Hospitality On The Rise

Dominique Roy, Chef de Cuisine at Eleven Madison Park and Partner at Daniel Humm Hospitality, knew he wanted to be a chef by age fourteen. From culinary competitions across Canada to training under Georges Blanc in France, he eventually landed in NYC with just a backpack and a dream: to work at Eleven Madison Park. On this episode of Hospitality On The Rise, Dominique tells host Alice Cheng how he worked his way through every station, found his passion in R&D, and helped lead one of the world's most celebrated restaurants through a bold reinvention. He opens up about the power of staying focused, why landing an industry dream job doesn't always mean finding fulfillment, and how embracing change can take your career further than you imagined.Links- Instagram - Dominique Roy: https://www.instagram.com/chefdominiqueroy/- Instagram - Culinary Agents⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.instagram.com/culinaryagents/- Full Transcript⁠: https://hospitalitycareerpaths.com/resources/ep-87-dominique-roy************Remember, success looks different for everyone in hospitality. No two paths are the same. If you have a leader or a topic you want to hear about, email [email protected] On The Rise is brought to you by Culinary Agents, connecting top talent with employers since 2012. Whether you’re hiring or looking for your next opportunity, join us at CulinaryAgents.com.For more inspiration, subscribe to Hospitality On The Rise and visit HospitalityCareerPaths.com, a free platform by Culinary Agents.Thanks for tuning in! Remember to like, follow, and subscribe. And if you loved this episode, share it with someone who could use a little inspiration.

Jill Tyler, Owner of Rye Bunny in Washington, DC, went from bartending in high school to opening Michelin-starred Tail Up Goat, but the biggest lessons came when she realized the restaurant model she'd built was no longer sustainable. On this episode of Hospitality On The Rise, Jill shares the hard lessons of opening a restaurant, the turning point that pushed her to rethink everything, and how a game-changing stage at Birdie’s in Austin challenged her perception of counter service. She reveals how she built Rye Bunny around a new vision of hospitality: competitive wages, healthcare, PTO, community connections, and a business designed to last.Links- Instagram - Jill Tyler: https://www.instagram.com/jillmarietyler/- Instagram - Culinary Agents⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.instagram.com/culinaryagents/- Full Transcript⁠: https://hospitalitycareerpaths.com/resources/ep-86-jill-tyler************Remember, success looks different for everyone in hospitality. No two paths are the same. If you have a leader or a topic you want to hear about, email [email protected] On The Rise is brought to you by Culinary Agents, connecting top talent with employers since 2012. Whether you’re hiring or looking for your next opportunity, join us at CulinaryAgents.com.For more inspiration, subscribe to Hospitality On The Rise and visit HospitalityCareerPaths.com, a free platform by Culinary Agents.Thanks for tuning in! Remember to like, follow, and subscribe. And if you loved this episode, share it with someone who could use a little inspiration.

Chef Michael Mina, Founder of MINA Group, went from washing dishes at fourteen to building a hospitality empire with 38 locations and 18 concepts. On this episode of Hospitality On The Rise, he shares how teamwork, mentorship, and creating opportunities for others fueled his growth, and why smart partnerships helped him scale. From learning that great leaders don’t need all the answers to building teams that thrive, Michael reveals what it takes to stay relevant, keep growing, and build a lasting career in hospitality.Links- Instagram - Michael Mina: https://www.instagram.com/chefmichaelmina/- Instagram - Culinary Agents⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.instagram.com/culinaryagents/- Full Transcript⁠: https://hospitalitycareerpaths.com/resources/ep-85-michael-mina************Remember, success looks different for everyone in hospitality. No two paths are the same. If you have a leader or a topic you want to hear about, email [email protected] On The Rise is brought to you by Culinary Agents, connecting top talent with employers since 2012. Whether you’re hiring or looking for your next opportunity, join us at CulinaryAgents.com.For more inspiration, subscribe to Hospitality On The Rise and visit HospitalityCareerPaths.com, a free platform by Culinary Agents.Thanks for tuning in! Remember to like, follow, and subscribe. And if you loved this episode, share it with someone who could use a little inspiration.

