chef sucess stories

Hello, out there! I am a new member just looking for conversation and intelligent insight from people in our field. Does anyone have a success story or have heard of an unusual way our fellow Chef's are making the big bucks! or becoming famous or just creating free time in this long hours business we're in, would love to here any thing you've heard.

[ChefRon]

Welcome to ChefTalk! I thought about your question for sometime, but don't know how you define success- I have made good bucks in the past but walked away from all that with the birth of my child. In fact, I have to claim that as my greatest success! As for making time in the business, you just do it. Just make the time. I think many chefs "major in the minors" and make the job impossible to walk away from. That's a personal choice- not a necessity. Once you bring a child into the world that changes your perspective on a lot of things. I like the 80/20 rule: 80% of the problems on the job are solved by focusing on 20% of the issues. Identify your criticals and manage them only and the rest will fall into place naturally. Try the 80/20 rule on other issues as well- 80% of your revenues come from 20% of your menu, 20% of your patrons contribute to 80% of your revenues. Its wierd how uncanny that rule is.

I know a lot of cul trained chef's are exploring the world of Personal Cheffing. We go into our clients homes to do their cooking for the week, leaving it behind w/ instructions for reheating. I'm a member of the American Personal Chef Association located in San Diego, CA. It's a fun way to make good money w/ great hours. Good luck to you!

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