This as-told-to essay relies on a dialog with Andres Mendez, a 31-year-old chef in New York Metropolis. It has been edited for size and readability.
Once I moved to the USA from Mexico in 2009, I had no thought how a lot my life would change.
I arrived as a 16-year-old to affix my brother and began working as a fast-food supply driver. 15 years later, I am a chef who earns seven figures.
Here is a breakdown of all my jobs and earnings and the way I obtained to the place I’m as we speak.
Meals supply driver, $500 per week
My brother was already working in New York Metropolis once I arrived, so he requested if I wish to work on the identical fast-food firm he labored at. I began incomes $500 per week.
After two months of navigating the town’s streets on a bicycle, I noticed I did not get pleasure from it.
Everybody was all the time in a rush, and I noticed a number of supply riders get into accidents. I made a decision to search for one other job.
Chef’s assistant, $620 per week
I instructed a buddy within the business that I used to be prepared to go away and needed to get into cooking. I am not skilled as knowledgeable chef, however I’ve all the time loved cooking. As a younger boy, I would be part of my grandmother within the kitchen and assist her make mixiote, a Mexican dish of meat and spices wrapped in a maguey leaf.
My buddy instructed me Essex World Café was searching for a chef’s assistant. I utilized and obtained the job.
I realized loads about camaraderie and teamwork. I additionally realized how one can work with elements, make sauces, and put together every sort of meat.
I labored eight hours a day and earned $620 per week. After three years, I felt I would gone so far as I might in that place, so I appeared for a job in a bigger restaurant.
Line prepare dinner, $710 per week
My subsequent position put me within the sizzling seat. One other buddy additionally instructed me about this job. I grew to become a line prepare dinner at Pacific Grill.
Line cooks work as a staff. One manages the grill, one other manages the fry, and, within the center, somebody handles the pans. I used to be within the center answerable for pasta and sautéed greens.
I by no means obtained bored. I beloved the strain of manufacturing the right dish at a sure velocity, however that strain generally harassed me out.
I stayed for 2 years however left once they closed the restaurant to rework it in 2014.
Line prepare dinner, $820 per week
I subsequent joined a restaurant known as Additional Virgin within the West Village in 2015.
I used to be a line prepare dinner once more, producing desserts and salads for $820 per week. I realized how one can make Mediterranean meals and dabbled in making my very own dressings.
The proprietor was additionally the chef, so the whole lot needed to be excellent, well-arranged, and flavorful. I had a unbelievable expertise working in that restaurant and stayed for 3 years. Probably the most difficult facet was having the boss work alongside me within the kitchen.
Dishwasher, $790 for 4 days per week
My community grew, and one other buddy instructed me a couple of startup known as Prepare dinner Unity in 2016. I did not know something about it and wasn’t positive if it was for me, however my buddy gave me the proprietor’s quantity and requested me to name him.
Prepare dinner Unity is a chef-to-customer meal subscription platform primarily based in Brooklyn. Prospects order ready-to-eat meals from a web-based menu and see which chef wrote the recipe. The cooks, who’re personal contractors, earn as much as a $3 fee for each dish they promote that is ready utilizing their recipe.
Once I met the proprietor, he defined they had been on the lookout for cooks however did not have any line prepare dinner positions out there. I had gained a whole lot of expertise and knew a whole lot of recipes, however I did not say I used to be a chef. The one different job they’d out there was a dishwasher. I needed to be a part of the corporate, so I grew to become a dishwasher.
Being a dishwasher is a really powerful job, because the cooks need the kitchen to be immaculate always. Over the subsequent 12 months, I noticed the dynamics of how the cooks and the staff labored.
I earned $790 for 4 days per week of labor, so I had further time for my music pastime. I performed in a mariachi band and nonetheless play once I can.
Kitchen supervisor, $45,000 a 12 months
In 2017, I used to be requested if I wish to change into a kitchen supervisor. My position was to work with the cooks and guarantee they’d all of the elements they wanted for the dishes.
Every of the Prepare dinner Unity cooks has a unique menu, so I needed to find out about varied elements from totally different components of the world. I labored between 12 and 14 hours a day and earned a wage of $45,000 a 12 months.
I used to be a kitchen supervisor till the pandemic hit in 2020.
Chef, $969,000 a 12 months
In 2020, I grew to become a chef for Prepare dinner Unity, transitioning from full-time employment to being a contractor. I began creating recipes, and the sous cooks and cooks made my dishes.
At first, my dishes had been solely bought in New York, however throughout the pandemic, the necessity for meals supply companies rose. My earnings began to extend.
I obtain a fee from the sale of every of my dishes. In 2021, I earned $969,000. Prepare dinner Unity expanded to Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Austin, Atlanta, and Seattle. Now, 85 sous cooks and cooks throughout the nation produce my dishes.
Chef, $3,000,000 a 12 months
By 2023, I used to be incomes over $3 million. I promote 10,000 to 11,000 meals weekly in New York and Los Angeles. My purpose is to promote that many in every of the opposite cities and proceed to supply job alternatives.
At first, my rise in earnings felt like a dream. It was an enormous accomplishment for me. My mates are extraordinarily blissful for me, and I provide recommendation to my mates who’re cooks once they want it.
Throughout the week, I create recipes and prepare dinner, however on the weekends, I spend time with my spouse and youngsters.
I purchased a farm in Mexico the place I make use of 20 individuals. I plan to purchase one other house in Mexico or Texas. I am extraordinarily happy with how I may give my household a greater life.
