Culinary School - Was It a Good Experience?

With excitement allow me to introduce to you today's guest, Chef Ferrel Alvarez. Ferrel break into the industry at the age 15 dishwashing, working as a prep cook, and eventually graduating from Cincinnati Culinary Arts Academy in 1998. Ferrell made his way to Tampa, Florida to further his professional career working at country clubs and the Tampa landmark, Mise en Place. Mise en Place founder, Chef Marty Blitz, transitioned Ferrell from lead cook to Chef De Cuisine. Ferrell's next project was Cafe Dufrain as Executive Chef. In December of 2013, Chef Alvarez opened his own restaurant, Rooster & the Till with his friend and business colleague, Ty Rodriguez. In the first ten months of being opened, Rooster & the Till had earned Best New Restaurant and Best Chef from Creative Loafing and Best New Restaurant from Florida Trend Magazine. Today Chef Ferrel Alvarez owns 3 total concepts, Rooster & The Till, Nebraska Mini Mart, and Gallito Taqueria.

Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!!

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Favorite success quote or mantra:

• "Constant progression."

In today's episode with Laura McCutcheon we will discuss:

• Culinary school
• Kitchen behavior
• Organization
• What having a child does to your career
• Personal struggles affecting a career

Today's sponsor:

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Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Positivity
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Self critic
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • Good people
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • Keeping up with all that I want to achieve
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • Positivity
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Be yourself
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   • The Obstacle Is The Way: The Timeless Arte of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday
   • GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM
8. Name one service you've hired.
   • FusionPrep: Training, Safety, and Compliance Platform
9. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influenced operations?
   • Tock: Reservations
10. If you got the news that you'd be leaving this world tomorrow and all memories of you, your work, and your restaurants would be lost with your departure with the exception of 3 pieces of wisdom you could leave behind for the good of humanity, what would they be?
    • Family first
    • Be a good person
    • Positive mindset/live with humility

Contact info:

Rooster & The Till website

Instagram: @roosterandthetill @ferrelalverez

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for joining today! Have some feedback you'd like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

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Huge thanks to Farrel Alvarez for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!

Restaurant Unstoppable is a free podcast. One of the ways I'm able to make it free is by earning a commission when sharing certain products with you. I've made it a core value to only share tools, resources, and services my guest mentors have recommend, first. If you're finding value in my podcast, please use my links!