Chef's PSA

Episode Overview In this solo episode, André Natera talks about kitchen rust: the physical and mental experience of stepping back into a professional kitchen after an extended time away. He had been out of a hands-on kitchen environment for two years before returning, and the experience was a useful reminder that culinary skills, like any […]

Episode Overview In this solo episode, André Natera examines the staffing crisis in the culinary industry and asks the harder question underneath it: is working harder and going nowhere the new normal, or is this a structural problem the industry can actually solve? The crisis is real. Kitchens are short-staffed, experienced cooks are leaving in

Episode Overview In this solo episode, André Natera explores one of the most important and least-taught questions in culinary development: how do you find your unique cooking style, and do you actually have one yet? Most cooks spend years executing other people’s food, following recipes, working within established menus, and absorbing technique from whoever is

Episode Overview In this solo episode, André Natera takes on the old saying that every chef has heard and most have felt the weight of: you are only as good as your last meal. He breaks down what this phrase actually means at a practical level, why the culinary industry lives by it more than

Episode Overview In this solo episode, André Natera breaks down one of the most fundamental distinctions in the culinary world: the difference between a cook and a chef. The title is not just about seniority. It is about a fundamentally different relationship to the kitchen, the team, and the work. A chef can cook. A

Episode Overview In this solo episode, André Natera covers the unwritten rules of professional kitchen etiquette, the behaviors, habits, and codes of conduct that every serious cook needs to know but that almost no one explicitly teaches. Culinary school covers technique. Working in a kitchen teaches you the real curriculum: how to move, communicate, respect

Episode Overview This is a solo episode. Andre Natera breaks down exactly what separates a good sous chef from a great one — the unspoken rules, the psychological approach, and the daily behaviors that make a head chef trust you completely. If you are in a sous chef role, working toward one, or managing someone

Episode Overview In this solo episode, André Natera talks about the mental strategies and professional decisions behind building a restaurant that actually makes a mark in a competitive culinary market. The ambition to open something great is common. The resilience required to actually get there, and to stay there once you do, is significantly rarer.

Episode Overview In this solo episode, André Natera breaks down how to approach a culinary job interview in a way that actually sets you apart from the other candidates. The culinary industry has its own hiring culture, and most cooks treat job interviews the same way they would in any other field, which is a

Episode Overview In this solo episode, André Natera walks through the creative process behind building a menu, from the first idea to a dish that earns its place on the final list and actually gets ordered. He covers the tension at the center of every serious menu decision: the balance between culinary creativity and profitability.