Bring EYF to Your Organization
We create cooking-centered experiences, team events, and live conversations that help people connect like actual humans again.
Through food, humor, and shared experience, Eat Your Feelings brings out the trust, laughter, and honest conversation that most events never get to.
Everybody's got to eat. Everybody goes through stuff.
That's not just a tagline. That's the whole idea.
Eat Your Feelings started in a kitchen. Two guys, a stove, some cast iron, and an agreement to stop pretending everything was fine. Turns out when people have something to do with their hands, they start saying things they wouldn't say anywhere else.
Most team building doesn't work because people know they're being managed through an exercise. Cooking and serving others changes that. When the conversation happens sideways — while something's simmering, while someone's figuring out the next step — it's real. That's not an accident. It's the whole point.
We've built that idea into experiences for organizations, teams, and events. Not a ropes course. Not a trust fall. Something that actually works.
We bring everything. You bring your people.
Cory Brown is an Army veteran who served 16.5 years including a deployment to Iraq with a cavalry unit. He's the former COO of HarrisX, where he led research and strategy work for clients including Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Samsung. He's a professor of political management at George Washington University, a consultant, and the creator of Eat Your Feelings. He built EYF around a simple idea: food gives people permission to say the things they've been carrying around. He brings that same idea into every room he walks into, whether that's a kitchen, a stage, or a conference room. He lives in Northern Virginia with his family.
Sam Nathews is Vice President of Brand Strategy at the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, where he leads national campaigns, brand platforms, and executive communications for one of the country's most influential trade associations. Before that he held senior roles at the National Association of Manufacturers and Responsibility.org, where he built campaigns that reshaped how major industries talk to the American public. He grew up in Montevallo, Alabama, didn't meet Cory until they both ended up in DC, and has been his co-host, most of the time, ever since. Sam cooks from the heart. Cory follows the recipe. Between them, it usually works out.
What We Bring to Your Organization
The Cooking Experience
Your team doesn't need a kitchen. We bring one to you.
We set up cooking stations throughout your venue — four to six people per table, everyone making the same dish together, conversation happening the way it always does when people have something to do with their hands. Unscripted. Organic. Real.
Your people leave having made something together and said things they wouldn't have said in a conference room. That's the outcome. The jambalaya is just how we get there.
We handle all equipment, ingredients, setup, and facilitation. Available for groups of 15 to 100. Works in conference rooms, hotel ballrooms, event spaces, and outdoor venues. If you have power outlets, we can make it work.
Ideal for: corporate offsites, veteran ERG events, team building days, organizational retreats, leadership programs
The Talk
Your audience doesn't always need another speaker who's got it all figured out. Sometimes they need someone who's still in it.
Cory draws from his time in the Army, his transition back to civilian life, TBI, PTS, and what building something from nothing actually taught him about resilience, purpose, and showing up when it's hard. He's not on the other side of it handing down wisdom. He's in it. That's what makes it land.
People leave with something they'll actually use — not a motivational high that fades by Monday morning, but a different way of thinking about the hard stuff in their own lives.
Available as a standalone or combined with the cooking experience for a full day.
Hunger, Humor, and Humanity
A talk about why people open up differently when their hands are busy and the pressure is off, and what that means for the teams and communities we're trying to build. Equal parts honest, funny, and useful.
Ideal for: conference keynotes, ERG events, leadership offsite openers, veteran appreciation events, staff development days
The Full Day
The talk in the morning. The kitchen in the afternoon.
A complete day built around connection, resilience, and the kind of conversation that actually changes something. Your team doesn't just hear a message — they live it. By the time they're eating what they made together at the end of the day, something has shifted.
Designed for leadership retreats, multi-day events, and organizations ready to go deeper than a single session.
When you want your people to leave different, not just inspired.
Ideal for: leadership retreats, annual offsites, multi-day conferences, culture-building initiatives
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do participants need any cooking experience?
None at all. The cooking is the starting point, not the destination. We've had people who've never held a chef's knife leave feeling like they could host a dinner party. That's kind of the point.
Q: What does setup look like for larger groups?
We bring portable cooking stations so everyone participates simultaneously regardless of your venue size. All equipment and ingredients are provided and set up before your people arrive.
Q: What dishes do you cook?
We have a rotating menu built around dishes that work well for groups — jambalaya, taco soup, and others where the process is as good as the result. We'll work with you on the right fit for your group and any dietary needs.
Q: Do you accommodate dietary restrictions?
Yes. We ask about restrictions during the planning process and build the menu around your group.
Q: What venues work?
Almost anywhere with access to power outlets. Conference rooms, hotel ballrooms, event spaces, outdoor venues. If you have a space, we can work with it.
Q: How far in advance should we book?
We recommend reaching out at least four to six weeks before your event to allow time for planning, logistics, and any customization. Some dates fill quickly — earlier is better.