1. Knowing every technique. You don’t need to know everything. You need to know how to learn fast. 2. Making every plate look “Instagram perfect.” Great food existed long before tweezers did. 3. Working in the most famous restaurant. A great mentor can teach you more than a famous name on your CV. 4. Being the fastest person in the kitchen. Speed without consistency is just chaos. 5. Never making mistakes. I’m more interested in what you do after the mistake. 6. Creating something nobody has ever created before. You don’t need to reinvent food. You need to cook it exceptionally well. 7. Getting promoted as quickly as possible. A title you’re not ready for can slow your career down more than waiting another year. 8. Being liked by everyone in the kitchen. Be respected. Be fair. Be reliable. That matters more. 9. Having all the answers. The best chefs I know still say, “I don’t know. Let’s figure it out.” 10. Thinking you need to prove how talented you are. Talent gets attention. Reliability builds careers. 20 years in professional kitchens taught me this: the things you worry about at the beginning are rarely the things that actually build your career. Chefs — what would you add to this list? Save this for later and send it to a young chef who needs to hear it.
♪ Michael Jackson — In the Closet (Single Version)