1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:01,800 Hello chefs. You're listening to chefs. 2 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:03,600 PS a podcast. I'm your host on Trina. 3 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:05,900 Tara on today's episode we're going to do Q&A. 4 00:00:05,900 --> 00:00:21,000 Stay tuned. So first, a quick update, what 5 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:22,500 have I been up to? I'll tell you what, the first 6 00:00:22,500 --> 00:00:25,700 thing I'd like to talk about is I have a newsletter and I've 7 00:00:25,700 --> 00:00:27,600 sent out so far two volumes of the newsletter. 8 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:31,700 I plan on sending out a new one, every Wednesday approximately. 9 00:00:31,700 --> 00:00:34,100 So if you're interested in receiving the newsletter, go to 10 00:00:34,100 --> 00:00:37,200 chefs, PS a.com. Go to the contact page and 11 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:40,100 scroll to the bottom and you should see a spot where you can 12 00:00:40,100 --> 00:00:42,900 sign up for the newsletter. I plan on doing this 13 00:00:42,900 --> 00:00:45,400 consistently. It will most likely like all 14 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:47,400 things evolve as I figure it out. 15 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:49,300 I appreciate feedback. If you've received Received the 16 00:00:49,300 --> 00:00:51,400 news letter, let me know what you think, but I want to keep it 17 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:55,900 short Punchy to the point, you know, something four chefs 18 00:00:55,900 --> 00:00:59,400 involving leadership something for everyone that works in a 19 00:00:59,408 --> 00:01:03,900 kitchen and maybe something curious that I'm doing at the 20 00:01:03,908 --> 00:01:06,100 moment. Speaking of something curious, 21 00:01:07,100 --> 00:01:10,500 some interesting things that going on this week. 22 00:01:10,500 --> 00:01:13,200 I don't know if everyone saw the Bocuse to your, it was an 23 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:15,500 incredible competition. I'm bummed the United States did 24 00:01:15,500 --> 00:01:17,700 not win. I was all Team USA but 25 00:01:17,700 --> 00:01:19,400 nonetheless, if you had a chance to check, It out. 26 00:01:19,900 --> 00:01:22,700 I'd love to know what you think. I'm a big fan of watching those 27 00:01:22,700 --> 00:01:27,000 culinary competitions. You get to see skill at the 28 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,900 highest level and congratulations to Denmark on 29 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,700 winning first place. They did an incredible job. 30 00:01:34,700 --> 00:01:37,600 Anyway, the other thing that I'm doing is I started reading 31 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,800 unreasonable Hospitality by will get Dara and I gotta say it's a 32 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:44,100 great book. If you haven't read it I think 33 00:01:44,100 --> 00:01:47,000 you should. It's really a lot of the things 34 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,100 that I believe in you. He talks a lot about culture and 35 00:01:50,100 --> 00:01:53,100 building a culture and Leadership and empowering as 36 00:01:53,100 --> 00:01:55,100 people and and how to build a strong team. 37 00:01:55,100 --> 00:01:58,300 So, a lot of the same things that I'm preaching, I think. 38 00:01:59,500 --> 00:02:01,700 I haven't disagreed with anything so far in his book. 39 00:02:01,700 --> 00:02:04,100 I think we use different language sometimes, but I think 40 00:02:04,100 --> 00:02:08,100 the point is always the same, and I would say that Probably 41 00:02:08,100 --> 00:02:11,600 99% of the time. I'm going to agree with him on 42 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,400 what he's saying. So if it's a great book, if you 43 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:18,600 haven't had a chance to check it out unreasonable Hospitality the 44 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:21,200 new book by will gadara, I think it's fantastic. 45 00:02:21,300 --> 00:02:26,800 And then the James Beard semifinalist list came out here 46 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,500 in the United States. So for those of you that are 47 00:02:29,500 --> 00:02:33,400 unaware, James Beard is a organization here in the US, 48 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:36,400 they put on an annual Chef Awards restaurant Awards, 49 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,000 anyway, Cool to see a lot of the people on the list. 50 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:41,900 I know congratulations to a lot of my friends that are on there. 51 00:02:42,300 --> 00:02:46,500 Shout out to Junior Borgess who good friend of mine, who is on 52 00:02:46,500 --> 00:02:49,800 the outstanding Chef list. My friends anastacio Quinones, 53 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,200 Rick Lopez for mean Nunez to fell. 54 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:56,600 A lot of my Texas friends that that were nominated, 55 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:58,900 congratulations to all of you. Congratulations to all the 56 00:02:58,900 --> 00:03:01,600 nominees. It'll be exciting to see who 57 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,300 wins. But anyway, enough about that. 58 00:03:05,100 --> 00:03:10,600 Let's get into today's episode which is Q&A, and I got to say, 59 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,500 I got a lot of questions, a lot of the questions I've answered 60 00:03:13,500 --> 00:03:15,700 before on other podcast. So I'm not going to get too much 61 00:03:15,700 --> 00:03:18,900 into things that I've already discussed previously, but I will 62 00:03:18,900 --> 00:03:22,800 try to get as many questions answered as I can if I can't get 63 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:24,800 to all of them, then maybe this warrants apart to. 64 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:28,100 Let me know if you want to hear a second part to this and I can 65 00:03:28,100 --> 00:03:30,400 answer more the questions. But anyway, let's get into the 66 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:34,200 first couple of questions. So the first question is, how do 67 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:36,700 I as a young? Young aspiring Chef separate 68 00:03:36,700 --> 00:03:44,500 myself from the other Cooks. And as stupid as this answer may 69 00:03:44,500 --> 00:03:48,900 sound, I would say care more a lot of the times. 70 00:03:48,900 --> 00:03:53,000 If you want to get noticed you have to care a little bit more 71 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,200 and sometimes it's not cool to care like you know it's kind of 72 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:59,100 have a flippant attitude in the kitchen or whatever and be cool 73 00:03:59,500 --> 00:04:02,000 sometimes that doesn't work and it doesn't necessarily work for 74 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:04,500 the people that you're trying to impress the attitude of not 75 00:04:04,500 --> 00:04:08,400 caring or I'll do more. When you pay me more isn't 76 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:10,800 usually the type of Of person that gets promoted in most 77 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:12,700 kitchens. Of course, there are outliers, 78 00:04:13,300 --> 00:04:17,500 but I would say what I would do to get noticed is care 79 00:04:17,500 --> 00:04:20,200 tremendously about what you're doing care about the food that 80 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:23,100 you're producing care about, showing up to work on time. 81 00:04:23,100 --> 00:04:26,100 Be a professional, be polite to be engaged. 82 00:04:26,100 --> 00:04:29,300 Listen, when people are talking take notes, I would say doing 83 00:04:29,300 --> 00:04:34,600 all those things gets you noticed the things that don't 84 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:37,600 get you noticed is when you just kind of fall under the radar you 85 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:40,300 don't speak up. You kind of fall in the 86 00:04:40,300 --> 00:04:44,600 background that person tends to not get noticed in and maybe 87 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:46,200 they do care a lot, but they're just quiet. 