Ep. 41 Fernando Sanchez (Opera Bar)

Roots Hospitality

To be honest, I don't think I've been to a venue as busy as Opera Bar. The scale is insane. We're talking more then 900 cover services, which for an a le carte venue, is a monster body of work. Fortunately I had the opportunity to jump in during a service to do some behind the scenes shots of the head chef Fernando and his team of powerhouse chefs. You can see these photos over at rootshospitality.com.au
Fernando and I sat down back in December to chat about his long standing career as a chef, working as a head chef at various hotels, catering companies and bars. We chat about the little things that make us love the industry like the comradery during a busy service, but also the lessons learnt from the failures we experience. Fernando shares some advice from his friend that says 'In life, just admit you are going to suck at whatever you do. But that's okay! That's how we get better.' Just have the willpower to keep on going and eventually you'll succeed.
We sat down and bantered about how QR codes have stitched both him and Anna (Head Chef at the Old Fitz) up after the first lockdown, the importance of docket rail space, what the hell an Allergen Matrix is, and of course, we find out what Fernando's most in the shit moment is. So be sure to tune in.
The Roots Hospitality podcast is proudly supported by Sydney Direct Fresh Produce. The fruit and vegetable providore led by Luke Kohler, who has been supplying to Sydney restaurants and venues for more then 20 years and still smashing it out today.
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Music by Charlie Fester.