Augmenting the Chef experience

Ae chef, the new solution to Chef shortages

After writing a long message on linkedIn to a new connect, I thought I might as well take the bull by the horns and just put it out there

Through trying to research and assess the total addressable market for Travel and Tourism, I came across indicators that my hunch was right on point

I am a chef by trade with over 20+ years experience and have seen changes and trends so much now, I have predicted them. But hey, sometimes that isn't enough to convince a tech startup angel investor.

The elephant in the room for chefs and restaurant owners is the rise of the Digital Empire, along with accelerated costs of commodities, utilities, rent for commercial space and top heavy recruitment agencies who have now ransomed talent but added little benefit. But now, they too struggle to harness that precious human capital called "Chef".

Its like a biblical narrative where a God sent Man has to lead the oppressed hebrew slaves out of the tyranny of their Masters.

Now enter the Age of the Ae Chef, one of their own on a mission to free them from employee status to Independent contractor. Where technology empowers the individual to choose to remain a slave or become his or her own business, where the business is no longer the establishment but the person themselves.

This new digital age has not only given customers options but more yet, chefs options, with recruitment agencies, restaurants, catering companies and hotels struggling to sustain their workforce.

The ratio of restaurants to chefs is currently 7:1, a high speed train wreck waiting to happen

But... fear not I have the answer ; ). 

Ae Chef, a seemless platform where anyone can hire a chef on demand.

Travis kalanicks cloud kithens will be needing it in the next 2 months over the busy christmas, pre christmas and post christmas season. 

To put it bluntly, without no ghost chefs, there will be no ghost kitchens. Tech people seem to have a mindset that like technology humans can double their capacity every year.

In truth, that exact mindset is crippling the industry. But make no mistake, if Travis is in the company of my fellow chefs, he will do well, but only if he observes the moral high ground principals.

I believe the market requires collaborative partnerships with industry trainers, educators and experience (chefs) that can integrate the digital economy while augmenting the hospitality experience, Like my good friends in Accor have accurately stated in their new strategy, live, work, play.

If anything we need to pay more attention to how the French do things, there's a reason why they have more chefs in the top 100 of the world, more than anybody else.

My tech start up is what I call the "Chef centric Philosophy".

"Look after the chef and the chef will look after the world".

A combination of thought leadership and technology working in harmony.

Not aggressive, just pragmatic, simplistic, cost effective and seamless. In a hot kitchen a leader needs to know how to relieve pressure and cool things down to allow for creative synergy to unleash itself.

The Ae Chef Vision

The future of culinary artists or Chefs is a mobile workforce that commutes to work by plane from country to country, city to city, kitchen to kitchen. They have no permanent abode as such but are always have room and board as part of their contractual agreements that are subsidised by a combination of public/private staff accomodation projects, funded through industry super-annuation or global pension funds to do exactly just that, look after the 2.1 billion retirees in 2030 (not too far away)

When I started my journey down the tech start-up path as a means to get my own work it felt a little lonely, a little discouraging, but my experience and mind told me I was on the right path and this was the way.

After doing an accelerator course talking to thousands of people online, offline, at church meetings, pubs, cafes and wherever i could, finally........ breakthrough.

I have now through linkedIn connected to at least 100+ executive chefs, 1,430+ new linkedIn connects over half have more than 500+ with 600% increases in views per week sometimes

Educators, Politicians, VC's and new supporters, even had a yang gang supporter have given me likes.

What was the key? when people asked me something I responded quickly, like super fast. I was new to tech but a Master of customer service, and just hard core mental fortitude.

My working career started in the Army over 25 years ago and my biggest challenge was adjusting to civilian or normal life.

What I had identified in my industry was there needed to be a new set of minds of younger leadership to create new vision within travel and tourism for the next 5-15 years.

Like an army in fierce battle we were suffering heavy casualties with students quitting and going awol even before their career had begun, old chefs stuck in their ways to let the new leaders of industry have a seat at the table of the associations and the troops had basically lost their morale.

It was time to have a vision, write out a mission for each theater of war and execute a plan that would conserve resources, boost industry morale and stimulate economic growth on a global scale at light speed.

Technology is like the mind and hospitality is like the hand.

I figured if I create a digital nervous system and flick a bit of music and culinary flare into the mix, then you have the recipe for a fine serving of success.

thanks for reading but I got to go

Pere Pomana

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