From Garnish Guy to Culinary Mechanic: Building Systems, Culture & Leadership with Simon Zatyrka

What does it take to grow from a 16-year-old garnish guy to a leadership consultant shaping kitchen culture nationwide?

In this episode of The Leadership Table, host Jason E. Brooks sits down with Simon Zatyrka, founder of Culinary Mechanic, to unpack lessons learned from decades in the trenches of the hospitality industry.

In This Episode, We Cover:
✅ Simon’s journey from the line to leadership
✅ The leadership rejection that became his turning point
✅ Building a positive and productive kitchen culture
✅ Why asking more questions makes you a better leader
✅ The importance of systems, recipes, and communication in restaurant operations
✅ Believing in your team’s desire to succeed

About Simon Zatyrka:
Simon is the founder of Culinary Mechanic, where he helps restaurant leaders streamline operations, build stronger teams, and create sustainable kitchen cultures. Learn more at https://culinarymechanic.com.

Connect with Simon:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonzatyrka/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/culinary.mechanic/

Listen & Subscribe:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/09DHB9DjHpQEcV4SSwstx1
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-leadership-table/id1810437949
RSS Feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2471668.rss

Follow Jason E. Brooks for more leadership insights:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-e-brooks/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2LeadnSucceed/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpAeHGYZ50evlJ2KjH2oDvQ
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/2LeadnSucceed

Website:
https://www.jasonebrooks.com

If you found value in today’s conversation, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with another leader!

Chapters

• 0:00 Journey from Garnish Guy to Chef
• 6:07 The Turning Point in Leadership
• 14:09 Birth of Culinary Mechanic
• 18:23 Key Leadership Lessons
• 27:39 Creating Positive Kitchen Culture
• 32:03 Dream Leadership Round Table
• 39:53 Final Thoughts and Connections

Transcript

Jason E. Brooks: 0:05

Oh man, welcome to the leadership table, where conversations inspire, lead and elevate. I'm your host, jason E Brooks, bringing you insights from top leaders who are shaping industries through leadership, culture and success. And today we're joined by my man, simon Zatyrka, a chef turned consultant and the founder of Culinary Mechanic. Simon's journey from a 16-year-old garnish guy to leading multiple high-volume restaurants and now advising culinary operations is nothing short of inspiring. Through culinary mechanic, he focuses on the human aspects of running restaurants, emphasizing leadership systems and culture. Before we dive in, be sure to subscribe and share this episode with fellow leaders who could benefit from today's discussion, simon, welcome to the leadership table, my man. We have traveled together, we've been doing shows, we have had bourbon and wings, appetizers and great conversation, and now I get the pleasure of having you on my podcast. Thank you, sir.

Simon Zatyrka: 1:24

Man, the pleasure is mine. Thank you, jason. I just gotta say you said garnish guy yeah, put a little sprinkle in there. No, no no man lettuce, tomato cheese, olive lettuce tomato cheese and if it's fajitas, lettuce, tomato cheese, olive cheese, olive, scoop of guac, scoop of sour, scoop of pico, that was my life for a year.

Jason E. Brooks: 1:50

That is it, the disher scoops? Yes, sir.

Simon Zatyrka: 1:53

Yes, sir.

Jason E. Brooks: 1:55

All day long. So you know you are well known in the culinary space, well known in the culinary space. But I want you to give my listeners a brief introduction about your journey from your first job through the kitchen into culinary mechanic.

Simon Zatyrka: 2:21

Man. I started being the garnish guy at 16, in 1989. Uh, I tell people that was when the first george bush was still in office. Um, and I did a year of that. And then I I said, okay, I'm going to college and I had really good grades. I'm like the nerdy kid right, right, 3.93, I think.

Simon Zatyrka: 2:45

And I went to the University of Massachusetts and instantly I could feel it. I was like these are not my fucking people. Pardon me for swearing right out the gate, but you know it is what it is. These are not my people. And so I looked around and I thought long and hard about what it is I was enjoying in life. And nothing made me happier than when I was done with my, with my studies and and all those things. Um, in mathematics, by the way, that's, that was my, my initial major.

Simon Zatyrka: 3:16

And when I was done with that, I got to go cook in the evenings and on the weekends and I was at my most alive. So I said, all right, I'm gonna quit school, I'm gonna cook. And I just went on this journey of cooking. I was cooking in the morning, I was cooking at night. On occasion I was cooking third shift and I was trying not to do all three at once, but sometimes it happened, um, and just like, just roll through that. I went through them like little dinky, tiny restaurants and all of a sudden I started. I found hotel restaurants where they wore chef coats. I was like, oh shit, look at this paper hats the whole bit. Um, and then like hotel, okay, cool hotel.

