The coronavirus pandemic has shown that for restaurants, community comes first – including staff, guests, and professional peers. Operators are quick to stand in solidarity and share struggles and successes. As part of OpenTable’s partnership with Top Chef’s Restaurant Wars, we tapped into that spirit of generosity, asking chefs to tell us about the ups and downs of their careers: lessons learned, mistakes made, and their personal evolution along the way. Hear their stories, get inspired, and find resources to help in uncertain times here.

Lindsay Autry grew up on her family’s orchard in rural North Carolina, preserving peaches and tomatoes and competing in cooking competitions with the local 4-H. Before long, she knew food was more than a hobby and enrolled in culinary school. 

For more than a decade, she cut her teeth working with award-winning chef Michelle Bernstein in Florida and Mexico before earning the public’s attention as a finalist on Season 9 of Top Chef. In 2016, she opened her first restaurant, THE REGIONAL Kitchen & Public House in West Palm Beach, which marries Mediterranean flavors with her Southern roots. Here, Autry shares her early influences and why failure is the best teacher.

What’s the best advice you received early on?

My grandfather was a professional public speaker, and he would tell me to stand in my own shoes. At the time, I interpreted that as standing up for myself, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized what he really meant was just to be yourself and be authentic. If you’re true to who you are as a person, things will come to you a bit easier. 

What’s the best advice you’d give to another chef or restaurateur who’s opening their first restaurant?

To stay strong and know that it’s a lot harder than it appears on television. If you put your head down and work really hard, eventually it will pay off. This is a very mundane business, with a lot of action and repetition. You have to find a way to break it up. 

Your team and your staff are the most important aspect of your career. As a young chef, I would feel like I was on an island. Now, I realize about 60% of my staff has been with me for 10 years, and I don’t know what I would do without them. To anyone starting out – develop your team, and know that this isn’t a business you can do alone. 

I would think that as you’re taking on more projects like Top Chef, having that trust in your team becomes all the more important. 

One of the hardest lessons to learn is delegating, to let go and trust other people to execute your vision and work. [My teammates] carry the weight of the restaurant when I have a day off. I just had a baby! It’s good to know that you have people you can lean on. 

What has been the most exciting moment of your career?

Top Chef, for me, was terrifying, but it also has done so much for my career – accelerated it, and gave me exposure to be able to advance myself. Last year, I got to cook with Martha Stewart, which was definitely a bucket list for me. Usually I’m not someone who’s freaked out in front of celebrities, but I literally was speechless when I met her and made a fool of myself. 

You mentioned that opportunities came your way after Top Chef. What were some of those?

It allowed me to get exposure not only nationally, but within my own community. A lot of people didn’t know I was a chef here. [After], people knew I was a serious chef that had experience. 

What’s one of the biggest mistakes you’ve made in your career?

I always joke that I’ve had my heart broken by more restaurants than relationships. It’s a really risky business – there are a lot of things you can control, but there are things that are kind of out of your control, too.  

I waited a long time [to open my own place] because I knew what the failure rate was. Nine out of 10 restaurants close within their first year because the financial structure is really hard to sustain. Along the way, having restaurants close helped educate me to be able to open my own place with a little bit more confidence. It’s still a risk, but I’ve got 15 years under my belt of knowing what to try to avoid. 

You opened The Regional in 2016. Now that you’re a chef-owner, how has that changed your approach to your work?

I have to do every aspect of the operation. In the past, when I was executive chef in a restaurant, I would really focus on the back of the house. Here, I worked with my other partner and some designers to design the actual space. I do all of the hiring for front-of-house management. I worry about maintenance contracts and bills. So now I worry about everything instead of just 60% of it!

As a younger chef, a lot of times you’re more focused on the creative aspect and you can be stubborn in your food. A lot of that is just immaturity and growth. Opening The Regional, I had a certain concept, but that has evolved over the past three-and-a-half years. The people that support my restaurant or the guests that come in – I’ve evolved to what they have been receptive to. They created what my business is now. 

Can you tell us more about your Southern upbringing and how that influenced your culinary style?

I grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, which has a lot of military bases, but my family also had a peach orchard. I grew up in 4-H, so it was very Charlotte’s Web – pigs, goats, lamb. I started cooking competitions through 4-H. 

My mom’s mother made incredible desserts, and my dad’s mother is actually from Greece, so I grew up with this weird mix of Southern and Greek food. In the ‘80s, grocery stores didn’t have feta or romaine lettuce, so my grandmother would make Greek food using what she had – spanakopita with cottage cheese because there was no feta. I’ve gone back to my roots here at the restaurant: We do a blend of Southern Mediterranean cuisine.

Since we are talking Top Chef, we’d love to hear more about these early 4-H cooking competitions.

They were all outdoor grilling, so you had to show that you could build a fire, and it was always based on a protein. I started when I was nine, and they didn’t separate you by age, so I would do cooking competitions with people from age nine to 19. I ended up winning the state level against 19-year-olds. 

Sounds like good Top Chef training. When did you know you wanted to be a chef?

I wasn’t from a place that had fine-dining restaurants or even chefs in restaurants. When I was in high school, I came across a book for Johnson & Wales, and that was the first time that I ever thought, I could go to school to be a chef. Everybody was pushing me to go to Duke or UNC-Chapel Hill and be a pharmacist or a lawyer. 

What were some of the most important things you learned working for Michelle Bernstein? 

I was with Michelle for about 12 or 13 years. I credit so much of my career to being able to shadow her and see her level of professionalism and her drive. She was able to lead and be a strong woman and stay feminine. She was never apologetic for being a woman in a kitchen. She showed me that at the end of the day, we’re not female chefs, we’re just chefs. 

Working with her, I was able to learn a lot not only about cooking, but also the business side and the public side – how to portray yourself in public and how to be on TV. We still talk all the time. 

Photos courtesy of South Moon Photography

The coronavirus pandemic has shown that for restaurants, community comes first – including staff, guests, and professional peers. Operators are quick to stand in solidarity and share struggles and successes. As part of OpenTable’s partnership with Top Chef’s Restaurant Wars, we tapped into that spirit of generosity, asking chefs to tell us about the ups and downs of their careers: lessons learned, mistakes made, and their personal evolution along the way. Hear their stories, get inspired, and find resources to help in uncertain times here.

A California native, Justin Devillier moved to New Orleans in 2003 as a young cook, eager to join the city’s restaurant community. A year later, he joined the team at La Petite Grocery, cooking Louisiana fare in a Creole-style cottage that housed a grocery store in the 1800s – and he never left. In 2010, Justin and his wife, Mia Freiberger-Devillier, took over majority ownership of the restaurant. 

Since then, Justin has collected a host of titles and accolades. He opened another Big Easy restaurant, Justine; competed on Season 11 of Top Chef; and won the 2016 James Beard Award for Best Chef: South after being named a finalist four times. Read on for his lessons learned, from line cook to award-winning restaurateur. 

What cooking advice would you give your younger self? 

Really take the opportunity to learn as much on your own as you do at work, through cookbooks, media outlets, and videos. As a young cook you don’t get a creative outlet at work, you get a lot of fundamentals and technique. Being able to go home and research and apply techniques to your own creativity is a good head start.  

You joined La Petite Grocery in 2004, but didn’t take over ownership until 2010. During those six years, did you aspire to take over the business? 

I didn’t know that was coming. I was focused on getting my training, and then I took over as Executive Chef in 2007, able to transfer that experience into a leadership role. Then in 2010, I had the opportunity for ownership. That changes into a business situation, where you’re learning about finance. It was definitely a build-up.  

And what was that transition like, from the kitchen to the full business?

Challenging but unique, because I worked through all of those stages in the same atmosphere. That comfort level is already there; I knew everyone involved. Even as far as business relationships, I already had those contacts. There wasn’t, “who’s this guy coming in and trying to change everything.” I had already built that trust, and it was a huge advantage for me personally. 

What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made in your career? What did you learn from it?

Not buying Amazon stock in 1999. 

From a creative standpoint, you’re not going to be successful every time. A good goal is to not make the same failures become habitual or consistent. I like making technical mistakes – you can get as much out of those as successes. 

