#43. Chef Evan Hennessey is one of those chefs who is extremely passionate and devoted to not only moving the culinary industry forward, but also supporting up and coming chefs. Chef Hennessey is an award winning chef, 3 time Chopped Champion, and James Beard semifinalist who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu at the Atlantic Culinary Academy in 2001. He has since cooked alongside some of the best chef’s in the country including Chef Charlie Palmer and Thomas Keller, and is now the Chef Owner at The Living Room and Stages At One Washington in Dover, New Hampshire. In this episode, Chef Hennessey shares his passion for advancing the culinary industry and supporting emerging talents.

Josh and Chef Hennessey discuss his "Staging At Stages" program, where chefs have the opportunity to experience an apprenticeship unlike any other. Forget peeling potatoes or cleaning mushrooms for days—participants work side by side with Evan for five days, cooking everything together. The culmination? A meal of their inspiration, with 50 percent of the proceeds shared with the aspiring chef.

In this intimate conversation, our host and Chef discuss Evan's approach to hiring, training, and navigating kitchen mishaps as well as how he seamlessly integrates guests and the team into the dining experience at Stages and The Living Room.

Where to find Evan Hennessey: 

• Instagram
• LinkedIn

**CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR STAGING AT STAGES**

Where to find host Josh Sharkey:

• Instagram
• LinkedIn

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In this episode, we cover:

(03:50) Why Evan chose to come back to New Hampshire/the lifestyle of people in New Hampshire
(09:11) The variety of mushrooms found in forests outside of houses in Upstate New York and New Hampshire
(11:26) Culinary maturity
(16:13) All about The Living Room and Stages
(19:13) The history of staging and how Evan is innovating it with Staging at Stages
(36:56) How Evan thinks about hiring a team
(45:09) How Evan balances providing like autonomy of thought in the execution of the food with his team
(50:27) Why people work at Living Room and Stages
(56:25) How to apply for the staging program
(58:54) Where Evan will be in 5-10 years