662: Oliver Ridgeway on Do it Nice or Do it Twice
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Release Date: 10/28/2019
674: Hagop Giragossian on Stick to What You believe In
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Hagop Giragossian is a restaurant industry professional with 14 years of experience, predominately in the QSR and Fast Casual segments. He began his food service management career in 2000 with Boar's Java; after three years, he sold the business and opened Pasadena's first gastropub, Kings Row. In 2010 Hagop along with Quasim Riaz and Andre Vener, opened the first Dog Haus in Pasadena, California. 9 years later there are over 30 locations in 18 states. Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra: "It's not how hard you hit; it's about how hard you get hit and how you get back up." In...
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673: Patrick Mulvaney on Ignoring People Who Tell You "No"
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Chef Patrick Mulvaney started his culinary career in 1985 apprenticing with renowned European chefs. Since then, he has worked in numerous restaurants throughout the country before settling in Sacramento, CA where he opened Mulvaney's B&L in 2006. In addition to leading the "farm to fork" movement in Sacramento, Mulvaney is a leading advocate for Domestic Violence, Mental Health, and Suicide Prevention. Check out Episode 667 with Brad Cecchi as mentioned in today's episode! Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra: The most important thing to own in a restaurant is the attitude that...
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672: Will Pacio on Preparation and Opportunity
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
After graduating from Stanford, Will decided to go to culinary school instead of medical school. From there he went on to join the opening team of Thomas Keller's Per Se in New York City. Following NYC he would come back to California to cook at The French Laundry in Yountville. Eventually, Thomas Keller saw Will's talent for tech and asked him to run all of IT for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. After learning from the best, Will pursued his dream and opened his own chain of fast-casual restaurants as founder and CEO of Spice Kit restaurants in 2007 which scaled to multiple locations in...
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671: Staffan Terje on Respect Yourself and Be Prepared
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Chef Staffan Terje was born, raised, AND trained in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1982, after working in Stockholm for a few years, Staffan was offered a job in Sarasota, Florida. His plan was to work for a year in the states. He never left. In 1988, the lure of Italian cuisine called and Staffan joined Piatti Ristorante in Yountville, Napa Valley. Promoted quickly, he was soon responsible for new restaurant openings, menu development, and training. Other career highlights include a seven-year stint at San Francisco’s famed Scala’s Bistro and cooking at The James Beard House in New York City....
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670: Andrew Freeman on The Power of Partnerships and Community
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
New Jersey native, Andrew Freeman, Graduated from Montclair State University with a degree in Marketing. Freeman went on to learn the restaurant business by working through the ranks at several legendary New York venues including Windows on the World, the Russian Tea Room, and the Rainbow Room. This experience set Andrew up to serve as Vice President of Public Relations and Strategic Partnerships for Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants. In total, he spent ten years with Kimpton, launching over 40 hotels and restaurants as well as the global brand. Today Andrew Freeman serves...
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669: Shila Morris and Kay Salerno on Franchising and Growth Done Right
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
In 2004 the Young family bet it all to purchase the Squeeze In restaurant in Truckee California. Business advisors told the family to run away from the deal but they had a passion and a whole lotta grit and have now grown the company to 8 figures with 12 locations in 4 states. With parents now retired, daughters Shila and Kay run the company and continue to build the brand with aspirations for more growth. Both Misty, their mom, and Shila are past guests and now I'm pleased to welcome sister Kay to the show. Check out Episode 081 and Episode 179 with Misty Young as mentioned in today's...
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668: Krista Kintop Phillips and Caitlin Kintop Fletcher on Sharing Passion
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
The Cheese Board in Reno, NV was founded in 1981 by Debbie Branby. Nearly 40 years later, in 2017, after about a decade of working at the Cheese Board for Debbie, sisters Krista Kintop Phillips and Caitlin Kintop Fletcher purchased their place of employment. The transition from employee to owner hasn't been easy, but they have handled it with grace. Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra: "What if you fall? What if you fly?" There is no elevator for success; you have to take the stairs." In today's episode with Krista Kintop Phillips and Caitlin Kintop Fletcher we will discuss: ...
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667: Brad Cecchi on Recognizing Leadership
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Raised outside Sacramento, CA Chef Brad Cecchi is a graduate of the Culinary Arts program at American River College and the Culinary Institute of America. He would go on to spend the next 7 years working between Sacramento's Mulvaney's and Grange restaurants. Next, Cecchi made the move to Cleveland, OH where he held the executive chef position at Urban Farmer and the Westin Downtown. In 2016 Cecchi made the move back to CA when he was recruited by Michelin starred Solbar, as the chef de cuisine and later as the executive chef were he was able to maintain the Michelin star status for 2 years....
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666: Umberto Gibin on Consistency is Key
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Umberto Gibin was born in Venice, Italy and began to learn the hospitality trade at several prestigious European restaurants and hotels. In 1979 he took his hospitality career to California where he got to work for a handful of leading restaurants in the Bay Area and LA. With this experience, he went on to serve as one of the founding team members of Il Fornaio, which he helped scale to six locations before departing to join the Kimpton Hotel group. Then in 2004 he re-joined mentor Larry Mindel to open Poggio. Today, Gibin deploys decades of top tier experience as owner-operator of Perbacco...
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665: Kai Umezawa on Zenreach and Building the Future with Wifi Marketing
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
University of Waterloo dropout, Kai Umezawa leveraged his software engineering skills for both Facebook and Google before he co-founded Zenreach, a wifi marking platform, in 2012. Today, in addition to being a co-founder, Umezawa serves as Head of Product for Zenreach. Our focus: the current state and future of wifi marking. Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra: "The future is not something that happens by accident; the future is built." In today's episode with Kai Umezawa we will discuss: Taking advice Bypassing the standard school system What Kai learned from working at...
info_outlineChef Oliver Ridgeway, was born and raised in Sussex, England. For Ridgeway, life in the kitchen began in his father’s restaurant, where his own passion began to emerge. After studying cooking at Crawley College, Ridgeway worked in multiple hotels and even a cruise ship before landing in U.S. where he held multiple chef positions and even cooked for VIP's during the Olympics. In 2011 Ridgeway made the move Sacramento where he took the Executive Chef Role at Grange Restaurant & Bar, and Camden Spit & Larder in 2018.
Show notes…
Favorite success quote or mantra:
- "Do it nice or do it twice."
In today's episode with Oliver Ridgeway we will discuss:
- Born into the industry and staying with it
- Traveling there ENTIRE world and what you learn
- Cutting your teeth on a cruise ship kitchen
- Hotel kitchens
- Airport restaurant kitchens
- The importance of world travel
- The importance of connections
- Working as a chef at the olympics
- You have to give a shit
- Standards, expectations, and aiming points for your team
- Accountability
- Keep your ego and temper in check
- How to let team members go during hard financial times
- You don't know everything so surround yourself with people who know things you don't
- Resentment in the industry
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Knowledge bombs
- Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
- Leading by example
- What is your biggest weakness?
- Addressing the issue of team members who try hard but it isn't hard enough
- What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
- What makes you happy? What drives you?
- What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
- Telling good people that they aren't good enough
- Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
- Working with efficiency and urgency
- What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
- Making "no" sound like "yes"
- 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
- Setting the Table by Danny Meyer
- What's the one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
- Look at the long road rather than just the immediate
- What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your four walls restaurant and how has it influence operations?
- 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 kind
- Cook from the heart
- Do it nice or do it twice
Contact info:
Thanks for listening!
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Huge thanks to Oliver Ridgeway for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!