What was it like opening your second and third restaurants, Balise (now closed) and Justine, and developing concepts from scratch? 

It’s totally different going from an idea on paper and seeing it all the way through. Three years later, chances are it’s much different than it was when you first thought about it. There’s a bit of compromise, especially when you’re working with a team of people. You might all have the same vision, but you have to respect everyone’s journey getting to that vision. 

What were some of the biggest shifts from your original concepts to the realized, finished produce?

So many things. Ideas change as you work through things – factors like space and equipment and personnel. You can’t really get a solid gauge until you’re in it. It’s like what I was saying earlier: your preparation and technique are important, but you can’t always prepare for something you’ve never tried to execute. 

You may consider those things limiting, but they’re also expanding. You might find yourself standing next to somebody who makes the best croissants you’ve ever seen. Now, we’re going to specialize in croissants and brunch. Those little things you can’t prepare for until everything’s in place. 

Tell us about reestablishing La Petite Grocery after Hurricane Katrina. How did that experience change your approach to your work? 

Everyone was just happy to be sitting in a restaurant in their neighborhood that they had been forced out of for a while. I respect and appreciate what it meant to be open. We were working nonstop all day and night, understaffed and super busy. 

What changed for you after winning the 2016 James Beard Award for Best Chef: South? How important was it to win after being nominated multiple times?

It was a huge honor – something that I’ll be able to share with my kids forever. I don’t like to think that it’s changed a whole lot, though it’s definitely made the restaurant a lot busier. I also think it gives the people on the team an extra sense of recognition – they understand their hard work is rewarded with an uptick in business.

What was the most exciting moment in your career?

There have been a lot of those. Overall, we’ve been really lucky to have this restaurant on one of the best streets in the country and in the world. That’s enough for me right now. We’ve also been able to take it on the road with the Kentucky Derby and Pebble Beach, to share a small corner of Magazine Street. Owning a restaurant isn’t the most glamorous, and it’s nice to get out and share with people every once in a while.

Images courtesy of La Petite Grocery

The coronavirus pandemic has shown that for restaurants, community comes first – including staff, guests, and professional peers. Operators are quick to stand in solidarity and share struggles and successes. As part of OpenTable’s partnership with Top Chef’s Restaurant Wars, we tapped into that spirit of generosity, asking chefs to tell us about the ups and downs of their careers: lessons learned, mistakes made, and their personal evolution along the way. Hear their stories, get inspired, and find resources to help in uncertain times here.

John Tesar started out as a dishwasher, working to support his surf and ski lifestyle, but he never left the kitchen. He cooked in New York and Las Vegas before taking the helm at The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, where he found his place on the culinary map. In 2014, Tesar opened Knife, a steakhouse reinvented with Texas-raised beef and specialty cuts at the Highland Dallas hotel. 

In 2012, Tesar competed on Season 10 of Top Chef, and four years later he returned for Season 14. Though he never took home the top prize, he learned plenty about media, entertainment, and success in the business. Read on for his insights.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

To work hard and be genuine at what you do. We live in a world consumed with fame and notoriety, and people mistake that for recognition of their work. You have to understand the difference between entertainment and the actual running of a restaurant. 

How do you stay genuine in what you do?

It’s how you conduct yourself and relate to people and express gratitude and share the good things in life with other people. In the restaurant business you do that with your restaurant family, coworkers, and peers. People have lost sight of that.

What is consuming them instead?

People are getting saturated with celebrity chefs, and fine dining has died except for a few key places. Social media is like a silent arrogance – you put up 20 pictures of something that doesn’t taste good, and you’re an artist. 

You know, food television doesn’t pay a lot of money. And the winner is not always the best chef on the show. You see a lot of people on Top Chef who are probably really good cooks, but they have no personality or they don’t like competitive environments. When you get to the end, it’s very produced. They decide who’s marketable for them. It’s a dangerous thing for the longevity of [the business] because that’s an easy formula to replicate with money. Real restaurants aren’t created with money but with talent and passion and vision. 

As someone who’s straddling that line between chef-restaurateur and entertainer, how do you maintain perspective?

It’s been horrific for me. It’s funny that people think I have this huge ego, because it’s just a defense mechanism about what I’ve had to do to survive. This business will come at you all day long with politics and favoritism. 

You could complain, but you have to adapt to it. The restaurant business is constantly changing. We’ve created this disposable side, which is not necessarily good for the public or the restaurant, but it’s good for the people who design restaurants, build restaurants, promote restaurants, and give awards to restaurants. 

How does that impact chefs?

People don’t give themselves time to put together a real body of work. You see so many spikes and failures. You’re on the cover of magazines, and six months later you’re out of business. 

Food is not subjective. It either tastes good or it doesn’t. People are so caught up in the emperor’s new clothes, what’s new and happening. I learned a long time ago that the most important thing is not to worry about what everybody else is doing and to focus on your work. When I was younger, I would be like, why did that guy win that award? It’s a distraction and a waste of your time. The more you can remove these things from your psyche in this business, the better you’ll be.

It sounds like you focus less on the peaks and valleys and more on aggregate experience. 

The body of work is what’s always been important. But notoriety, celebrity, television, and personality have pushed it all aside. When I left the Mansion, I thought my career was over. I was shunned by one of the biggest hotel companies in the world, and D Magazine wrote a story about it, put me on the cover, and people jumped on it. Top Chef came after me because I was the most hated chef in Dallas. There are moments where outlandishness will catch you in opportunities, but it’s what you do with it. 

With steakhouses, there’s so much competition. How do you think about taking something familiar and improving on it, or presenting it in a way that sets you apart?

Simplicity. You have to have a mix of people in a restaurant; you can’t just cater to one group of people. Concept is number one, location is number two, and then you have to run the numbers before you start. I’d rather have a full restaurant and not one award on the wall – my customers and my five-star reviews and the endless stream of people appreciating Knife. 

What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made in your career? What did you learn from it?

Worrying about what other people do and doing things more for ego or out of desperation than with a sense of rational thought. Being too spontaneous because I thought I had the answer.

You never have the answer, your customers have the answer. You have to be very clear on your goals. Not everybody is going to like you. You’ve got to toughen yourself up. 

What’s your take on the increasingly popular meatless meat movement? Will we see meatless burgers in your restaurants? 

We use Hungry Planet on the burger menu. The steakhouse is one restaurant that has a longer shelf life than most because we’re carnivores. You can eat all the Impossible Burgers you want, but the majority of the public is coming back for a potato or a piece of red meat.

How have you continued learning and growing?

I’ve always wanted to reinvent myself. When I go to other restaurants and cities, I’ll come back to my crew and show them pictures – how they clean the kitchen, how the staff dresses, how they talk to each other. It’s respectful and professional. Food always comes first. The day the food’s not good, I’ll try to fix it. The restaurant business is hard enough. We don’t need geniuses. 

What have you learned training a new generation of chefs? 

Kids today really have to go back and understand culinary history, because we’re losing a view of what classical cuisine is. I run a steakhouse and for six months I had to make Béarnaise sauce every night because people didn’t know what it tasted like. 

Corporate America has had a huge effect on restaurant business. The working conditions are probably better. Is the food better? No, because it takes a little pain to make good food at that level. We sacrifice the pain for a little mediocrity. We’ve backed off on discipline and scrutiny, and it’s affected the quality. 

What’s your focus right now? 

My focus for the next five years is to make both restaurants in Dallas successful. Everyone asks, are you going to keep opening? I’m just doing what I think will work. My main priority is the people that work for me, because without them, I’m nothing. That’s when you know you’re really successful: when you start giving back to the people who helped you get where you are.

When you’re down, work harder, focus, figure it out. When you’re on top, that’s when you give back. That’s what I’m most appreciative for – whether it be divine intervention or just 40 years of hard work, I can rest a little easier for the first time in my career. 

How do you think about your own longevity in this business?

I’m going to be the last man standing. How do you retire as a restaurateur and chef? You’ve got to die in the restaurant, in the walk-in at the end of service. At least you’d be preserved for a few hours.