💼 Career
Chef Side Quests
I’m noticing a trend amongst chefs with remarkable pedigrees from high-caliber kitchens.
It typically happens after a 4-10 year run in restaurants, where a chef takes a 12-36 month window to pursue projects that are:
- Small scale
- High-profit
- Network-enhancing
- Typically outside a restaurant (ie: they don’t take an Executive Chef job somewhere else)
I’m calling it the Chef Side Quest.
Just like in a video game where the goal is to beat the final boss, entrepreneurially-minded chefs might have a final boss that might look like:
- Opening their own place
- Launching a concept/brand (think: cookware line or packaged products)
- Achieving an accolade (think: Michelin stars or a financial #)
I’m increasingly seeing that these chefs aren’t going straight for that fight. They’re doing Chef Side Quests first, which allow them to:
- Build new skills
- Experiment, in service of finding their voice
- Stack cash
- Make mistakes and get feedback
- Strategize their next move
Each of the above dot points are typically dis-incentivized (or just not feasible) when you’re working at a restaurant full-time.
Deciding to take a Chef Side Quest requires risk-taking, putting yourself out there and returning to being a “beginner” again.
However, when done well, the Chef Side Quest results in room to breathe, established roots in a city, and the ability to thoughtfully and intentionally open a concept, often times with a long-term, multi-faceted plan.
Examples:
Greg Baxtrom spent ~10 years at restaurants like Alinea, Per Se, Mugaritz and Blue Hill at Stone Barns. He took a Chef Side Quest to be Jerry Seinfeld’s personal chef for 2 years before opening Olmsted, and now owns 3+ restaurants in NYC.
Kyle Connaughton worked for Michel Bras and Hestan Blumenthal before embarking on his Chef Side Quest to work on Pilot R+D (a culinary science development firm). He also developed the curriculum for CIA’s Bachelor’s Degree in Culinary Science. That led to him opening Single Thread, complete with a farm and an inn, which now boasts 3 Michelin stars.
Brandon Dearden took a Chef Side Quest to make content, build a personal brand and move to Montana before opening his Ember Collective Restaurant Group.
Marcus Jernmark started Habitué, a Chef Side Quest featuring a mix of private-dining-club with a limited pantry line (with their own caviar).
Compare this to stories we’ve heard of chefs rushing to open a restaurant, only to have it quickly close or miss-the-mark on the opening.
Takeaways
I know I’m not the only one who came up looking at Marco Pierre White earning 3 Michelin stars at age 33, vowing to myself that those were the goal posts to beat.
It took time for me to realize: it’s not a race. To bring it back to video games... speed running your career isn't the goal.
Because the reality is, as much work as it takes to earn the stars (or launch the product or achieve profitability), maintaining is the long tail of that goal.
Am I saying this is a binary choice for chefs to make? Absolutely not.
I’m simply noticing the tides shifting and a new potential path for chefs to take that often is more sustainable, less frantic/stressful, more focused, and ultimately leads to real businesses instead of just “flashes in the pan” or “splashy” openings.
If you've got the patience for it, a Chef Side Quest might be worth it.
