Why do chefs leave Michelin-starred kitchens?
Chefs leave Michelin-starred kitchens because the work revolves around endless shifts with no free time, which makes travelling, networking and meeting new people almost impossible. At hotel school, chefs are taught that a Michelin-starred restaurant is the natural next step. Those who later open their own place face a new question: how do you build a business that doesn't swallow all your time again?
What changes after leaving a Michelin-starred kitchen?
After hotel school, Jeroen de Pauw of Canapé Apéro worked in Michelin-starred restaurants and found the work never changed: hard graft, no free time. He chose to see the world, meet new people and build a network instead. There is one trap, though: running your own restaurant can eat up just as many hours as a starred kitchen. Three tasks quietly take away the free time a chef was looking for: responding to reviews, asking for reviews and keeping the Google Business Profile up to date.
Why do chefs start out in Michelin-starred restaurants?
According to De Pauw, there is a lot of indoctrination at hotel school: working in a Michelin-starred restaurant is seen as the natural step after a gastronomic education.
What does a starred kitchen cost a chef?
Mostly time. The rhythm is work, work, work, with barely any free time to travel or build a network outside the kitchen.
How do you avoid the same trap as a restaurant owner?
By automating recurring work outside the kitchen, such as following up on reviews and publishing Google posts. The time you win back goes to your guests, your network or yourself.
When I want to see the world, I have to change and step out of the Michelin-starred restaurants.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to work in a Michelin-starred restaurant to build a good career as a chef?
No. Hotel schools often present working in starred restaurants as the natural next step, but it is not a requirement for success. Jeroen de Pauw worked in Michelin-starred restaurants after his gastronomic training and then deliberately chose a different path. That gave him room to travel, meet people and build a network, something that is hard to combine with a starred kitchen.
What are the downsides of working in a Michelin-starred kitchen?
The biggest downside is the lack of free time. The work is demanding and the rhythm never changes: work, work, work. That leaves little room for travel, a personal life or connections outside the restaurant. For chefs who want to see the world or build their own network, that is often the reason to leave.
How can a restaurant owner keep time for life outside the business?
A common approach is to automate recurring work outside the kitchen. Think of responding to reviews on Google and TripAdvisor, asking guests for a review after their visit and keeping the Google Business Profile up to date. AI agents can take over these tasks. That way the owner keeps time for guests, the team and their own life, instead of ending up in endless working weeks all over again.
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Video transcript
On school, on hotel school, there is a lot of indoctrination that you really have to go to Michelin-starred restaurants. And I did it also after school because it was normal. We had an education in gastronomic food, so I did also, uh, I worked in those restaurants and I did it also later on.
But after some time I said, yeah, it's, it's really always the same thing. It's hard work, it's, uh, no free time. It's always working, working, working.
And I really wanted to explore the world, and that's something that was very difficult in this time to do when you're working in Michelin-starred restaurants. So afterwards I realized when I want to see the world, when I want to see, when I want to meet other people, when I want to create the kind of networking, then I have to change and I have to go out of the Michelin-starred restaurants.