The culinary business can be a challenging one to navigate. So, to find success and to stay relevant, it’s important to be passionate about the work involved. To delve into that concept more deeply, Shari Bayer leads a panel of three chefs—Maneet Chauhan, Minh Phan, and Rich Rosendale—at Roots 2023: Regenerate.
Shari Bayer has thirty years of experience in the restaurant industry, and she is the author of Chefwise: Life Lessons from Leading Chefs Around the World. Her company, All in the Industry, launched H.O.S.T. SUMMIT + SOCIAL, which is an inspirational conference focusing on the hospitality industry. So, she brings plenty of wisdom to the conversation.
Now, here’s more from each of the three participating chefs.
Maneet Chauhan
You can find information about Maneet in her keynote speech, “To Grow Again,” presented at this year’s Root’s conference. In the panel discussion, “Evolving in the Culinary Industry,” she shared her belief that COVID made people in the culinary industry—and the overall industry itself—stronger. The pandemic allowed individuals to build faith in themselves as the industry came together to seek solutions and to look out for one another. As some restaurants opened and others closed, the experience definitely changed how the industry serves its guests.
Maneet believes that you need to be relevant to your audience and to your team. By listening to your customers, you are listening to a segment of the world that’s connected to you, and you can learn from them. Even the naysayers have value when you can go beyond a focus on your personal feelings after hearing the negative feedback, using the information to improve.
Her goals have changed as she’s aged, and she’s learned that, the more afraid she is of doing something, the less likely it is that she’ll succeed. Fear stands in the way. The biggest rewards are compliments from guests and knowing that her staff is happy. All else, Maneet said, is just icing on the cake.
When giving advice to a new chef, she’d tell them to put in the work to build a strong foundation. Shortcuts, Maneet said, only lead to a crumbling foundation. It’s also important to learn from your mistakes, which is more valuable than when you try to learn from someone else’s success. So, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, but don’t repeat the same ones.
As you climb the ladder, there will be plenty of ups and downs. When Maneet needs a refresh in her enthusiasm, she enjoys traveling to places with limited resources that can still create incredibly delicious food and browsing through her massive cookbook collection.
Minh Phan
You can watch Minh in clips of the Food and Country documentary and her participation in a panel discussion about the film and the topics it raises. In “Evolving in the Industry,” Minh shared that she left an arts-related career to transition into her culinary one—and that she considers this career to also be an artistic one because of how food can connect people. Minh takes a “super personal” and intimate approach in her culinary work and credits her ADHD with allowing her the necessary space to create an internal world in which to express herself. She’s proud of that space!
Minh believes that COVID gave people an opportunity to focus on what truly matters to them. For her, as a person of color, what matters is social justice. She wants to be present, look someone in the eye, and listen to the other person’s stories.
When asked about the concept of relevance, Mihn said that it doesn’t matter what’s relevant in the greater world unless it matters personally to you. It needs to be something that lights a fire in your belly.
Minh called the Michelin star system a universal currency in the culinary world and, even though she doesn’t normally focus on awards that she's won, she recognizes the importance of this one. As a chef wins awards, the pressure goes up and higher expectations exist, so she noted the importance of periodically rebalancing yourself. Instead of looking outward towards competition, she suggested that chefs change from within and appreciate competition with themselves. If you’re an underdog, be encouraged! That’s not a bad place to be.
If she could give one piece of advice to new chefs, it would be to live deeply and to use their craft to develop a style that dovetails with them. Be mindful and aware and, when going through a dip in passion, use your creativity to reset yourself.
Rich Rosendale
As a master chef who is one of the country’s most experienced competitive chefs, Rich Rosendale has continued to diversify over the years. He believes that the pandemic accelerated issues that were already going to happen in the culinary industry instead of creating the directions in which it’s going.
Because people had virtually no control over the pandemic, Rich used that time to focus on personal decisions where he could have an impact. He closely monitors trends, including what’s being done and what’s being considered, and he stays connected with others in the industry because it’s easier to recalibrate when you’re on the cutting edge and already know the ideas being considered. You can take those inputs and filter out ones that aren’t relevant for you, using the rest to evolve.
When Rich goes to industry events and other restaurants, he uses them as opportunities to learn and become better. When he’s inspired about something on the horizon, he considers how to bring that concept into his own ecosystem. He never wants to stop learning and, by creating an atmosphere where education and development are valued, that energy can become contagious.
Despite winning numerous culinary awards, what Rich really values are the relationships brought about through networking; he called these connections the real treasure. Plus, those connections often create unexpected ripple effects with positive momentum.
When asked to give new chefs advice, he’d tell them to find their own unique voices: who they are, what’s important to them, and what they want to do in their life’s journey. It can take time to sort out what isn’t right but, hopefully, the new chefs can have fun while they discover their strengths.
When in the doldrums, he suggested that chefs surround themselves with people who inspire them and to shake things up when possible. Resets can come from unexpected places—and they can be subtle—so it’s important to remain open to the possibilities.
Roots 2023: Regeneration Continues
This panel discussion, like the others before them, prompted an engaging question and answer period and surely fueled meaningful conversations afterwards. Stay tuned for even more information-packed blog posts from this year’s Roots conference!