Straight Out The Fire
Cooking, Creativity, and Community
Straight Out The Fire is a weekly culinary event that was started in January 2021 by three chefs, Eric Freshley, Kristopher Jacques, and Fabian Garcia, who were working together at a meal prep company after having been laid off from restaurant jobs due to COVID-related shutdowns. They started holding Monday night barbeques at Mission Bay for coworkers and friends as an outlet for creative culinary expression that differed from the strict environment in which they were working. They soon turned the concept into a business and opened up events to the community at large.
The chefs’ original menus have included whole animals and side dishes that combined unusual ingredients, all of which were touched by the fire. Sarah Martinez, a pastry chef who had recently started her own bakery, brings desserts to share each week, sometimes also making treats onsite over the fire like pineapple upside-down cake and churros. Chef Joey Rivera and other friends of the chefs also help with the cooking, setup, equipment, and promotion.
These barbeques have attracted a unique mix of people who might not have otherwise crossed paths - a group of regulars at one chef’s favorite dive bar, members of another chef’s church group, and community members from all walks of life who find the event promoted on the social media site Meetup as a means to connect with other people. The positive, welcoming atmosphere and the obvious passion the chefs apply to their craft make the event memorable and keep people coming back.
Chef Fabian and Chef Joey lift two Mako sharks out of a container before cooking them into a curry as onlookers take photos. The chefs were required to have a permit in order to import the shark meat.
Chef Eric holds up a rockfish before cooking it. The sharks and fish were caught off the shores of Hawaii and donated for the event by Malie Fish Market, a local shop owned by a Samoan family with connections to Hawaii.
Chef Kris shows off the monkfish that he is about to slow-cook over the fire for several hours.
Chef Kris smells a bouquet of fresh basil as he prepares to chop it into a watermelon salad.
Oro blancos, a grapefruit-pomelo hybrid, cook in a fire pit while dragonfruit and radish hang above the fire absorbing smoke. These ingredients were used to make salads that were served alongside the fish dishes.
Make it out.
In between walls displaying photos of different varieties of fruits and vegetables, Chef Fabian shops for ingredients at Specialty Produce - a grocery store that carries unusual and locally-grown produce and caters to chefs and restaurants. The chefs use this store, as well as a family-owned Mexican market that carries game meats and a halal market to gain inspiration for their dishes.
At a luau-themed barbecue, Pastry Chef Sarah sets out her desserts and looks over the mounds of food that await the guests lined up behind her. Between 30-50 people attend the event each week.
At a “Pigs & Paella”-themed night, a large pan of seafood paella made with fish, shrimp, mussels, and clams is presented to dinner guests. This is one of the two versions of paella made that evening - the second was made with chicken, pork, and other meats.
Chef Kris and Chef Eric spontaneously break into dance while cooking, inspired by the hip hop music playing in the background. The chefs create a temporary outdoor kitchen and dining room each week using custom grills and fire pits, gas stoves, tables, and tents.
The chefs, with their friends and family members, celebrate after roasting a whole hog over the fire. The animal was sourced from the nearby Chino Farms, where the chefs were able to choose the pig while it was still alive - the day before it was butchered, cooked, and eaten.
Chef Eric Freshley roasts a pineapple and the carcass of a goat on a fire next to Mission Bay. The goat meat was used to make birria tacos.
“We try to teach plus give food out. I want people to know that there’s food down the street from here and not just a million miles away. When you tell people the connection they have to their food, it changes their perception of food. When people have a better food source and a better spirit, they can have a better life. ”
Make it stand out.
A fire dancer, Jakob Scott, performs at a barbecue at Mission Bay while fireworks from nearby Sea World explode overhead. The performance had not been a planned part of the event - Jakob and another performer just happened to be practicing on the beach nearby when an event attendee invited them to perform for the group.
Make it stand out.
At a back-to-the-basics, roots-themed barbecue, Chefs Eric and Kris explain the dishes they have created to diners as they fill their plates.
Make it stand out.
After cooking for hours and the guests have been served, Chef Kris relaxes off to the side with a cigarette, a drink, and his girlfriend, Candis Faulkner.
After a falling-out between two chefs leads to the group disbanding, Chef Eric takes over the business. Here, he prepares food for a scaled-down, “Crazy Sausages”-themed night with the help of some other chef friends, but without their usual custom equipment, large group, nor social media presence. Chef Eric has recently started operating pop-up events on Fridays at a brewery and plans to add another brewery and two farmer’s markets soon. His vision for the future of Straight Out The Fire is to continue growing the company and add operations in other locations across the nation.