The Story Behind LiveGreensPDX
This business started with my mom's celiac diagnosis, grew through fifteen years of cooking for thousands of people across the country, and landed in Portland with one mission -- make it easy for people to eat food that actually takes care of them.
Work With Us
Ryan
Founder & Culinary Director
The Origin
"When someone finds out they can't eat gluten, dairy, or whatever it is -- it's overwhelming. Research, label-reading, social anxiety around every meal. We exist to take all of that off your plate."
I grew up in Wisconsin -- Midwestern work ethic, real food, and a mother who was diagnosed with celiac disease about thirty years ago. Back then nobody talked about gluten. There were no dedicated menus, no safe options at restaurants, and no one in the kitchen who actually understood what was at stake.
That stuck with me. When I completed my Culinary Arts certification at Fox Valley Technical College in 2006 under Chef Jeffrey Lorenz -- who I still call Chefry, and who is still one of my closest friends -- I already knew that dietary restrictions were not an inconvenience to route around. They were the starting point for everything.
After the culinary program, Chefry and I opened two restaurants together. I loved the craft, but the politics of restaurant life wore on me. In 2009 I packed up and moved to Austin, Texas -- chasing warmth, music, culture, and the belief that there was a better model than the traditional kitchen grind.
Austin in 2009 was the center of the gluten-free movement in the US. My clients were almost universally gluten-free. I became gluten-free myself. And I started to see clearly that there was a massive, underserved need -- people who had just received a diagnosis, people managing complex dietary needs, people who simply wanted to eat well without spending their lives researching labels and recipes. Nobody was serving them at the level they deserved.
The personal chef model was the answer. No restaurant politics. No compromises on ingredients. No cutting corners to hit a food cost. Just real food, built from scratch around the person eating it.
The business has operated under different names in different cities since 2009. LiveGreensPDX launched in Portland in 2020 and has grown into the brand it is today -- a team of skilled chefs, a roster of loyal weekly clients, and a track record that includes everything from weekly Portland families to 300-person events at SXSW.
The Journey
Education & Training
Culinary Arts Certification -- Fox Valley Technical College
Trained under Chef Jeffrey Lorenz in Appleton, WI. Focused on Italian, Asian, Mexican, Indian, braised meats, and smoked BBQ. Went on to open two restaurants alongside Chef Lorenz after completing the program.
The Beginning
First Personal Chef Business -- Austin, TX
Left the restaurant industry and launched the personal chef model in Austin. The gluten-free movement was exploding in Texas, and a mother's celiac diagnosis years earlier had already made dietary restriction expertise second nature.
SXSW -- Austin, TX
Russell Simmons / Def Jam Records & Jon Favreau's Chef
Two landmark events in one festival. A 300-person fully vegan BBQ for Russell Simmons of Def Jam Records, followed by a private plated dinner for 75 guests at the SXSW premiere of Jon Favreau's film Chef -- a movie about a chef's obsession with authentic, uncompromising food.
Portland, Oregon
LiveGreensPDX LLC Founded
Brought the model to the Pacific Northwest. LiveGreensPDX launched in the Portland metro and Vancouver WA market -- a region with a natural alignment to the brand's values of health, local sourcing, and food as medicine.
Pacific Northwest
Oregon Country Fair -- Official Food Vendor
LiveGreensPDX joins Oregon Country Fair as an official food vendor -- one of the Pacific Northwest's most beloved cultural institutions, drawing tens of thousands of attendees annually. Confirmed, paid, and on the calendar.
What We Believe
This is not a tagline. What you eat every single day determines how you feel, how you perform, and how long you thrive. The western food system has made it easy to eat badly and hard to eat well. We exist to flip that equation for the families and professionals we serve.
The clients who invest in their food are the ones who show up fully in every other area of their lives. This is not a luxury service -- it is a productivity decision, a health decision, and a quality-of-life decision. The ROI on eating well is compounding.
We do not adapt a standard menu around your dietary needs. We build the entire menu from them. Celiac, SIBO, dairy-free, vegan, nut allergy, keto -- these are the first thing we ask about, and the first thing that shapes every dish we design.
We source locally and seasonally where it makes sense. The Pacific Northwest has some of the best ingredients in the country -- wild salmon, Dungeness crab, chanterelle mushrooms, local farms. That abundance shapes every menu we write.
15+
Years in business
Operating this model since 2009 across multiple cities.
1,500+
Clients served
From weekly Portland families to SXSW headliners.
30+
Dietary needs handled
Every restriction, every complexity, every time.
5.0
Review rating
59 verified reviews across all platforms.
How We Work
I built LiveGreensPDX so the food could speak for itself -- regardless of whose hands are in the kitchen. Today I lead a team of skilled chefs who share the same philosophy and the same standards I have held since day one.
This model is intentional. It means we can serve more clients, cover more service days, and deliver a consistent experience that does not depend on any single person being available. It is how a personal chef business becomes a personal chef brand.
Same chef, every week. Weekly clients get a consistent chef who learns your household, your preferences, and your palate over time.
Coverage when it matters. If your primary chef is unavailable, a qualified LiveGreensPDX chef steps in. Your household profile travels with the account.
Every chef holds the same standard. Licensed, food handler certified, and trained to the same expectations on quality, cleanliness, and client communication.
Scaling the right way. As we grow, chefs are placed geographically near their clients. Less travel, more consistency, better service.
By the numbers
Tell us what you need -- weekly meals, a private dinner, or an event. We'll take it from there.