I think what I'm most proud of as a chef is the people that I've worked under me. The different people that I've seen come up from a cook right out of culinary school or maybe even a cook with no culinary school that maybe grows into a sous chef position or an executive chef position or a chef de cuisine position. I would say that the investment in the people and mentoring people and seeing them grow is probably what I'm most proud of. I’m most proud of the people that I've worked with. There's no personal accomplishment that I have that I would say is greater than the accomplishment in investing in people. It's probably been the greatest reward in my career. Andre Natera
What we covered in this episode
He wanted to be a professional fighter when he was younger.He was offered at the same time to turn pro or get his first Head Chef position.As he "needed to be a responsible adult" and had to feed his family, he decided to pass on the professional fighter career and he became a Chef.There was a similar social hierarchy in the locker rooms and the kitchen back then when he started. He fit right in.Chef Natera went to culinary school in 1995.The Fairmont Hotel in Austin as several food and beverage concepts which keep him engaged and creative."Revue" has an Italian kitchen, an Asian kitchen, a raw bar, and a dessert station. "Garrison" is the fine dining restaurant. The concept is built around fire. Everything has an element of smoke or char."Fulton" is the lobby bar, focusing on small bites and craft cocktails."Good Things" is a grab-and-go coffee shop."In-room dining"."Rules and Regs" is the 7th-floor bar focusing on Mexican flavors. Chef Andre Natera describes some of the main differences that exist between being a Chef at a restaurant and a Chef at a hotel.Back in the 80's the popular cooking show on TV was "Great Chefs of the World" that inspired a generation of people in culinary school to become Chefs at hotels and country clubs because these Chefs on TV were Chefs at famous hotels around the world. Then the shift happened with restaurant Chefs on Food Network. No one wanted to work at hotels any longer and you saw an end of an era.Today, because of the economics it takes to run a restaurant things are changing a bit.Chef Andre Natera gives advice to young people who want to become a Chef.For him, a lot of his creative process comes from isolation and then the collaborative process starts.He is a member of the MENT'OR  BKB organization.The Chefs that Chef Andre Natera looks up to are Chef Thomas Keller, Chef René Redzepi, and Chef Dean Fearing.His leadership style evolved over time and depends on the level of the person in the kitchen.Discipline is critical in the kitchen. Discipline is the means to deliver a result by doing the right things and not the punishment.Chef Andre Natera talks about the great aspects of being a Chef (creativity, leadership, mentorship) and open the veil as well on some of the dark sides of being a Chef.5 rapid-fire questions
Links to other episodes in Austin
Conversation with 3 Chefs in Austin (Chef Andre Natera, Chef Kevin Fink, and Chef Fiore Tedesco) - Vol 1Conversation with 3 Chefs in Austin (Chef Andre Natera, Chef Kevin Fink, and Chef Fiore Tedesco) - Vol 2


Chef Michael Fojtasek from Olamaie
If you are interested in discovering more about the Austin restaurant scene, check out these two additional episodes by clicking on the respective pictures:   Chef Michael Fojtasek from Olamaie and Chef Fiore Tedesco from L'Oca d'Oro. 


Chef Fiore Tedesco from L'Oca d'Oro
Chef Andre Natera's recipes with eggplants.
The way we prepare our eggplants here is we confit them in some oil and then we grill them. I really like the technique of keeping them in some sort of fat. Now this is where you can get creative so if you have the technique of confit the eggplant in fat.