88 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:51,700 So, being involved being engaged demonstrating that you care 89 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:56,500 taking an active role in leadership, even though you are 90 00:04:56,500 --> 00:04:58,600 not a leader. So I'll give you an example of 91 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:00,700 what I mean. Maybe it's like there's some 92 00:05:00,700 --> 00:05:03,100 down time, you take it upon yourself, to go organize the 93 00:05:03,100 --> 00:05:04,900 cooler. Those are the type of things 94 00:05:04,900 --> 00:05:09,900 that get you noticed. Not just doing what you get paid 95 00:05:09,900 --> 00:05:14,300 to do, but going above and beyond what you get paid to do. 96 00:05:14,300 --> 00:05:16,300 That's what gets you noticed. I've talked about this on 97 00:05:16,300 --> 00:05:18,700 another episode. I think it was the sous chef 98 00:05:18,700 --> 00:05:21,800 episode. One of the things that I think 99 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:25,600 people fail to realize, is the attitude of I will do more when 100 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:27,800 you pay me more. And then there's someone else 101 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:31,100 that says I'll do it regardless of what you pay me when the time 102 00:05:31,100 --> 00:05:34,800 for promotion comes up. Usually the person that did it 103 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:40,900 regardless will be the person that gets promoted. because, I 104 00:05:40,900 --> 00:05:43,400 know as the person who's doing the promoting when the going 105 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:46,000 gets tough, this person has demonstrated that they will do 106 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,700 it. The other person is an unproven 107 00:05:49,900 --> 00:05:52,800 Unknown commodity, will they do it? 108 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:55,400 When the time gets tough? Because they say, they'll do it 109 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:58,000 if you pay them. But will they really the other 110 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:00,100 person will do it, even if you don't pay them. 111 00:06:00,500 --> 00:06:03,600 So if you are in a position to promote someone who are you 112 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:07,600 going to pick the person who will do it, even if you don't 113 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:10,100 ask them to do it or the person who will only do it if you pay 114 00:06:10,100 --> 00:06:12,800 them more. I mean, if you run a business, 115 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:14,500 it's a no-brainer who you're going to promote. 116 00:06:15,300 --> 00:06:18,300 A lot of people might not understand that concept. 117 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,500 I know I To a lot of people, you know, when I was a chef that, 118 00:06:21,500 --> 00:06:24,000 you know, pay me more and I'll do more, those people, struggle 119 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:26,800 getting promoted. I could tell you with 100% 120 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:28,300 certainty. Trust me, I know what I'm 121 00:06:28,300 --> 00:06:30,900 telling you, you have to demonstrate that you are willing 122 00:06:30,900 --> 00:06:33,500 to do more than everyone else on your team. 123 00:06:33,500 --> 00:06:35,400 Because the person that's willing to do more than everyone 124 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:38,600 else on the team and cares. More is the person that gets 125 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:40,000 promoted? Good question, though. 126 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:44,000 The next question I have here is, when is it time for a cook 127 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,500 to take a management position? Well, there's two ways to know 128 00:06:47,500 --> 00:06:49,600 when you're ready. One, someone will tell. 129 00:06:49,700 --> 00:06:52,300 You, so maybe your sous chef for your head, chef whatever will 130 00:06:52,300 --> 00:06:54,600 come up to you and say, hey I think you need to start looking 131 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:57,900 into growing into a bigger role. You've demonstrated a lot of 132 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:00,500 leadership capabilities, maybe we want to move you up, so 133 00:07:00,500 --> 00:07:02,700 sometimes they'll come and tell you when you're ready, when 134 00:07:02,700 --> 00:07:04,900 everyone else knows you're ready, they will definitely let 135 00:07:04,900 --> 00:07:07,800 you know. But also sometimes you're not 136 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:09,700 ready and you just got to take the leap of faith. 137 00:07:09,700 --> 00:07:11,700 You got to just say, I'm going to jump in and learn how to 138 00:07:11,707 --> 00:07:15,200 swim. And if you're not ready, you 139 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:18,100 might fail and you'll have to take a step back and reassess 140 00:07:18,300 --> 00:07:20,700 and go back and figure out what you did wrong so you could get 141 00:07:20,700 --> 00:07:23,000 better. But the only way to know is to 142 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:27,400 try and a lot of times in our careers, we get stuck and we're 143 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:30,800 paralyzed with fear because we're unsure if we're ready and 144 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:34,000 we hesitate and you can't do that. 145 00:07:34,100 --> 00:07:38,200 If you think you're ready, then try it, ask maybe you're not 146 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:40,800 ready, but maybe you still go up to your Chef for your Mentor, or 147 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:42,700 whoever and say, hey, I think I'm ready. 148 00:07:43,100 --> 00:07:45,200 Like to be considered from this position and they might say 149 00:07:45,300 --> 00:07:47,300 great, let's put you under they might say you're not reading. 150 00:07:47,300 --> 00:07:50,300 Here's what you need to do which is great also because now you 151 00:07:50,300 --> 00:07:52,600 have something tangible that you could say I could go back and 152 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:54,800 work on this. I could go back and look at 153 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:57,400 these things that they said I need Improvement on and I'll go 154 00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:59,500 and prove that. So that would be my advice. 155 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:01,600 You might be ready. You might not but there's only 156 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:03,400 one way to find out and that's just to jump in. 157 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:06,800 So there's not like a magic answer that says, this is how, 158 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:08,200 you know, because you could do all this. 159 00:08:08,700 --> 00:08:12,000 But the fact of the matter is You just got to try, you got to 160 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:13,300 let it be known that you're interested. 161 00:08:13,300 --> 00:08:16,300 You got to ask for it and sometimes you just got to lose 162 00:08:16,300 --> 00:08:18,400 your fear and Jump Right In anyway, good question. 