Eating Happiness with Joshua Ingraham

 Chef Joshua Ingraham refers to eating happiness as “the feeling your body and mind will have after consuming clean, whole, plant-based foods.”  This eating philosophy of being mindful and conscious of what you’re eating is what fueled his plant-based meal service start up, Go Buddha.

The Birth of Go Buddha

Launched a year ago in September, Ingraham explains “It started as a way to help my wife's father who was diagnosed with cancer. We then opened up the idea to the public, creating our company and building our team.” Having just celebrated the opening of his first storefront location in Rocky River, Ohio, a physical location now allows his team to expand from being delivery only to an eatery, as well as a pickup location for weekly meal subscriptions. Ingraham states “With many of our team without a job or furloughed, we had a unique opportunity to [further] open our concept up to the public and provide additional opportunity for our team to stay employed. The Rocky River community has been tremendous, and we couldn't have found a more mindful community to help further develop our health brand.”  

The Chef-in-Shape

Developing a health brand seems like the logical next move for Ingraham, whose past work includes chef gigs for the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Clinic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Celtics, Boston Bruins and Harvard Law School, as well as being a certified dietary manager, health coach, and author of 2 books focused around health. Add on Blue Star Nutraceuticals 2017 Chisel Challenge Champion and NBC’s Titan Games Season 1 contestant, and it’s clear Ingraham has a multi-faceted background in nutrition and fitness. His advice to anyone who wants to take the plunge into an “in shape” lifestyle? “It's all about small victories and breaking down bad habits,” he says. “Success comes from consistency; you have to make a plan and then execute the plan by working on it day after day. It's about finding your why and realizing that you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. To take extreme ownership in your life allows you to free yourself from the excuses that hold back the rest of us whose minds are closed.”

Business during COVID-19

With his most recent job for Delaware North at the Cleveland Indians on hiatus due to COVID-19, Ingraham took this time off as an opportunity to further grow Go Buddha. “Once the lockdown happened, we realized that [Go Buddha’s] model of delivery, and then shipping, became ideal for the current situation. We were lucky to have established an online presence first, and then moved into our brick and mortar after further establishing the brand,” he discloses. When asked to compare his work at the stadium to Go Buddha, Ingraham replies, “Go Buddha is a single concept vs operating the Ball Park with multiple concepts -  in essence, it's much simpler to hyper focus our attention on this single concept, than it was managing an entire field. The most difficult part now is the responsibility for paying the bills and keeping our team moving forward.” Face masks, plexiglass and contactless delivery are all procedures quickly adapted by their team in order to keep delivering nutritious meals to the public at a time when they were needed most.

What’s New

Speaking of moving forward, Go Buddha recently revealed a new partnership with Ready Set Coffee. Ingraham describes, “They are a local roaster that creates insanely beautiful coffee blends. They are now serving nitro cold brew coffee at our location!” Further, Go Buddha now has a Build-a-Bowl option, allowing you to create unlimited nutritious combinations. Ingraham’s favorite creation? The Nacho Nacho, a plant-based nacho bowl that features cashew nacho cheez, walnut taco meat, spicy black beans and corn agave relish. Ingraham clarifies, “It's called Nacho Nacho because it is twice as flavorful and nutritious as your average bar nachos. [It’s] a game changer in nutrition, allowing you to enjoy an all-time favorite.” 

Learn more about Chef Joshua Ingraham and his projects by visiting his website at www.chefjoshuaingraham.com

Written by Marianna Marchenko