We recently connected with Robert Octela and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Robert with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I got it from my mum who worked in a Bean Plantation. As immigrants, they worked really hard and I even used to assist. So that kind of rubbed off on me.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My name is Chef Rob Octela, my career has spanned two decades. I started my career out as a pizza boy after I lost both parents. From there I went on to work a couple of more culinary jobs before going to Le Cordon Bleu. It was after this that my career really took off, and that’s when I began occupying supervisory and management roles. During the course of my corporate career post Le Cordon Bleu, I held the Position Executive Sous Chef at Cheeca Lodge and Spa, Chef Stage in Michaels Genuine, Executive Chef at Snappers, Sous Chef at Postcard Inn amongst others.
After the lockdown 2020 I founded my own company Chef Rob Octela LLC where we specialize in Catering, Recruitment and Taskforce services. My brand is community centered, where we focus on building the community through job placement and empowerment.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Humility; when you are humble it becomes easier to learn from people around, even if they are your juniors. Also it’s important you have the heart of a child, when you have that, you are more curious and open to learning new things. Finally keep your eye on the goal, when you are focused on the prize it becomes easier and faster to hit your objectives as well stay away from distractions.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
Hardwork, humility and perseverance, I can’t stress this enough. And it has helped me through my career, whether it’s learning from people or networking in the industry.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chefroboctela/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/ChefRobOctela/?_rdc=1&_rdr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-d-octela-321b4772