163 00:08:18,900 --> 00:08:21,800 The next question I have is what is more important in the 164 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:25,900 restaurant food or Ambiance? And honestly, that's, that's a 165 00:08:25,900 --> 00:08:28,200 difficult question to answer as a chef. 166 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:32,900 I'm always going to say food is more important, but if you don't 167 00:08:32,900 --> 00:08:36,000 have a great restaurant, that matches the food, sometimes it's 168 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:38,200 a disconnected. It doesn't work out and I'll 169 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:40,500 tell you what, there's very successful restaurants on. 170 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:42,200 Both ends of the spectrum, right? 171 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,600 You could point to beautiful restaurants with terrible food, 172 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:48,100 that are very successful. They have a great Ambiance, the 173 00:08:48,100 --> 00:08:51,500 music is great, the decor is beautiful. 174 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:54,900 The vibe is just humming. You have all these people in 175 00:08:54,900 --> 00:08:58,100 there giving the room energy, but the food is man, it's 176 00:08:58,100 --> 00:09:00,700 nothing, nothing memorable. And those restaurants are some 177 00:09:00,700 --> 00:09:02,400 of the best restaurants and they're the most profitable 178 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:04,700 restaurants around. However, there's also 179 00:09:04,700 --> 00:09:06,800 restaurants on the other end of the spectrum, you know? 180 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:10,300 Just, you know, a very humble dining room, maybe it's a food 181 00:09:10,300 --> 00:09:12,500 truck. Whatever the case may be in the 182 00:09:12,500 --> 00:09:15,500 middle of nowhere but people line up out the door to get the 183 00:09:15,500 --> 00:09:17,700 food because the food is just that good. 184 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,800 Something that comes to mind is just like a simple restaurant 185 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:26,800 with light Decor, maybe just some wooden tables and, you 186 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:29,700 know, plastic chairs but there's a line out the door because 187 00:09:29,700 --> 00:09:31,800 everyone wants to try the food because it's that amazing. 188 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:34,600 So an argument can be made either way. 189 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:38,200 I think you need to have strength on one end or the other 190 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:42,200 if if not both I mean obviously. Lie in an ideal setting, you 191 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:44,000 want strong Ambiance, strong food. 192 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:49,100 If I could choose just one, I would choose, I would probably 193 00:09:49,100 --> 00:09:51,200 choose food. I would probably choose food 194 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:52,500 because I'm a chef at heart, right? 195 00:09:52,500 --> 00:09:55,900 So food, first. But the businessman in me, says, 196 00:09:56,400 --> 00:10:00,600 you know, I could have the most beautiful restaurant and good 197 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:02,200 service and the food could be, okay. 198 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:03,400 And the restaurant will still be busy. 199 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:04,900 So I don't know. An argument could be made either 200 00:10:04,900 --> 00:10:06,600 way. It's a great question and it's 201 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:10,200 something that could be debated, and I'm sure you could list tons 202 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:11,600 of examples. Samples on both ends. 203 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:15,400 Beautiful restaurants that are profitable with mediocre food 204 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,800 and vice versa. This is a good question, it's 205 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:20,200 kind of long. So I'm going to, I'm going to 206 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:22,100 shorten it. But the gist of the question is, 207 00:10:22,100 --> 00:10:24,400 how do you manage your culinary team? 208 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:28,900 When you don't get the support from ownership with regards to 209 00:10:28,900 --> 00:10:33,800 the hours, in the pay to keep them and maybe they have to work 210 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:37,600 off the clock and do some illegal and unethical things. 211 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:42,000 I think if you're in a situation where you ever have to do 212 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:46,900 something illegal or unethical, you should stop because it's a 213 00:10:46,908 --> 00:10:50,400 slippery. A slope and doing one thing then 214 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:53,500 leads to two things. And before, you know, it your 215 00:10:53,500 --> 00:10:55,700 way on the other side of the line, and you're doing all sorts 216 00:10:55,700 --> 00:10:58,500 of things that are unethical. I think you got to stop and 217 00:10:58,500 --> 00:11:00,500 regroup, and I think you need to have a conversation with your 218 00:11:00,500 --> 00:11:03,600 owners and say if this is what you expect me to deliver. 219 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:06,800 I cannot deliver with these parameters that you've given me, 220 00:11:07,500 --> 00:11:12,400 and there has to be some form of compromise on the so either. 221 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:15,900 You as the chef need to look in the mirror and say maybe the 222 00:11:15,900 --> 00:11:18,900 food that I'm trying to produce So maybe I'm punching above my 223 00:11:18,900 --> 00:11:20,400 weight with the resources that I have. 224 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:21,900 Maybe my Cooks aren't skilled enough. 225 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:26,600 Maybe maybe I'm putting some ego in the dish that doesn't need to 226 00:11:26,608 --> 00:11:28,400 be there. Maybe I need to pull back the 227 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,900 food into something, more simple based on the budget that I have 228 00:11:32,100 --> 00:11:34,600 because you shouldn't compromise. 229 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:40,000 The Integrity of yourself as a chef and have to do unethical 230 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:43,700 things for the quality of food. In my opinion, just do the right 231 00:11:43,700 --> 00:11:47,300 thing and if the food is if you have to pull back a little bit, 232 00:11:47,300 --> 00:11:49,200 then you then you pull back a little bit so you could do the 233 00:11:49,208 --> 00:11:51,800 right thing. So you need to let the ownership 234 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:54,500 know, either, we adjust the food that we're making. 235 00:11:55,500 --> 00:11:58,500 Or you give more money for the resources that I need to do the 236 00:11:58,500 --> 00:12:01,700 job. And if neither are willing to 237 00:12:01,700 --> 00:12:05,500 budge, then it's probably a situation where you need to walk 238 00:12:05,500 --> 00:12:08,700 away because you will end up doing something stupid, right? 239 00:12:08,700 --> 00:12:11,300 You're going to end up doing something, harmful to yourself 240 00:12:11,300 --> 00:12:15,100 to the restaurant to the owner, to the people that work for you. 241 00:12:15,100 --> 00:12:18,900 So at a certain point, if it's not feasible, if you are 242 00:12:18,900 --> 00:12:22,000 unwilling to adjust the quality of food and they're unwilling to 243 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:25,200 give you more money to do it than I think at a certain point 244 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:29,000 you got to walk away and say this is just this is just not 245 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:32,000 right for me and most likely it's not going to end in a good 246 00:12:32,008 --> 00:12:33,200 situation. Anyway good question. 