Annie Shi, Beverage Director and Co-Owner of King, Jupiter, and Dean's, and Owner of the James Beard Award-winning wine bar Lei, joins host Alice Cheng on this episode of Hospitality On The Rise. She shares how she left a corporate career in London to open a restaurant in NYC, learned to pivot when the original business plan didn't work, and navigated the growing pains of expansion. Along the way, she earned the 2025 MICHELIN Guide Northeast Cities Sommelier Award and was named a 2026 TIME100 Next honoree. Tune in to hear how Annie and her partners are navigating rapid growth, motherhood, and figuring out what "steady state" looks like after opening four restaurants in under a decade.Links- Instagram - Annie Shi: https://www.instagram.com/annie.h.shi/- Instagram - Culinary Agents⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.instagram.com/culinaryagents/- Full Transcript⁠: https://hospitalitycareerpaths.com/resources/ep-84-annie-shi************Remember, success looks different for everyone in hospitality. No two paths are the same. If you have a leader or a topic you want to hear about, email [email protected] On The Rise is brought to you by Culinary Agents, connecting top talent with employers since 2012. Whether you’re hiring or looking for your next opportunity, join us at CulinaryAgents.com.For more inspiration, subscribe to Hospitality On The Rise and visit HospitalityCareerPaths.com, a free platform by Culinary Agents.Thanks for tuning in! Remember to like, follow, and subscribe. And if you loved this episode, share it with someone who could use a little inspiration.

Brian Lockwood, Chef-Partner at Midōsuji and Gingie (BOKA Restaurant Group), got his start in restaurants at fourteen, washing dishes to pay off a lawyer after getting into trouble as a kid, and forty-seven years later, he’s still in the kitchen.On this episode of Hospitality On The Rise, Brian tells host Alice Cheng how curiosity took him from Gary Danko and The French Laundry to Maui, kitchens across Europe, Eleven Madison Park, and even consulting on FX’s The Bear. He opens up about learning to lead by cooking alongside his team, starting over after a fire closed Gingie just three days after opening, and why staying curious has kept him learning and moving forward through nearly five decades in the industry.Links- Instagram - Brian Lockwood: https://www.instagram.com/chefbrianlockwood/- Instagram - Culinary Agents⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.instagram.com/culinaryagents/- Full Transcript⁠: https://hospitalitycareerpaths.com/resources/ep-83-brian-lockwood************Remember, success looks different for everyone in hospitality. No two paths are the same. If you have a leader or a topic you want to hear about, email [email protected] On The Rise is brought to you by Culinary Agents, connecting top talent with employers since 2012. Whether you’re hiring or looking for your next opportunity, join us at CulinaryAgents.com.For more inspiration, subscribe to Hospitality On The Rise and visit HospitalityCareerPaths.com, a free platform by Culinary Agents.Thanks for tuning in! Remember to like, follow, and subscribe. And if you loved this episode, share it with someone who could use a little inspiration.

Chef Melissa Perello of Octavia and Frances has built a career on knowing exactly when to push forward and when to pull back. Seventeen years, two San Francisco restaurants, and an upcoming bakery later, she joins Alice Cheng on this episode of Hospitality On The Rise to share her journey: from stepping into an intimidating executive chef role at just twenty-four, through a two-year break that reshaped her entire cooking philosophy, to opening her own restaurant and eventually a second. Melissa opens up about burnout, the pressure of taking over another chef’s kitchen, and why she’s now backing her own pastry chef in launching a brand-new bakery.Links- Instagram - Melissa Perello: https://www.instagram.com/m_perello/- Instagram - Culinary Agents⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.instagram.com/culinaryagents/- Full Transcript⁠: https://hospitalitycareerpaths.com/resources/ep-82-melissa-perello************Remember, success looks different for everyone in hospitality. No two paths are the same. If you have a leader or a topic you want to hear about, email [email protected] On The Rise is brought to you by Culinary Agents, connecting top talent with employers since 2012. Whether you’re hiring or looking for your next opportunity, join us at CulinaryAgents.com.For more inspiration, subscribe to Hospitality On The Rise and visit HospitalityCareerPaths.com, a free platform by Culinary Agents.Thanks for tuning in! Remember to like, follow, and subscribe. And if you loved this episode, share it with someone who could use a little inspiration.

Danny Garcia, Chef and Owner of Only Goods, walked into Top Chef without knowing a single competitor and with one mindset: he was there to win. And he did, taking home Season 21 and the biggest prize in the show’s history.On this episode of Hospitality On The Rise, Danny joins host Alice Cheng to talk about the journey behind the win, from busing tables as a kid and training with the Bocuse d’Or team to helping open Crown Shy. He also gets real about what came next: closing his first restaurant, Time and Tide, and putting his energy into Only Goods, a Latin American concept he’s building through salsa macha, neighborhood pop ups, and community.Links- Instagram - Danny Garcia: https://www.instagram.com/chef.dannygarcia/- Instagram - Culinary Agents⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.instagram.com/culinaryagents/- Full Transcript⁠: https://hospitalitycareerpaths.com/resources/ep-81-danny-garcia************Remember, success looks different for everyone in hospitality. No two paths are the same. If you have a leader or a topic you want to hear about, email [email protected] On The Rise is brought to you by Culinary Agents, connecting top talent with employers since 2012. Whether you’re hiring or looking for your next opportunity, join us at CulinaryAgents.com.For more inspiration, subscribe to Hospitality On The Rise and visit HospitalityCareerPaths.com, a free platform by Culinary Agents.Thanks for tuning in! Remember to like, follow, and subscribe. And if you loved this episode, share it with someone who could use a little inspiration.

