The EquiChef Story
I spent 40 years learning that great cooking isn't about recipes — it's about understanding ingredients at a fundamental level. Nutrition, balance, quality, timing, and care. Every plate I ever sent out was built on those principles.
Then Katie came along, and with her came the horses. Four barrel horses and a donkey named Dexter who has more personality than most people I've worked with in fine dining. And I started noticing something: the same principles that make a great kitchen make a great barn.
"I looked at what we were feeding our horses and thought — I wouldn't serve this in my kitchen. So I started treating the feed room like a prep kitchen. Everything changed."
— Chef Chris "Bub" Villa
Temperature control? That's not just for walk-in coolers — it matters for grain storage. Portion control? Your horse's feed-to-weight ratio is no different than a recipe yield. Mise en place? Try running a barn without it. You can't. Not well, anyway.
EquiChef was born the day I realized that culinary discipline and equine care are the same discipline — just different ingredients. We design custom feed programs with the same precision I used to design tasting menus. We run our barn with the same systems I used to run a 200-cover kitchen. And our horses have never been healthier, faster, or happier.
Now we're bringing that approach to other horse owners. Whether you've got one trail horse or a string of competition animals, your horses deserve culinary-grade care.
Same passion. Different kitchen.

Kitchen → Barn Parallels
→ Organized Tack & Feed Room
→ Feed-to-Weight Ratios
→ Grain & Supplement Storage
→ Custom Feed Programs
→ Barn Safety & Hygiene
→ Monitoring & Adapting
→ Grooming with Pride

