Luis
Five years ago, I arrived in New York from Venezuela, where I was pursuing a career in the music industry. But getting into the industry in my country was too difficult. There was too much competition, so I decided to pursue another creative career. I enrolled in culinary school to try something new and discovered I loved it. Two months in, I began working in a restaurant. From there, I continued moving from restaurant to restaurant, gaining knowledge and experience in every place I worked.
Right now, I’m happy to report I’m working at my second fine-dining restaurant, and I’m at the place I always dreamt of being, at the level I’ve always wanted to be, and learning new techniques and levels of organization. For a long time, this dream seemed far away. I knew it was what I wanted from the moment I entered the fine-dining landscape two years ago. It mesmerized me. The level at which they operated was utterly different from anything I’d seen up to that point in my career. It furthered my love for this career, and now that I’m working on the pastry side, I’m even more amazed because it’s another dream come true.
Although I didn’t pursue music, no regrets there, I still draw similarities between the two. I get to create art someone else will enjoy, convey emotions through food, and when making desserts, I’m eager for people to try them and remember a particular moment. It’s a beautiful thing.
Facundo Brizuela
I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I’ve been working in restaurants for six years. From a very young age, I saw chefs on TV and in books, like Narda Lepes and Fernando Trocca. Through these influences I discovered my love for cooking. I wanted to be like them, so I studied on my own until I was old enough to study at the IGI (International Gastronomic Institute). After three years, I graduated.
My first kitchen job was hard. We all know kitchens are complicated and even more so when you’re 18 working 12 hours a day! But I learned a lot being there for a year.
The thing I love most about cooking is the adrenaline of service and the satisfaction on the faces of diners. My passion for good service, a love for good food and the desire to be better always pushes me to better. If I have a bad day, I try harder the next day. Never give up.
Today I am the Executive Chef in Loot Garden, Villa de Mayo, Buenos Aires, where we cook with seasonal products and the best meat in the world-Argentinian meat! This country is special as the food changes every 100km, so you know you’re eating quality food.
Argentina has very good products, restaurants, and outstanding chefs. This country has a lot to offer the world. I want to exalt the raw materials of this country and their capabilities. Gastronomy here is growing and there are increasingly better chefs.
A love for the profession makes it unique. Chefs endure heat, screams, low salary, blood and tears. You’re here if you really love cooking and want to be a great chef. The most important thing when it comes to this industry is the quality of the food. Take care of the product, be careful with the food when you cook, and always respect where it comes from, regardless if it’s vegetables or animals. Respect the earth, it is the best natural food pantry!
Jane Gleize
I was born in a small village in the south of France called Château Arnoux. Both my grandfather and father are chefs, so the kitchen has been a part of my life since early childhood. Some of my favorite memories involve my grandmother and me visiting the market, prepping meals, and sharing it with the family.
My first kitchen job was an incredible experience. It was in a small village in southern France with Chef Eric Sape, a Michelin-starred Chef. I learned a lot about love, generosity, hard work, and always being your best. Every day when you go into the kitchen, cook with love because when you don’t, you can taste it in the food. From this experience, I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
I worked in England for two years at a three-Michelin-starred restaurant called The Waterside Inn, run by the Roux Family, before returning home to France to work with my family. Four years later, I’m the head chef with my dad, and I’m so grateful to work with my family and the incredible team every day.
If I could give anyone any advice, it would be to never give up. Trust yourself. Wake up every day and push yourself. It’s the only way to get what you want.
Justin Box
My name is Justin Box. I was born in Dallas, Texas.
My love for cooking started on an old black leather and dark wooden stool in my mama’s kitchen when I was young. I remember sitting on that old stool, watching my grandma take spoonfuls of pork fat out of an old coffee tin and teaching me how to make gravy with it. I also remember my mama letting me brown the ground beef for spaghetti at least once a week, and to this day, it is still my all-time favorite dish. My 8-year-old son uses that same old stool today.
On January 13th, 2015, my first son was born. I was then five years sober. It was also the day we got green-tagged to open a restaurant called Cafe Momentum. Cafe Momentum was a nonprofit that taught juvenile offenders how to run a successful restaurant.
We taught these young men everything from catering to cooking on a line, serving, dishwashing, and everything in between. So, not only was I teaching these misguided youths and helping counsel them on a day-to-day basis, but I was also a first-time father, which I knew nothing about. After a reasonable amount of time, I decided I wanted to be a real-time daddy and give my son more time. This meant leaving behind some of the best people I’ve known in my career and pivoting in the direction of private dining, nonprofit partnership, and consulting/opening up numerous restaurants in and around the city. I also took on the role of one of the only people in my city to cook for many nationally known punk rock and hip-hop groups from all over. Being a father and doing service work are two of the most important things in my life, and I have finally curated a path that’s fully inclusive of both within my industry. I am in the fetal stages of starting my nonprofit to employ men and women in recovery. And, of course, my family will be a massive part of this journey.
For all the future cooks, don’t settle and know your worth. If you’re good at something, go out and get that shit. You are and will always be your biggest cheerleader.
Craig & Claude
We started the company with no formal culinary training or restaurant experience, just a love for cooking and creating memorable experiences through deliciously creative food. The kitchen is rough, unforgiving, emotional, temperamental, but beautiful.
We are living testaments that with love, hard work, and integrity, anything is possible. After only a year of dating, we started Cornbread26 Food Co, a NYC boutique catering company with a big punch.
