667: Brad Cecchi on Recognizing Leadership

Raised outside Sacramento, CA Chef Brad Cecchi is a graduate of the Culinary Arts program at American River College and the Culinary Institute of America. He would go on to spend the next 7 years working between Sacramento's Mulvaney's and Grange restaurants. Next, Cecchi made the move to Cleveland, OH where he held the executive chef position at Urban Farmer and the Westin Downtown. In 2016 Cecchi made the move back to CA when he was recruited by Michelin starred Solbar, as the chef de cuisine and later as the executive chef were he was able to maintain the Michelin star status for 2 years. in 2017 Cecchi joined forces with Clay Nutting to open Canon, which is recognized as one of Sacramento's best restaurants and just recently got It's on Michelin nod when named to the Michelin guide's Bib Gourmand list. Check out episode 662 with Oliver Ridgeway as mentioned in today's episode! Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra: "Chance favors a prepared mind." In today's episode with Brad Cecchi we will discuss: Organization Giving compliments to your staff is key Importance of travel What Brad learned from working in a mom and pop pizza shop To go to culinary school or not to go? The passion and desire to be taken seriously Cooking for Dick Chaney Helping other chefs open restaurants before opening your own Tensions in the kitchen Thinking through problems; stepping away The pressure of the Michelin star Cashflow Opening undercapitalized Farm to table/fork Today's sponsor: BentoBox empowers restaurants to own their presence, profits and relationships. The hospitality platform disrupts third-party services that come between the restaurant and the guest. BentoBox puts the restaurant first and offers tools that drive high-margin revenue directly through the restaurant's website. BentoBox is trusted and loved by over 5,000 restaurants worldwide including Union Square Hospitality Group, Eleven Madison Park, Gramercy Tavern, Lilia and more. Gusto offers modern, easy payroll, benefits, and HR to small businesses across the country — they were even named best online payroll by PCMag. And as a listener, you'll get three months free when you run your first payroll. Sign up and give it a try at Gusto.com/unstoppable.    Wisetail's user-friendly platform focuses on engaging, growing, and empowering your workforce while enabling your culture to thrive in multi-site businesses. It is easily configurable to an organization's brand and technical specifications. In addition, Wisetail provides a social community for their customers to share best practices and continuously improve the learning experience. Knowledge bombs Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success? Organization What is your biggest weakness? Aspirations, "trying to do more than I'm ready to do." What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview? How clean are you own your real life What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it? Butts in seats Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team. Mise en place What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff? Tasting trays What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?  Letter to a Young Chef by Daniel Boulud GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM  What's the one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough? Think What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your four walls restaurant and how has it influence operations? Google Drive If you got the news that you'd be leaving this world tomorrow and all memories of you, your work, and your restaurants would be lost with your departure with the exception of 3 pieces of wisdom you could leave behind for the good of humanity, what would they be? Andewy Sausage Recipe Family-style shareable dining Community Contact info: Website: www.canoneastsac.com Instagram: @canoneastsac Facebook: @canoneastsac Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining today! Have some feedback you'd like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for the Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And finally, don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Huge thanks to Brad Cecchi for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!   Restaurant Unstoppable is a free podcast. One of the ways I'm able to make it free is by earning a commission when sharing certain products with you. I've made it a core value to only share tools, resources, and services my guest mentors have recommend, first. If you're finding value in my podcast, please use my links!