The Path to Excellence: 8 lessons learnt from 3-Michelin-Star Chefs applicable in life.

In the world of hospitality, not many people have the chance to meet Excellence. It is such an abstract concept and so hard to reach, that most of us prefer to not make the effort, and stay in the comfort zone… and I admit I was one of them, 10 years ago.

Constant and never ending improvement (in Japan they call it “Kaizen”) has been my philosophy for the past 10 years. This gave me the opportunity, almost by chance, to work with many talented people, who taught me important lessons and helped shape the person I am today.

In this post, you’ll discover what I learnt from 3-Michelin-Star Chefs that I had the luck and honour to collaborate with, or to simply dine at their restaurants. Here are my 8 lessons that you can apply in both Hospitality as well as in Life.

1. Consistency is the key

The whole game here is not about “one lucky shot”. Persistence and Patience are virtues that you MUST have if you want to reach Excellence.

Consistency can be boring, and if it is for you, you might want to do a sense-check to see if what you are doing is what you really love, because the path is going to be a long one, and full of disappointments.

So, keep everything simple and be consistent. Our brain loves new things, and this is why we always want to experience something new. However, only if you keep your craft simple and consistent you can reach the excellence you were looking for in the first place. Otherwise, you might end up bashing from a task to another, or from a job to another, without really reaching what your real initial desire was.

2. Quality means obsession

If you are not obsessed about what you do, then most of the time you will end up being only “average”.

People confuse the word Obsession as something negative, but I don’t see it that way. For me, being obsessed means waking up in the morning and working at the same dish (or task) over and over again, until you are 100% satisfied with each smallest detail.

For example, table setting (the so called Mise en Place) is the constant repetition of the same action every single time a customer leaves the table. You cannot do this without being present, even if you do that a million times a day. It is a simple act that summaries the whole meaning of Hospitality: if you are not obsessed about it, it will only drive you crazy!

To better understand this concept, I’d strongly suggest reading a book called “Setting the table” by Danny Meyer (one of the top restauranteurs in New York as well as the creator of Shake Shack).

The endless search for perfection will put you in constant competition against yourself, aiming to make you every day an extra 1% better.

3. No rules (except your own)

I remember being in situations with my team where we had to challenge the status quo, where we were told that something wasn’t possible.

Well, I learnt that “possible” is always relative. Excellence is driven by a vision, and this is what I saw clearly in any of the 3-Star restaurants I have been to. In some cases, following the rules could work, but it will not necessarily take you to the top level. When you think that something cannot be done, or you simply don’t try, you are losing an opportunity that you might never get back.

Breaking the rules, going beyond the normality can actually be rewarding.

I am sure you have heard about the famous story of Bottura’s lemon tart… Rules are important, don’t take me wrong, and that’s why, if you are in a leadership position, you should create your own.

In life, we usually call them “values”, and that’s ok to have values, but what I am suggesting here is to be open minded, to not take everything for granted and be ready to always be questioning and challenging the status quo.

Excellence doesn’t stop at 5pm when you turn off your computer or you finish a shift.

4. Resting is not necessary

Working along with someone I consider one of the best chefs in the world, I struggled to understand whether he was ever sleeping. We worked infinite hours, we were tired, but driven by the same purpose.

Rest is a privilege that you need to be willing to give up if you want to serve a greater purpose (Excellence).

Because Excellence is not something that happens overnight: if you don’t love what you do, you will end up quitting because it’s really hard, it will continue to be hard, and for a long time!

I know it sounds cheesy but it is a very simple but powerful concept to understand. No rest means never lowering your standards and guard.

The “comfort zone” will never be your friend, and it takes a lot of energy to keep yourself in this state all the time. You need to always be vigilant and ready to question what’s happening. It’s a never-ending game and you will need to understand it since the very beginning to keep yourself going forward.

5. 1 Yes can also means 100 Nos

Watching a 3-star chef at work made me realise that, most of the time, loneliness can play an important role in your set of emotions.

Let me explain: being at the top takes a lot of audacity and responsibility. People will always look up to you and rely on you. It is your job to build the team in a way that will protect your standards, even when you are not there. That translates into saying a lot of “Nos”.

I saw so many new dishes rejected before finding the one that was truly perfect. But when you fight so hard and you finally reach Perfection, then that feeling is amazing.

Unfortunately, people around you will take a while to understand your vision and your mission and, more often than not, you will see people trying to take shortcuts or bringing you back to what’s comfortable for them. It takes courage to say No to another human being, but if you have that courage and the “agility” to avoid the status quo, then your success is almost guaranteed.

6. Time is the vehicle. Passion is the driver.

Time can be either your worst enemy or your best friend. During a restaurant service, those who work in the industry will understand that Time is everything. If you wait too long to do something, you might get someone upset. However, if you rush things, you might make mistakes.

To understand people, to appreciate food, to simply “get it right”, it takes time, and with time comes experience. Once you get to the top, and you realise you want to stay there, it will take you time to adapt. But also, you need to keep a certain pace, and continue the quest for Perfection of what you are doing every day.

This is why I keep saying that it’s always a never-ending journey, but if you stick to it, the results will not disappoint you.

I will never forget this: every time I’ve had the chance to talk to superstar Chefs, what came out with all of them was this huge Passion!

They are really passionate about what they do, so their background or story don’t really matter. The feeling you get is always inspiring, because what we are all looking for, at the end of the day, is something that gives us that emotion every morning, when we wake up. That is what you should hunt for every single moment.

7. You are always right

When you work at such high levels, your personality grows, your abilities increase, and people tend to want to stay next to you more and more.

A lot of new “friends” will appear, and pretty much everyone will be willing to agree with everything you say. You will start to realize that you are always right because it takes courage to say to a 3 Stars Michelin chef when he/she is wrong.

It actually happened to me very few times that I’ve disagreed with one of them, and it wasn’t easy at all to tell him! I had to use all the diplomacy I learnt over my 35 years.

What does that mean? It means that if you are looking for Excellence you need to appreciate and accept every single negative feedback you might get. This should be your fuel, your energy, what keeps you going.

Look for those feedbacks and keep as close as possible all those people that have the courage to disagree with you. You will soon realise how valuable they are.

8. Small rituals, big results

Life, I believe, is about rituals. Each one of us has his own rituals, some of them more empowering, and some other more disempowering. The trick here is to identify which ones are not serving your purpose, and replace them with the ones that can better serve your goals.

Coffee was a huge ritual for one of the Chefs I worked with: his morning coffee with a freshly baked croissant was what was giving him the kick he needed to go through his busy schedule. I’m talking about a man here whom I’ve never seen taking a break. While he was doing something with his hands, his mind was already planning something else. But in those little breaks, you could feel time slowing down, you could see that he was taking his time to enjoy that very moment, and he wasn’t anywhere else but in front of his cup of coffee.

I then understood the importance of taking a break, even a little one, in order to re-focus, or to start the day more efficiently.

I personally practice meditation 10 minutes every morning. It’s the first thing I do when I wake up. Since starting this ritual, I noticed that I’ve become more productive.

It doesn’t need to be a long exercise: for someone it could be a 10 minutes stretching session, or yoga. For someone else it could be one hour in the gym. We are all different. Just remember that small rituals can compound together, and in the long run they will give you massive results.

I hope you found this article useful, even if you might not be a chef, or you work in a totally different industry. Find the passion that drives you, and follow it!

If you have any questions or you’re stuck right now, just get in touch and I’ll be happy to advise you.