Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Castro
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started personal cheffing five years ago. I was doing it part time at first, when it was combined with my sushi chef job at Uchiko. If I wasn’t working there, I was working with a client and vice versa. So, I was working 80 hour weeks.
I took the plunge and told my boss at the time that I needed to go on my own. He asked me for a year to find my replacement. I owed him that, given the opportunities that he along with his crew, gave me to grow.
When that time was over, I struggled a little bit on my own because I asked my clients for more and I really didn’t know how to ask for my worth. With some luck, I started working for personal chef companies in town where I learned how to ask for my worth as a personal chef. On top of that, it gave me a crash course on how to interact with clients, invoices, or whatever else surrounded the business. I worked on commission, and for me that was fine. Because in my mind, it was tuition.
With that education, I started to slowly grow my own brand. It was like white on rice. I married myself to the opportunity. If it was there, I took it. Pictures, reviews, popups, networking… you name it I probably did it. While it was exhausting, it was also rewarding in a sense. Because I did so much, I got exposure to a lot of situations really quickly and I filtered out what I wanted to move forward with, or not.
It’s funny, because people say that lasting five years in a business means that it’s successful. But, what is the definition of success? Is it sustainability? Because so far that’s the story that’s writing itself here.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been a smooth road at all and I don’t think it ever will be.
The cliche of waiting for something to happen whether it’s a full calendar or a week off is entirely in my hands, full stop.
I can wait for my week to fill up, or I can network or find opportunities to make my business fulfilling.
I can wait for a vacation to happen, or I can literally plug my calendar, set my boundaries and make it happen.
Here’s a good one, actually. Somewhere in my therapy session last year, I told my therapist that I needed to be more blunt and transparent to everybody and I applied it to both clients and prospects. My god, did that backfire. I felt like I developed this reputation of being unintentionally crass when it wasn’t my intention. In retrospect, it was not the proper way to treat people. Even if I didn’t want to be treated that way, there were so many other ways to go about it. This year for me is all about mending bridges in that sense and once again building new ones. Because I feel that my reputation is somewhat tarnished from that deed alone and trying to come back from it is a mountain of a task.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Mabuhay means Welcome in Philippines. I am a Filipino Chef, and I want that my culture to be reflective of the hospitality that I provide
Mabuhay Austin primarily does Asian-Fusion, Modern American, and Mediterreanean Food.
We help people relieve stress in planning their event with amazing food and hospitality. What that means is I help them plan a menu, bring the necessary items or staff to make that happen, the host gets to host and we get to do what we get paid to do – which is to clean up and cook for their guests.
We also do a lot of popups – we’ve done a lot for lunar new year, and we’re anticipating doing a couple more down the road.
We specialize in boodle fights or kamayan where we put traditional Filipino foods in a banana leaf, similar to a charcuterie board but with more cooked food. People stare in awe and make their own portions and come back for seconds if needed.
We specialize in cooking classes – mostly sushi classes but because we have other food backgrounds, we’re always a recipe away from learning something and being able to teach that to clients as well!
What sets us apart from the others is that we are driven by hospitality. We listen to what people want and give them the best possible based on what they tell us on their discovery calls. We want to make them feel at home from the get go, and once we have them on the schedule – constant reassurances that we can make changes, an open ended conversation among other things. On the day of their event, we come in, shake everyone’s hand, make sure everyone gets fed, and make the point to make sure that the host is not lifting a finger to do work, because that’s what we are there for.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I lucked out finding my mentors. But, the common factor in many of them was that I felt like they are people who wanted to pay it forward. Because at some point, they too sought out that mentorship and someone reached out to them. Usually, the first step is to just ask questions. Questions lead to conversations, and eventually conversations lead to guidance. That alone is a form of mentorship in on itself.
Networking in general – find the ones that suit your interest the best. Don’t try too hard. People will know if you are. When you are networking, do so with intention, because you want to be there and no one forces you to.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mabuhayaustin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mabuhayaustin
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mabuhayaustin
Image Credits
Samalie Apira
