New Restauranteur

[Bond Girl]

Chef Forley,

Do you have any advice for aspiring restaurant owners? Do they really need to be chefs first or do they just need to know good food? Are there any professional organizations they should look into? Will a course at one of those hotel schools help? Or, do they just need good business sense?

Edited December 13, 2002 by Bond Girl (log)

[VerbenaNYC]

It all depends on the kind of restaurant you'd like to have. Ultimately we believe that service comes first. Being welcoming at the front door is a skill that you bring with you and not necessarily learned. Creating food is important and a chef-driven restaurant is a certain style of restaurant. People have been successful at building restaurant operations with a variety of experience. I do recommend working in a restaurant before opening one to make sure this is the sort of lifestyle that suits you. There are a lot of behind the scenes information that would be useful to have before investing in a restaurant. A course can be helpful but I believe the on the job training to be more practical. Good luck!