Becoming a Brand: Celebrity Chef Jet Tila

Show Notes

Branding experts like Chef Jet Tila have created an all-weather strategy for ensuring they’re able to provide for their families no matter what happens. The secret is creating multiple revenue streams through diversification. It’s not a easy process but the end result is looking pretty good these days. On this episode Jet Tila takes us on the journey from executive chef to household name.

Click to sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Click here to book time on my personal calendar.

Click here to download our Restaurant Recovery Guide.

Want to streamline your front-of-house operations and increase sales? Head over to http://restaurants.yelp.com/fullcomppodcast to claim your free page and learn more about these powerful tools for your business.

SHOW NOTES

• Starting in entrepreneurship
• Dropped out of high school
• Became a chef on a fishing boat
• Had many skills
• Commerce
• Accounting
• Customer service
• Culinary skills
• Career path into hospitality
• Hosted cooking classes at his mom’s house
• Written in the Times
• Went to culinary school
• Wanted formal education to assimilate into the culinary world
• Getting credentials
• Being an executive chef felt isolating
• Restaurants were a means to an end
• Didn’t allow for family time
• The importance of mentorship
• Studying the brands of chefs Jet idolizes
• Neil Fraser
• Bobby Flay
• Brave entrepreneur
• Elton Brown
• Media savvy
• Guy Fieri
• Global brand
• Read business books
• Ask questions to great people
• Diversification is key
• To transcend, a person needs to become an institution
• You can be in multiple places as once
• Steps to becoming a brand
• Put your name where your restaurant is featured
• Get to know PR people
• Go the extra mile
• Getting onto TV
• Teaching in the School of Cooking in LA
• Taught working professionals how to cook
• Students happened to be producers
• One TV producer worked for the food network
• Networking is important
• Doing a good job
• Introducing yourself politely
• Lessons learned
• Blowing off Mark Peel by being too arrogant
• Find phenomenal mentors
• Be gracious for the opportunity
• Rejecting a job at Google
• What would life have been like?
• Goals before 2020
• 2019 busiest year in Team Tila history
• Looking at TV pilots
• Consulting with major TV networks and brands
• Social media growth
• The effects of the pandemic
• Lost momentum
• 60% down on revenue
• Pivoting into digital
• Netflix shows and NBC
• Licensing and marketing opportunities
• Food Network Live
• A-ha moments
• Finding balance between family and business
• We have an addiction to work
• Mental health fuels us to be high achievers but also hurts us
• Finding time for himself
• Space to reflect
• The future post-pandemic
• Many won’t survive
• The share of the market will increase
• Learning to work from home more
• Words to the industry
• This will pass
• Find a way to get through this as there is light at the end of the tunnel
• We can learn the lessons

What is FULL COMP: The Voice of the Restaurant Industry Revolution?

What if I told you that the difference between struggling and thriving in the restaurant industry is just one conversation away?

I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur who’s spent decades building blockbuster brands across every tier of dining. I know the challenges you’re facing—because I’ve been there. That’s why I created FULL COMP.

Every week, I go one-on-one with the smartest minds in the game: restaurateurs, chefs, and industry insiders who’ve cracked the code. Together, we unpack their biggest wins, hardest lessons, and the strategies that changed everything.

No fluff, no filler—just actionable insights to help you boost profits, build your brand, and create the kind of restaurant you’ve always dreamed of.

So, if you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and start seeing results, hit subscribe.