247 00:12:33,208 --> 00:12:36,000 Very tough to answer without knowing the ins and outs of the 248 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,700 specific restaurant and specific owner but I think it's a very 249 00:12:39,700 --> 00:12:42,200 common thing that I've seen throughout my career as you want 250 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:45,100 to push very high on the food, but you don't necessarily have 251 00:12:45,100 --> 00:12:48,400 the resources to do it and ownership sometimes will drive 252 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:51,000 you and say, hey, we want more, we want more, you know, better 253 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,000 quality. Lower food, cost, etc, etc. 254 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:55,300 But there comes a certain point when it's unsustainable. 255 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:58,900 Ball and you as the chef need to stand your ground and I'll tell 256 00:12:58,900 --> 00:13:02,900 you a story when I was, I think on my second executive chef 257 00:13:02,900 --> 00:13:08,600 position and I was still very quiet and humble and shy around 258 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:10,900 some of the more senior Executives owners and things 259 00:13:10,900 --> 00:13:14,400 like that, and my boss pulled me off to the side. 260 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:15,900 And this is actually wasn't even. 261 00:13:15,900 --> 00:13:18,400 My boss, was my boss's boss pulled me off to the side and 262 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:21,600 said, hey you got to see it at the table, we pay you because we 263 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:23,600 want you to have a voice. So if you're just going to agree 264 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:26,500 with everything that we say, That you're not really bringing 265 00:13:26,500 --> 00:13:29,200 any value. So you need to learn to have 266 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:31,100 your voice and you need to speak up on the things that you're 267 00:13:31,100 --> 00:13:32,700 passionate about. That's why we pay you. 268 00:13:32,700 --> 00:13:35,600 We pay you to lead in this position and if they just want a 269 00:13:35,608 --> 00:13:39,000 puppet then maybe maybe that's not the right position for you. 270 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,000 So if you're put in a position of leadership and you're put in 271 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,500 a position to to be the expert, then be the expert and make sure 272 00:13:45,500 --> 00:13:47,700 you voice your concerns professionally respectfully, 273 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:51,400 draw a hard Line in the Sand on. What's on what you're not 274 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:53,900 willing to compromise on. Anyway, good question though, 275 00:13:54,100 --> 00:13:55,300 very difficult to answer but good. 276 00:13:55,500 --> 00:13:59,600 And I hope that shed some insight maybe in how to handle 277 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:01,400 it. This next question is, what 278 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:03,400 could I do to be more professional in the kitchen and 279 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:06,500 culinary knowledge. Short answer, cook more work, 280 00:14:06,500 --> 00:14:09,500 more in kitchens work around more professionals, work around 281 00:14:09,500 --> 00:14:12,000 people that are better than you if you want to increase your 282 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,400 knowledge. The quickest way is going to be 283 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:17,600 to surround yourself with people that are at a higher level than 284 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:19,500 yourself. If you are at the highest level 285 00:14:19,500 --> 00:14:22,200 and I put a PSA upon this, the other day, if you are the best 286 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:23,800 cook in the kitchen, you might be in the wrong kitchen. 287 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,800 Now, some people argue with me and said, well what about 288 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:28,000 leadership? If you're trying to develop your 289 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:29,900 leadership skills. Well, you could also learn 290 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:34,900 leadership skills around better leaders, now it's a fine line. 291 00:14:34,900 --> 00:14:37,400 Maybe you don't want to leave the team that you're behind, but 292 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:39,800 at the end of the day, what's going to better you and your 293 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:41,300 career. So it's a tough decision. 294 00:14:41,300 --> 00:14:43,300 Only, you can answer that. But if you want to get better in 295 00:14:43,308 --> 00:14:46,700 the kitchen to quickest way is to routes, is to surround 296 00:14:46,700 --> 00:14:49,500 yourself with people that are at a higher level than you more 297 00:14:49,500 --> 00:14:51,400 skilled than you more knowledgeable than you. 298 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,600 If you're the most knowledgeable person in the kitchen sometimes, 299 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:57,400 that's good for your ego. Ego, but it's not good for your 300 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:00,300 growth. So that's the quickest way is 301 00:15:00,300 --> 00:15:04,900 just to fully immerse yourself as a student, until you have a 302 00:15:04,900 --> 00:15:08,900 harder and harder time finding places where you are not to the 303 00:15:08,900 --> 00:15:11,300 student anymore and you'll be aware all of a sudden, you've 304 00:15:11,300 --> 00:15:14,400 transitioned into, that teacher role into that leader role. 305 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:18,100 So that would be hopefully, that answers your question in a 306 00:15:18,108 --> 00:15:21,700 simple way. This next question is when menu 307 00:15:21,700 --> 00:15:23,300 planning? Do you start with an idea or do 308 00:15:23,308 --> 00:15:26,600 you start with an ingredient? I start with both and it's not 309 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:29,600 so it's not so straightforward. I might be doing a seasonal menu 310 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,100 and I might be focused around specific ingredients. 311 00:15:32,300 --> 00:15:35,100 So let's just say I'm doing a spring menu and it's lamb and 312 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:37,600 morels and asparagus and peas. And so I'm going to start with 313 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:42,000 the ingredients and other times maybe I'm walking through an art 314 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:45,100 gallery and I see a beautiful painting and the colors inspire 315 00:15:45,100 --> 00:15:47,000 me and so I get an idea for something. 316 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:51,000 So I would say it really Ali happens both ways. 317 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:54,300 There's not, there's not a set in stone formula for people to 318 00:15:54,300 --> 00:15:57,300 get creative. I would say, the, a good little 319 00:15:57,300 --> 00:16:02,100 tip when it comes to getting more creative is to immerse 320 00:16:02,100 --> 00:16:04,900 yourself in the idea of creative exercises. 