Telephones, Fistfights, and Loss: The Stories We Carry, and the Industry We’re Becoming
By Orlando Apodaca <orlando.apodaca@gmail.com>
These are the stories etched into every chef’s memory, and for those who have lived them, they aren’t just stories; they’re scars. They’re reminders of long nights, long roads, and the parts of this industry that shaped us in ways we didn’t always choose. Every seasoned chef carries these memories. For years, we’ve talked about the past and all the trials and tribulations we endured. Pots flying across the kitchen, screaming chefs, and my personal favorite: one of my executive chefs ripping the phone off the wall and slamming it onto the ground. Cooks so upset at each other that they would have to go into the dry storeroom to have a fistfight. Lost time with family and friends. The wear and tear on our emotional stability. The struggle to keep our mind, body, and soul in sync, and sadly watching friends and colleagues go down a rabbit hole of substance abuse. Now let me tell you who I am. My name is Orlando Apodaca, and I have spent over 20 years in the hospitality industry. I’ve been a dishwasher, I have been a Corporate Executive Chef, and an industry-leading Director. I’ve worked everywhere from IHOP to Nestlé. I’ve lived this life from the bottom up, and every step has left its mark. The beginning of this article starts with a strong history of what the industry was. Earlier this year, I stood in a kitchen and heard something that hit me harder than I expected: “These stories don’t matter anymore. They’re not relevant to our careers. It’s time to move on.” It stung, because those stories were my foundation. They were how I learned, how I survived, how I became who I am, but they were right: that is the past. I must admit these are stories that I have been regurgitating for years… maybe it is time to let them rest.
Now I want to spend a minute talking about the present, about the moment. I realized that I have decades of experience, a deep understanding of how to manage a kitchen, and the ability to bring stability, but the present is not what I thought it was. If our old stories are not relevant, then how relevant are we? The “old brigade”, the chefs that are stuck in the past. I don’t think of myself as old, but I can feel the shift. The kitchen has changed. The style. The mentality, the expectations are all different, and I found myself wondering… is it time for me to step back and let the industry evolve the way it is supposed to, whether it is good or bad? Then there is the future. We talk about AI, we talk about robotics, we talk about how all of this will change the face of our community. I am not a magic 8 ball; I don’t have the answers, but I do know one thing: it cannot take away imagination. Every day brings something new to our industry: excitement, fear, anxiety, stress, sadness, and pure joy. We know the past, we know the present, but we do not know the future. Much like the hospitality industry itself, we never know what will happen that day, what we will walk into, how we will solve the problems, and how we celebrate the wins. Hospitality News is committed to bringing to light what the industry has been, what it is, and what it might be. Sometimes we need to hear the hard truth, the reality of today. Who we are, how we feel, and why we keep showing up.
Hospitality News / National Edition / Oct 2026 / Page 45
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