Podcast Takeaways: 3 Things Anyone Can Learn From Jean-Christophe Novelli

In the latest edition of the Matt Haycox Show podcast, I sat down with internationally acclaimed chef, restauranteur and TV personality Jean-Christophe Novelli .

From humble beginnings in France, he was told at an early age that he’d never amount to anything and was wasting his time dreaming of a career involving cooking!

Fast forward a few decades and he’s owned and run restaurants all around the world, won multiple Michelin stars and is one of the best-known chefs on the planet (even winning sexiest chef in the world along the way!).

It was great to chat with him, and you there’s loads of career advice in there, as well as some anecdotes including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Madonna!

If you haven’t checked the full episode out, you can find it at:

As part of my new series of articles for LinkedIn, I’ve broken down our chat and extracted three key learnings that anyone can take away, and help you on your way to success!

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Lesson One: Have clear goals

Jean-Christophe attributes a lot of his early career successes to always having one clear goal in his mind that he was doing everything he could to achieve.

Only once this was achieved, would he then get his head up and work out the next key milestone he wanted to get after and set about that.

In the first instance this was to leave school and find a way to work in food and drink. That’s literally all he cared about and made sure he found a way to make it happen.

He did this by getting his very first break helping out in a local bakery, and he’s never looked back from there!

Later goals he went after and ultimately achieved were: to move to England, undertake an elite apprenticeship (under renowned chef Keith Floyd), open his own restaurant, expand the empire, win his first Michelin star and so on.?

All along his journey he’s had the next clearly identified goal to go after, and he’s not rested until he achieved it, and then moved onto the next!

It’s a really key lesson, and one of the first things I always tell people when I’m asked for business and career advice: you have to be crystal clear in exactly what it is that you want to achieve.?

Think about it… If somebody asks you what success looks like to you and you have to stop and think about it for a few minutes, how the fuck can you say you’re doing everything in your power to get there!?

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Lesson Two: Stay positive, even in the hardest of times

Jean-Christophe has achieved incredible highs, with international success fame and fortune following off the back of his craft.

It hasn’t been all plain sailing though, as in the case of anyone who has ever been successful, he’s had to find a way to deal with incredibly difficult moments in business, but even more so in his personal life.?

Over the years he’s had to overcome failing restaurants and bouncing back from the depression caused by very nearly losing everything due to what he refers to as ‘believing his own hype’.

He puts this down to forgetting what it was he was good at, and why he got into cooking in the first place – but believes that finding a way to create and maintain a positive outlook is what’s allowed him to overcome any hurdles in front of him and bounce back from the brink of losing it all.

Far more importantly however, is the personal battles that his family have had to face, with his young son Valentino being diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer which took a big toll in his early years, and means he’ll need round the clock care all his life.

It’s a heart-breaking story and one that has obviously put a huge strain on Jean-Christophe, his wife and their family.

However, one thing that shone through in the interview was the unique perspective that this has given him and makes him view the world completely differently around what is important to him and what isn’t.

Making the most of every day and doing everything he can to create happy memories with his family is his driving force, and has allowed him to retain a sense of positivity towards everything he does and achieves each day.

Lesson Three: Never be afraid to do it your way!

When he was at school, Jean-Christophe was called an idiot and told he wouldn’t amount to anything by his teachers who gave up on him at an early age.

In later life he found out this was likely due to him having undiagnosed ADHD, but he credits his ability to dream big and think outside of the box as a key asset in helping him achieve successes most of those old teachers couldn’t even imagine!

One of the things that is prominent throughout his life and career is that he’s had a very strong desire to follow his gut, think big, back himself and forge his own path – even when this means going against the grain, or when he was completely written off!?

When he was at school his first girlfriend dumped him when he said he wanted to be a chef, as in those days it wasn’t considered an aspirational industry, and she wanted to be with someone with a better career path in mind!

Undeterred Jean-Christophe has always believed in the life he was making for himself, and was laughed at by everyone around him when he spoke of his desire to move to England and learn to cook (as everyone in France at the time thought English food was terrible!).

He’s a great example of backing yourself and being brave enough to go out there and prove everyone wrong.

At the end of the day, if you know deep down that you’re going to do whatever it takes to get to the top that’s all that matters!