FOOD BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER.
A shared meal creates space for conversation, connection, and time with one another.
OUR STORY / NUDE DUDE FOOD
NDF DIDN’T BEGIN WITH A BUSINESS PLAN. IT BEGAN WITH A TABLE THAT KEPT GETTING BIGGER.
Two friends. A love of cooking. People worth feeding.
What started around Seth and Ryan’s table has grown into a hospitality company built around food, experience, and taking care of people.
FRIENDS FIRST
THE FIRST GUESTS WERE FRIENDS.
Long before Nude Dude Food, Seth and Ryan were friends who liked to cook and bring people together.
In Chicago, shared meals became a place to experiment, with market ingredients, new techniques, and sourdough. Friends came over. Dinner parties grew. Cooking for people became something they wanted to do more of.
Their sourdough starter began in 2015. In 2017, Nude Dude Food officially took shape.
Since then, the settings have changed and the team has grown. The reason for doing it remains familiar: make thoughtful food, welcome people in, and take care of them while they’re here.
NOTHING TO HIDE
WHY NUDE?
Nude means stripping food back to what matters.
Real ingredients. Thoughtful sourcing. Simple, intentional preparation. Nothing unnecessary getting between you and the food.
The name has always carried a little personality. Our early shirtless-chef presentation was part of that playful beginning. As NDF has grown, the name has come to express the approach behind the cooking, and the care behind the experience.
Dietary needs belong in that conversation from the start. We plan with the people at the table in mind.
REAL FOOD. THOUGHTFULLY MADE. NOTHING TO HIDE.
IN THE KITCHEN / AT YOUR TABLE
MORE THAN A MEAL.
The kitchen doesn’t have to stay behind the scenes.
Ask about an ingredient. Watch the finishing touches. Learn a technique or join in when the experience calls for it.
Or settle into your seat and enjoy the people around you.
We read the room. Sometimes hospitality means bringing guests into the action. Sometimes it means knowing when to step back.
THE EXPERIENCE ADAPTS TO THE TABLE.
Find Your ExperienceWHAT WE BELIEVE
WHAT WE BRING TO EVERY TABLE.
HOSPITALITY IS PERSONAL.
We pay attention to the people, the setting, and what the occasion needs, from a relaxed dinner to a polished business gathering.
REAL FOOD DOESN’T NEED MUCH HIDING IT.
Start with good ingredients. Prepare them thoughtfully. Let the food speak for itself.
EVERYONE DESERVES A SEAT AT THE TABLE.
Dietary needs are part of planning the menu from the beginning, with care for the people sharing it.
KNOW YOUR FOOD.
Ingredients have stories. We welcome questions about where food comes from and how it’s made.
TAKE CARE OF PEOPLE.
Guests, clients, teammates, farmers, partners, and community. Hospitality reaches everyone who helps make the experience possible.
THROUGH EVERY CHAPTER
THE TABLE. THE SOURDOUGH. THE SERVICE.
THE TABLE CONNECTION
Friends, families, teams, and neighbors. The people change; the invitation to gather remains.
SOURDOUGH EVOLUTION
The starter came before the company. Bread, pizza, and new ways to share them have followed us through every chapter.
SERVICE TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE
In the kitchen, during a gathering, and beyond it, care is what turns cooking into hospitality.
OUR JOURNEY
THE TABLE KEPT GETTING BIGGER.
Each new chapter has given us another way to feed people.
BEFORE NDF
FRIENDSHIP & SHARED MEALS
Seth and Ryan's friendship grows into years of cooking, experimenting, and bringing friends together in Chicago.
2015
THE SOURDOUGH STARTER
A starter begins a tradition that will become part of NDF's identity.
2017
NUDE DUDE FOOD BEGINS
Cooking for friends becomes a company, with private dining and personal hospitality at its heart.
THE EARLY YEARS
BEYOND OUR OWN TABLE
Private dinners lead to new clients, new settings, and opportunities to cook beyond Chicago.
2020
FEEDING PEOPLE THROUGH CHANGE
With private events disrupted by COVID, NDF turns to bread to help sustain the business and support the community, including meals for frontline workers.
2021
PIZZA BECOMES PART OF NDF
The pandemic pivot becomes a permanent sourdough pizza offering-and another way to gather.
2023
A NEW OPPORTUNITY TO GROW
NDF wins the Grubhub pitch competition at The Hatchery Chicago, earning a year of private kitchen space.
Press & Recognition2026
A PLACE AT THE MARKET
NDF joins Green City Market as a vendor, sharing sourdough pizza and focaccia with market visitors.
TODAY
A LARGER HOSPITALITY COMPANY
A growing team brings together private dining, corporate dining, events, sourdough, education, and community work.
MEET NUDE DUDE FOOD
BUILT BY TWO FRIENDS. GROWN BY A TEAM.
Seth and Ryan brought different backgrounds to the same table. Today, a wider team brings that spirit to life through the food, preparation, and hospitality behind every gathering.
CO-FOUNDER
SETH BRADLEY
A FEEL FOR THE ROOM.
Seth’s path has taken him from trading in Chicago to performing as a musician and building a life around food. His background in entertainment shaped the way he connects with guests: attentive to the energy in the room, comfortable in conversation, and ready to make people feel welcome.
CO-FOUNDER
RYAN VAN VOORHIS
CARE AT THE CENTER.
Ryan’s background in social work shaped his approach to hospitality long before NDF. Working with children, families, and people in crisis taught him to listen, build trust, and pay attention to individual needs. That care carries into how NDF welcomes guests and plans their experience.
THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
The gathering begins long before the first guest arrives. Planning, preparation, cooking, and service all depend on people who care about the details, and about one another.
The table got bigger. So did the team behind it.
BEYOND THE TABLE
TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE.
Hospitality extends beyond the people at a paid event.
For NDF, that includes IBD advocacy, cooking education, local food relationships, and feeding people when it matters most.
These efforts grow from the same belief that guides our gatherings: good food is one way we take care of people.
Our Community
PULL UP
A CHAIR.
Tell us what you’re planning, who you’re feeding, and what would make it memorable.
We’ll take it from there.
START PLANNING