321 00:16:05,300 --> 00:16:09,200 You know, go to museums spend time in nature, talk to people 322 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:13,900 that are creative, go see artwork, all these things, start 323 00:16:13,900 --> 00:16:18,200 to get the creative juices in your mind, simmering, and 324 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:20,000 flowing. And you start to See things 325 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:22,600 differently. There's a really good book that 326 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:25,000 I read long time ago. I'm see if I could remember the 327 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:26,200 title. Oh yeah. 328 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:29,000 It was titled. How to think like Leonardo 329 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:33,600 DaVinci and that is just a book. That's an exercise in 330 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:35,600 creativity. When you you know, obviously one 331 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:40,100 of the most creative people to have ever lived is Leonardo but 332 00:16:40,100 --> 00:16:43,200 they said things like the way he would get creative like he would 333 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:46,100 lay down on the floor and look at things upside down and you 334 00:16:46,100 --> 00:16:50,300 know, just he did everything to to stimulate his Creative 335 00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:52,500 Energy. So that's a good book to use as 336 00:16:52,500 --> 00:16:55,200 a reference, But to answer your question, there isn't a 337 00:16:55,900 --> 00:16:57,300 one-size-fits-all answer to that. 338 00:16:57,300 --> 00:16:59,300 So whatever is working best for you. 339 00:16:59,300 --> 00:17:01,900 That's giving you the best results continue to do that, 340 00:17:01,900 --> 00:17:04,800 right? So hope that helps. 341 00:17:05,500 --> 00:17:08,300 The next question is, how can I improve my speed as a cook 342 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:11,400 because all my peers keep telling me I'm slow work, 343 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,099 faster. No, I'm just kidding. 344 00:17:15,500 --> 00:17:18,700 Really just got to cook more you gain speed with experience. 345 00:17:18,700 --> 00:17:23,900 But when you practice Practice really good technique and with 346 00:17:23,900 --> 00:17:26,000 the idea that okay, how do I get faster? 347 00:17:26,300 --> 00:17:28,900 Something I used to do is I would write down little goals 348 00:17:28,900 --> 00:17:30,900 for myself. So let's just say, I was dicing 349 00:17:30,900 --> 00:17:33,500 a case of tomatoes and I would say okay what was the time I'd 350 00:17:33,500 --> 00:17:35,200 set the clock? Okay we did it in 30 minutes, 351 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:37,900 great tomorrow, let's try and get it in 28 minutes and the 352 00:17:37,900 --> 00:17:41,400 next day, you know, 27 minutes. So always be pushing yourself to 353 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:43,600 just be a little bit more efficient, in whatever it is 354 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:47,700 that you're doing obviously with repetition and practice you will 355 00:17:47,700 --> 00:17:50,100 get faster. Something I've I talked about 356 00:17:50,100 --> 00:17:51,300 before, but I'll say it again here. 357 00:17:51,300 --> 00:17:54,700 If this is the first time that that you're hearing, it is I 358 00:17:54,700 --> 00:17:57,700 would go to the store and buy some inexpensive ingredients, 359 00:17:57,700 --> 00:18:02,700 like a whole chicken, some potatoes, some onions and eggs, 360 00:18:02,700 --> 00:18:05,900 I guess eggs aren't inexpensive these days with the price going 361 00:18:05,900 --> 00:18:08,100 up. But anyway, I would get those 362 00:18:08,100 --> 00:18:10,500 four things and you can make a lot of different things. 363 00:18:10,500 --> 00:18:12,800 So, with your onions, you can practice your knife skills. 364 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:17,300 Julienne, brunoise, etc, etc. Dicing and slicing etcetera with 365 00:18:17,300 --> 00:18:21,400 your chicken you could practice trussing Roasting butchering 366 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:24,000 deboning, making stock. Like, you could practice so many 367 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:27,400 things with that chicken brining, and so on, with your 368 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:29,700 potato, you could you could practice your torn. 369 00:18:29,700 --> 00:18:32,900 Hey you could practice again, dicing brunoise julienne Etc. 370 00:18:34,100 --> 00:18:36,800 You could also make mashed potatoes pommes, puree gnocchi 371 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:40,800 and on and on and with eggs obviously you could learn all 372 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:43,500 your different styles of egg cookery flipping eggs in a pan. 373 00:18:43,500 --> 00:18:45,700 Making omelets different styles of omelettes, the American 374 00:18:45,700 --> 00:18:49,000 style, the European style, the French omelet, and on and on. 375 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:50,900 But with Those simple ingredients and they're 376 00:18:50,900 --> 00:18:54,300 relatively inexpensive, you could just continue to just 377 00:18:54,300 --> 00:18:56,600 like, okay, I'm going to buy a sack of potatoes and I'm going 378 00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:01,100 to brunoise all the potatoes and then you know, by the end of by 379 00:19:01,100 --> 00:19:03,400 the end of that, I should be faster because you will have 380 00:19:03,500 --> 00:19:07,100 repetition some reps under your belt. 381 00:19:07,100 --> 00:19:11,300 I'll tell you a funny story is, you know, you, if you wanted to 382 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:13,600 learn how to brunoise, I had like, 50 cooks that I was 383 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:16,300 training on brunoise and that's all they do for like five hours, 384 00:19:16,300 --> 00:19:18,800 there was just brunoise and then we'd get it, and then you'll 385 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:21,600 make soup out of There was like, so frustrated like wow, why do 386 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:24,100 you why do you do that with the brunoise? 387 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:26,800 It was like, well, because we don't need it. 388 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:28,900 And this is, this is practice, right? 389 00:19:29,100 --> 00:19:31,900 And I was so picky about the brunoise, like, no, it has to 390 00:19:31,900 --> 00:19:33,600 be, this has to be this, but this was just training. 391 00:19:34,500 --> 00:19:37,700 And then when we got into the real world application, their 392 00:19:37,700 --> 00:19:40,100 knife skills were like, honestly, people would come up 393 00:19:40,100 --> 00:19:42,100 to be like, damn, their knife skills are so good. 394 00:19:42,100 --> 00:19:43,900 How do you, how are your Cooks knife skills? 395 00:19:43,900 --> 00:19:45,900 So good. It's like, because they just 396 00:19:45,900 --> 00:19:49,600 practiced it all day long for days on end and I guarantee He 397 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:52,500 you some of those Kooks right now that have worked with me 398 00:19:52,500 --> 00:19:55,600 during that specific period, their knife skills are probably 399 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:58,500 better than most Chef instructors that are teaching 400 00:19:58,500 --> 00:20:00,000 knife skills. That's how good they are. 401 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:02,100 So, anyway, the key to get better at anything is 402 00:20:02,100 --> 00:20:04,700 repetition. If you want to get faster, like 403 00:20:04,700 --> 00:20:08,600 I said, just practice make it a point to be aware of the time 404 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:12,000 and then also just repetition. The next question I have here 405 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:15,200 is, what does an aspiring Chef need to keep in mind during 406 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:18,800 their education? I would say this and I'll keep 407 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:22,300 this answer. It is that it doesn't matter how 408 00:20:22,300 --> 00:20:25,700 much you read or how much YouTube videos you watch or how 409 00:20:25,700 --> 00:20:29,600 much Instagram you look at or how much vocabulary you have or 410 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:32,900 how well, you could explain, you know, the process of 411 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:36,300 lacto-fermentation, none of that matters. 