Chef Chatter
Why Modern Market's mantra is 'Mom knows best'
Modern Market's VP of Culinary, Nate Weir, discusses how cooking with his mother in Haiti inspired him to become a chef.
May 13, 2021 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com
No matter how old we get, there are times when we still need our mothers, a sentiment that Modern Market Eatery VP of Culinary Nate Weir shares. Born and raised by his missionary parents on a compound in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Weir developed a love for cooking with encouragement from this mom, Janet.
"My mother spent a lot of her time in the kitchen getting creative, as we didn't have access to many grocery staples, like fresh dairy or even breakfast cereal," he told FastCasual. "It's actually pretty funny: Every year for Christmas there would be a gift-wrapped box of Froot Loops on the table, the only time each year we had cereal like that. These types of items were rare to come by and expensive since they needed to be shipped from the U.S. I savored every last bite."
Since American goods were uncommon, Janet became resourceful when making the family's staples — homemade granola, dog food and birthday cakes — from scratch.
"I still remember seeing her face light up when we'd dig into her creations," Weir said. "And let me tell you — nothing beats a scratch-made meal, plus you're able to get even more creative with ingredients and put your own spin on any dish."
Weir can now appreciate how his mother embraced the Haitian culture and its cuisine, which consisted of rice, beans, seafood, cornmeal and goat meat — anything she could get her hands on at the local market.
"We had fresh avocado, bread and fruit that we picked from trees in our yard," he said. " And, since we were on an island that faced rolling blackouts, sometimes we wouldn't even be able to open the fridge door. I'm deeply appreciative that my mom exposed me to so many different flavors and foods as a kid because it taught me to be adventurous and embrace a wide range of flavors as a chef."
A connection to cooking
Although there isn't one specific thing Weir recalled about deciding to become a chef, he said his memories of Janet's cooking and gathering the family around a meal has always inspired him.
"My grandmother is an amazing cook as well, and so many special moments surrounded the activity of making food and dining together," he said. "A quality, scratch-made meal shouldn't come with an outrageous price tag. Once we were back in the United States, I attended college and worked at restaurants throughout school. The flexible hours of the hospitality industry made it a great part-time option at the time, but what I didn't anticipate was how much I would grow to love it. "
After finishing classes, Weir waited tables and bartended, eventually climbing through the ranks to become a general manager.
"I found a lot of joy in preparing food which ultimately led me to pivot and pursue culinary school after earning business degrees," he said. "When the kitchen got busy or we were encountering a problem, I would think back to when I was a child, looking up at my mother, working to be resourceful in order to feed her family, and that would motivate me."
I definitely found a connection to cooking. And now it's my passion to help others find their own connection with food, whether that's through training a Modern Market team member on how we take fine-cooking techniques and translate them to a fast casual environment, or cooking a meal for friends."
When Weir's family returned to the U.S., he experienced a bit of a shock as the culture was much more fast-paced compared to what he was used to, and that trickled over into a fast-paced, high-priced restaurant industry.
"While I worked in restaurants over the years and understood how much work went on behind the scenes for a meal to be made, I couldn't help but wonder how and why a scratch-made, nourishing meal could be so expensive," he said.
That changed, however, when he discovered Colorado-based Modern Market, which now has 30 locations in Texas and Arizona as well as the Denver International Airport and the campus at Notre Dame.
"Modern Market is built on the idea that delicious, quality food can be fast and reasonably priced, and we help make healthy food more accessible," he said. "As part of the leadership team at Modern Market, I've worked to strategically build out our menu so that every dish is healthy with seasonal flavors, yet scalable and operationally possible. We like to say we've perfected our menu in a way where we're able to operate as profitably and seamlessly as a burger and fries joint. This includes having a menu that works well for off-premise, such as delivery, take-out and catering, equally as well as it does for dine-in experiences."
Customers' desire for healthier options at a reasonable price, without sacrificing taste and quality has inspired the chain to open franchise opportunities, so the team is seeking experienced foodservice partners and investors.
"We want to bring scratch-made food that's convenient and good for you to as many communities as possible and are looking to grow our franchise program in order to share the business opportunity with others," he said.
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