rains hospitality consulting

Meet Chef Chris Rains

Chris Rains is the Executive Chef and co-founder of The Chef and I, an interactive culinary brand with its flagship restaurant in Nashville, TN. The company is known for the award-winning restaurant as well as the successful team building division that serves clients across the country. 

Rains has been an Executive Chef for 30 years and has always focused on education of both staff and clients. From helping young culinary professionals advance their careers to overseeing the design and layouts of kitchens, menus and brand concepts, he has been on the cutting edge of the hospitality industry throughout his career.  Rains believes that even the simplest food creation can be elevated with proper planning, training and deliberate steps.  In today’s constantly evolving hospitality industry, simplicity wins, from staff to plate. He finds joy in taking his client’s vision and developing it to thrive in all situations.

Originally from Edmonds, Washington near Seattle, Rains grew up cooking with his grandmother, who pioneered the Seattle area metro schools’ lunch program. Rains remembers spending countless hours in the kitchen with her and was inspired by her successful improvement of the food and nutritional value for thousands of students, creating better dining experiences. That is what he strives to do now, both in his restaurants and through his clients’ ventures.

When he moved to Nashville as a teenager, he started working his way up through hospitality companies as a dishwasher, server, and finally in the kitchen where his true innate talent was uncovered. In his early 20’s, he quickly became a head chef and was then promoted to Executive Chef, a position he’s held in a few key Nashville establishments, including his own, for 30 years. His longevity in the industry both locally and nationally means long standing relationships with companies and strategic partners across the country.

Chef Rains led kitchen teams at Sheraton Music City, F Scott’s, The Wildhorse Saloon, and his last position, the Bridgestone Arena (known then as the Sommet Center) feeding the Nashville Predators and various world famous musicians before starting his own company with his wife, Erica Rains.  Chris has been a well-known award winning chef in Nashville that has been creating proven processes and improving dining experiences for his clients and customers. 

His cooking style has always been elevated but approachable; a relatable gourmet offering. He believes that people should take time to enjoy food and bond over a good meal. This mantra helped shape the business model he and his wife created, offering private residential dinners, high profile catering, and interactive culinary events. The two began with about one event a month in 2008, and grew that to approximately 400 offsite events a year by 2011. In 2012, they opened their first brick and mortar, The Chef and I at Lenox. Situated between Brentwood, Nashville and Nolensville, the restaurant was a destination for foodies and served as a sales tool for brides, corporate clients and other customers doing tastings to plan their private event menus with the chefs. 

In 2017, Chris and Erica Rains had the chance to open in the Gulch and The Chef and I on Ninth was born. This proved to be a huge stepping stone in getting this company on the map even more in Nashville. Five years later, the company moved locations to midtown near Music Row, in their biggest and most immersive location yet. They currently have two show kitchens, a private chef’s table booth, and three levels of bars, dining areas and private rooms. 

Chef Chris Rains is known for his award winning barbecue and in addition to winning Memphis in May competitions, he went on to become a judge for them as well. His company won Best in Business in 2020 with the Nashville Business Journal, ranked number 42 in the country on Yelp’s top 100 Restaurants in the U.S. in 2021. Currently, the restaurant sits at number five overall among approximately 1,500 restaurants in Nashville metro, and number two in the fine dining category on Trip Advisor. The Chef and I has been featured in many publications including the Nashville Business Journal, The Tennessean, The Nashville Scene, Nashville Lifestyles Magazine and NFocus Magazine. Television has always been part of his notoriety as well, with 20 years of appearances on the local CBS affiliate’s midday show, Talk of the Town, and two reality shows – GAC’s “Day Jobs” and CNBC’s “Restaurant Startup”.