412 00:20:36,500 --> 00:20:38,300 The only thing that matters is, can you do it? 413 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:41,200 So I would say for an aspiring young Chef during your 414 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:44,500 education, remember, all of that is Theory until you could do it. 415 00:20:44,500 --> 00:20:48,300 It doesn't matter that you have a very comprehensive vocabulary. 416 00:20:48,300 --> 00:20:49,900 You can talk about it all day. Great. 417 00:20:49,900 --> 00:20:51,500 Can you do it? Oh, you can't. 418 00:20:51,500 --> 00:20:54,100 Then it doesn't matter. So I would say keep that in 419 00:20:54,100 --> 00:20:56,900 mind. No one is impressed with what 420 00:20:56,900 --> 00:20:58,700 you say, if you can't do it in the kitchen. 421 00:20:58,700 --> 00:21:00,500 So if you're on the line, it doesn't matter that, you know, 422 00:21:00,500 --> 00:21:02,600 all the terminology and that you went to the school and you have 423 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:04,100 this great degree. Okay. 424 00:21:04,100 --> 00:21:05,000 Great. But can you do it? 425 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:08,700 No, then you don't know it, you don't truly know something until 426 00:21:08,700 --> 00:21:11,000 you can do it. You might know how to talk about 427 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:14,300 it but you don't know. It fully this. 428 00:21:14,300 --> 00:21:17,200 Next question is as a starter Chef who could not afford, 429 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:19,100 culinary education. What is your advice? 430 00:21:19,700 --> 00:21:22,000 I would say just start working, find out what the best 431 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,500 restaurants are in your area and just go apply, even if it's as a 432 00:21:25,500 --> 00:21:27,800 dishwasher, just get in those kitchens and let them know. 433 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:29,600 Even if you go in as a dishwasher, let them know. 434 00:21:29,700 --> 00:21:31,900 I aspire to be a cook. I'll start in the dish station 435 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:35,300 and then when you see that, I'm ready and you see that. 436 00:21:35,300 --> 00:21:36,900 I'm a hard worker. Will you move me up? 437 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:38,700 And if they don't move you up after a certain amount of time, 438 00:21:38,700 --> 00:21:41,400 then you do you need to leave. But just getting into kitchens 439 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:44,900 getting into good kitchens as the key and surrounding 440 00:21:44,900 --> 00:21:46,500 yourself. As I said before, with great 441 00:21:46,500 --> 00:21:48,800 chefs, as probably the best education you could get 442 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:50,500 culinary. School is great and I'm not 443 00:21:50,500 --> 00:21:52,700 knocking it. I've gone to culinary school and 444 00:21:52,700 --> 00:21:56,900 it gives you a formal education, but it's just Theory getting in 445 00:21:56,900 --> 00:22:00,700 and being able to do it is like I just said, more important than 446 00:22:00,700 --> 00:22:02,800 the theory. So, actual knowledge is more 447 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:06,000 important. The next question is, which chef 448 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:10,200 would you rather hire a culinary school Chef or an entrepreneur 449 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:13,500 experienced Chef? I think it really depends on the 450 00:22:13,500 --> 00:22:14,900 position. Sometimes for an entry-level 451 00:22:14,900 --> 00:22:18,100 position, I don't want a super experienced Chef because they 452 00:22:18,100 --> 00:22:19,300 might get discouraged in the end. 453 00:22:19,500 --> 00:22:22,600 Level and sometimes four sometimes even for an 454 00:22:22,608 --> 00:22:24,700 experienced position. I'd rather have someone 455 00:22:24,700 --> 00:22:28,200 inexperienced because I want to teach them how I want it to be 456 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:30,500 done. Sometimes your education can be 457 00:22:30,500 --> 00:22:32,900 a detriment and I'll tell you what I mean. 458 00:22:32,900 --> 00:22:35,700 So let's say you've worked ten years in a certain type of 459 00:22:35,700 --> 00:22:38,900 restaurant and I'm running a different type of restaurant and 460 00:22:38,908 --> 00:22:41,700 then you come to my restaurant and you say, hey I want to be 461 00:22:41,700 --> 00:22:43,800 the sous chef here because I have 10 years experience, and I 462 00:22:43,808 --> 00:22:46,500 might say yes, but it's not in the style of food that I'm doing 463 00:22:46,500 --> 00:22:48,100 or in the type of kitchen that I'm running. 464 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:51,100 So it doesn't match. H up and then maybe I make the 465 00:22:51,100 --> 00:22:53,700 mistake and I hire this person anyway, and right away. 466 00:22:53,700 --> 00:22:57,600 I see that was a mistake because they want to run it the way that 467 00:22:57,600 --> 00:22:59,800 they ran it at the other place and it's completely different 468 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:02,800 from how I want it. So sometimes starting from zero 469 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:06,300 is better, it really depends on what you're looking for and 470 00:23:06,300 --> 00:23:09,300 what's going to be best for your operation and there's a case to 471 00:23:09,300 --> 00:23:11,800 be made for both ends. So it's not again, it's not a 472 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:15,400 one-size-fits-all answer, there is a lot of gray and a lot of 473 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:16,800 these answers. So I apologize for that. 474 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:22,700 But hey, life is Gray sometimes and I guess the best way to 475 00:23:22,700 --> 00:23:26,000 answer it as make the right decision, make the right 476 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:28,300 decision based on the opportunities that have 477 00:23:28,300 --> 00:23:32,000 presented themselves to you, for what you need, would probably be 478 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,100 the best thing I could say. Next question is, how do you 479 00:23:34,100 --> 00:23:36,400 impress an interview having little experience in a 480 00:23:36,408 --> 00:23:39,600 professional kitchen. So in my culinary leadership 481 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:42,100 fundamentals, book, I talk about this a little bit and I go 482 00:23:42,100 --> 00:23:44,900 in-depth on, you know, make sure that your polished, make sure 483 00:23:44,900 --> 00:23:48,400 you look like you're ready for the job that you're applying for 484 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:51,600 some, Apple tricks that I like to talk about is when you 485 00:23:51,608 --> 00:23:54,500 introduce your purse yourself to the person shake their hand. 486 00:23:54,500 --> 00:23:58,700 If you know of handshakes are thing, say your name, say I'm 487 00:23:58,700 --> 00:23:59,800 Andre natera. Nice to meet you. 488 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,400 There can say hi, I'm Bill and you say hi Bill. 489 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,300 Nice to meet you. Bill may do you mind if I have a 490 00:24:04,308 --> 00:24:06,700 seat try to use their name twice, it's just a little 491 00:24:06,700 --> 00:24:10,200 psychological trick that I use is the sweetest sound to 492 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,400 everyone's ears is their own name. 493 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,500 So, say their name twice within the first 30 seconds smile. 494 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,300 Don't seat yourself, ask. If you can be seated, be 495 00:24:18,300 --> 00:24:22,200 professional, have your They in hand, make sure your resume has 496 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:24,000 been proof, read. There's no typos. 497 00:24:24,500 --> 00:24:27,100 Make sure your, your experience is correct. 