From Chef to Entrepreneur: The Fava Mole Journey

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Fugitive Chefs

Furqan Meerza

39 episodes

2 days ago

I’m Furqan Meerza — a chef who worked in some of the world’s top kitchens, including Mugaritz and Noma. Like a lot of chefs, I hit burnout. And I realized I needed a different way to stay connected to food — one that didn’t cost me my health or identity. Fugitive Chefs is a podcast for chefs and food creatives who still love this craft, but need change. Each episode features honest conversations with those who’ve stepped away from the traditional kitchen and into something new — from fermentation and R&D to storytelling, drinks, food culture, and more.

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All content for Fugitive Chefs is the property of Furqan Meerza and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

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From Chef to Entrepreneur: The Fava Mole Journey

Fugitive Chefs

46 minutes 43 seconds

2 months ago

From Chef to Entrepreneur: The Fava Mole Journey

In this episode of Fugitive Chefs, host Furqan sits down with Andres Jara, Colombian-born chef and founder of Fava Mole. Andres’ journey moves from his grandmother’s kitchen in Cartagena to running his first catering company at 21, studying at culinary schools across Latin America and Europe, and eventually becoming a farmer, butcher, and head chef in Italy.

What makes his story unique is how he turned a moment of scarcity—no avocados for guacamole—into innovation, creating Fava Mole, a sustainable alternative born out of local farming and creativity. Today, Fava Mole is scaling across Europe while staying rooted in regenerative agriculture.

We talk about:

Leaving the safety of traditional kitchens to carve an independent path.
How failures and pivots (from catering to farming to dips & spreads) shaped his resilience.
The link between farming and cooking, and why more chefs should get their hands in the soil.
What it takes to scale a food innovation without losing integrity.

Andres reminds us that fear is often the sign you’re close to a breakthrough—and that chefs can make just as much impact outside kitchens as inside them.

If you’ve ever wondered what a chef can become beyond the pass, this one’s a map and a nudge.🎧 Fugitive Chefs is your window into alternative culinary careers and bold food innovation. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow, rate us & subscribe for more stories from the culinary underground.🎙️ Hosted by Furqan from the Fugitive Chefs PodcastFurqan`s Personal Insta : https://bit.ly/4dtiyTvPodcast Instagram : https://bit.ly/43ndATOSpotify : https://spoti.fi/3F6j25AApple Podcasts : https://apple.co/43vBtbT🔗 Connect with Andres JaraLinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/andres-jara-favamole/Website :https://www.favamole.nl/

Chapters

00:00 Culinary Journey Begins

08:36 Building a Catering Business

17:14 Expanding Horizons in Culinary Education

18:14 The Journey of Food Sourcing

21:53 The Birth of Fava Mole

25:08 Scaling Up: Challenges and Opportunities

31:15 Market Dynamics and Competition

36:34 The Chef's Perspective: From Kitchen to Business

41:21 Embracing Challenges and Building Resilience