“When I stopped being scared and started believing in myself, that’s when my life changed. I quit on my birthday. June 8th, 2020 and did an event for five hundred people eleven days later. I’m thankful for 2020 because even though Covid was so fucked up, that year changed everything for me.”
Just over four years ago, Chef Dane Shipp left his job in a restaurant as an executive chef and decided it was time to bet on himself and follow what he knew to be his purpose. Recently, I was able to sit down to share pizza and have a conversation with one of Dayton Ohio’s top chefs about the what behind his why and what’s coming next. “I’ve been cooking since I was young. I was an only child so when I would get home from school and my mom was still at work, I had to figure it out until she got home. I would just mess around and started putting stuff together. Sometimes I failed, sometimes I succeeded but that’s how I learned and then I started cooking for my friends.”
One of the most interesting facts about Chef Dane is that cooking wasn’t even his first choice as a career. “I didn’t even really want to be a chef. I played basketball and was going to go to college to play basketball. Cooking was just something I loved but nothing that I said “I want to do this as my actual career.”
AJ: “So with that, what led to you deciding to switch it up and go to culinary school?”
Chef Dane: “A basketball injury my senior year. Put me on crutches for two months and I gained like fifty pounds. I couldn’t move the same, couldn’t jump the same and when I graduated high school, I was wondering what to do. Then, I figured since I loved cooking, why not try that? I looked into culinary school at Sinclair while I was working at a restaurant. But I ended up dropping out after a year when I realized I was learning more on the job than I did in class.
Then Dane went all in on his craft. “When I was first starting out, I was making $7.25 an hour. By the time I left school, I was making about $9 or $10 an hour. I got in this for the love of cooking.” Which to know or follow Dane is to know that he has the purest of passions for what he does. Whether it’s showing what’s coming up for brunch at his restaurant ‘Culture’ (located in the Oregon district of Dayton, Ohio) or giving previews of upcoming menus for private events, Dane Shipp is locked in and passionate about feeding the people he serves.
AJ: “What inspired the name ‘Culture’ and the creations that you bring each and every week for brunch specials?”
Chef Dane: “So the name…when I knew I was about to sign my lease to the restaurant, I knew I had to create a name. One day, I was on my way to the gym, the word ‘Culture’ popped up in my head. I sat on it and it stuck.”
And with that, comes the theme of the restaurant. “I’m bringing culture in so many ways to people. I’m very versatile and can cook so many styles of food. My style of cooking is globally influenced. But also, I’m bringing my culture downtown Dayton. Who I am, what I represent. And I haven’t regretted that at all.”
AJ: “What’s been the most rewarding experience since you’ve opened Culture?”
Chef Dane: “Anybody who loves cooking, loves to feed people. Seeing the faces of people smiling and happy to experience what I put out…any form of cooking I do, the biggest reward is the satisfaction people get when they take a bite. I put love into this and that’s a feeling that you can’t buy. To a lot of people, food is a form of fuel but to me, food is an experience that I get to share with people.”
Since opening September 19th last year, the success of Culture has made way for the 34 year old Dane Shipp’s next venture: Nood Bar. Side Note: That’s one helluva marketing tool. Reflecting on his time living with roommates from Laos, a country nestled next to Thailand, and how their living together helped birth a longtime dream that is now becoming a reality. “They taught and showed me their style of cooking at an early age and I fell in love with it and have used it throughout my career. I fell in love with Southeast Asian styles of cooking. So with Nood Bar, I knew I wanted to do an Asian focused restaurant and with thinking of the concept, I tried to picture what Dayton is missing and what we could use in this area. So we are going to serve Asian style dishes with our own twist on it. Some type of fusion but still Asian focused.”
AJ: “So now, we’ve talked about what inspired the restaurants, but what inspires Dane Shipp, the man?
Chef Dane: “A lot of things, man. I would say it’s deeply rooted in knowing where I come from. The success rate of making it out of the westside of Dayton is low. It’s rare and I want to take advantage of that and just make people proud.”
