About Chef Franck Desplechin
Franck Desplechin is a chef, author, speaker, and founder of the hospitality leadership consulting firm Incrementum. He began working in professional kitchens at 15 instead of finishing high school, and built a career spanning more than 25 years in Michelin-starred restaurants across France and some of the world’s most prestigious luxury hospitality brands, including St. Regis Hotels & Resorts and Auberge Resorts Collection. His roles included Executive Chef at Enchantment Group and Director of Food and Beverage at Mayflower Inn & Spa, where his team earned AAA 5 Diamond status, and L’Auberge de Sedona. He is the author of Relentless Growth: Cultivating a Chef’s Mindset for Professional Fulfillment, and today works with chefs and hospitality leaders through Incrementum to build sustainable, growth-oriented careers.
Episode Overview
The culinary industry has a title obsession — and it is burning people out. Franck Desplechin has seen it across 25 years in luxury kitchens: chefs chasing Executive Chef credits, Michelin stars, and prestigious brand names at the cost of their health, relationships, and long-term career satisfaction. In this episode, he and Andre unpack the real cost of success as the industry defines it, what a more sustainable model looks like, and why the mindset shift from chasing titles to building genuine craft and leadership is the only path to a fulfilling career.
What You Will Learn in This Episode
Why Title-Chasing Leads to Burnout — The pattern Franck has seen repeatedly, where ambitious chefs sacrifice everything for credentials that do not deliver the fulfillment they expected.
What Relentless Growth Actually Means — The difference between growing toward something meaningful versus grinding for external validation, and how to reorient your career around the former.
The Hidden Cost of Luxury Kitchen Culture — What working for elite brands and Michelin properties actually costs, and what nobody talks about when they recruit you into those environments.
Building a Sustainable Culinary Career — What it looks like to build something that lasts, with longevity, craft development, and personal wellbeing all factored in from the beginning.
Leadership as a Learnable Skill — Why great kitchen leadership is not a personality trait but a system of behaviors that can be developed, and what chefs who want to lead well need to practice.
Making the Shift From Operator to Consultant — How Franck transitioned from running high-level culinary operations to coaching and advising through Incrementum, and what that shift taught him.
Connect With Franck Desplechin
Website: cheffranck.com
Listen and Watch
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Audible
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