We believe that customers can taste every ounce of love and effort you put into a dish. It’s the love for each other that keeps us going, but also, the love for the kitchen, and moreover, the love for exceeding a customer’s expectation with every meal that we cater.
That glowing customer review, that face a customer makes as they bite into your food at an event, that “thank you” email on Monday morning is what makes our 4am drives from Westchester and our 16 hour work days all worth it.
Letizia
Letizia
My love for the kitchen started at a young age when I used to cook with my mother on Sunday mornings. There’s nothing like a home-cooked meal. From there, I followed my passion and joined the local culinary school in Malta, the Institute of Tourism Studies.
A year through the course, I traveled abroad to stage at a Michelin-starred restaurant, embarking on a journey to broaden my culinary experience. I believe it planted a root in me, which has developed into a deeper love for this industry. Becoming a Head Chef when I was only 26 and being recognized by the Michelin Guide 3 months after opening The Golden Fork was a massive honor.
Being a chef is undoubtedly a labor of love. It is about enjoying the dishes you are creating, researching, buying new cookbooks, and exploring with ingredients. It’s about finding the path and achieving goals. Stay focused & give serious thought to what you want to achieve, and it will provide you with a lot of satisfaction.
One of the best things about working in kitchens is seeing the happy faces of the people who like my food. It makes the long hours worthwhile.
Lastly, female head chefs are few and far between, but those women who do go on to forge a career within this male-dominated industry usually end up achieving great fame and fortune too. From my point of view, a female chef is always needed to balance the energy within a strong cooking environment. So, I really hope we acknowledge female chefs more.
Gregory León
I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but grew up in Venezuela from age 5 to 19, moving back to the US in 1989.
My love for cooking started as a child. Since I come from a big family on my father’s side, our house would fill with friends and family on the weekends, cooking together with music playing in the background. Even as a kid, I loved seeing how cooking brought people together. It’s one of the things I love most.
In December 1994, I moved to SF with the firm conviction I wanted to become a chef. I got my first job as a breakfast cook at a well-regarded restaurant after lying on my application and saying I had kitchen experience. My only experience was working as a waiter at a fast-casual establishment in Tulsa years prior. I was a shy, gay 24-year-old walking into a world I had no knowledge of, with no idea I’d gotten my first job at a restaurant considered a pillar of the culinary community with a chef that was a legend. I got fired three months later when everyone realized I lacked experience.
Nonetheless, it was an intense and eye-opening experience that I cherish and look back to even after 29 years in the industry. Having started my cooking career in SF, I was never subjected to any anti-LGBTQ behavior—quite the opposite. I understand that’s not the case for everyone; much depends on a restaurant’s location and management/ownership. But to make the restaurant industry safer, we need to keep being visible and educating those around us.
This career is beautiful, and I always tell people it’s the kind of career you enter if you love to cook and work with your hands. It demands a lot on your mind and body, and I was ready to walk away plenty of times. But in the end, seeing the joy on people’s faces when you serve them dishes they love makes it all worth it. If you genuinely want to do this, pay your dues, work hard, and it will ultimately pay off. Have confidence in your skills but be humble.
I love that this is my passion, and I’m lucky I can do it for a living.
Stephan Ho Wing Cheong
My name is Stephan Ho Wing Cheong. I was born in the United Kingdom.
Gastronomy has been an essential part of my life for as long as I can remember. I first started working in kitchens in my father’s restaurant. Enjoying excellent fresh food every day spurred my love for the culinary arts. This led me to study at Westminster King’s Way College. After college, my first job was great, but I felt I needed to challenge myself to work in higher-end kitchens.
As my passion developed, so did my understanding and knowledge of certain products and how to bring bigger and bolder flavors together. I learned to make my mind work to create different and exciting things. As a chef, it’s important to be open-minded and proud of ourselves, just as it’s essential to learn when to keep our heads down and work.
Value your team, help each other to grow, and share your knowledge. Having a good mentor in this industry is essential. It helps push you to succeed. My biggest goal is to be happy and make good food.
Interview and shot 📸 🎤by @darklingcaptures official HOTK reporter in London 🇬🇧
Mariejo
I was born in the Philippines.
The day I discovered I could cook was the day I fell in love with this craft. So much so that I enrolled in the Center for Asian Culinary Arts, and started working in kitchens soon after graduating.
Though I’ve been in the kitchens for 20 plus years, quitting has never crossed my mind. Every day is a new experience and a constant determination to strive for the best and create dishes that make people happy.
I love this industry.
My passion for cooking keeps me coming back day after day, and one of my hopes is that food critics will realize how hard chefs and cooks work. If they understood the challenges we face and could step into our shoes, I’m sure they would have more sympathy before choosing their words and potentially damaging small businesses.
Casey
I worked as a dishwasher in high school, and I always remember thinking how cool the cooks were. After graduating, I transitioned to the line and started working in fine dining kitchens, something I knew I wanted to do from the beginning. The transition was intimidating and challenging at first but rewarding. The people you work with can often set you up to be a great chef when you leave.
It’s no secret a lot of things changed post-pandemic. One of the main changes fine dining went through was that everything got reduced. Gone are the days of free labor and massive teams with 30 cooks in a kitchen. It’s now more like the kitchen where I worked as a Chef de Partie. We’re a smaller team, but each of us is equally devoted and dedicated to producing good food.