Chef / Owner of Koko Head Cafe

Be patient. The older we get, the faster time passes. Enjoy the moment. I've been lucky enough to have such a wide breadth of experiences. Enjoy it while you can, and don't be in a rush. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

The mental health crisis in our industry—the substance abuse problem—it's bigger than it's ever been. I've been doing a lot of work with Southern Smoke Foundation and just working on my own mental health in the past year and half since my restaurant in Maui burned down. It's really important that you take the time to process whatever it is that you're going through, whatever it is you're feeling. That way you can be your best self in the kitchen and around your co-workers.

Everybody has access to the ability to put themselves out there in the media. My recommendation to people who want to get involved is to answer: ‘What's your story? Why would people want to watch you? What do you bring to the table? Is it technique? Is it great recipes? Is it farm-to-table? Is it just comedy? Do you just want to share?’ It can be any reason, but have a goal and have a reason to do it and understand that it is a commitment. You have to be consistent about it.

The biggest thing for us is creating culture. It's creating your own work, Ohana, and you do that by creating a positive work environment, which means having great management, great leaders in place, and then making sure that you're communicating every day with your staff and making sure everybody's enjoying a good time.