Chef's PSA

Episode Overview In this solo episode, André Natera breaks down one of the most common and least-discussed problems in professional kitchen leadership: self-sabotage. He identifies the specific behaviors that cause otherwise talented chefs and operators to undermine their own teams and reputations, often without realizing it is happening. Poor delegation, communication failures, and setting unrealistic […]

About Chef John Tesar John Tesar is a Dallas-based chef and restaurateur best known as the founder of the Knife restaurant group, which brought his approach to dry-aged beef and premium steakhouse cooking to multiple locations across Texas and beyond. He built his early career in New York and worked alongside Anthony Bourdain during Bourdain’s

Episode Overview In this solo episode, André Natera pulls back the curtain on something the culinary industry rarely talks about openly: the networks, organizations, and informal communities that quietly shape which chefs get opportunities, mentorship, and career traction. He calls them chef secret societies, not because they are literally secret, but because the people inside

About Chef Robert Sulatycky Robert Sulatycky is a Michelin-starred chef, culinary coach, and one of the most accomplished figures in the North American Bocuse d’Or ecosystem. He built his career across luxury properties including the Wedgewood Hotel and Spa in Vancouver, Four Seasons Toronto and Chicago, the Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel Air, and

Episode Overview In this solo episode, André Natera draws on 27 years of experience as a professional chef to talk honestly about the costs that the culinary industry rarely admits out loud. The physical and mental toll of a career in professional kitchens is real, cumulative, and often invisible until it becomes a crisis. André

Episode Overview In this special panel episode, André Natera brings three culinary students, Michael, Victoria, and Axel, onto the show for an honest conversation about what it is actually like to be in culinary school and what happens when classroom training meets the reality of a professional kitchen. This is the first culinary student panel

Episode Overview In this solo episode, André Natera dives into the mechanics of restaurant recognition and what it actually means to be evaluated by the Michelin Guide, health inspectors, and food critics. He draws on his own firsthand experience receiving recognition in Texas to break down what chefs and operators tend to get wrong about

About Rico Torres and Diego Galicia Rico Torres and Diego Galicia are the co-founders and co-owners of Mixtli in San Antonio, Texas, a rotating prix fixe restaurant that tours the culinary regions of Mexico, changing its menu each season to explore a different Mexican state or region. Torres is an El Paso native and self-taught

Episode Overview In this solo episode, André Natera breaks down the ten most common and most costly mistakes new cooks make on their first day in a professional kitchen. These are not abstract principles. They are specific, avoidable errors that consistently get new hires off on the wrong foot and in some cases end a

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