498 00:24:27,100 --> 00:24:31,000 Don't embellish people call each other and check on that. 499 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,300 Also, make sure that the dates are on there in position. 500 00:24:34,300 --> 00:24:36,500 You don't want the person. Looking at your resume to have 501 00:24:36,500 --> 00:24:40,400 to ask the questions to like oh here it says you're still 502 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:41,400 working there. You still working there. 503 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:43,600 Oh no I left two years ago whatever. 504 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:45,700 The case might be double, check your resume, make sure it's 505 00:24:45,700 --> 00:24:47,900 accurate. And then the last thing I would 506 00:24:47,900 --> 00:24:51,200 say that would impress during an View is I always say come 507 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:53,000 prepared with at least three questions. 508 00:24:53,100 --> 00:24:55,600 Nothing is worse than an interview when you close it up 509 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:57,300 and you say do you have any questions? 510 00:24:57,300 --> 00:24:58,600 They're like nope. I think you answered all my 511 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:01,400 questions that to me is one of the worst things you could do, 512 00:25:01,700 --> 00:25:04,600 have three questions prepared and simple like you could ask 513 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:06,500 them, like, can you tell me a little bit about yourself, 514 00:25:06,500 --> 00:25:08,400 what's your leadership style? Like whatever the case, maybe 515 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:12,200 just have some questions and the reason I say that is because one 516 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:15,200 you look like you're prepared and number two, everyone's 517 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:18,800 favorite subject is themselves. So if you ask them questions 518 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:22,000 about them, Selves, they will love to talk about themselves. 519 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:25,400 So one of the best things you could do in an interview is get 520 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:27,500 them to talk about themselves. They'll leave the interview 521 00:25:27,500 --> 00:25:29,900 thinking boy, I really like talking to that person. 522 00:25:29,900 --> 00:25:33,400 They were, they were a great conversationalist study body 523 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:36,900 language if you really want to get polished on interviewing 524 00:25:36,900 --> 00:25:40,200 skills and something called NLP neuro-linguistic, programming, 525 00:25:40,300 --> 00:25:41,700 that's something else you could study. 526 00:25:42,900 --> 00:25:46,300 And that's just like subtle persuasion techniques that you 527 00:25:46,300 --> 00:25:50,500 could use to get a slight Edge. Edge in the interview process. 528 00:25:50,500 --> 00:25:52,100 So anyway, that's my advice there. 529 00:25:52,700 --> 00:25:55,200 The next question is, how do you personally deal with impostor 530 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:56,700 syndrome? If you've ever had it? 531 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:00,300 I don't personally deal with it because I don't think I've had 532 00:26:00,300 --> 00:26:03,400 it now. I know with imposter syndrome. 533 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:07,700 It's the idea of people being in a position or having a certain 534 00:26:07,700 --> 00:26:09,900 amount of success that they feel that maybe they don't deserve, 535 00:26:09,900 --> 00:26:11,400 or there's other people that are better than them. 536 00:26:12,300 --> 00:26:15,100 I tone that noise down, I don't think about it. 537 00:26:15,100 --> 00:26:19,200 I'm not into, I'm not in competition with anyone else. 538 00:26:19,500 --> 00:26:24,500 I am in a Perpetual competition with my own mind and with myself 539 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:25,900 and I would encourage you to do that. 540 00:26:25,900 --> 00:26:27,400 You're not competing with anyone else. 541 00:26:27,500 --> 00:26:29,500 It doesn't matter if they're a better Chef than you, you're not 542 00:26:29,500 --> 00:26:31,600 competing with them. You're competing with who you 543 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:33,200 were yesterday. That's it. 544 00:26:33,500 --> 00:26:35,900 All you're trying to do is beat the person that you were 545 00:26:35,900 --> 00:26:37,100 yesterday and be better than them. 546 00:26:37,100 --> 00:26:40,600 So I would say, stop thinking about that stop comparing 547 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:43,700 yourself to others. It's a it's a dog, chasing, its 548 00:26:43,700 --> 00:26:45,500 tail. It's never going to stop. 549 00:26:46,300 --> 00:26:49,600 And there really is no reward because there will always trust 550 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:51,400 me. There's always someone better at 551 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:55,400 everything than you there's someone that knows more about 552 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:56,500 food. There's someone that's more 553 00:26:56,500 --> 00:26:59,500 successful and you could use that as motivation for you to 554 00:26:59,500 --> 00:27:02,900 get better. But it's not realistic for you 555 00:27:02,900 --> 00:27:05,700 to compare yourself to someone because you have no idea what's 556 00:27:05,700 --> 00:27:08,200 going on in their mind. The only thing that you could 557 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:12,300 control is yourself be better than yourself yesterday period. 558 00:27:12,300 --> 00:27:15,700 So I don't struggle with imposter syndrome but as ice 559 00:27:15,900 --> 00:27:20,300 Speak to people who do that would be, my advice for them is 560 00:27:20,700 --> 00:27:25,400 quit giving your energy to other people and reverse that energy 561 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,400 and channel it into yourself and improving yourself and it's a 562 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:30,100 better use of the energy that you have. 563 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:34,000 This is the last question and it was asked about three or four 564 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:39,400 times in the in the DMS and it's a tough question for me to 565 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:41,500 answer. So I saved it for the end. 566 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:45,000 And that is, you know, what is my personal Rock Bottom if I'm 567 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,000 willing to share it. Or the worst thing that's ever 568 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:52,100 happened to me in my career and I'll tell you that I had a 569 00:27:52,100 --> 00:27:55,200 period of maybe the worst year ever. 570 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:59,500 And that was, you know, I had I had lost everything for lack of 571 00:27:59,500 --> 00:28:01,500 a better term. I lost everything that I had 572 00:28:01,500 --> 00:28:03,700 accumulated over the course of my career. 573 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:08,700 I had reached a certain point of success where I was top of the 574 00:28:08,700 --> 00:28:11,500 food chain in the city that I was at, you know, it was best 575 00:28:11,500 --> 00:28:14,700 chef two years consecutive, I was in the running for the best 576 00:28:14,700 --> 00:28:17,300 chef in the city. I had all the stars from the 577 00:28:17,300 --> 00:28:18,800 newspaper. I was getting all the 578 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:21,700 recognition. I was probably on TV once a week 579 00:28:21,700 --> 00:28:25,300 doing something, I had gotten inducted into the MasterChef 580 00:28:25,300 --> 00:28:29,200 society and I was turning opportunities down because there 581 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:32,100 was so many and I was at the top of the world. 