Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephen Paprocki.
Hi Stephen, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is Stephen Paprocki, and my story has really been about rebuilding community through food, advocacy, and mental health awareness. I started in the culinary world and worked my way through kitchens, eventually becoming an executive sous chef and spending years learning how restaurants, hospitality, and food systems operate from the inside out.
Over time, I realized that a lot of people in hospitality were struggling silently with burnout, stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, and financial instability. I saw incredibly talented chefs and workers breaking down emotionally while trying to survive in an industry that often rewards overwork and ignores mental health. That realization changed my direction completely.
I began building projects focused on helping people instead of just building businesses. One of those projects became ChefCooperatives, which focuses on supporting small food businesses, local producers, chefs, and community-driven food systems through advocacy, collaboration, education, and economic opportunity. The goal is to create stronger systems where small businesses and workers can actually thrive instead of constantly struggling alone.
At the same time, I also founded Cafe86SA, a mental health and wellness initiative originally focused on hospitality workers but now expanding to support all workers and communities dealing with stress, burnout, trauma, and isolation. Through peer support, wellness events, therapy partnerships, and community programming, the mission is to create spaces where people feel seen, supported, and connected again.
Personally, my path hasn’t been easy. I’ve gone through major personal losses, financial setbacks, legal battles, health scares, and periods where I had to completely rebuild my life from the ground up. But those experiences also pushed me to become more mission-driven. Instead of giving up, I decided to focus on creating something meaningful that helps other people feel less alone.
Today, I’m continuing to grow ChefCooperatives, Cafe86SA, and Black Garlic USA while advocating for mental health, ethical workplaces, local food systems, and stronger communities. My overall mission is simple: use food, wellness, advocacy, and community-building to create real impact and help people build healthier, more sustainable lives.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a smooth road, and honestly, a lot of the challenges I’ve faced are what shaped the mission behind ChefCooperatives and Cafe86SA.
The hospitality industry can be incredibly rewarding, but it can also be mentally, emotionally, and financially exhausting. I’ve personally experienced burnout, instability, toxic work environments, financial setbacks, and the pressure that comes with trying to build something meaningful while also surviving day to day. I’ve also gone through major personal losses, health issues, legal challenges, and periods where I had to rebuild my life from scratch.
One of the biggest obstacles has been trying to create community-driven projects with limited resources while navigating systems that are often difficult for small businesses, chefs, and entrepreneurs to access. Funding, infrastructure, partnerships, and sustainability are constant challenges when you’re building grassroots initiatives instead of large corporate-backed organizations.
Another challenge has been mental health, both personally and within the industries I work in. I’ve seen so many talented people struggle silently with depression, addiction, anxiety, stress, and isolation. That became one of the driving reasons behind Cafe86SA and why I became so focused on creating spaces where people can openly talk about burnout, trauma, and emotional wellness without shame.
There have definitely been moments where it would have been easier to quit, but those experiences also gave me perspective. They taught me resilience, empathy, and the importance of building real support systems instead of trying to carry everything alone.
Today, I try to use those experiences as fuel to keep building organizations and projects that help people feel supported, connected, and empowered to create better lives for themselves and their communities.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work today sits at the intersection of food systems, mental health advocacy, community building, and entrepreneurship. I specialize in creating grassroots initiatives that bring people together while also supporting small businesses, hospitality workers, and local food communities.
I’m the founder of ChefCooperatives, which focuses on supporting chefs, farmers, food entrepreneurs, and local producers through collaboration, education, advocacy, and economic development. The vision is to help build stronger local food systems where small businesses and independent workers have access to resources, partnerships, and opportunities that are often difficult to access alone.
I also founded Cafe86SA, a wellness and mental health initiative that originally started within the hospitality industry but has expanded into broader community wellness work. Through events, peer support, partnerships with therapists and wellness professionals, and educational programming, the goal is to create spaces where people feel supported instead of isolated.
Another major part of my work is Black Garlic USA, where I focus on specialty food production, culinary innovation, and scaling a unique food product while building sustainable business infrastructure.
What I’m probably most proud of is turning difficult life experiences into something that helps other people. A lot of my work is driven by empathy and lived experience. I’ve seen firsthand how burnout, toxic workplaces, stress, financial instability, and mental health struggles affect people in hospitality and entrepreneurship, so I try to build organizations and programs that create real support systems instead of just talking about problems.
What sets me apart is that I don’t approach business strictly from a profit perspective. I approach it from a community perspective. Whether it’s ChefCooperatives, Cafe86SA, or Black Garlic USA, the common theme is creating impact, helping people feel connected, and building systems that are healthier, more ethical, and more sustainable for the long term.
What matters most to you?
What matters most to me is creating meaningful impact, building real community, and helping people feel less alone. I’ve learned through both my personal life and professional experiences that success without purpose can feel empty. What gives my work meaning is knowing that it can positively affect other people’s lives.
Mental health and emotional wellness matter deeply to me because I’ve seen how many people silently struggle with burnout, anxiety, stress, addiction, isolation, and toxic environments—especially in hospitality and entrepreneurship. Too many people feel like they have to carry everything alone. Through Cafe86SA and my community work, I want to help create spaces where people feel supported, understood, and connected instead of judged.
I also care deeply about local food systems, small businesses, and independent workers. That’s a big part of why I created ChefCooperatives. I believe communities become stronger when local businesses, farmers, chefs, and entrepreneurs work together instead of competing in isolation. I’m passionate about building systems that are more collaborative, ethical, and sustainable long term.
On a personal level, relationships, loyalty, and genuine human connection matter a lot to me. Life has taught me how fragile things can be, and I’ve realized that people, community, and emotional connection are ultimately more important than status or money alone.
At the core of everything I do is the belief that even difficult experiences can be transformed into something meaningful that helps other people heal, grow, and build better futures for themselves and their communities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cafe86sa.com
- Instagram: @cafe86sa_ Instagram
- Facebook: Cafe86SA Facebook
