The first one is Chef Bryan. He is the cook of CLO (Cooperative Living Organization), a residence hall behind Chipotle. That's where I live, too. He's been a cook there for a year now and he's been cooking food from scratch. Every resident adores him. He's worked as a cook at an Indian restaurant before. He has, however, other small jobs at the same time, to add to his income as a part-time cook. In my business he would be my supplier expert, the one that would bring in the food into the restaurant and would serve my customers by cooking for them. Having this person in my network will help me attract more cooks around Gainesville and lead me to new networks. Chef Bryan always cooks food for vegans and vegetarians, separately from meat lovers and makes sure there are vegetables in every single meal. All of these elements I think add up to the cook I'm expecting to hire in my own restaurant. He gave me a lot of useful tips when I showed him my business idea. I asked him several questions about the financing part of the business and he told me I should negotiate first the distribution of benefits with each cook I'll be hosting, so that I know what they require from me in return. He also was willing on working at my business If I managed to pull it together. I was really glad to create that type of connection.
The second person I met was the owner of Bagels and Noodles. This was my industry expert, since this person created his own restaurant. I imagined he would share all kinds of experiences to me so that I get an idea on how I could start my own business. I chose the owner of Bagels and Noodles, because he knows both American and Chinese market. I thought talking to him would be helpful since I will incorporate a lot of cuisines in my own business, as well. I focused however on the part of the industry and not on that of the market.
I think you did a great job on this blog post. It was really interesting to learn about the different people that you interviewed. I am curious to where the third professional interview reaction is but you did a great job.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the two people that you interviewed were great for the spots that you used them for. I personally don’t know much about the food industry so it is very interesting to read about for me. You had a lot to write about your first interview and I would’ve liked to read more about the others you interviewed but overall I think that you did a good job.
ReplyDeletehttp://blogforclass3191.blogspot.com/2016/03/growing-my-social-capital.html
I think Chef Bryan was an excellent candidate to interview. Not only did he provided incredible feedback, but he also seems to be the perfect candidate for your business. Since you want to serve both vegans and non-vegans, I think he was the perfect candidate to consult for this assignment. The manager of Noodles and Bagels was also a nice touch since he could add a lot of variety and insight on how to make your business better since he started his from scratch. I didn’t do this assignment so I don’t have a link for you.
ReplyDeleteHey Artemis,
ReplyDeleteI find your interviews to be pretty interesting especially Chef Bryan. I was not able to complete my assignment, but I my idea also involved starting a business in the food industry. Additionally, I think having a chef of experience would be a great boon to the future success of any restaurant type business. I wish I could read more about your third contact which could be a great suggestion for my business.