Community Highlights: Meet Poe aka Chef Poe Earnest of ReBeLFoodie ByPOE LLC. / ReBeLFoodie for short

Today we’d like to introduce you to Poe aka Chef Poe Earnest.

Hi Poe, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Chicago Illinois on the south side at Michael Reese Hospital to a wonderful spirit named Carolyn Marie Earnest who first introduced me to cooking through her daily preparations, attention to detail and love for making a satisfying dish. I was enamored with her natural ability to make manifest an abundance of goodness from just a handful of items to work with. I mean my mom was able to get down with the best of them. I must say that was the spark plug I didn’t quite know I needed as of yet. It wasn’t until I turned 20 years old when I caught the itch to cook professionally and learn as much as I could everywhere I worked. By the time, this interview is published, I would have turned 45 years old making this my 25th anniversary in the Culinary profession. Throughout the years, I’ve worked under some amazing popular and or semi popular chefs such as Michael Ty ~ Jonathan C. Harootunian ~ Jackie Shen ~ John Capputo to name a few. I’ve had the pleasure of cooking for the likes of Steven Spielberg ~ LL Cool J ~ Robin Williams (R.I.P) ~ Chris Farley (R.I.P) ~ Andrew Dice Clay etc. Working in a variety of diverse environments was my plan of attack for assuring growth momentum.

Fast Forward to 2020, I was laid off from a kitchen management position of three establishments in March so I laid out a new plan of attack to launch a brand that could stand out, stand the test of time, make a difference, be community immersed and pro family. The name of this brand is called ReBeLFoodie ByPOE LLC which was created and co found by my wife Alvie (iirie) Earnest and I back in 2018 on the underground level. In June of 2020 we officiated the business. The capital R B L is intentional and represents the following: Rebellious Bold Liberated Food for Everyone to Experience. Foodie highlights the fact that not only am I a chef, I’m also a Foodie cooking for the Foodies of the past/present/ & Future. The ByPOE represents accountability. We aim to celebrate with you the ReBeL in You, the ReBeLs in your family, throughout society and pop culture. The ReBeLs whose made a difference by thinking out the box, coloring outside of the lines & going against the grain. So far, over the past ten months, we’ve done the OB Farmer’s Market, Catered for the Old Globe, Gianni BUONOMO Vintners Wine Club Dinner (Off-site), Golden State Greens, food vendor service for Lil Miss Brewing Company in La Mesa, Poor House Brewing Company in North Park, private dinners, two small fest, signed a contract for a paid content site, and a tv show.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Many potholes are avail to you on your road to success right. This business was started out of obligation which could arguably be construed as fate sealing itself because prior to leaving my last place of employment, I thought and said out loud that this job will be the last employer I work for. Words sound power. The struggles I’ve faced thus far are blessings and accumulated lessons to learn from. Such as having better time management, properly vetting the people you want to work with you which includes the businesses you choose to collaborate with & sticking to your guns when in the mist of resistance from those who don’t understand our unique approach to food and food pics.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
ReBeLFoodie ByPOE Is a multifaceted Culinary Company specializing in a wide range of services from Catering (on site/drop off) ~ Private Chef ~ Creative Pop Ups ~ Food Vendor (Bars/Breweries/Wineries/Coffee Shops/Juice Bars/Kombucharies) ~ Meal Planning ~ Collaborations ~ TV Show in development (Features available for Local Small Businesses, Brands) ~ Food Tours ~ Ghost Kitchen Pick Up Plates off of our rotating menu that practices cooking in concert with the season ~ Content Creation ~ Product Development ~ E-Cook Book in Development. One of our signature lanes is called “Gourmet Street Food”.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love the fact that this is a Navy port and a tourist town allowing for the city to be open to different cuisines because so many people from all over the world pass through here. San Diego is next door to Tijuana so of course the Mexican food is supreme, Baja Cuisine, California Cuisine, Mediterranean Cuisine to name a few. I love the beaches, the weather and the microbreweries. I dislike the growing population of homeless people..

Contact Info:

• Email: bypoe@rebelfoodie.com
• Instagram: chefpoe_bypoe
• Facebook:  bychefpoe
• Other: Clubhouse/rebelfoodie

Image Credits
Chef Poe Alvie (iirie) Earnest Carlos Ibai