Meet Hannah Staddon | CEO & Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hannah Staddon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Hi, I’m hannah, full time yacht chef since about 2015. Funky Chef was started because I was sick of spending a fortune on off the rack chef jackets that were meant to be for women, but never looked good on me. I always had to get them tailored to fit my pear shaped (hence the logo) body. Once day i approached a seamstress in Fort Lauderdale and she agreed to make me a jacket. i bought blue denim fabric and a watermelon fabric and when i tried it on it was the best fitting chef jacket i’d ever had. Needless to say I bought more material in different colors and patterns and had her make up multiple options for me. When my other female chef friends saw the jackets they all voiced their excitement about the uniqueness and fit of them and were ready to place orders.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
ok firstly, being a full time yacht chef and starting a side hustle is HARD. it requires great time management (to juggle both jobs) and a great ability to actually shut off (because nuturing relationships are very important to me because we so rarely get to spend time with friends or down time with each other – my husband is the captain of the boat).

When Funky Chef really started coming alive it was because a friend, Phil, had seen the (super basic) web page over my shoulder and absolutely loved the idea. he was instrumental in building up the entire brand at the start and I am forever grateful for his input, direction and confidence in the Idea.
We decided to go the route of Crowdfunding the first round of jacket production, which ultimately led to failure (despite all the effort id put into producing social media over the vacation i had) because it wasn’t the correct platform for the target audience. Besides watching the kickstarter failing and having my heart broken, my bank account was also crying with how much money i’d wasted.

I took a 2 month breather to mend my heart ( i went through a really dark phase) and my relationships (my husband and family had been put on the back burner for the entire time).

After 2 months had gone by, my manufacturer that had been waiting on the side lines for the order that was meant to come through from the kickstarter suggested he make up 20 jackets to use up the fabric id rejected (dusty pink with leopard spots). he sent them over and I put them up on instagram for sale, they sold out within a day.

I paid for 150 jackets to be made. in 3 different prints, Wild Side, Pink Panther and Tropical Tiger. My mindset going forward had shifted, if the business was going to work, it would have to fit around my lifestyle and i will not waste QT with friends and family on making content for social media (this was a big deal for me).

Here we are, over a year later, with 10 designs available and 6 more in the works. we’ve sold out of multiple patterns and the feedback and reach we are getting is incredible. My favorite part about this whole thing (besides the fact that its working for me in the background whilst i still cook on the boat every day) is actually meeting all the women who wear their Funky Chef jackets. They’ve been shipped internationally and to bump into someone in the Virgin Islands thats like “OMG you’re hannah from Funky Chef, I LOVE my jacket” and it genuinely looks INCREDIBLE on her, THAT is what matters, making women feel amazing and look amazing in their uniform.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well when we’re in Fort Lauderdale, we love to do the Riverwalk. its such a vibey walk along the water through the city and stopping along the way at River Tail for a brunch or Salt for lunch followed by Gelato at Pan’e Dolci along Las Olas is a great start, doing a little boat cruise or taking the water taxi is also such a fun way to see the city. TRP Taste is always a treat for dinner, they regularly host intimate tasting menus with pairings is a great experience for any foodies.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people that have helped me along the way, provoking me to think deeper and learn but the person whose guided and mentored me the most would be an incredible woman called Valerie. She nurtured my inquisitivity from the get go and has encouraged me every step of the way.

Website: www.funkychef.co

Instagram: @funkychefco