Simon Zatyrka: 3:55

And then I was in new mexico at the time when I first started and then all of a sudden I said nope, I'm gonna do something different and I hustled my ass to florida and I found myself in where was I? I was in Indian Rocks Beach, florida, which is right on the outside of Tampa Bay, and I got myself into a little tiny restaurant within a day of being there. That lasted six weeks because they were. They were a little tiny restaurant and I just had bigger thoughts. So I went to the Sheridan that was there and I did that, and then I, you know, I got an opportunity to be the chef in a restaurant, in the Chef. I was nowhere near the Chef.

Simon Zatyrka: 4:30

I was 23 years old and I went to Provincetown, mass and I was the chef for a summer and it taught me everything. I needed to know that I to know that I was not the chef yet. And so I said, okay, take it easy, go back to Florida, go back to cooking. And I just kept on and I was reading, and I was reading magazines and I was reading books, and I just decided that I was going to create my own curriculum because I wasn't in the position to take myself to culinary school, so I was going to have to find a way to just do the thing, let's see.

Simon Zatyrka: 5:06

And then I went to California and I found myself cooking for four seasons and then a Relay and Chateau property. That was like where JFK spent his honeymoon. And then I found myself in LA and I was working for the Pat patina group, which is now this massive entity on both coasts. But at the time there were 26 restaurants and they were growing at an exponential pace and it was grindy and it was hot, and it was the kitchens that everybody that watches the bear like has nightmares about now, like shit getting thrown, yelling, screaming, and the remarkable part about that was that that was for a company, not a single restaurant, but we still had, in 2003, that atmosphere of fear.

Simon Zatyrka: 5:55

Um, and then keep going a couple years. Big properties, you know, high-end hotels, um, and just doing crushing. I was like an ox. I felt I was putting on the yoke and I was getting bigger roles and I was doing more and I was getting great results and fast forward a couple years. And I I go for this one uh job and the lady says you know, I hear great things about you, you're amazing, you're a doer, you, you get stuff done. She says, but I'm not gonna hire you for this job because you're not the leader that I'm looking for.

Simon Zatyrka: 6:32

And that crushed me um, and from that day forward I really started paying attention. I mean, I came home and I was weeping a little bit. My wife looks at me and she goes okay, next day I, she comes home and she flips leadership for dummies at me. And then the next day, like two days after that, she flips uh, maxwell's little leadership 101 at me. Boom, she goes you're not a leader, figure it out. Read it like ask questions.

Simon Zatyrka: 6:58

Okay, um, and that began the next journey. It it was just leading, leading, leading. And I was like, eh, it was okay, you know. And then I worked for a guy no, I'm sorry, this guy worked for me. And it changed everything one day when I said hey, we need a new saute cook Because we're taking the saute cook, putting him on the grill, because we just lost the grill guy. Can that dishwasher back? Do you think he has the? Do you like, do you think he could do it? And the lead cook goes of course he can do it. And I said, yeah, but this is a hard. He says no, jefe, you have to, you have to believe only in their desire. He says I can teach them the rest, you can teach them the rest. He says but if you, if you believe in their desire to get the job done and to to learn, then everything will be okay and that really changed things and it holds. The big piece of the back of my head is is desire, and in in spanish it's ganas right, it's right in the fire in the belly. Okay, still moving forward.

Simon Zatyrka: 8:02

All of us go go forward another 15 years and I've hit a place where I cannot be in the kitchen anymore. Um, I've become a leader who farms, lead farm sous chefs, like green beans baby, like I got sous chefs coming up in the company I'm working for. I'm uh, just before I left the industry, I I had four restaurants under my finger and we were just growing and you know we would look at cooks and say he or she is ready to be a lead cook. The lead cook, that one's ready to be a sous chef, that one's ready to be a sous chef in a big store, and just on and on and on. We just kept growing and growing and developing and then I got to the end and I realized that I didn't want to do that anymore. The company I was working for wasn't as much fun as it had been. I think COVID had a lot to do with that.

