We recently connected with Alex Menache and have shared our conversation below.
Alex, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Experiencing inspiration actively means becoming aware of what brings up the feeling and finding a way to the source (i.e. picking up a book, inviting someone out to coffee, applying for a job, taking a trip, etc.) It’s something I remember doing since I was a kid but I’d never experienced it as clearly as I did in college, running a cafe and performance venue with 20 of my closest friends. I fell in love with hospitality and the cafe as the first community I felt a true sense of belonging and have been devoted to creating similar spaces ever since.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I have yet to find the right word for what I do and I like it that way, it leaves room for flexibility and carving our new roles where they didn’t once exist. As a culinary curator, writer, and creative producer, I often exist at the intersection of chefs & restaurants, F&B products, events and food media. Whether it’s booking chef talent for festivals like Summit and LA3C, leading partnerships for Japan’s campaign to promote wagyu in the US, designing weekly experiences for Biite Club, writing for Edible LA, or curating the snack and beverage program for Powder Mountain Ski Resort, I often play the role of connecting the dots within the center of the food ecosystem. Having been raised both Mexican and Jewish in the heart of LA, I tend to gravitative towards the expression of identity through food, its limitless creative potential, playfulness, collaboration and community building powers.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Paying attention – It goes without saying but we all know it isn’t as easy these days… Being present to the people around you, what they’re saying (or not saying), the way a space feels, how it’s lit, the ingredients in a dish, where they came from, how it’s all written. Attention creates ideas, opportunities, friends and mentors in unexpected places.
Communication – at its core, partnerships and collaborations are about creating frameworks that are mutually beneficial for everyone. At a macro and micro level, I can attribute all of the opportunities I’ve had to building and maintaining relationships— specifically in being authentic, clear, curious, generous but unafraid to ask for things, and leading with joy and connection above all else.
Taste – Some say either you got it or you don’t… I’d like to think that taste can be cultivated with enough curiosity, experience, and trust in our own individual desires. In the case of food, it’s a matter of tasting, trying new things, learning about ingredients and processes, following the people in the industry you look up to, hosting, and playing around in the kitchen. Each experience builds confidence in what we believe to be “good” which is different for everyone. If you like it, there’s probably a whole world out there that feels the same way.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
Though I consider myself a generalist, the moment I discovered and committed to food as a medium, I felt a whole world of possibility open up. I notice this in restaurant concepts, pop ups, and even writing– when there’s a clear direction, approach, or angle, it’s both easier for the artist to express and the guest / reader to digest. The more specific we get with our strengths, the more we develop our own individuality and competitive edge. No one can take that away from us. That said, the more well rounded we are, the more we can excel within our domain. Diving into our strengths inevitably brings up our weaknesses, no one’s above that! You can’t have a restaurant without being a good manager or being fiscally responsible. You can’t be a photographer without having a system for organizing photos. It’s not one or the other but a balance of where and when to practice each.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @alexmenache
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexmenache?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Image Credits
Joe Duarte, Jacob Layman, Emily Ferreti
