Breaking the Rules for a Better Life: Chef Nyesha Arrington

On today's show we chat with celebrity chef and environmental advocate Nyesha Arrington who's efforts to achieve sustainability in her personal and professional life have garnered her national attention. Nyesha's unconditional respect for quality of life and the people in it has led her to break every rule in the book. Her unconventional path within hospitality has taken her from Top Chef to a brick and mortar in Santa Monica and all the way to private dinners in Belize. She sets the rules and follows her truth, every single day. Today we discuss what motivates, inspires and excites the chef about the future. 

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SHOW NOTES

• Sustainability in business
• Sustainability in life
• The pandemic has been a great time to reflect
• Managing a popup and event culinary business during Covid has been difficult
• Entry into the hospitality industry
• Starting projects during the lockdown was nurturing to the soul
• Started a garden with a neighbor
• Work-life balance is perfect when you are not working
• Building great habits for a sustainable life balance
• There will always be a bit of an imbalance because hospitality folks are wired a bit differently
• Hospitality folks are analytical, quick-thinking, passionate
• There is a fear we could go back to how things were if we reopen too quickly
• We haven’t figured things out yet
• Problems in the industry
• Raising prices
• Commodities have only gone up, labor has gone up
• Quick fix would be to raise prices but is the world ready for the prices to rise
• The burden outweighs the reward
• What it takes to diversify your business
• Catering takes more labor
• Adding more spaces is more investment
• Nyesha is hesitant to start her own venture
• Loves hospitality
• Focuses on private parties and content creation
• Wanted a business on her terms
• Work-life balance is a priority
• Things Nyesha would do differently in her own restaurant
• Different ways to move around monetary allocation
• Some of the best restaurants have had to pivot
• Noma makes burgers
• Nyesha and Josh have both had to be dishwashers during difficult shifts
• We do what we have to to keep things running
• Conceptualizing a fresh start
• Lots of commercial real estate available in the next 6 months
• Learning from great mentors
• Nyesha has many mentors for different aspects of her life
• We should entrust the future of the industry to the talented young people who deserve an opportunity to shine
• Going on a journey of self-discovery
• Reviewing her life in the industry as a young biracial woman
• Looked back on fine dining career in Michelin star restaurants
• Ethos in cooking rooted in nurturing
• Learning what she wants her food to look like
• Potential safety measures for reopening
• Everyone is in the same boat - grasping for information