Simon Zatyrka: 8:58

And then my wife said you need to stop and you need to think about how you can make money some other way that keeps you closer to home. That doesn't make you less. Make you make it so that you're not fun when you're not working, because you used to be fun and I tolerate she's like I tolerated the fact that you were driven and hardworking because you came home and we had a good time. But now you come home and you're grumpy and you're tired and sometimes you're depressed. She says so fuck all that, let's find something new. So I listened, because she's the boss, and I took four months off and this magic thing started happening.

Simon Zatyrka: 9:41

The phone started ringing hey, simon, can you, can you, um, can you go help this guy with a project? He needs a menu, costed and there's probably other stuff to dig into. But can you go do that? I'd really appreciate it. Yes, I can. Two months later, hey, uh, completely different person. Hey, I just got a call from this guy. He's got a nonprofit organization and they just need some technical help. Can you like, can you just go help them dig out of their hole? I'm like yes, I can. Boom, uh, two months later I get a. I get a text from one of the guys who used to work for me and then became the guy who took over my spot when I left the company and he goes I just got a call from somebody who I really trust and admire and she needs some leadership help for her chefs. Can you go help with that? And I was like, yeah, and now I've got three clients. I'm a consultant and I'm looking around going, oh, I guess I'm consulting.

Simon Zatyrka: 10:37

And the culinary mechanic thing had been almost a joke 10 years previous it. It was the product of me not feeling like the job was sexy anymore. Right, like I didn't get to, I didn't have fun. Creating it was just take it apart, put it back together, tune it up, move right. And that was day in, day out and I'm like I'm just a culinary mechanic.

Simon Zatyrka: 11:00

And then one day, as many things happen, I'm walking the dogs and I'm like I need a name for this, for my company, and I need to do an LLC. I'm going to do a thing. I'm a consultant, culinary mechanic is the way and that's it, man. That's where I am. And now I really focus on helping chefs and restaurant owners, sometimes separately, sometimes together hone in on their operations. It almost always comes down to applying some leadership principles, which is why this is such a fun conversation to have with you. And you know it's leadership. It's trying to create some great culture. Lately I've been saying, saying what we're going to do is create the way, and if your restaurant is called Jimmy's, then it's Jimmy's way. We want that to exist and we want that to sort of live in perpetuity. That's where I'm at man.

Simon Zatyrka: 11:59

That's what I'm doing.

Jason E. Brooks: 12:01

Zero to 100. You have said it many times and I know it's true, but everyone loves that logo, that logo of the uh knife with the fork. Is that correct?

Simon Zatyrka: 12:14

knife and a spoon. Spoon, knife and a spoon. I screwed that okay.

Jason E. Brooks: 12:19

Knife inside a gear and and the gear behind it around it. That right there says it says everything. And then the taste everything mantra that you also have, um, is very true. I don't care if it's a fast, casual, brand, quick service, a fine dining, you taste everything. And you taste it at every line check, at every single line check, because during peak volume that pan may have changed out three times on, on that next line check, you still taste everything. Course, though, this isn't the tasting table, this is the leadership table. So I want to dive into a bit more about your leadership lessons that you've learned, having led teams in high pressure kitchens from what? Arizona, new Mexico, florida, arizona, new Mexico, florida, all the way up to the north.

Simon Zatyrka: 13:26

Massachusetts.

Jason E. Brooks: 13:27

To Massachusetts, back down to Florida, back across to California. I do believe.

Simon Zatyrka: 13:33

So wherever California, Los, angeles, oakland and now Seattle you have been across the nation, so with those travels.

Jason E. Brooks: 13:41

So what key leadership lessons have you learned that apply across the hospitality industry, whether be it fine dining, large groups, small mom and pops or even hotels? What key leadership lessons have you learned that can apply across all of those?

Simon Zatyrka: 14:03

You know, I think the biggest.

Simon Zatyrka: 14:05

There's a couple of them, but for me, the number one lesson that I've learned is, as the leader, instead of trying to be the loudest guy in the room and kind of barging in and going, here's the solution Like, stop, listen and begin by asking more questions than you make statements.

Simon Zatyrka: 14:29

And I go for like four questions to three statements and if I can pull that off, I almost always come out with great consensus and solutions that, like, people are into because I've taken the time to pay attention and be aware of my surroundings and listen. Time to pay attention and be aware of my surroundings and listen. And that's the second lesson right there for me is pay attention, like head up, like look around. If you're the leader, you shouldn't be head down, you should be head up, paying attention to the forest, the trees, the rocks on the ground, right, like be aware of your surroundings. Um, and I find that when I work with people and I get them to slow down so that they can eventually go faster than they have ever gone before, we really talk about like chin up, pay attention. That's, that's my big one, right, man?

