When Alfredo Arcobelli moved from Italy to the U.S., he arrived with one objective. He wanted to share the culture he loved with those around him. And for Alfredo, like a lot of Italians, that culture revolves around cooking.
Today, Alfredo is the sole proprietor of Dinner With Alfredo, and a sought-after private chef with a stacked calendar and a full network of loyal, long-term clients. So how did Alfredo turn a dream and a head full of family recipes into his own massively successful one-man operation?
Alfredo told us all about it on the most recent episode of So You Want To Run a Restaurant. He joined co-hosts Claudia Saric and Spencer Michiel to share his incredible story.
Growing Up in the Kitchen
That story started in a small town at the heel of the Italian boot. It was there that Alredo absorbed his first cooking lessons from his grandmother. He was just six when he baked his first loaf of bread.
“Cooking is basically our culture. We cook every day, all day,” said Alfredo. “It's funny because in the south, we have Sunday lunches and Sunday dinners. We have a few relatives over – about 50 or 60 people. So it's basically just a few uncles and aunts. And that's how it works.”
Getting together to eat was a big deal where Alfredo came from. He found that things were quite different when he moved to South Beach, Miami in 2018. Recalling his first restaurant gig, Alfredo told us, “I just flew to America with one suitcase and no money to eat or rent or anything. I had a friend who hosted me and fed me. I was serving and people were eating in an hour. They’d order a steak and they're out in an hour.”
Alfredo set out to change that, to provide people with the kinds of immersive dining experiences he’d grown accustomed to back home.
A Change of Pace
Alfredo explained that “I came with the American dream, but I also came with passion. I came with what I love doing and I wanted to share my culture with everybody.”
At the start, he was working three different restaurant jobs, and just beginning to explore private event catering.
“Then the pandemic hit,” said Alfredo, “and everybody thought it was the end of the world. And I said, ‘No, it's an opportunity.’ Because everything in the beginning was being shut down, everybody slowed down.”
Suddenly American diners were ready for the kinds of experiences Alfredo grew up around. He seized the moment. He explained to prospective clients at the time, “I'll bring the restaurant to your house. As long as you all get tested, you can have as many friends as you want. I cook, I clean, I do the wine pairing if you want. I clean the kitchen, I leave you food, and I bounce.”
Five Takeaways From Our Chat With Alfredo
It turned out that people loved what Alfredo was offering. After taking part in a food show in Chicago and falling in love with the city, he relocated. It was there that he settled into a unique niche as a private chef, often working in the homes of clients with considerable financial means.
So how did Alfredo go from the southern tip of Italy to the heart of Chicago’s food scene? Check out the whole episode above to find out, and read on for a look at some of our favorite moments.
1. Bringing Italy to the States
Alfredo found that it wasn’t just the pace of mealtime that was different in the U.S. It was also what people ate. Alfredo told us, “In Italy, you go to the grocery store, and there's a little bakery where they're baking fresh bread. Here, I see this aisle full of sponge that had a two year expiration date. I was like ‘There's no way that's true.’”
He vowed to bring something better to his clients.
“I wanted to share my food,” said Alfredo, “my clean, organic, non-processed, non-salty, natural fats. That was the most important thing to me.”
2. Making the Best of Every Day
You can tell that Alfredo truly loves what he does. He speaks with joy about his process, his ingredients, and his clientele. And in most cases, Alfredo told us, those clients turn into long-term relationships.
Describing one highly influential repeat client, Alfredo explained, “It's been over two years where we organize meetings, big events, private events, the family meals. And I don't have to work in a basement, locked up in four dark walls. I work in a bright, huge, beautiful mansion, all open windows.”
Alfredo may work in bright sunlit mansions, but he also acknowledged that “Every day can’t be shiny. There are ups and downs. But I go there every day with the same passion, with the same love for what I do and for sharing things.”
3. Keeping a Full Calendar
Alfredo carries that love into every thing he does which, in addition to working in private homes, also includes weddings, family dinners, engagement parties, and even cooking classes for couples.
So how does Alfredo manage to keep the gigs rolling in? He credits word of mouth for much of his continued success. He explained that “I have regular clients who keep calling and calling. They're like, “Hey, Alfredo – I have on my calendar my mom's birthday, my daughter's birthday, and whatever else.”
Even though Alfredo took the organic path to success, he recognized the importance of social media. He explained, “I'm having a friend take care of that. I have my Instagram page, and I'm growing on that side, but I was lucky enough to grow a network of people through word of mouth.”
4. Getting Down To Business
As a rule of thumb, Alfredo doesn’t really have “friends and family” pricing. As a private chef who spends a great deal of his time in other people’s homes, Alfredo stressed the importance of differentiating between business and friendship.
“People always say, ‘How much is it going to cost me?’” Alfredo told us.
The truth is, everybody pays the same price. Alfredo might treat his clients to a complimentary bottle of Prosecco or a package of his grandmother’s incredible gluten-free almond cookies. But running a one-person operation requires a disciplined approach to pricing.
“That's why there's always a line,” said Alfredo. “You may be a friend and I can have drinks with you. Not a problem. But when we’re talking business, we're talking about how I pay my bills. We're talking about how I work and how I have to live.”
5. Sharing Your Passion
Fortunately, Alfredo has a large and loyal network of clients who are more than happy to pay for his services. Alfredo attributes some of this success to his own enthusiasm. It comes through not just in the way he prepares his food, but in the way he talks about it. His excitement over the ingredients, the prep methods, and the final product tends to make a big impression on his clients.
“I know chefs that are excellent, amazing chefs,” Alfredo explained. “But they don’t want to talk to people. They just want to be in the back of the house.”
This is not the ideal disposition for a private chef, especially one who otherwise works alone. As a private chef, you have to be willing to represent yourself. Alfredo explained, “You can't be shy about talking and expressing your feelings. Passion is a feeling. You have to open your heart.”
Building Your Own Business
Whether you’re thinking about launching your own career as a private chef or you’re just looking to book more private events and catering gigs for your restaurant, there’s a tech-based solution out there that can help.
For all the tools and tech you’ll need to get started, schedule your free, personalized consultation with one of our in-house restaurant tech experts and we’ll figure it out together.
