foods Market in Texas, but also such food meccas as San Francisco and Atlanta. Whether it’s exploring the BBQ joints in Lockhart or dining at a Tom Colicchio restaurant in NYC, he’s done it all, and hasn’t yet met a cuisine or a kitchen he can’t find something to rave about!
He has a passion for cooking & eating food, and he also loves kitchen gadgets.
He’s the father to 3 amazing daughters. They live in the hill country outside of Austin, TX.
My career with natural foods, cooking, and Whole Foods Market
My career with Whole Foods Market, which started my journey of loving, eating, selling, and cooking fresh, delicious all-natural foods started rather humbly in 1988 when I first joined Whole Foods Market as a team member.
You can find one of my recipes in the first official Whole Foods Market Cookbook, albeit they changed my recipe a little!
My career with them took me from Texas to San Francisco, Walnut Creek, back to Texas, and then Atlanta, and Columbia, South Carolina.
I spent the majority of my time with the company as a General Manager, what they call a Store Team Leader.
Career with Whole Foods Market
I worked my way up at Whole Foods, starting in 1988 at the original location of the company which was at 10th and Lamar blvd in Austin, Texas.
Throughout my 20+ year career with Whole Foods, I went from an entry-level clerk to positions in graphic design, to shift managing before finding a home as a Grocery Manager for several years.
Eventually, I moved into store leadership in 1999 and as either an Assistant General Manager or General Manager (what Whole Foods calls a Store Team Leader or Associate Store Team Leader), I worked in 8 different stores in 4 different states over 14 years.
Where I really cut my teeth as a foodie was in moving to San Francisco in 1996 to open the 1st Whole Foods store at California and Franklin streets.
San Francisco in the late 1990s was a haven for everything great when it came to food. Amazing food was all around and easily accessible, whether it was Alice Water’s Berkeley staple Chez Panisse, or some of the treasured restaurants in San Francisco proper like Boulevard, Jardinière, or Bix.
I experienced it all; learning and tasting as I went.
As a Grocery Manager, I went to dozens of food trade shows and conventions from coast to coast.
I worked with food purveyors, chef’s and celebrities like Rick Bayless, and I was the 1st store outside of his native Chicago to carry the Frontera salsa line which is now commonplace on grocery shelves across the country.
In that capacity, I also had the privilege of dining at the world-famous Rao’s restaurant in NYC, not once, but twice, as the guest of the late restauranteur Frank Pellegrino.
My career with Whole Foods taught me a lot about food, ingredients, quality, the importance of local, the dangers of artificial ingredients, but most importantly about what makes great food taste great.
What you can expect on my site
Join me as I explore the world of cooking, kitchen & BBQ gear, food topics, and cooking tips and techniques. While this isn’t a recipe site, I do offer a lot of cooking and cleaning tips as it relates to small kitchen appliances and cookware.
With regards to products I may recommend, I focus on only the best items with the highest ratings out there; no junk!
Thus I only review stuff I have used, plan to buy or was highly recommended to me and I’ve checked ’em out thoroughly.
Have a small kitchen appliance, cooking tip, or product you think is great? Let me know! I’d love to hear from you.
I also have my main blog on all things Dad-related (parenting, relationship tips, personal finance, DIY and more) over at newmiddleclassdad.com
Thanks,
Jeff Campbell
See more over at my LinkedIn profile
Main profile picture courtesy of Michael Yelchen of Aristocrat Optix.
Jeffrey T Campbell
Jeff Campbell is a dedicated father to 3 amazing kids, an avid blogger, foodie, former leader for Whole Foods Market for 20+ years, would-be musician, and practicing martial artist. He currently runs 11 websites and helps over 500,000 people each and every month through his blog posts.
Email: jtlc512@gmail.com
Address: 9 Ridgewood Circle, Wimberley, TX, 78676, United States
Gender: Male
Job Title: Founder and CEO