Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristel Arabian.
Kristel, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born in Beirut, Lebanon to an Armenian family rich in culinary traditions. Food and big meals were a central focus of our family gatherings and culture. As a child, I was always interested in determining the “whys and hows” of all things. This stretched from the sciences to the daily occurrences in my mother’s busy home kitchen. Instead of cartoons, I would watch hours of Julia Child, Jacques Pepin and my favorite show, “Great Chefs”, which had me watching over the shoulders of the world best chefs as they worked, explained their techniques and the secrets of how they worked their magic. During my younger years, I focused on both food and science; working first at a bakery at the age of 14, then spending eight years as a pharmacy technician and later in science laboratories. During this time, I earned my Bachelor’s of Science in Microbiology. Food continued to captivate and inspire me during my time off and during travels to some of the world’s best food cities.
After graduating on sheer instinct, I found a job cooking casual, simple American food at Marshall Blair’s restaurant in Silverlake. I thrived in the fast-paced kitchen environment and parlayed my kitchen training with my knowledge of science to help understand the “whys and hows” of all the techniques I was absorbing. Later, I worked at Joe Miller’s Michelin starred restaurant in Venice as his daytime Chef de Cuisine and also ran the day to day kitchen operations in the opening of Milo & Olive in Santa Monica.
Following my time in the kitchen, I spent three years recruiting chefs at a long standing agency in Los Angeles as their sole culinary recruiter and later, was he Director of Recruitment, opening One Haus NYC. I now enjoys running Kitchen Culture Recruiting- A small, boutique recruiting firm named as a nod to my Microbiology background. I am dedicated to working with a small, like-minded group of Chefs, Managers and Operators to help further their success in the realm of hospitality.
My love affair with food and restaurants is constant, whether I am cooking at home, traveling, dining out or reading restaurant menus & cookbooks.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I’ve had many struggles along the way– As a chef, I worked 110 hours per week, opened a restaurant from the ground up, had the honor/difficult task of producing a Michelin level 9 course tasting menu that changed EVERY DAY and even experienced cheffing at a restaurant that had no kitchen. I wouldn’t change anything for the world– every step prepared me for the next challenge. Who doesn’t like a challenge?
Some of the toughest times, though, were in dealing with people who don’t hold the same morals/values as myself and my company. For the most part, people in the hospitality industry are earnest, loyal, salt of the earth people who will always look out for their own. It is such a tight-knit circle that we are a family of sorts! Someone you “don’t know” in the restaurant industry will always ultimately wind up being a third or fourth “cousin” to you in the end!!!
I’ve had a couple of experiences where this loyalty and honesty wasn’t the case. After the initial shock of the situation faded away, I simply viewed each situation as an opportunity to be the hero of my story. This allowed me to take charge and use the difficult situation to my advantage.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Kitchen Culture Recruiting – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Kitchen Culture Recruiting offers expert placement services for longterm Corporate, Front of House and Back of House positions in the hospitality realm. We are experts providing customized staffing services and are restaurant industry veterans who understand the craft, and each concept’s unique kitchen and service culture intuitively, with years of experience in the field; both hands-on, in restaurants, and as recruiters.
We have a strong network built into the nation’s best food cities and offer confidential & affordable services with proven, personalized and effective methods, customized to suit your business’ needs. Restaurant clients and candidates include everyone from Michelin star, James Beard & StarChefs awardees, to corporate operations, to the fast casual concept looking to grow, even the single unit “mom and pop shop”.
Kitchen Culture provides operators with customized and confidential talent recruiting services. We identify, contact and interview top candidates, presenting only the best fit. We help by conducting reference checks, scheduling interviews, coordinating details for tastings or practical interviews and liaise between candidate and operator throughout the entire process. We also assist operators with compensation package and company restructure consultation services.
Our job isn’t over once we find you your people! We guarantee our hires and provide support through the first several months of your new hire’s career in order to enhance long-term success.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are currently working with our beloved clients to help retain the top talent we recruit for them. This involves tons of research and some additional resources that we are working on folding into our repertoire.
Additionally, this year we have seen a marked increase in Michelin Starred operators reaching out to work with us along with women-lead operations as well. Excited for the future ahead!!!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.CultureRecruiting.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/KitchenCultureRecruiting
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/kriskracks/
Image Credit:
Raffi Hadidian, Mark Margossian
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