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

Hi Thomas, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I decided to pursue an artistic career because It’s pretty much the only thing I know how to do. I also hate money and never want to have a lot of it so this career path has worked out great so far. Yes that was a joke. On a serious note, the idea of sitting behind a desk all day or having to wear a suit to go to work has never lined up with my character. My parents owned a restaurant when I was growing up so I got started very early in the food industry. From there I worked in various restaurants all throughout high school. By the time I finished school I was well aware that cooking for a living was an option. I chose to go to school for Baking & Pastry because at the time Food Network was just starting out and they were airing a lot of pastry competitions with amazing looking chocolate & sugar sculptures. I’ve always been into music and art, anything creative basically, and I’ve never seen anyone make a piano out of steak before so I went the Pastry route. I was also working for a Chef that always voluntold me to make the desserts. It just so happened that I ended up being pretty good at it so it was kind of a no brainer decision to pursue a career as a Pastry Chef.

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.
Well thank you I appreciate that and yes of course. Temo Foods is broken down into two parts. I have a private chef service and I have an online artisan chocolate shop. The offerings of the chef services can range from preparing meals for families throughout the week to business dinners at the hosts house. I’ve also done small weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, new years eve parties, bachelorette parties, and offer private cooking classes too. The common theme here being that these are small events. I’m not a caterer in the sense that I do not have a commercial kitchen in which I can prepare food ahead of time and bring it with me. Everything my team and I cook is done in the clients home and I have found that home kitchens can handle up to about twenty people comfortably; generally speaking. There are always exceptions. I have a fantastic team of chefs and servers/bartenders that I recruit when we do parties of about eight or more. However, at this time, given our current pandemic situation, I have not been doing parties this size due to the risk involved for all parties attending. It definitely sucks but I think it’s better to be safe than sorry. When things improve and we get back to normal so will business operations. Until then, a limited service is still being offered for small get togethers.

Then there is my line of chocolates which I think I am most proud of at the moment. I’m very passionate about high quality chocolate truffles so I really put a lot of thought into developing flavor combinations that I think other people will enjoy and so far it has worked out pretty well. I recently did a cocktail themed box where every truffle had some kind of alcohol in it. Specifically for all of us at home right now who are going crazy because…we’re all still at home right now! I did one run of those and sold out in one day. Then I did a second run and those sold out in about a day or two. Now I’m working on the fourth run so it’s safe to say they were a success. The main box I offer is an assorted box of fifteen which always has five different flavors; three of each kind. The truffles included in these boxes are constantly changing as I come up with new ideas but if they sell really well I will generally keep making them and try to keep them on hand as often as I can. Since I utilize a share kitchen and don’t have a brick and mortar store my storage space is limited so I always do small batches. Usually about thirty boxes at a time. It’s not uncommon for me to be sold out for a while too as the chef service takes up a fair amount of time as well and I’m the only one who works here. Aside from these boxes of fifteen I also do smaller boxes for businesses and/or special events such as weddings, baby showers, client gifts, etc. I carry boxes of four and boxes of eight in which the included flavors and number of variety can be customized. I visit the post office about four times a week to deliver client appreciation gifts all across the country. Businesses provide me with their clients names and addresses as well as desired delivery dates and I take it from there. For the baby showers I have truffles that are either pink or blue inside or if you’re having twins just let me know and I can make a special batch with both inside.

As far as my career history goes, I basically got to where I am today by working myself to death at the best places and never giving up. I worked in my parents restaurant, restaurants all through high school, and then hotels, bakeries, mansions, and casinos all through college. After college I worked at the Four Seasons, then I was a Corporate Pastry Sous Chef for Concentrics where I helped develop several breads and recipes for about twelve different restaurants. I was also the Executive Pastry Chef at Canoe for three years and was invited to participate in a James Beard dinner which was pretty cool. Then I taught Baking & Pastry Arts at Le Cordon Bleu in Tucker for about six years. After the school closed I didn’t have a job anymore so I started Temo Foods!

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
Oh yes, several! For breakfast, check out Manhattan NY Deli & Bagels off of 141 in Peachtree Corners. I’m originally from New York so a quality bagel sandwich in the morning really can’t be beat and they’ve got great bagels. For lunch you want to go to El Trompo Taqueria off of Jones Bridge in Alpharetta. Amazing tacos; the best in town! In my opinion at least. If you have the funds for it, dinner should be Sushi at Tomo off of Peachtree Rd in Atlanta. Tomo Naito really knows his stuff and the last time we were there we had about twelve courses and didn’t see a single grain of rice until around the ninth course. It’s next level sushi. If you’re not looking to spend quite that much but still want quality sushi we really like Sushi Mito off of Spalding Drive in Norcross. They consistently have great rolls and service. They also have done a great job with modifying their service to the current CDC recommendations to help ensure a safe environment. Can’t go wrong.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Well this is an easy one. I have to give a shout out to my fiancée Stephanie Cantillo! She has given me loving and financial support through the entire process of Temo Foods creation. When Le Cordon Bleu closed I was left without a job and no plan for what was next. We have a house and an 11 year old so doing nothing wasn’t an option. I had a severance which helped out but it wasn’t going to last forever. Regardless of the situation, Stephanie offered to help whether it be with the back end of starting the business or covering my side of the monthly finances until I could get back on my feet. Temo Foods absolutely would not be where it is today without her help and I cannot thank her enough. Love you babe!

Website: www.temofoods.com
Instagram: @temofoods
Facebook: @temofoods