Chef Tyler Phillips

Chef Tyler began as a “hobby” chef at age 8 when he won a 4H tomato growing contest in rural Ohio. Educated at Saint Stevens in Northern Virginia, Tyler continued to college ... but took a “sojourn” from college to “bum” the country, cooking tacos in San Antonio and working on a shrimp boat in Louisiana … Upon earning a BS in economics, he joined the General Electric Company in finance, and subsequently International Business Development, where his work took him to Europe, Asia, and the Americas … adding to his burgeoning interest in all cuisines. After settling in Philadelphia, he founded a community garden in Center City, earned an MBA in Finance and Management, and founded The Partnership Group in 1980.

With large numbers of women entering the workforce, balancing work-family issues posed challenges to working women and companies were struggling to attract and retain valuable employees. Tyler approached companies with a plan to help them retain good employees, help resolve employees’ family issues such as child/elder care, and even how to deal with sick iguanas. Working with community organizations where his client Companies were located, his staff coordinated the services employees needed with the services available in their communities. With offices in New York, San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta, Denver, and Chicago the business grew quickly and was recognized by Inc Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in the US - two years in a row.

After the sale of his company, in 1998, Chef Tyler and his wife, Jill, moved to California where he planted a terraced garden on a hillside overlooking San Francisco Bay. The garden flourished from the heat of the serpentine stone walls, and Tyler found great friends in the foodie community cooking in his own kitchen for charitable events with Mark Franz (Farallon) and Gerald Hirigoyen (Piperade) as well as Francis Mayes, "Under the Tuscan Sun", and Cecelia Chiang, "The Seventh Daughter." Never one for a vacation loafing on sunny beaches, he preferred to “follow the food” while sailing, skiing, playing tennis, biking and traveling with friends and family to cooking classes in France, Italy, even Indonesia, and dining in the kitchen at Trotters, El Bulli and Le Benetton. Then, when the East Coast called with the births of new grandchildren, he and Jill left CA and moved back the East Coast.

… and with the move back East, came the birth of Chef Tyler ...wearing yet another hat as a Personal Chef. Today Tyler resides in Mooresville, NC and has a new and bountiful garden filled with beautiful edible flowers, herbs, and veggies. High ratings on Thumbtack and reviews from clients have kept Tyler and Jill, now also his Sous Chef, fully committed to producing healthy, delicious, and creative cuisine … straight from the garden and the heart.