Story of Sociale
After years in fast-paced financial and marketing jobs, Jason and Lisa Hake dreamed of ways to simplify their busy lives. They soon found a personal chef was well out of their budget. Undeterred, in May 2004, Jason and Lisa traded their suits for aprons and opened the first Sociale location in Eagan, Minn. – the next best thing to a personal chef for themselves, but also a business that offers gourmet food that is affordable and obtainable for everyone. In just over a year, Sociale has expanded with two new locations in downtown and Southwest Minneapolis. Besides gourmet food, Jason and Lisa also realized the value of offering retail gourmet specialty items. It could be said that Jason is following family tradition – his mother owns several retail cooking stores in his native Nebraska.

Chef Ampy Versalles-Curtis
Chef Ampy Versalles-Curtis is the head chef at all three Sociale locations, and hand prepares all of the fresh, gourmet ingredients that go into Sociale meals. Ampy also develops Sociale recipes, plans monthly menus, and works with participants during Sociale cooking club sessions.

After graduating as valedictorian from Le Cordon Bleu Cooking Academy in December 2003, Chef Ampy completed an apprenticeship at the highly renowned Cosmos restaurant in the Le Meridian hotel in Minneapolis. Chef Ampy grew up in the Twin Cities area and is the daughter of former Minnesota Twin and American League MVP, Zoilo Versalles. As flashy in the kitchen as her dad was on the field, Chef Ampy was inspired to pursue a career in food during a visit to relatives in Cuba, where she prepared a meal for her family’s entire neighborhood with great success.

Jason and Lisa Hake
Jason and Lisa Hake are a husband and wife team who opened Sociale in May 2004, with the goal of helping time-starved people enjoy great tasting meals with a homecooked feel. As parents of two small children, ages two and four, they strive to bring families back to the dinner table.

Jason stirs many pots at Sociale and is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the kitchen and new business development. Prior to opening Sociale, Jason worked in the financial industry but found that his fast-paced corporate lifestyle left him little time to cook the wholesome meals he loves. Jason grew up in a food and retail family and has always had a passion for great food.

Lisa Hake has spent the last ten years working in the corporate world as a Marketing Manager, most recently at 3M. She shares Jason’s entrepreneurial spirit, and is in charge of Sociale’s retail operations, marketing and new business development. As a working mother of two young children, she appreciates the benefit of having chef-prepared entrées ready to pop in the oven, so she can enjoy extra time playing with the kids.