Jason E. Brooks: 15:24

right now, man you definitely nailed it. Even whenever I walk people through um a session that I call closing the gap I talk through when you think about the average restaurant leader. We are in a high-paced environment. We are always solving issues from things that have gone on. We may be rushing into a location our location we're trying to help knock down the line, get the kitchen from being backed up, help out on expo, knock out a truck order, knock out some payroll, and then all of a sudden our heart rate is up there and then we go to walk the dining room floor.

Jason E. Brooks: 16:10

But our heart rate is very different than our customer, the customer. When you really think about what they go through as they walk into our establishment, their heart rate has slowed down. They are in a much darker environment. They are in a much darker environment when they're sitting at the table looking at their meal. That finally came out. It's about 18 inches from their eyes. That view from 18 inches pulls in more detail.

Jason E. Brooks: 16:39

After they're finished staring at their meal, making sure that it is correct, they then begin eating. They then lift their chin up. They start viewing left to right slowly. That detail that they've gotten from that 18 inches now extends out about three to five feet, to the detail that's on the walls, the details that's on the booths, the details that's on the chairs. The gap is when we're walking through with that heart rate pumping because we're all over the place in which. That's how we're trained to, but that's a different. That's a different view from the customer. So going through that exercise of closing the gap for the operators to understand what the customer sees versus what they see, all for the operators to understand what the customer sees versus what they see although they're in the same room, is something that really does help them. But you are absolutely spot on. Though Now your experience, there are common operational challenges that restaurants face, similar to closing the gap. What are some of the common challenges that you've also seen in different type of restaurants and then how can they be addressed effectively?

Simon Zatyrka: 18:02

common problems there's not enough recipes getting used, right. That's kind of like we can just push that one to the side and we can always come back to it. But I think for me, the big problem in especially back at house, but definitely restaurants is we have doers and they're great doers, right? These are people that are like they show up on time for work, they're into their job, they want to do more, they might even want to make a little more money.

Simon Zatyrka: 18:34

And like a supervisor position comes up and oftentimes it's like oh, me, me, pick me, you know, or sometimes you got to root through it and find that one that's good and more often than not, unfortunately, we throw them in there. We hand them some keys and go it's your shift, run it right. Um, and worse than that, good luck, take them. Yeah, man, like I've had that happen to me. Like here's your key, bro, I'll be here at 8 am because they'll be here at 8 30 am, okay, you know. Or even worse than that is lock up, but whatever.

Simon Zatyrka: 19:11

And so we, sometimes it goes okay, sometimes there's training, sometimes there's not. But the big overarching, like almost universal problem is we have people who are now supposed to be in these leadership positions that sometimes they've got good role models, sometimes they've got training, but more often than not we have leaders who don't know how to lead. I mean, that's like partially why you have a business, you know, it's partially why I have a business, but it's that it's like, and I get it it's hard for an independent operator to to like say, okay, we're gonna train you to lead and and but man, that's just everywhere and and so we get.

Simon Zatyrka: 19:59

We get toxic environments. I feel like we might get incrementally less fewer toxic environments nowadays because it's it's less socially acceptable to be a freak and yell at people and scream at people um, you know, but I know they're still out there. I just heard a story the other day about a guy here in seattle who you know he just lost his shit on his team and I was like man, it's 2025, dog, get up, wake, like, come on, you can do it. Here comes the future. It's going to smack you in the face. So, yeah, that was my two big ones.

Jason E. Brooks: 20:35

Man, you know I got to say especially that recipes one that is so important. I cannot agree more with the leadership. But even going back to the recipes, even like I'm probably home when I don't travel a lot, I try to cook at least four to six days per week and I've been doing this. My oldest is 30. Youngest is 17. Have a middle that is 26 years old and I'm cooking for them from day one. I mean from day one.

Jason E. Brooks: 21:12

I'm definitely known as the chef that is in the house and there's times that I've made dishes probably 30 times within the year, twice per month on some dishes maybe a bit more and I will always still, 30 years later, follow the recipe. It drives them crazy and they're like why you've made this dish, I swear, 300 times, if not 500 times. Why do you still either look at your phone or print out a piece of paper and go buy the recipe? You should know this and I'm like it's because I'm human too. I will have bills on my mind, I will have everything else work whatever that's on my mind, and at the wrong moment I will forget something and you will taste it and you will say what did you do, dad? It doesn't taste the same.

