Notes from Chris

Episode 1464

Jedd and Michelle Chang spend much of their time traveling and living in different places—or at least they used to. And they will again! But when the pandemic upended their wanderlust lifestyle and threatened the livelihood of a good friend, they cooked up a delicious new project.

Back in 2017, Jedd and Michelle met Chicca Maione when they stayed at her restored 18th-century farmhouse on the coast of Tuscany. During the day, the pair did their online work. At night they assisted Chicca with the cooking classes she taught in her kitchen. They clicked so well with her that they returned for another stay in 2019.

When the pandemic hit and Italy went into lockdown, Chicca’s in-person classes ground to a halt. Meanwhile, Jedd and Michelle’s other side hustle, a website focused on intentional travel, also took a revenue hit. So they offered to co-host a virtual cooking class with Chicca last spring. As soon as the class ended, donations to Chicca started pouring in via PayPal. That was a promising sign, and Michelle realized that maybe they could cook up something bigger than one or two donation-based classes!

Chicca’s Cooking Club came to life with Chicca providing the culinary inspiration and know-how, and Jedd and Michelle handling the structural details. For their first season, they made a little over $1,000 a month each. Their second season grossed over $11,000, leaving both the Changs and Chicca with around $2,000 a month after expenses.

This culinary pandemic pivot has worked out so well that Chicca actually prefers the virtual cooking school to in-person classes now. They’ve been fielding requests for private cooking classes from various organizations and are bringing on another couple to manage those. There are also plans for culinary tours of Italy when we all can safely travel again, and Michelle hopes that some of the online cooking club members will be able to join them in person for a tasty tour of Tuscany.

In short, Chicca’s Cooking Club has provided some much-needed income during an uncertain time.

 

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  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Free Italian cooking lesson! Learn how to make Gnocchi with Jedd, Michelle, and Chicca at their next free class. Learn more and register here: --> CookingInTuscany.cc/hustle.
• For more information about Chicca's Cooking Club visit their website at, CookingInTuscany.cc/club.
• During non-pandemic times, Jedd and Michelle write and share resources on how to travel and work full-time at their blog, IntentionalTravelers.com.

SEE ALSO:

• Line Chef Makes Millions Cooking Up Apron Empire: A chef sets out to reinvent the humble apron, growing it to a multi-million-dollar company while still working in restaurants at night.
• College Grad Shares “More than Mac & Cheese” Recipes for Students: When a college student learns to cook, she documents her recipes online, earning more than $1,000/month.
• Animation Producer Brings Culinary Characters to Life: A voiceover artist and animation producer invents an inclusive culinary kitchen utensils line.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work! Yours in the revolution,

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