Chris was a pizza and hoagie enthusiast before he started Backyard Eats. He was in love with composting, soil, insects, and the wonder of watching plants grow, but surprisingly he never ate salad or craved a veggie. He was dumbfounded when an early client requested she have enough greens in her garden to eat a salad every day. “Do people really do this?” he thought, “Is she just trying to impress me?”

In an effort to master growing salad greens for his client, Chris grew lots of his own, fell in love with homegrown greens, and became a daily salad eater himself. This profound personal change is just one of the many ways growing food has impacted his life and the life of the employees and clients that make up Backyard Eats.

Chris now leads a team of passionate professionals driven to help people experience the life-changing magic of growing their own food. And for the record, he still loves a classic Italian hoagie!

Mike Bennett graduated from Widener University with a degree in Finance. During a 6-month tour with his band, Apple Juice Jones, Mike had a revelation. In Willow Creek, California he spent a magical night with his band and a generous family that served homemade wine with goat cheese, tomatoes, and crispy onions – all from the family’s small farm. It was in front of the glowing fire that he realized he wanted to be a part of the profound transformation that food can bring to one’s health, community, and regard for Mother Nature.

In February 2020, Mike brought his construction and customer service experience from the home foundation and drainage industry to Backyard Eats. Now, Mike shares his passion for the magic of homegrown food with our gardening clients! You can often see him meeting clients for a consultation, or recording one of our personalized garden proposals.

In his free time Mike is a bassist, singer, songwriter, manager, and producer for his band, Apple Juice Jones. He also enjoys practicing yoga and golf.

Pat has been with Backyard Eats for multiple years, and gracefully runs our planting and maintenance team. Pat has an enormous wealth of knowledge for all things garden, seeds, and soil. He is also a perennial learner and student of the natural world. Everything you see on our website was tended by Pat at our bespoke nursery! You can also see Pat checking up on your garden beds to make sure everything is planted correctly, growing and thriving with the right conditions, and harvested for you to enjoy.

While volunteering at a local CSA, Pat became known as the “Salad King” for his routinely epic lunches composed of every leaf they grew at the farm, topped with the main dish from last night’s dinner. So naturally, his garden persona is “lettuce” because of its versatility, sustaining value, and because it’s good-lookin and good for ya! In his free time Pat is an avid fisherman as well.

Chris runs our team of highly skilled Garden Craftsman experienced in many different areas of landscaping and home gardening. Chris has accrued an elaborate resume of landscape companies and various growing environments and experiences, such as hydroponic greenhouses and organic herbal farms all leading up to his education at Delaware Valley University. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Landscape Design, where he learned about proper plant care, natural design techniques, and construction concepts.

After gardening and building all day with Backyard Eats, he typically jumps into his own large community perennial garden at DelVal. When not gardening, he continues his other greatest passion of music, where he plays both Jazz and Classical charts in large groups as well as a Saxophone Quartet.

His favorite things to grow or harvest are often what he can bake with! And on the savory side, a good spicy salsa!