Molly Irani, Co-Founder and Chief Culture Officer of Chai Pani Restaurant Group, spent years running from the restaurant industry that raised her. Then, at 39, she jumped back in headfirst with zero professional training and a wild idea. On this episode of Hospitality On The Rise, Molly tells host Alice Cheng how she and her husband bootstrapped one Asheville restaurant into a multi-city hospitality group. Along the way, they pulled lessons from careers outside of food to build what they call “mind-blasting hospitality.” Molly opens up about the growing pains of scaling and the pandemic pivot that forced her to rethink everything. She also shares how her community rallied during Hurricane Helene, an experience so powerful it changed the ending of her book, Service Ready.Links- Instagram - Molly Irani: https://www.instagram.com/chaipanimom/- Instagram - Culinary Agents⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.instagram.com/culinaryagents/- Full Transcript⁠: https://hospitalitycareerpaths.com/resources/ep-80-molly-irani************Remember, success looks different for everyone in hospitality. No two paths are the same. If you have a leader or a topic you want to hear about, email [email protected] On The Rise is brought to you by Culinary Agents, connecting top talent with employers since 2012. Whether you’re hiring or looking for your next opportunity, join us at CulinaryAgents.com.For more inspiration, subscribe to Hospitality On The Rise and visit HospitalityCareerPaths.com, a free platform by Culinary Agents.Thanks for tuning in! Remember to like, follow, and subscribe. And if you loved this episode, share it with someone who could use a little inspiration.

Ryan Pera, Co-Owner of Agricole Hospitality and Executive Chef of Coltivare, started washing dishes at a summer job in high school and never left the kitchen. On this episode of Hospitality On The Rise, Ryan shares how he traded an anthropology degree and archaeological dig for a culinary career that took him to Le Cirque during its four-star era, then to Houston, where he eventually built a restaurant group from the ground up. He opens up about bringing a farm-to-plate vision to life, the growing pains of expanding too quickly, the failures that changed how he approaches business, and why a dive bar with clean bathrooms became one of his proudest wins.Links- Instagram - Ryan Pera: https://www.instagram.com/ryanpera/- Instagram - Culinary Agents⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.instagram.com/culinaryagents/- Full Transcript⁠: https://hospitalitycareerpaths.com/resources/ep-79-ryan-pera************Remember, success looks different for everyone in hospitality. No two paths are the same. If you have a leader or a topic you want to hear about, email [email protected] On The Rise is brought to you by Culinary Agents, connecting top talent with employers since 2012. Whether you’re hiring or looking for your next opportunity, join us at CulinaryAgents.com.For more inspiration, subscribe to Hospitality On The Rise and visit HospitalityCareerPaths.com, a free platform by Culinary Agents.Thanks for tuning in! Remember to like, follow, and subscribe. And if you loved this episode, share it with someone who could use a little inspiration.

Lina Goujjane, Co-Owner and Sommelier of Kiko and Noury, grew up running around her parents’ restaurant and always assumed she’d take over the family business one day. On this episode of Hospitality On The Rise, Lina shares how one college course changed that plan and set her on a path through openings at The NoMad, Majordomo, and Sushi Noz before launching concepts of her own. She opens up about the realities of leading a team while working the floor alongside them, what it took to earn a two-star review from The New York Times, and how she and her husband, Chef Alex Chang, navigate building a life and a business together.Note: This episode was recorded in April 2026, prior to the opening of Noury.Links- Instagram - Lina Goujjane: https://www.instagram.com/lina_goujjane/- Instagram - Culinary Agents⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.instagram.com/culinaryagents/- Full Transcript⁠: https://hospitalitycareerpaths.com/resources/ep-78-lina-goujjane************Remember, success looks different for everyone in hospitality. No two paths are the same. If you have a leader or a topic you want to hear about, email [email protected] On The Rise is brought to you by Culinary Agents, connecting top talent with employers since 2012. Whether you’re hiring or looking for your next opportunity, join us at CulinaryAgents.com.For more inspiration, subscribe to Hospitality On The Rise and visit HospitalityCareerPaths.com, a free platform by Culinary Agents.Thanks for tuning in! Remember to like, follow, and subscribe. And if you loved this episode, share it with someone who could use a little inspiration.