The Next Level

THE NEXT LEVEL
Going from PAL to AAU
From High School to College
From College to Professional
The next level is great but with it comes new problems, experiences, attitudes and accountability.
Next Level is rarely easy or a smooth transition, regardless of how good you are.
People like Lebron, Kobe, and Kevin are very rare being able to skip a level and have great success.
Even then there are things not acquired from skipping the prior level.
And at a different level it may take longer because you don’t have the proper training.
Don’t always be in a rush to make it to the next level.

The Next Level for me is going from triple A to the pros. Every job or sport has a level, take school for example: Pre-School to Elementary to Middle School to High School to College to Grad School or High School to College to Semi Pro to Minor League to the Pros.
What level are you on? I always tried to skip levels but for proper growth you have to go through the proper preparation for the next level. Saying “you have to crawl before you can walk” is so true. To be a great chef isn’t just being able to cook but making others around you better. Chef to me means Leader, General, Composer, Bitch, Babysitter, as much as I don’t want to be the last two sometimes in order for my kitchen to run smooth I wear many hats and those are two of them. My Next Level is Elite Chef where I am in command of one project solely. My own place no longer weighed down by someone else’s vision or lack of vision for that matter.
You have to be true to yourself, when gauging what level you are on not having formal training has afforded me to work through a lot of issues personally which in my opinion is the best way to see how to and how not to deal with business and learning on some else’s dime while collecting a check has allowed me to learn purchasing, BOH management, sales and butchering.
Every aspect of being a chef and owner and now I can take it to the next level. But the most important part of moving on and moving up is knowing “The Real You”.