Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore 746: Matt Jennings on Homegrown Vision
Matthew Jennings grew up in Boston, MA. During his summer teen years, Jennings got his start as a prep cook in Nantucket, MA. He went on to study at the New England Culinary Institute, and to work as a cheesemonger before opening his first business, Farmstead, in Providence, RI. After 10 years of successfully running and scaling Farmstead restaurant, Jennings followed his gut and made the move to his hometown of Boston to open Townsman. Jennings received countless awards and accolades for both restaurants. Yet, in 2018 he walked away from it all. Today, Jennings shares his knowledge with clients at Full Heart Hospitality, and works on executing his vision for Red Barn Kitchen.
Check out Matt's book Homegrown: Cooking From My New England Roots
Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!!- Subscribe to the Restaurant Unstoppable YouTube Channel
- Join the private Unstoppable Facebook Group
- Join the email list! (Scroll Down to get the Vendor List!)
- "Head down, full heart"
- Culinary school
- New England Culinary Institute
- The D.I.S.K. method
- Starting small
- Buying/operating a cheese shop as a starting point
- Budgeting
- Buying a business with established roots
- A partnership is a marriage
- Farmers markets
- Visioning - write it down
- Knowing when to say "No"
- Regrets
- Self-care
- Public Relations - do you need it?
- Chasing accolades
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Knowledge bombs
- Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
- Sense of urgency
- What is your biggest weakness?
- Over-thinking
- What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
- The fire in their eyes
- What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
- Shifting a culture to a new philosophy on food
- Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
- Respect
- What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
- Empathy
- What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
- Setting the Table by Danny Meyer
- GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM
- What's one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
- Listen
- Name one service you've hired.
- PR
- What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influenced operations?
- Galley Solutions - data-driven foodservice software
- 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?
- Be good to other people
- Believe in your own ability
- Love hard
Instagram: @matthewjennings
Twitter: @matthewjennings
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 Matthew Jennings for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!
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