We recently connected with Oscar Juarez and have shared our conversation below.
Oscar, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
If you look around and pay attention, you’ll see people settling for okay relationships, okay jobs, okay salaries, safe and secure environments. It’s what we naturally do, go and settle where we feel comfortable, nobody wants to feel uncomfortable, but this is where character is built, this is where championship mentality is born, it’s where ideas that might just be on paper, become reality. Growing up I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I didn’t know where I would end up going, but as I grew, opportunities were presented to me and I took full advantage of them, one of them being a culinary internship at Disney World in Orlando Florida working alongside world class chefs, working in the busiest and finest restaurants Disney has from 5 star resorts to Forbes 5 Diamond rated Victoria & Alberts AAA Five Diamond Award winning and Forbes Travel Guide Five Star restaurant. I’m originally from Houston Tx and I’ve been here all my life, when I was presented with this opportunity I took a risk by taking a huge pay cut, and moving to Orlando Florida for almost a year to start all over, in a new state where I’ve never set foot on. I figured things out on my own, made the best of it and it ended up being one of the best decisions I could ever make, I met some amazing chefs, made a lot of friends and got to really get fo know myself better on a new level, I pushed myself to be the very best I possibly could, I pushed myself to new boundaries, cooking everyday, in different cuisines, restaurants, different settings, different clientele, I was getting my name out there and slowly everyone was starting to know who I was and what exactly I did and represented. I took a huge pay cut and didn’t know what I was going to do or how I’d pay for my expensive habits, but what I didn’t realize at the moment was that I was getting paid in the experience and the network I built for myself out there could never match to any amount of money they could’ve offered me. For everyone who’s kept along with my culinary journey and supported me from the beginning, just know theres a lot of things coming real soon and I’m excited to show the world what I’ve been working on!
Oscar, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I started my journey back about 7 years ago working in a small Mexican restaurant in the southside of Houston as a dishwasher, I made my way into the kitchen and from there, it was all history. I’m currently working at Le Jardinier Houston the Michelin Star prospect with Chef Alain Verzeroli who is the culinary director for the Bastion Collection, overlooking restaurants like L’atelier de Joel Robuchon, Shun NYC, La Table Houston, and Le Jardinier’s multiple locations. He has earned 3 Michelin stars overlooking Joel Robuchon’s restaurant in Japan “Petrus”, and Le Château de Joël Robuchon for over 18 years. I’m fortunate enough to work close to these high caliber chefs and be around so much talent. Every day I feel like I learn something new, unintentionally sometimes and sometimes just trying new things out. I’m proud to be part of such an amazing team and be able to use all of these skills I’m learning and everything that I’ve gathered throughout my career, and also my culinary school journey to my future businesses and future projects.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I will forever stress it to folks to grow their social media audience by being active, engaging, and posting daily. I find it very important to building a profile and name for yourself, it’s a free marketing tool that when used properly, can be very effective and beneficial. For culinarians looking to get into the industry it’s very important to take pictures, of everything! All of your work, the ingredients you use, food you plate and anything culinary related you do, be proud and show interest in your field, embrace it and build a network, talk to other chefs, visit local farms, stage at different restaurants, give yourself homework. I post daily what a normal day looks like for me being a chef/cook/culinarian. We’re all chefs, we’re all students also, it’s very important to always stay humble and be open minded and remember that there is so much out there to learn, and so much opportunity. I would say 90% of my jobs I’ve held throughout my career have all came from networking, on social media, whether it’s a chef reaching out to me, or a friend recommending me somewhere, or a family member showing me an opportunity, it all has one thing in common, it all came from social media. Another thing that is really important to remember is that social media is public, the whole world can see it, and with that being said, you never know who you’re inspiring or motivating. You might be who someone else looks up to, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received messages from old colleagues, old friends or even strangers sometimes, telling me that I motivate them, they’re proud of me and how far I’ve come, and it blows me away at how many people have followed me throughout my career and kept up with my journey, it’s a very motivating and humbling feeling.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Simply remember that you are only as strong as your weakest soldier, or teammate. It’s important to be able to have patience and learn to be a great teacher and leader, communicating openly and leading by example. At the end of the day, it only benefits you, your team and everyone around you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.click2houston.com/video/houston-life/2021/07/20/rising-star-chef-oscar-juarez-grills-up-summer-favorite–houston-life–kprc-2/
- Instagram: Oscarjuarez2037_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100018544924077