Meet Marty Lim | Private Chef & Caterer

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

Hi Marty, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Having a business of mine own and being able to create culinary and event experiences for people exactly as I envisioned my goal since I began working in the space, which I knew meant creating my own thing. I’ve been fortunate to work for and learn from some incredibly dedicated, talented and successful people, and then when I felt my skill set and understanding of the field were where they needed to be and other stars, such as being in a great market full of opportunity like Atlanta, lined up, I knew the time was right. So I jumped off the cliff that is small businessperson, and haven’t looked back!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I own and operate Chef Marty Lim, LLC in Atlanta, which provides personal chef and event catering services. I think it’d be presumptuous to say what makes me different or stand out from others in the field, as I have great respect for my peers and there are some great people in this space in this city. But I can give you the TLDR on my journey! I was born and raised in central Los Angeles, midway between Downtown LA and Hollywood, and am first generation Filipino-American. I was inspired from a very young age by the amazing flavors of my mom’s frequent cooking Filipino specialties, and the amazing diversity and quality of foods available in Los Angeles and the year-round fresh produce and other ingredients available there. The food bug bit me early! And the city definitely informed me and my love of the huge variety and diversity of foods of different cultures of the world, and the use of only the freshest, best and healthiest ingredients. And my initial professional experiences there taught me that only the best product and service will do. The expectations, of both the proprietors and clients, were incredibly high. The pressures of those type of expectations in my first jobs in the field were challenging at times, but of course looking back were invaluable to me. And moving to Atlanta was of course a big challenge, but one that has been more rewarding, both professionally and personally, than I ever could have imagined! Being as perfectionistic as both my natural personality and my formative professional experiences made me can be a bit challenging at times (both to me, and to people I hire on when needed for events) but I simply don’t know any other way of doing this job! I pride myself at being able to provide personal chef and event catering services of the highest quality and tailored to a clients particular wishes/requirements.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love the variety of neighborhoods in Atlanta, it’s truly a neighborhood-based city much like LA. I love exploring them.
Piedmont Park is always great, really reminds me of what Golden Gate Park is to San Francisco. a place I frequent is a small Filipino restaurant called Estrellita. I love their food!!! It’s authentic as it gets!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
As a shoutout I think just collectively all the people I’ve had the good fortune to observe, be trained, and learn from. Both in terms of culinary skills and providing top level service. Driving into me that anything less than your absolute best–each and every time, each and every element of service, for each and every client–is never acceptable. And of course all of my initial clients in Atlanta, who obviously I couldn’t do this without and whom it’s my my pleasure to embark on this journey with!

Website: https://www.chefmartylim.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefmartylim

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chefmartylim