Before entering the real world of food and beverage, many student cooks eagerly anticipate the conclusion of their culinary education with their institution’s capstone course: a chance to open, if only briefly, their concept of a restaurant. To glimpse the world, if only briefly, from the perspective of the owner-chef. It’s like viewing the battlefield from the air before heading to a foxhole. Ultimately, there are few in number who, through their determination, hard work and education (plus a helping of connections and a dash of luck) ever resurface and become successful restaurant owners. Everyone in this business knows the odds and financial barriers they face, and until recently few viable routes existed.
As an alternative, vast numbers of chefs attempt the solo route: a somewhat less risky path of business ownership as independent personal and private chef, small catering operator or owner of a food truck. Without assistance however, many of these entrepreneurs struggle to get beyond job ownership and living paycheck to paycheck. Either way, navigating the field between cook and business owner is a dark, uncertain trek through no-man’s land; a mine field that implodes many talented and passionate chefs if not immediately, then eventually. Now, help is on the way.
A new concept of the Food & Beverage test kitchen comes directly from this magazine’s publisher, Michael Politz and his creative team. As a chef, imagine having a test kitchen in which to teach cooking classes, record demos, host your own pop-ups, and expand the reach of your food truck with special seatings – without having to sign a lease. As an established restaurateur, imagine crossing the country to showcase your business in a new city with new customers – in a ready-set-serve establishment you can rent for a limited time. As a customer, imagine your nearby culinary experience center, similar to a performing arts venue but with tables and chairs, which offers a changing bill of dining experiences from different owner-operators, emerging chefs and supergroups. Now imagine not having to endure the timelines, expenses and headaches of the start-up costs.
The Test Kitchen by Food & Beverage seeks to fill the gap between life as a cook-who-dreams and life as a business owner. It’s the hand up and path forward many cooks need – reduced risk and cash outlay, a site that’s permitted and ready for opening night months, if not years, in advance of operators who go it alone. Better still, the Test Kitchen allows chefs to step into ownership incrementally, gaining insights and experience without blowing a lifetime of savings, taking on hundreds of thousands in debt and diving into the deep end with a long term lease.
Alternative uses for the test kitchen locations include their use as teaching centers and regional sites for culinary schools to assemble their online students to take final exams in person. A curated chef database is also envisioned for consumers and businesses seeking opportunities and partnerships. The possibilities are vast and the steps to creating the Test Kitchen by Food & Beverage are currently underway, and the first culinary experience center will likely emerge in Las Vegas. Stay tuned.
Asking Michael Politz what he most wants chefs to know about this new and exciting concept he said, “It’s been too hard for chefs to become restaurant owners for too long. Our test kitchens extend and enrich your education and offer a practical pathway to develop your business. We’re stepping up to bridge the gap and reduce the risks. Chefs should jump at this.”
One thing’s for sure. Nothing is a substitute for hard work, and the acumen required for profitability is hard-fought. Chefs who step up to the challenges of business and away from the valor of perseverance will also begin to extricate themselves from the age-old battle of us-versus-them which persists between many workers in the kitchen and the owner-managers who run them. These chefs start on the road to life (and business) beyond the restaurant walls. With the Test Kitchen, the path to get there just got a little easier.
Columnist Holly Powers-Verbeck, founded and continues to operate Lake Tahoe’s premiere culinary staffing company HeyChef! since 1997. In 2018 she formed MakeYourBusinessCook! to help chefs launch private chef businesses and owner-operators who want to add private chef services to create revenue beyond their restaurant walls. For more information contact holly@makeyourbusinesscook.com.