Simon Zatyrka: 22:12

Tastes, like last time, yeah.

Jason E. Brooks: 22:14

It doesn't taste like last time, and that's why I always follow and use a recipe. It is important. Now it sounds like you've had a lot of mentors teach you things like that, so I know you have definitely emphasized the importance of mentorship in your career. Can you tell us how mentorship has shaped your leadership style now?

Simon Zatyrka: 22:47

I think. Well, first of all, I am, uh, one of those people like I suffer from shiny object syndrome, like squirrel fuck, I'm gone, man. So for me, like mentorship oftentimes meant like a quiet 10 minutes at the end of the shift, talking one-on-one, where, like I gotta focus, and for me that's really important, like I had one chef who would just scream at me focus, focus. And when you're done with that focus and yes, chef, okay, okay, I got it. Um. And so I think for me, like some having somebody that listened to what I, what was freaking me out on a daily basis, or somebody that was paying attention to how I was working and could then kind of give me that like little jiminy cricket on the shoulder going you're doing that really the hard way, man, you know, um. And so I think those mentors for me, but also like the ones I worked with guys and gal, I worked with this one chef and she, she was. So I don't think I thought of her as a mentor at the time, but when I think back to what I learned from her, and here is the moment she, she looks at me and she goes do you have this? Oh no, do you have this on the grill? No, do you have this on the. Do you have this on the grill? No, do you have this on the grill? No, uh, do you have this, this or this on the grill? I'm like, no, I'm behind. And she goes. Okay, and she goes well, fucking, get on behind, cause I need you to, I need you to get there. And so I, okay, regenerative pumping, and all of a sudden boom, I'm caught up. And afterwards she goes come on, I'm going to go smoke a cigarette and you can get some secondhand smoke. And we go out the back door and she goes. You know what, when push comes to shove, you are one of the best at getting out of trouble. She says but I need you to get organized and focused enough that you don't get into trouble.

Simon Zatyrka: 24:53

And that changed me once again. It just shifted me five degrees to where I went on this path of like, how do I get more organized, how do I get so tight and clean that someday somebody is going to call me like the Iceman, because I'm cold and I'm calculated and I'm operating right, like that was the goal for years. Just get to be Iceman. And I never got there. I worked for a couple of guys like that was the goal for years just just get to be ice man. And I never got there.

Simon Zatyrka: 25:09

I worked for a couple of guys like that, but I know that I became more clean, more organized, more focused and I stopped having to scramble to get out of things right in the end. I created processes for myself. I created systems for myself on how I was going to organize myself. Didn't know it at the time. All I wanted to do was like have that lady, not like kick me in the shins anymore. But that's that was. You know, that's that was some some great mentoring. And for me now it's like okay, you're going to climb the tree and I'm going to tell you that that's going to hurt when you fall out of the tree, but I'm still gonna let you fall out of the tree. I might have a net for you.

Simon Zatyrka: 25:54

Um, and I think that's a lot of way I, the way I try to go about working with, uh, chefs and restaurateurs. Right now it's like here, I've done this for a long time. This is the next three things that are about to happen if you keep doing what you're doing. And it's like one, it's two, it's three and nothing is better and worse all at the same time than getting that phone call or that text that goes. You know how you said this was going to happen. It happened like yes, I mean. Yes, I'm sorry I'm not a soothsayer, but I mean, this is the way things are Like. There's only so many variables in the restaurant business.

Jason E. Brooks: 26:34

Even if you think about everything you you are just said it is. It's not only mentorship. It also helps to help. It helps to drive culture. It helps to build that culture of of the people. Like us do things like this we don't focus on being the best at getting out of trouble, we focus on being the best at never getting into trouble, we focus on staying clean, we focus on mise en place, we focus on whatever that the culture is. But that culture piece coming from the mentorship is crucial for any organization. So how do you approach cultivating a positive and productive kitchen culture? Because it's been known for several decades, if not millennia's of kitchens are rough. It's rough and tough and you get fussed at and things get thrown at you. But, as you said, even from the person that's in Seattle that is known for for blowing up on their team, positive and more productive kitchen cultures today are really what drives that productivity. So how do you approach cultivating that?

Simon Zatyrka: 27:55

Oh, you're going to laugh at me. I have three C's for this Communication, communication and communication.

