Preble Street staff are #CompassionInAction, and we want you to get to know them! This month we’re introducing you to Jacob Speakman, Sous Chef at Preble Street Hope House 

Name, title, and program: Jacob Speakman, Sous Chef, Preble Street Hope House 

How long have you worked in your program? I started working in the Hope House Kitchen in February of 2024. 

What do you like best about your role? The thing I like best is the creativity I am allowed to utilize when preparing meals and menu planning. 

What are the biggest challenges you face in that role? Some of the biggest challenges I face include finding new recipes to try. That way, we do not serve the same meals every week. Another big challenge is that sometimes, making the meals doesn’t go as planned, but the important thing is to learn from the mistakes I made, adjust what I need to, and try again.  

What is your favorite hobby or activity? I enjoy watching TV. Mostly I watch comedies and mysteries, but love watching cooking competition shows like Guy’s Grocery Games, Cutthroat Kitchen, and the original Iron Chef. 

What’s something that you’ve always wanted to try or learn? Even though there is really no need to, for a long time I have wanted to learn to read and speak the Irish Language. 

Anything else you want people to know? (professionally, personally, or other?) I started on this journey in the kitchen with no formal training or schooling for the Culinary Arts. It started while I was a guest here at the Hope House doing the dishes every meal for 3 months. A few of the supervisors that were here at the time         recommend I fill in the paperwork to become a volunteer inside the kitchen. After 2 months of volunteering and moving to the Transitional Housing side, a cook         position became available, and the Hope House Director at the time, took a chance and hired me. It is thanks to those supervisors and my current ones, that I am where I am now: a better place physically and mentally, and confident in my abilities as a chef.