i think it is fine that chefs try opening different restaurants at different price points culinarily, as long as they don't let their standards for quality drop when they have to expand. Frozen foods, on the other is ridiculous. an old maxim that i remember is something to the effect that if you are an A person, you have to hire A people to work with you, if you take a slight step down and hire a B person, the slide will naturally continue, because eventually the B person is tired of looking for enough B people and hires a C person. i don't like a chef having too many outside investors. it's like the same role that venture capitalists have in corporate financing, especially the technology portion. all in all, IMHO, the cash infusion is not worth what you have to give up: commitment to profitability over quality (with less investors, it is easier to find that acceptable balance of the two) More than anything else, it's about spreading yourself thin. If you are going to try all these new ventures, then be damm sure you have top level people that will support you and keep the quality high. More often than not, this isn't the case.