Jason E. Brooks: 28:05

Tell me about the second one, not the first one.

Simon Zatyrka: 28:08

Ok, you know, I honestly think that you know reading the room and communicating in the appropriate manner. Reading a room and communicating in the appropriate manner, right, Like if somebody is breaking down, like you got to stop, slow down and give them a moment and you got to be be close, close to their space, you know. But I think that you know really working on communication, and I always remember that communication is two sides right, Somebody's got to say it, somebody's got to hear it, and I think if you say it and somebody else doesn't hear it, that can really be the person who's saying it's fault. But like pay attention, Once again, like pay attention to what that person is maybe going through or the day they're having. You know, um and and be, be, be present in the moment enough to communicate in the way that is necessary.

Jason E. Brooks: 29:06

so that's the second c for me you know um, it's funny people laugh at me all the time when I say three c's, but I'm like how? About the first c, then over communicate over, over communicate.

Simon Zatyrka: 29:17

I tell people like, uh, what's the best example? How about the first?

Jason E. Brooks: 29:20

to see, then Overcommunicate.

Simon Zatyrka: 29:21

Overcommunicate. I tell people, like, what's the best example? Okay, mr Front of House Manager, I'm the chef and I'm down two people and it's going to be a rough one, but guess what, nobody's better at being in the weeds than me. Nobody's better at handling rough. And so I got the prep guy who's going to work salads, because he's worked salads a couple times and I'm going to work the grill and we are going to get through it.

Simon Zatyrka: 29:48

But here's what I need you to do. I need you to make sure that everybody on the front of the house is aware that we're down and we're a little bit hobbled, and so let's pay attention, let's guide our guests to the, to the items that really are on on that saute station. Let's keep them like. Let's not be like pushing the salads today. This is a great day for pastas. This is a great day for the things that will help us get through a little bit easier. And the product of that conversation is that the manager on the other side knows what's happening. The team on the other side now has some good, focused orders or direction on how they can help me right, and meanwhile everybody knows we're hobbled and we're gonna do our best, but like this is what it is. So, over communication, you know, and and I, and I think when I've, when I've done, that is when I've been most successful in my, in my journey to to take care of restaurants and help them really like help businesses grow, you so over communicating.

Jason E. Brooks: 31:00

Could not agree more, especially with all three. C's um it. Even when you think about school teachers, do do we think that, even with eighth graders and and ninth graders that they've been in school for eight, nine years now, and the teacher tells them on day one what the rules are, do you think that they stop on day two or week three or month four? Nope, they will still, at the beginning of class, probably say some of the exact same things that they said or that they've heard for the last eight years. So just because you say it once doesn't mean that it's stuck Overcommunicate. I love that aspect. We are going to shift gears into some of the more signature questions that I ask all of my guests. First one, and first are you ready? I am so ready, you were born ready. Now, if you could sit at a round table with three other leaders, alive or from history, who would you choose and why?

Simon Zatyrka: 32:18

Oof? This is a hard question, but I got some fun ones for you. Number one Phil Jackson, the coach from the NBA. Okay, and here's why. This is a guy who, in the realm of the Chicago Bulls, took one of the, if not the greatest player, one of the greatest players, and created a system that worked to not only make him stronger but also found a way that he could have the whole team be involved. And that triangle offense was all about that big word again, awareness. It was heads up, and when the game changes we change. If they go 30 degrees, we go 30 degrees. And it was all about a shifting head on a swivel offense that really dominated Right, drifting head head on a swivel offense that really dominated right. But then. But then you go forward into the lakers time and he was able to take two titans of basketball that really didn't seem to like each other at the beginning and made them work together and like they they did. A male like shaq and kobe were like stunning to watch together, absolutely stunning. So for me, a lot of like. He has a book called Sacred Hoops and that thing I've read like seven times and I honestly like go read that book if you haven't read it Because it's an amazing, truly like in current jargon. It is a master class in focusing on your environment and really like finding ways to take reactiveness and making it proactive.

Simon Zatyrka: 34:12

Number two and this is a weird one, but I love it Lyndon Baines Johnson. Love it, lyndon baines johnson. This is a politician who was known throughout his entire career as being the most prepared, the most studied. This guy had no court, no cards on everybody man, like folks on the other side of the aisle. He knew he Senator blah blah blah, you know from Mississippi. He knew the guy's wife's name, the kid's names, he knew how old they were, he was prepared, and I don't always love some of the things that he did. I like some of them for sure. Lyndon B Johnson did some great things, but I always admired just how focused and prepared this guy was to do the business of governing, and so that for me, was that's. Number two, um, and number three uh, this was the hardest one, I'll be honest.

