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what is it like to be a chef an own a restaurant

Hi, my name is DJ I want to be a celebrity chef who gets paid 50,000 100,000 a year and own my own restaurant.

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John’s Answer

Awesome for you DJ, gotta shoot for those stars, right. So, you want to be a superstar, great. First let's figure out how to be a great chef, then a star then a super star. Think of being a celebrity chef like a high school basketball player saying they want to be an NBA star. Talent is the first item on the agenda. What skillsets do you have that sets you apart so those big names in the industry recognize your effort. On the high school side its days and days and days of practice until you're noticed by a great college. So now say you're a sous chef at Gordon Ramsey's Steak inside the Paris in Vegas. I pick that one, because I was working with those executive chefs the other day and I was up close and personal to their talent. About 20 great cooks in the kitchen several great and talented sous chefs and 3 executive chefs. They all work hard, they all work 10-12 hour days and they are all very competitive with each other while at the same time working as a great team. How many of them will be celebrity chefs? So, you have to find yourself a starting place. Working for a celebrity chef definitely helps. But know, just to be a line or prep cook there you need to beat out 100 other applicants or more. What makes DJ stand out that the hiring manager will take notice of your resume? So other than culinary education, and outstanding accolades from teachers and mentors, it'll be work history and what skills you bring to the table. Once your foot is in the door then it is totally up to you, your skills and your leadership ability. But probably working at Gordon Ramsey's as an executive chef will NEVER get you a celebrity chef position. With that talent under your belt then you'd have to be at the right place at the right time, unless you have an extra million bucks hanging around, you'll find yourself an investor and convince him that you're talented enough to open your own small place. Talent is about 25% of it all. How's your business skills? How's your hiring training and HR experience? How's your financial knowledge experience? How's your product knowledge and vendor experience? And most importantly, how's your marketability. Gordon Ramsey and Bobby Flay and Martha Stweart and all the rest knew how to market themselves, get in front of people that matter, decision makers. I'm sure there are other roads that'll take you to top of the top. But this is what I know of all the celebrity chefs on the Las Vegas Strip.
Good luck, hope to see your name up on the Vegas Strip one day. Chef John (Johnny Vegas)
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Charlie’s Answer

Hey DJ and congratulations on having a goal with metrics tied to it! That puts you ahead of the curve. Now, you just need to work backwards. What services do you need to offer that will generate $100,000 a year. Think through all the ways you can make the money but also search for people who are already doing what you are interested in. For example, I googled "celebrity chef San Jose" and found Masaharu Morimoto. Now, you should go deeper into who Masaharu Morimoto is, how he started, where he educated himself on culinary arts and when he actually became a celebrity. See if you can arrange to intern at this restaurant and work for free so that you can him ask questions. You can do this!
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Rebecca’s Answer

Hi DJ, thank you for your question. I am glad to hear that you would like to be celebrity chef and run your own restaurant. It is a very good career plan.
To be a celebrity chef, you would need to possesses good cooking techniques and creativity on the dishes.
Below are my suggestion :
1. Practice your cooking techniques. Try different receipts . Practice makes perfect.
2. Attend Culinary Schools to learn more techniques.
3. Try more different cuisines. This will inspire your creativity on different.
4. Work in prestigious restaurants to learn from famous chef. This can help you to understand how business model of a restaurant and establish you people network
5. When you have sufficient start up funding, start your own restaurant. Suggest to start with a small one first.
Hope this helps! Good Luck!
Thank you comment icon This was super helpful, thank you! Juliette
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