Here we go again of people who want to open restaurants without any prior experience and expect to be successful. The fact is that if 100 new restaurants open today 60 would have failed in the first year and only three will have the original ownerships after five years. It's a sad chronicle of events when we think that people have a couple good recipes and then dress up in a chefs coat on and become the culinary genius. As we all know our profession is one of the most demanding of any career in the professional arena. My chef once said to me that this was a young man's business today its young man and woman's business and it has many casualties from the extensive amount of hours that we work and the lack of time we have with their families.
We all know that we work hard and play hard and we see an awful lot of our colleagues succumbing to drugs and alcohol and broken marriages. What can we do to improve our image is quite simple to be totally devoted to our craft but learn good time management so that we can have quality time with our families and friends. I have lost many friends to alcohol and drugs I have also seen some of the most loving marriages break up due to the loneliness that our spouses feel. My wife in the past used to call herself a kitchen widow and quite rightly so. As I am retiring soon it's her time do what she wants to do where we travel, and what her aspirations are for the rest of her life. I would not have been so successful in my career have been for her supporting encouraging and cheering me on be successful. I would not be a master chef today without her I would not own my own business today without her so when you decide to become a culinary genius and only business my advice is to have a great team player supporting you is if you don't you cannot succeed without a great family great friends and dedicated colleagues.