Simon Zatyrka: 35:16

There's a woman named Fawn Weaver. She is the founder and CEO of Uncle Nearest. It is a Tennessee whiskey and she has created the fastest growing spirits brand on earth. Nobody has ever grown a company as fast, as big as this woman, she. She has a five-woman leadership team, three of which, including herself, are women of color.

Simon Zatyrka: 35:50

She has, every time she hits a standard or a norm where they say, oh, you'll never be able to do it that way, she's like no, I'm not going to do it that way, I'm going to do it this way. And she goes 180 degrees in the other way and just destroys the competition. And it's just time after time after time. Um, you know, she created her 50 state strategy before she even had two states locked and all the good old boys were like no, that's not gonna work. And next thing, you know, like she's just outpacing people.

Simon Zatyrka: 36:20

And so I love her. It doesn't hurt that I knew her back in like 2004 and five we worked together in a hotel when she wasn't a bestselling author and she wasn't the founder of this. She was a really focused woman who would come to me as the executive sous chef of the hotel and she'd have these crazy banquet orders and I'd be like what are you doing? You're killing. She's like we're making money, baby, you know. And that was it, and, and so I just love the fact that she was willing to do things her way and really she's oh no VC no venture capital.

Jason E. Brooks: 37:01

No venture capital, wow, none, wow.

Simon Zatyrka: 37:04

Her company is valued at over $1.1 billion right now. So there, that's my three people.

Jason E. Brooks: 37:12

That is a powerful board of directors sitting at your table. That's a great table. Okay, last question, last but not least, at the leadership table, we believe in conversations that inspire, lead and elevate. So, as you think back through your past and your journey, we have lots of conversations, lots of great ones, lots of ones that do shape us. But what's one conversation in your career that profoundly shaped you as the leader you are today?

Simon Zatyrka: 37:49

It's that conversation that I mentioned in the beginning, back in the sort of my story. Right, it's going for the job where I want to be the leader. I want to be the executive chef of this cool and I mean cool little boutique hotel right in the center of Beverly Hills. And the lady says, and it's even in the same company that I already work for, I should be a shoo-in, right. And she says, no, you're a doer and I want a leader. That was the one. It was like man, because I've got the skills, like I had the skills at that point, I could run that place. But she didn't want somebody just to come in and grind, she wanted somebody to elevate performance, she wanted somebody to lead, and I think for me that's the one that really made me go huh. Okay, there's more to this. Pay attention, attention, focus. You. You understand what the big folk, big themes in my life are, right, awareness, pay attention and focus.

Jason E. Brooks: 38:49

But that's that's like a big conversation that would absolutely shape every single person, and I'm sure many people had similar conversations or moments that said the way that I've been doing things got me here, but how I want to get there, I'm going to have to switch things up, and that's exactly what happened, and you created a huge success from it. So, simon, before we wrap up, where can our listeners connect with you and learn more about your work?

Simon Zatyrka: 39:25

Well, I think the easy one is LinkedIn. First name is Simon. Last name is Zoturka. Z isn't zebra A T isn't Tom? Y-r-k-a. Zoturka Looks like hell, sounds easy, I think. The other one is probably just culinarymechaniccom. That'll get you to my podcast, that'll get you to my, my advisory and coaching page. That'll even get you to my email and we can sit and have a talk at some point, if, if, the if, the timing is right. But yeah, that's how you find me. Linkedin is my playground, but yeah, that's how you find me. Linkedin is my playground. I'm on Instagram too, though, like culinarymechanic, where you can see little snippets of me doing stuff like this because it's fun. But yeah, I'm out here kicking it, just having fun, man well.

Jason E. Brooks: 40:15

Thank you so much. I know our listeners found this great, so today we have explored the journey of transforming kitchen operations and leadership with Simon Zaturka. Simon, thank you for sharing your experiences and wisdom with us at the leadership table to our listeners. If you found value in today's conversation, be sure to subscribe, leave a review and share this episode with a fellow leader. You can also visit us at wwwjasonebrookscom for more leadership insights and resources. Until next time, keep leading with impact and remember manage, lead. Coach repeaton.

Simon Zatyrka: 41:03

Thank you jason, as always. Thank you so much, have a great.