We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Phillip Mcdonald a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Phillip, appreciate you joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Success in the restaurant & Hospitality industry takes sacrifice. You really have to be willing to work physically and mentally as well as lead a team. You must train well enough that one can step away to pivot to other areas of the business. To me that is success. To be able to make your business scalable.
Success is also mostly a myriad of failures that teach and humble you along the way. I think that is how you become a long term success is recognizing your failures and having a growth mindset instead of killing yourself for your errors.

Phillip, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a classically trained cook/chef for the past 25 years and I got into cooking by accident. I took a part time summer job from college at a fine dining restaurant and actually enjoyed the fast paced environment and the sense of team I saw in that kitchen. I had my mind made up right there what I wanted to do and went all in. I worked my way through several kitchens for the next few year soaking up everything I could. I surfed couches in big cities to stage (work for free) It was so cool but scary passing through big name kitchens for a few days at just the hope that you would learn something cool and bring it back home to impress.
This type of education paid off great for me due to making amazing connections in the industry while also being exposed to amazing techniques and creativity.

I moved to NYC during this time to ramp up my exposure to great restaurants and working in distinguished kitchens which landed me a stage at Jon George’s eponymous, Michelin 3 star restaurant in Manhattan . This was the holy grail of fine dining and the French brigade system. I loved his Asian twist on western cooking which made the food he was creating so complex and flavorful

I could only stay at that restaurant for so long due to not being paid, so I joined the team at Reynard in the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn as the AM sous chef. This was another amazing experience as we were creating daily menus based on what farmers were bringing us from the Hudson Valley. This taught me to think on my feet and to cook with the seasons. Improvise with the techniques and skills you have learned. To me this is the foundation I now cook on. “If it grows together it goes together”

Upon leaving NYC I took a position in Seaside, Fl to revamp a Neapolitan, wood fired pizza concept. I learned so much about fire and how to manage it as well as the properties of dough and bread. We had a lot of success there and after a few years, I wanted my own concept. So I created & conceptualized a bakery/cafe concept called Black Bear Bread co. We were the first real bakery in the area to do naturally leavened breads and French pastries. We received a James Beard nomination our first year in business for best bakery in the US! We had so much success and lines out the door that we opened an Oyster Bar/Natural Wine concept next door We had crazy success in the beginning and it still is succesful. I am so proud of what we accomplished and created at Black Bear.
I now own and operate Table Five Chef Services LLC. We are a Private Chef/Events service that specializes in Private chefs for your home parties/events and Private Dinners events that we host based on seasonality and what we are curating from local artisans and farmers.
We are also a consulting agency for menu development for restaurants as well as branding for restaurants. We are dedicated to quality and getting our clients results through collaboration and creativity. We have a strong record of success in this area and love helping clients strategize to fill holes in the marketplace.

Have you ever had to pivot?

That’s funny you asked because I am in a complete pivot at this very moment in my life. It’s really scary because I walked way from a booming business that I created but wasn’t happy or satisfied. I was in a partnership that wasn’t really suiting me personally or professionally and just knew in my heart it was time for a change. I needed more time with my 3 kids to be there for them. And here I am scared as hell but confident in my abilities. I am constantly reaffirming a growth mindset and that really helps me navigate through the unknown. I was almost too comfortable in my role with my restaurant and I made some mistakes and learned very valuable lessons about complacency. It’s very easy to find shame and focus on your mistakes or you can take it as a lesson learned and attack from another angle. This has been a most teachable moment for me. I consider myself a very talented chef but if you are not working for it and rest on your past successes it will bite your ass and it will hurt.
There is hard work in business and there is nothing else. You can’t fake anything. you can’t coast. you have to engage and be working.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I feel that most effective strategy to growing clientele is consistency. You never want to overlook a client or customer that comes into your business, restaurant or hires you for consulting etc. . They are opportunities to build relationships. These are important because you are very fortunate that they gave you a chance and you are even more fortunate if they come back to you. So when they come back to you that means they liked what you offered and they are expecting to have the same if not better experience. They told friends and family about their experience. This is where the rubber meets the road to me.
Can you duplicate that first experience they had but with subtle elevation?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tablefivechef.com
• Instagram: tablefivechefservices
• Facebook: Table Five Private Chef + Catering
• Yelp: Table Five

Image Credits

Alissa Aryn Commercial Photography