815: Chris Viaud Owner and Executive Chef of Greenleaf and Culture

Chef Chris Viaud is owner and executive chef of Greenleaf Millford and sister restaurant, Culture, both residing in Milford, NH. Originally from Randolph, MA, Chris and his parents, who had immigrated from Haiti, moved to Londonderry, N.H. where, post-high school graduation, he attended Johnson & Wales University, receiving his bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts & Food Service Management.​Post culinary school, Chris came back to Boston where he spent three years at Deuxave, a true culinary landmark for modern French cuisine in the city, where he gained experience working alongside chef and owner Chris Coombs, Adrienne Mosie, and acclaimed chef Stefanie Bui. Since his time at Deuxave, he has been an essential part of four restaurant openings in the Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In the spring of 2019, Chris opened Greenleaf in what was the Souhegan National Bank building in Milford, NH. Chris' approach to food is rustic yet refined by classic techniques and his menus are driven by locally grown seasonal products. His strength and motivation build from the support of his family, friends, and staff and he continues to push himself every day.

Check out episode 742 with Keith Sarasin as mentioned in today's episode.

Check out VOLT ink. Recipes, Stories, Brothers by Bryan and Michael Voltaggio as recommended by Chris in today's episode.

Show notes…

Calls to ACTION!!!

• Join Restaurant Unstoppable Network and connect with my past guest and a community of superfans.
• Subscribe to the Restaurant Unstoppable YouTube Channel
• Join the private Unstoppable Facebook Group
• Join the email list! (Scroll Down to get the Vendor List!)

Favorite success quote or mantra:

• "Live life, eat , work, and play like there's no tomorrow."

In today's episode with Chris Viaud we will discuss:

• Race perceptions in modern America
• Mentors at Johnson & Whales
• Culinary school advice
• The importance of culture and how to efficiently implement it
• Popups
• Becoming a master of time management
• Learning from the corporate food world
• Lessons learned from opening a restaurant for the first time
• What a trip to Europe taught Chris about food relations
• A chaotic, highly anticipated opening
• Budgeting an opening
• Partnerships with friends
• Breaking up a partnership
• The importance of lawyers in business creation
• Leaning on tech when you need it

Today's sponsor:

Ovation: Recently voted the #1 guest feedback platform in a nationwide RestaurantOwner.com survey, Ovation uses a SMS-based survey as a “digital table touch” that has redefined guest feedback. Through frictionless integrations with online ordering platforms and other tools, Ovation allows you to easily collect guest feedback, resolve concerns in real-time, get more 5-star reviews, and uncover insights to improve brand-wide.  As a listener of Restaurant Unstoppable, you’ll receive 2,000 FREE text messages - contact our team!

Restaurant365 is a cloud-based, all-in-one, restaurant-specific accounting and back-office platform that seamlessly integrates with POS systems, payroll providers, food and beverage vendors. It generates accurate real-time reporting and analysis in user-friendly dashboards, facilitating immediate, data-driven decision making. Restaurant365 eliminates manual, error-prone processes and is designed to help restaurant businesses grow with functionality that helps optimize labor costs, reduce food costs and increase revenue.

Ecolab: Streamline your clean with Ecolab’s new EPA-registered 2-in-1 solution, Sink & Surface Cleaner Sanitizer. It will help reduce risk, simplify your procedures and help ensure compliance. This solution cleans and sanitizes hard non-porous surfaces with a single product, eliminates the rinse step and equips your staff to clean more efficiently. Clean simplified, confidence delivered.

 

Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Personable
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Getting in my own head
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • What do you like to do on your off-time? Want to relate to a future employee
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • Structure and scheduling for myself
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • Treat others the way you would like to be treated
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Our guests are part of our family so we try to relate to them on a personal level
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   • Yes Chef: A Memoir by Marcus Samuelson
     GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM 
8. What's one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
   • Relate to your staff
9. Name one service you've hired.
   • Ethos And Ables Creative for marketing
10. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influenced operations?
    • Google Drive plugins
11. 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 comes before everything
    • Treat others with love and respect
    • Live, love, and share your culture

Contact info:

Email: [email protected]

Social Media: @chefchrisviaud

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!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for the Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates.

Huge thanks to Chris Viaud 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!