Chef and Co-Owner of Agricole Hospitality

The best piece of advice I have received was from my chef at my first sous chef job. The first thing he told me, which I still think about is "cooking is easy; it’s everyone’s problems that are hard." As I’ve grown in my career, I’ve thought about this advice a lot.

I knew this profession was right for me during my senior year in college. I had to work at an archeological site to complete my degree. During the day, I would work on the dig site, and at night, I would cook for the team. I realized then that I hated going to the site during the day, but I loved the work that I was doing at night, and that’s when I knew.

I couldn't do this job without our staff. Each person who works for us is so important. From the people preparing the food, to the front of house staff making the customers happy, to the corporate employees making sure we’re profitable — I couldn’t do any of this myself.

I find inspiration in the garden of my restaurant. I see what’s actually blooming in the ground at that moment, and know that our farmers will be bringing us that product soon.

Since it’s so easy to become inundated with your work, I like to take our team out as a group to try good food around Houston and encourage them to go out and eat regularly to see what’s happening outside of our walls to keep them inspired. I also encourage the team to stay physically active and at least once a year, we’ll do a company-sponsored fun run or an exercise challenge. Staying physically active has been so beneficial to me in my career and my life, it’s important for me to encourage that in my staff.