Curious about how to make a big business out of cherished family recipes?
The love for cooking runs in the family. If you see a guy or a girl in culinary school, don’t be surprised if his or her parents are famous chefs or if their families own restaurants.
Just like in graphic arts or music, the love for the craft of making good food can be passed down from parents to children. The children are lucky.
They have the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and create something big from the traditions their families 
have practiced for generations, which is similar to the story of Ivan Utrera, the founder of Rodizio Grill.
Rodizio Grill is a famous restaurant chain that has locations in different states in the US. Utrera founded it in 1995 because he missed the kind of cooking in Brazil, his home country, and he couldn’t find any authentic Brazilian steakhouse in his area.
Aside from having enough capital, he knew he had a chest of riches he can tap into back home—and this chest is full of recipes that have been perfected through generations.
So let’s say you have enough capital to start a business and you really, really love the cooking of your parents, aunties, and uncles. What do you need to know about putting up a restaurant?
- Ideas are great, but execution is different. You’ll encounter a lot of problems, especially since you’re just starting out. And since backing out is a terrible idea if you’re already in the middle of everything, your passion needs to get you through the hard times.
- Have the right training. People who go into the food industry (and who are successful in it) most likely have business expertise and are familiar with food creation and/or management. Even if you’re going into franchising, the parent company will require you to have practical training before your contract is finalized.
- Get support from your family. Their contribution should not end after you write down their recipes and oral histories. If they could help you out in the business, that would be better. Who knows more about the food that you’ll prepare, if not the people who have been eating them for years? This is actually a practice of Utrera’s family. They help him in different restaurant executions.