Profile: Ashley Bare
The advent of meal delivery is upon us: gourmet, fresh meals with restaurant quality, on your doorstep.
Photos by Anna Petrow
Hemma Hemma is Kansas City’s Premier Meal Delivery Service and it’s launching this month! I interviewed Private Chef Ashley Bare and asked her all about her new biz and her experience in the culinary world.
You wear a lot of hats in Kansas City. Private Chef, dreamy meal prep services, recipe developer, cooking instructor, and owner of upcoming brand, Hemma Hemma. Can you tell us about your background in the culinary industry, and what landed you in KC?
I started my career about 12 years ago after graduating culinary school in NYC. I was hired at Mercer Kitchen at $9/hour, worked there for a HOT second before starting to be a private chef as I obviously couldn’t support myself on that pay– so immediately tried my hand at the freelance cooking life. Been freelance ever since! I’ve been so lucky that my clients have taken me all over the world, and I’ve really just said yes to different opportunities and never left a rock unturned in the process.
I’m born and raised in KC, and it’s the only place I have any close family. When I turned 30 I felt like slowing down, starting something a little more concrete and exploring my options at home around family. After moving and shaking a lot, you kind of turn towards your roots and realize the importance of where you came from and how it influenced your past, your present and your future endeavors. And KC is such a different place from 10-15 years ago. It’s exciting to *hopefully* add to the culinary scene here in an impactful way.
Tell us all about Hemma Hemma! What does Hemma Hemma mean?
Hemma means “at home” in Swedish. The notion of home and what that means to me - and others - has always run a thread in my life. I really love a lot of aspects of Swedish/Nordic aesthetic, approach, and culture. “Hemma” has always stuck with me since learning it years ago, and I’ve always hoped it could function as a great brand – and I think it does!
Hemma Hemma is KC’s premier meal delivery service: I make and deliver meals unlike any other system/company out there. Our meals are unique, fresh, seasonal and nourishing; approachable yet interesting at the same time. I want my meals to feel like you made them yourself at your home, but instead I’ve delivered them to your home doorstep for time saving convenience and ease.
What are you looking forward to most with your new brand, Hemma Hemma. (Just tell us what you’re most excited about, behind the branding, what your hopes are, etc.)
I’m so excited to reach more people! We’ve built an ordering platform that is beautiful and functional – all so more people can order from us. I wanted an interface that folks want to use, an ordering to delivery experience that is undeniably enjoyable, like our food!
We’ve also got an exciting partnership happening with Afloat - an amazing, female founded and run tech startup right here in KC. It’s a really cool gifting app that aligns perfectly with our mission to conveniently provide people with nourishing meals. Exciting stuff in the pipeline!
Tell us about your style of cooking, meal planning, and the structure of your meal prep services!
My style of cooking is unfussy, seasonal, global and bright! The dishes on my weekly menus definitely reflect my style – I try to keep things interesting by offering flavor profiles from around the world while using seasonal ingredients and letting the freshness of the ingredients speak for themselves.
We offer three different menus delivered on two different days, and each menu has six dish options that change WEEKLY! That’s a lot of time spent developing recipes, brainstorming and really turning towards what’s in season. Clients can opt in for whatever delivery rotation and amount fits them– and even one time orders are more than welcome. We’ll even have frozen meal options rolling out soon.
What’s the most popular meal you make for your meal delivery?
Our menu changes every.single.week. And there is little to no repetition of dishes. You’ll see similar items and ingredients, but almost never an exact duplicate of a dish. If you’re someone who likes to eat the same thing over and over, this might not be the best service for you. I CRAVE variety and change, so I’m definitely here for those people. Ha!
I would say, however, I get many many compliments on a lot of our sauces, condiments, and dressings. They’re our star players!
Where does your inspiration for cooking & recipe developing come from?
Oh man, where doesn’t it come from? I’m constantly consuming – food accounts on IG, restaurants, travel, cookbooks, magazines, food television, food documentaries, food at friends’ homes.
What’s in store for your future endeavors?
I hope a lot more. Hemma Hemma will launch and grow as delivery only for now, but I would love to get a storefront or 5 in the near future. Maybe get into shipping our food? Maybe get our sauces and dressings into stores? Maybe open restaurants? I’d love to grow the HH brand in many directions. And I know it’s possible.
What’s your absolute favorite thing to cook AND eat?
Forever and always: soups and stews! I just love the simplicity of one pot and the depth of flavor that can develop from everything being in one place as opposed to different flavor components in a composed dish. And sandwiches– like I could pick only ONE favorite thing!
What’s the best part of working with your clients from KC, and what do you love most about KC?
KC is awesome in so many ways. The best part is that people here - my clients especially! - are eager to support. Even other entrepreneurs who occupy the same culinary space are there to cheer you on, lend a hand, or offer guidance - it’s something very special.
What’s your favorite food trend or meal/snack right now, what is something that you always have in your fridge that you love?/Fav ingredients to cook with right now.
There aren’t a ton of “staples” in my fridge. I can say my household wouldn’t survive without Hemma Hemma meals, and we always have hot sauce, eggs, and frozen dumplings.
Any tips for other chefs or aspiring foodies in Kansas City?
I guess I could give endless tips and work/life mantras, but a couple that stick out regarding work and business are:
It’s not the end of the world! Literally, nothing is that serious. There’s a way to fix almost anything and everything. Might take time, energy and/or money, but you can make any wrong right.
There’s enough clientele for everyone! I used to want to bulldoze the competition and be the only one for everyone – but that’s actually impossible and not the right mindset. I want others to succeed, and I want nothing more than to share my “expertise” and experiences so others can be as good if not better than I am. No one can do what I do, and I can’t do what someone else does, so we’re each going to be just right to different clientele.
Quality over everything! Self explanatory, but always put out quality and the best you can do. Don’t settle for anything less. Refer to #1 if it’s less than – fix it.
