Campus Dining Today Spring 2021 - 42

Chef Jet Tila, Lessons That Diversity Taught Me
T H E WAY YO U D O O N E
T H I N G I S T H E WAY YO U D O
E V E RY T H I N G .
" When I was a dishwasher, I wanted to be the best dishwasher.
When it was time to take out the garbage, I wanted to be the
best at taking out the garbage. The way you do one thing really is
the way you do everything. " - Chef Jet Tila
The son of first-wave Thai immigrant parents who settled in
East Hollywood, helping to build Thai Town. Chef Jet was truly
at the root of it all, working at the family's grocery store and
restaurant-bagging the groceries, delivering goods, and cutting
meat for all the influential chefs in L.A. who were looking for
exotic Asian ingredients.

D O N ' T L E T YO U R PA S T D E F I N E YO U ,
D E S T R OY YO U , O R D E F E AT YO U . L E T I T
S T R E N G T H E N YO U .
At 17 years old, an unfortunate family truth came to play and he
had to make a choice to leave the United States and start anew in
Thailand, or go it alone. He chose the latter.
While Chef Jet was teaching cooking classes out of his backyard
while trying to keep the market alive, an L.A. Times writer,
Barbara Hanson, wrote a cover story which propelled his career
and he knew it was time to move forward. