April 17, 2017

Meet Eric Florentino Flores of HIBACHI CATERING in Los Angeles

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Florentino Flores.

Eric, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started 10 years ago working in a restaurant of dishwasher and busboy, after a year I was a line cook in fast food restaurants but the work environment and the pressure of work I did not like much so I decided to change restaurant called TGI Friday’s is located in the city of Temecula. That’s where I started my chef career and I started to passionate about gastronomy and I kept making more effort and learn more, after two years of chef, they gave me the position of kitchen manager and also they trained me to train people. I was sent to the city of Las Vegas to open 3 restaurants of the same company.

Aliante, Sams Town and The Orleans was one of the most beautiful experiences in my life. After several years working for the company TGI Friday’s, I decided to learn more about different types of food.

I sent my application to a restaurant called SHOGUN (steak house and Japanese cuisine). I had my interview with the manager and he gave me the job. This is where I learned to cook the Teppanyaki. I put a lot of practice and dedication to my work, after a month, I developed my skills and I liked to see my clients happy with my work, they always remained satisfied and that gave me much pleasure. After four years working for this company, I came up with the idea of bringing the entertainment and food to the backyard, so I decided to buy my own grill and everything necessary to start doing what is now called Hibachi Catering.

At the moment, I dedicate the most time to my own business and I try to learn more and try to improve in every aspect day by day.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The first obstacle was money since I had to wait a year with the idea in my mind without being able to do anything about it until I saved $ 10,000.

Learn the structure of a business (I’m still learning more).

Hibachi Catering – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am a head chef, food preparer, social networking, event planner, administrative assistant.

I feel very proud of where we are now and we try to move forward more and that people know us more and more, because what we do is something new and we do not have competence.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is achieved by thinking of doing something different and doing it, never being afraid of what we invest $$ because it is an experience of life that if we do not live it we will never carry it out.

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