Batali | Bobby Flay | Iron Chef | Masaharu Morimoto
Recipes For Success
by
Robert Mcgarvey
Two key precepts have helped Batali thrive. The first: "I can tell
inside five minutes of an interview if this is a person I want to
hire," says Batali, who adds that he pays little attention to
résumés. "I can train a person to make a good pasta sauce. What I
cannot train a person to have is
energy and a spark in their eyes.
When I see that, I know this is somebody I want on my team."
The other Batali lesson: No matter how big you get, never shy away
from grunt work. "When I'm in one of my restaurants and I see a
piece of paper or a napkin on the floor, I pick it up. If I stepped
over that piece of paper I'd be an idiot. My managers would see me
walk by the trash, and they'd start doing the same. Who'd be left
to pick it up?"
Go For It!
People thought he was nuts, simple as that.
New York chef
Bobby Flay had been asked to compete on "Iron Chef,"
a hit Japanese TV show where chefs compete in a 60-minute cook-off,
while announcers offer commentary as though it were a
boxing match.
Flay - who owns two successful restaurants in Manhattan, Mesa Grill
and Bolo - accepted the challenge.
What about the risk of facing the home team, "Iron Chef Japanese"
Masaharu Morimoto (who now owns Morimoto,
Philadelphia's trendiest
table)? Says Flay: "The worst that could happen is that I'd
lose."
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