LATEST VIRTUAL BREAKFAST SESSION OUTLINES WESTCHESTER RESTAURATEUR HERRERO’S KEYS TO SUCCESS

Last month’s Total Food Service/L. Sashin Virtual Breakfast Sessions (VBS) set its compass to follow the paths of a trio of culinary visionaries. The goal was to uncover the keys to their quest for business, financial and personal success. Not surprisingly, we found it’s not necessarily where and how you start, it’s more like how you handle the bumps and opportunities that are presented to you on your path to food service “nirvana”.

Jumpstarting the month was “Coffee with… Peter Herrero Jr”, the President of the New York Hospitality Group. His rise from dishwasher to employer of over 200 people reads like a Hollywood script, but when asked how he accomplished it he named his eagerness to help and learn. “I was always at my job a half hour early volunteering to help. Every time I helped a chef prep I learned a skill.” This paid off when a constantly late Sous Chef was chastised by the chef who then blurted out, “Now I need a new dishwasher!” Herrero remembers thinking that he thought he was the first person to be fired for coming in early, but instead he was elevated to sous chef. Like a duckling laying eyes on his mother for the 1st time, this habit of “playing nice with others, so they want to help me out,” became imprinted in his psyche and has guided him through the good times and the bad.

Having built an iconic career, Herrero has now set his sights on a new phase of his life, The White

Plains restaurateur is drawing back, doing the things he likes best about hospitality and letting others handle the day-to-day operations. Predictably, Peter has assembled a staff that like him, treat the staff like they are people. “I know them all, their families, their motivation and what they want to achieve. I give them opportunity.”

The TFS/L. Sashin mid-month offered exit plan strategies. “It’s been an amazing run, but what’s your exit strategy?” was anchored by VBS Alumni and longtime consultant, Bob Heiss, who helped guide Herrero’s path to success. Heiss was joined by Golf Kitchen Magazine founder Diana DeLucia, and Acronym Investments’ CEO Phil Fredricks.

Heiss started the session off with, “Most people look at an Exit Strategy as just a plan to leave a business, but it’s also a valuable tool to prepare your business and you to do other things like mergers and taking in partners.”

DeLucia, who just took on partners who will handle the back end of her Golf Kitchen business noted: “I just asked for help. My new partners now do all the essential things that I found a drudge. It frees me to do the compo- nents of the business I love.”

As a warning to all restaurant owners, who are building something to support their families Fredricks strongly suggested, “The restaurant world is wrought with nepotism, just because you are a Michelin Star chef and a successful business owner doesn’t mean your child has the same skillset or capabilities. To keep the business healthy, sometimes you must plan to reach outside of your home.”

The TFS/Sashin VBS Series returns on May 31st as we have “Coffee with… Fred Klashman”, publisher of Total Food Service and Co-Host and CoProducer of the Virtual Breakfast Sessions”. For over 30 years he’s been the one who’s ask the tough questions, now he’ll have to answer a few.

To register for the session, go to Eventbrite and type in “Virtual breakfast Sessions”. Info on upcoming sessions that are held on Wednesdays can be found at: https://bit.ly/3xWUc0V

The bi-monthly VBS-Virtual Breakfast Sessions are a production of L.Sashin and TFS. The programming is entering its second year with a goal of creating unique perspectives and solutions for the restaurant and foodservice professional.

All past VBS’s can be seen on YouTube or at https://totalfood. com/vbs/

By Tommy Cross