“Consistency is very important. I’ve been cooking professionally for fifteen years but been on my own for four. I’ve sacrificed family time, friendships, relationships. Consistency and a great product is why I am where I am. Everyone sees the finished product of what I post. They didn’t see twelve hours I put into a day to make that plate happen.”
Those words hit me like a ton of bricks because the very first time I was able to meet Dane was at a movie get together that he, myself and a group of mutual friends attended. After the movie was over, it’s just after 10pm and Dane says to everyone, “Alright, I’ll see y’all later. I gotta go cook and get ready for brunch tomorrow.” Letting us know that it would be nearly 3am before he would be able to shut it down for the night. That was when I knew that Chef Dane knew what greatness required.
“And that’s just normal to me. Late nights and early mornings. It’s a grind but this is worth it. I’m in a position where I have a full staff and I’m able to pay them enough to where they can make it. I don’t have to be at Culture everyday anymore. What I’ve created is helping them pay their bills and to me, that’s huge. It’s so rewarding to know that I’m able to do that for them and also be in a position to open my second spot.”
One thing that might shock you to learn about Shipp is who is most well known client is. None other than beloved comedian, Dave Chappelle.
AJ: “One thing I’m curious to know is how you linked with Chappelle?”
Chef Dane: “Man, organically. Mind you, I quit my job in June 2020 and met him in July 2020. I was posting content everyday and somebody from his team came across a dish I made and they reached out. Me and some friends woke up early the next day, prepped food and did an event for 75 people at Dave’s house. It was an unreal moment for us. After that, we got the call to come back next week and it got to the point to where I was there everyday.”
AJ: “That’s so dope because during the pandemic, everything just froze. Especially for entrepreneurs.”
Chef Dane: “Yeah and he just created an environment for people to just be able to work. Comedians, chefs, entertainers. We’re all working while really nobody else was. It meant a lot to just be there. It changed everything.”
“I don’t do this for any other reason except that I care a lot. I want to feed people and give them an experience. A lot of people feel loved through me feeding them. I want people to share a moment with me and take that moment with you.”
AJ: “Okay, so to kind of close this out, I want to ask some kind of rapid fire type questions.”
Chef Dane: “Let’s go.”
AJ: “Three dishes you could spend the rest of your life cooking?”
Chef Dane: “First would be ‘Pad Kee Mow’ which translates to ‘Drunken Noodles’. It’s my favorite noodle dish in the world and we’ll actually have that at the new restaurant. Next would be a soul food plate. Collard greens, fried chicken, mac and cheese, cornbread. I grew up on that style of food and it feels like home. Third, I would say pho. I love pho. When you eat it, it feels like it’s healing you and that’s super comforting.”
AJ: “Is there maybe one person that you haven’t cooked for yet but you know it’s coming?”
Chef Dane: “Action Bronson. Not only because of what he’s doing with the music but him going on tour, musically but in every city he’s going to, he’s going on a culinary tour in each city. I respect that style of doing it his way and he’s not like any type of chef or food show you’d see on TV. I’d like to cook for him one day.”
AJ: “Last question, if not cooking, what would Dane be doing?”
Chef Dane. “Basketball and cooking are the only things I’ve had interest in. I knew I was going to the NBA but I wanted to use basketball to pay for college. Those are the only two things that I saw as a career. I’ve never even thought about anything else outside of those two things. Obviously basketball didn’t work out so this has to work. If I gotta cook on a corner for the rest of my life, I’ll do it. No Plan B. I can get a regular job but I’d rather cook on a corner in any weather.”
What’s next outside of Nood Bar? A third restaurant somewhere in the suburbs of Dayton, Ohio. A full service restaurant that will have a functioning bar, waitstaff, front and back of house staff. “I’m 34, I have two restaurants and I still have years to go, things to learn and knowledge to share.” Chef Dane Shipp is a man who understands the mindset of growth through consistency and that has fueled his current and coming successes.
