My Big Break

Big breaks do happen. When an actress gets called for a major film, a band books a televised gig, or a chef get's their first Michelin star their lives can change in an instant. But more often, success is a series of steps toward our goals that happens gradually. It’s usually not one isolated moment, and it certainly wasn’t that way for me. Each opportunity was made possible by the one before it and led to the one that followed. My “big breaks” were mostly about getting in the door, which was especially hard as a black chef.

But if I had to identify a tipping point in my career, it would be the time I spent working for Georges Blanc in France. It was an internship, so I was working for free, but I wasn’t there for the money. I was there to learn, and it was the best education I could have asked for. Many of us were young men, new to the industry, thrown into a three-Michelin star restaurant where the staff spoke multiple languages. The pressure was always high. Our bosses expected perfection, and when our work didn’t cut it, the punishment was harsh. We were screamed at a lot, even for the smallest slip-ups. But that only pushed me further. I had to learn very quickly how to think on my feet and handle multiple challenges right then and there. It was tough, but it made me realize that I did belong in this industry. Knowing I could perform at that level gave me the confidence I needed to take those next steps in my career.

 Life-changing opportunities like that one don’t happen because of luck, but they don’t happen just because of skill, either. You can’t plan out incredible moments; you don’t just walk into work and say, “I’m going to get my big break today.” It’s a combination. You need to be lucky enough to be in the right moment, but you also need to work hard enough to earn it. 

When I hire people for my team, I know that at a certain point I’m taking a leap of faith. There’s no guarantee that anyone will be successful, and I can’t know for sure that I made the right decision. But I do try to look for the things that matter to me: Is this person hungry for it, do they have the right combination of humility and work ethic, and so on.

 My year in France was the first time I truly saw the value of internships, and it’s one of the main reasons I have interns on my team today. There are very few ways to take your school skills and apply them to the real world. Internships ARE the way. I was fortunate enough to have that experience, and it’s important to me to pass that on. If you work hard enough and seize every chance to learn, the opportunities will follow.