Skip to content
Kensolations LLCIf I Was… Playbooks
Cover of If I Was a Chef, a culinary business systems and growth playbook by Kenneth Craft.
If I Was… Series

Creative & Media · Available Now

If I Was a Chef

If I was a chef, I would make the food beautiful - and make sure the economics behind the plate were just as deliberate.

This is not about teaching you how to become a chef. It is about examining the BUSINESS surrounding the profession.

What’s missing in my chef business?

  • Business Foundation
  • Systems & Operations
  • Technology
  • AI & Automation

$29.99

Browse all playbooks

Available now • Secure PayPal checkout • Private digital delivery

Why this playbook?

DO NOT COOK YOURSELF BROKE.

The food can be excellent while the business is quietly failing. Food cost, labor, waste, prep complexity, staffing pressure, purchasing, menu sprawl, rent and customer value all sit behind the plate. I would not treat a restaurant lease as the automatic definition of success. I would prove the concept, understand the cost stack and decide which culinary business model deserves capital.

About this playbook

What's inside — and why it matters

This playbook explores chef business lanes, market positioning, concept and menu architecture, revenue models, pricing, procurement, waste, staffing, customer systems, pop-ups, catering, private dining, products, content and IP, technology, expansion and exit readiness. The goal is to build an ecosystem where culinary skill creates demand and systems protect the margin, brand and customer relationship.

It sits inside the If I Was… series, which looks at each profession as a business system rather than a job.

What you'll learn

Outcomes for the chef business

  • 01Choose the chef business model that fits the market, capital, lifestyle and operating reality before committing to heavy fixed costs.
  • 02Design menus around concept, execution and contribution economics instead of adding items simply because they can be cooked.
  • 03Track food, labor, waste, purchasing and production decisions so the P&L is not hidden behind strong sales.
  • 04Use lower-commitment lanes such as pop-ups, catering or private dining to test demand where appropriate before expanding overhead.
  • 05Build customer data, repeat purchase, content, products and intellectual property into the business beyond one meal.
  • 06Scale only after the operation can reproduce quality, economics and management without depending on the chef for every decision.

Inside the playbook

Major themes

  • Business Foundation

    Structure, positioning, and the model underneath the work.

  • Systems & Operations

    Repeatable workflows, scheduling, and delivery standards.

  • Technology

    A practical stack sized to the business, not to a trend.

  • AI & Automation

    Where automation removes friction — and where it should not.

  • Marketing

    Demand generation, positioning, and profession-specific channels.

  • Customer Experience

    The end-to-end experience clients actually remember.

  • Revenue Opportunities

    Modern ways to monetize professional expertise.

  • Financial Systems

    Pricing, margins, cash flow, and financial visibility.

  • Risk & Compliance

    Considerations to keep the business protected.

  • Growth Strategy

    Scaling capacity, teams, and reach deliberately.

Imagine this

WHAT WOULD CHANGE IF THE BUSINESS WORKED SMARTER?

  • Clearer positioning for the chef business
  • Systems that reduce repeated manual work
  • A more considered approach to pricing and offers
  • Technology and automation applied where it actually helps
  • Overlooked revenue and opportunity paths worth examining

The plate is the product customers see. The system behind it determines whether the business can survive the pressure required to keep serving it.

Get the playbook

Get Your Chef Playbook Today

Delivered privately as a digital playbook through Kensolations LLC.

  • Private digital delivery
  • Read on any device
  • Built as a working system, not a summary

Secure PayPal Payment • Private Digital Delivery • Purchase Recovery • No Account Required

Kensolations LLC

Know what you want to build — but need help building it?

The playbooks explain the systems, technology, workflows, visibility strategies, automation possibilities, and business opportunities I would consider. Kensolations LLC helps businesses turn those ideas into practical systems.

  • Websites
  • Automation
  • AI-supported workflows
  • Digital business systems
  • Technology implementation
Explore Kensolations

Continue browsing

Related playbooks

Not sure which fits? Find my playbook walks through a few questions, or browse the full library.