We were lucky to catch up with John Dileo recently and have shared our conversation below.
John, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What can you share with us about the story behind how you found your key vendors?
When I look for vendors to work with, which in my situation are Farmers, Fishermen (women) and other Artisans. I always try to find local, like minded people and hopefully they have worked with someone I know. When I moved to the Charleston area, this was kind of difficult since I was new in the area and i didn’t really know anyone. Luckily another Chef that I work with once a year at The Masters Golf tournament had lived in Charleston before and was a great help introducing around.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I started cooking at my Great Aunt’s side when I was 12. We would visit her in Brooklyn, and I was fascinated with the local shops where she would take me to pick out ingredients for our dinner. That experience took me to work in a local restaurant and then onto The Culinary Institute of America.
After Culinary school, I spent most of my career in Manhattan, where I was the Executive Chef of Zoe, Restaurant Lafayette, The Metropolitan Opera House, and The Hudson Hotel, to name a few. I also spent some time in New Orleans, Key West, Nantucket, and Moscow, Russia I’ve been around.
Since moving to the Charleston area, I have left restaurants and hotels to work as a private Chef, which is very fulfilling and much more accessible than running a restaurant. I do dinner parties for two to twenty people and teach cooking classes. All of this takes place in clients’ homes or vacation rentals. I’m a one-man show, so if you book me, you get me! Not another Chef or Sous Chef. I enjoy working with local farmers and fishermen to source my menus. My cooking is based on my Italian heritage, French training, and the many fantastic cooks I’ve worked with.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Before the pandemic I worked in Corporate dining, which pretty much disappeared in March of 2020. I have a friend who helped me by sending some private clients my way doing drop off meals. Once we moved to the Charleston area, I decided to stick with private dining instead of going back to a corporate position. I decided to rely on myself was the best option in this environment and I’m happy I did.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Never say no to a guest. Well kinda. A GM at a hotel I worked at once told me that it’s better to respond with a counteroffer of what you can do well than to take a guest request that you really can’t do well. He was right.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Chefjohndileo.com
- Instagram: Jmdileo1
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088831820166
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-m-dileo