582 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:36,700 And when that happened, I got some advice for my mentor and 583 00:28:36,700 --> 00:28:39,800 they told me they said, do not get too puffed up, when all this 584 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:42,800 success happens because you could lose it just as quick as 585 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:45,300 it came and I remember thinking that's not me. 586 00:28:45,300 --> 00:28:50,000 I'm well that won't happen but sure should I did my ego got the 587 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:53,800 best of me and it was one thing after the other and my life just 588 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:58,900 started crumbling bad. And basically I went into a 589 00:28:58,908 --> 00:29:03,800 downward spiral and probably was willing to bring down anyone 590 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:07,900 around me, you know, to my rock bottom that you wanted to go 591 00:29:07,900 --> 00:29:11,800 with me. Every chef. 592 00:29:13,100 --> 00:29:15,500 Wants to get to a certain spot in their career and sometimes 593 00:29:15,500 --> 00:29:18,600 that's owning your own restaurant and being the best 594 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:21,100 version of yourself. And when you reach that and it's 595 00:29:21,100 --> 00:29:23,500 all taken away from you and you have to start over again. 596 00:29:24,100 --> 00:29:29,400 It's a very humbling situation and it took me a number of years 597 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:33,700 to mentally recover from that and understand what I did wrong 598 00:29:34,300 --> 00:29:37,600 and understand what I needed to do to get better. 599 00:29:38,700 --> 00:29:41,600 There's no one to blame. You can only blame yourself and 600 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:44,600 you go through these mental exercises, will whose fault was 601 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:45,300 it? At the end of the day? 602 00:29:45,300 --> 00:29:47,200 You can't blame anyone. You can only blame yourself. 603 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:49,800 You have to accept full responsibility for the good and 604 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:51,300 the bad that happens in your life. 605 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,700 And I often use the Expression, everyone loves being the hammer, 606 00:29:55,700 --> 00:29:59,300 but no one likes to be the nail, and in this particular case, I 607 00:29:59,300 --> 00:30:03,300 was the nail, and as bad thing after bad, thing after bad thing 608 00:30:03,700 --> 00:30:06,700 started happening, it's like shit. 609 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:09,700 I don't like this and I have to Figure out how to correct it. 610 00:30:11,100 --> 00:30:17,000 I think when you're a very successful chef, and you quickly 611 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:19,800 turn around and you're no longer a successful Chef. 612 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:23,400 I think your ego gets bruised, and you have to remove yourself 613 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:25,100 from that. So you could correct it and 614 00:30:25,100 --> 00:30:27,200 understand that. And that's honestly a big reason 615 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:30,200 why I started chefs PSA. Because a lot of the, the 616 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:33,400 mistakes that I made in my career, I'm hoping that I could 617 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:36,200 teach people to not make those same mistakes and not that 618 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:37,800 they're avoidable. Because some of you have to go 619 00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:39,400 through these mistakes because that's what's going to make you 620 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:42,200 who you are. Mistakes aren't bad. 621 00:30:42,700 --> 00:30:45,300 But some other rougher lessons, if you could be knowledgeable, 622 00:30:45,300 --> 00:30:48,000 when you approach these situations and it's like 623 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,400 understanding the moves on the chessboard Sena. 624 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:54,600 I know that last time I was watching the chess game, this 625 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:58,000 person made that move and they failed and they captured the 626 00:30:58,000 --> 00:30:59,900 king. So I'm not going to make that 627 00:30:59,900 --> 00:31:02,300 same mistake. Now, your king may get captured 628 00:31:02,300 --> 00:31:07,200 in a later move, but you'll at least have not made that 629 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:08,500 mistake. You'll have another mistake to 630 00:31:08,500 --> 00:31:12,700 learn from. So Anyway, that's basically the, 631 00:31:13,300 --> 00:31:15,600 the worst thing that's ever happened to me, is accumulating 632 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:19,700 a massive amount of success, only to have it, basically 633 00:31:19,700 --> 00:31:22,800 washed away overnight and then having to completely rebuild 634 00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:25,200 that. And it honestly took me about 635 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:31,200 mmm, probably about four years to get back to the same level 636 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:36,500 that I was previously in terms of reputation, and you're 637 00:31:36,500 --> 00:31:39,700 getting on getting on top of the city, basically. 638 00:31:39,900 --> 00:31:42,300 Lee wherever I was and having a restaurant that was in that same 639 00:31:42,300 --> 00:31:44,800 level. Anyway, that's probably the most 640 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:50,400 difficult thing is adversity, will make you stronger so don't 641 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:53,000 shy away from the adversity adversity makes you better. 642 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:56,400 It definitely did in my case. It helped me recognize some 643 00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:59,300 blind spots that I had. It helped me correct. 644 00:31:59,300 --> 00:32:02,700 You know the culture that I was creating and kitchens it made me 645 00:32:02,700 --> 00:32:07,000 realize that you know like all like all the all stories your 646 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,900 hero has a character Arc in my case like I was good at The 647 00:32:09,900 --> 00:32:12,800 beginning that I turned bad and then at the end it was good. 648 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:16,000 Like Darth Vader. We're Anakin Skywalker, right? 649 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,300 I had my Darth Vader, period. And then, I went back to Anakin 650 00:32:18,300 --> 00:32:23,400 Skywalker anyway, that's going to wrap up this week's chefs, 651 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:26,300 PSA podcast. If you want to support the show, 652 00:32:26,900 --> 00:32:29,800 you could go to Chef PS a.com and you could look at our 653 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:32,000 merchandise, we have some great t-shirts, etcetera. 654 00:32:32,700 --> 00:32:35,100 We have the three books, culinary leadership, 655 00:32:35,100 --> 00:32:37,900 fundamentals line. Cook survival manual. 656 00:32:38,100 --> 00:32:39,700 How not to be the biggest idiot in the kitchen. 657 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:43,300 There's the video course that you could buy or rent on 658 00:32:43,300 --> 00:32:45,800 culinary leadership fundamentals, sign up for the 659 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:49,200 newsletter. Subscribe leave 5 stars on 660 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:50,900 whatever you're listening on right now. 661 00:32:50,900 --> 00:32:52,900 So if it's Spotify make sure you leave 5 Stars. 662 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:56,800 Nothing else is acceptable. This is a five-star podcast. 663 00:32:56,900 --> 00:32:59,700 Thank you so much and hit the point of music.