What's your Executive Chef Leadership & Culinary Operations Score?
A FREE ASSESSMENT & REPORT
WITH THE BEYOND THE FOOD PROGRAM:
SUCCESSFULLY RUN YOUR CULINARY OPERATION SO IT'S NOT RUNNING YOU.
MISE EN PLACE FOR THE EXECUTIVE CHEF
"Test-Drive The New
'Secrets of Success'
Membership & Community For 30 Days, And We'll SHIP YOU These 3 Gifts For FREE...! Just For Saying 'MAYBE...'
Approximately 200 new cookbooks are published each year loaded with recipes, some great, some not, some well tested, many not.
WHAT I OFFER IS LEADERSHIP BEYOND THE FOOD.
Leadership with a Chef perspective, because my view of the world comes from being in the kitchen for 100-hour weeks, executing 700 covers a la carte or hundred thousand dollar events, even washing pots and pans after serving 1,200 guests for Easter.
I don’t believe Chefs need another recipe.
I believe implementation, accountability, & training are the skillsets that Executive Chefs need to develop for the benefit of their staff and ultimately the success in their role.
Because the truth is, the longer you’re in the role, the further you get from the stove.
ABOUT LEGIT CONCEPTS
Meet
Gerald L. Ford, CMC
Founder of Legit Concepts & John Maxwell Certified Coach
One of 73 Certified Master Chefs and former Captain of the National Culinary Team USA, Chef Ford had stops in Michelin Starred Restaurants, The Moulin de Mougins and Eleven Madison Park. Over his career, Master Chef Ford has established himself as a professional who is focused, driven, innovative and organized beyond obsessive.
During his 30 years in the food service industry, Master Chef Ford was part of the opening team at The Mandarin Oriental in Columbus Circle, NYC. He also served as part of the opening team of several restaurants in New York State and worked for the Four Seasons & Ritz Carlton Hotel Companies. For the last thirteen years he has been working in Platinum-Level Private Clubs in the role of Executive Chef, Culinary Director, Executive Sous Chef & Sous Chef.
Earning medals at the highest level of international competition and the Culinary Olympics, Chef Ford has proven his resourcefulness and honed his leadership, leading and developing the best chefs in the world.
Ready To Work together?
"Test-Drive The New
'Secrets of Success'
Membership & Community For 30 Days, And We'll SHIP YOU These 3 Gifts For FREE...! Just For Saying 'MAYBE...'
Get the Structure you Need to Thrive
as a Professional Chef
Delivered Weekly To Your Inbox
- Master your craft
- Lead at the cutting edge of competition
- Run a seamless high-performance kitchen
Get the proven insights and strategies to develop the skills and confidence to turn your culinary ambitions into reality.
Master Chef Ford's Journey
Something I always say is, "It’s not about being gifted or naturally talented, it’s about hard work, dedication, commitment & decision." I grew up in Dearborn, Michigan with a family that was very food centric, German- Polish. When I was only about 12 years old, my mom started looking into cooking classes to keep me busy. Because of that, I had an opportunity to watch a Certified Master Chef, Chef Ed Janos, cook at Henry Ford College. He roasted a chicken, cooked some mashed potatoes, and green beans. After I watched him cook, I knew that that was what I wanted to be when I grew up.
A Certified Master Chef. I wanted to be like that guy. He was witty and intelligent and he just flowed seamlessly in the kitchen from one thing to the next. A true master in the kitchen.
So I spent the next 25 years of my life working towards that. And that guided my every decision. I went to the Culinary Institute of America and made it a point to work for Master Chefs along the way. Knowing that I wanted to become a Certified Master Chef, I created a filter for my life which was a simple question: “Is this going to get me closer to becoming a Certified Master Chef or is this project going to get me further away from it?” Asking that question along the way and filtering all opportunities through that question led me down a really amazing path.
I had big goals.
Become a Certified Master Chef, compete at Bocuse d'Or, compete at the Culinary Olympics, and now become an entrepreneur and coach and train Chefs who are looking for greatness.
Without a true solid plan for where you want to go, you're never going to get there. So my question to you is, where are you going? If you know, I'd be honored to go on your journey with you.
Ready To Work together?
Work with Me:
One on One Culinary Mastery Coaching
Culinary Mastery Coaching to Achieve Your Goals Faster!
Cooking is Only 20% of the Job
Successfully Running your Culinary Operation So It’s NOT Running You
What Chefs Are Saying:
Chef Alex Darvishi
Chef Gerald Ford, CMC provides awesome educational material and puts you on the right path to success. I strongly recommend using his services. You will not get anything close anywhere else. He is an awesome mentor, career coach and master chef!
Chef Geo Lanez
Chef Gerald Ford will help work with your personality by understanding your strengths and weaknesses, help create systems, give appropriate advice, and navigate a road map to success.
Chef John Miller
Chef expertly clarifies what is most important in building & growing professionalism, reinforces the importance of working toward perfect technique, drives the discipline of ongoing & focused learning, and never loses sight of the value of service to others through teaching and mentoring. “INVALUABLE” is the word I use when I describe my experiences with Master Chef Gerald Ford.
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