About Jakub Czyszczon
Jakub Czyszczon is a chef whose career spans some of the most technically rigorous fine dining kitchens in the United States. He worked at Senia in Honolulu and Sepia in Chicago before joining the opening team at Garrison in Austin, Texas, where he served as Executive Chef. Garrison earned recognition for its precise, ingredient-driven cooking and became one of Austin’s more serious fine dining destinations during his tenure. He subsequently transitioned out of the traditional restaurant model to build a private catering practice, applying the same level of craft and detail to a format that gave him more control over the guest experience and his own schedule.
Episode Overview
André Natera sits down with Jakub Czyszczon to talk about one of the more significant career pivots a serious fine dining chef can make: leaving the restaurant world to go into private catering. Jakub explains what drove the decision, what the transition actually looked like operationally, and what chefs who are considering the same move need to understand before they make it.
They cover the business mechanics of launching and sustaining a private catering operation, how the guest relationship changes when you remove the restaurant intermediary, what skills from fine dining translate directly to high-end catering and what does not, and how to maintain culinary standards and creative identity outside a traditional kitchen structure. It is a practical, experience-driven conversation for any chef who has thought seriously about what working for themselves might look like.
Topics covered in this episode:
- Jakub’s career path through Senia in Honolulu, Sepia in Chicago, and Executive Chef at Garrison in Austin
- Why he chose to leave the traditional restaurant model and move into private catering
- How to start and sustain a private catering business as a chef coming from fine dining
- What the transition from restaurant to catering looks like operationally and financially
- How the guest relationship changes in private catering versus a traditional restaurant setting
- What fine dining skills translate directly to high-end catering and what requires a different approach
- Maintaining culinary standards and creative identity outside a traditional kitchen structure
Guest
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