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‘Gr8 Comeback’: Indy man grows into ‘date nights’ chef

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis chef says he has a talent for making your date night one to remember.

However, Jeremiah Oliver remembers when he didn’t always have that confidence; coming out of culinary school, he started small. He was “delivering meals to barbershops and salons saying ‘Hey, my name  is Chef J.O. Would you buy a meal from me?'”

Things changed when Oliver shared a vision he had with one of his customers about cooking for couples in their homes and calling it “date nights.”

“He was like, ‘OK, cool. , me and my wife’s anniversary is coming up next week, so let’s do it,'” Oliver remembered.  

Now, with his own company, J.O. With the Knife Inc., he considers himself the premier chef for date nights in Indianapolis. “People just let me in their house and cook for them, and, you know, I just love it, man.”

For Oliver, the road to get to where he is now didn’t come without sacrifices. “I’ve given everything to cooking,” he said. “(I put) my relationships on the back burner, my family on the back burner; everything for cooking.”

His support system reminds him that he didn’t get where he is by himself, and now that his cooking career is starting to take off, he wants all of his friends and family to know he didn’t forget about them. “I just want to bring everybody with me and especially all the people who helped me along the way,” he said.

Oliver serves as the lead chef at Limelight Indy on the northwest side. He says To experience his cooking skills, check out one of the dance and nightclub’s weekly Saturday brunch events.

To reach Oliver for his personal event services, call 317-833-3533. He’s also on Instagram.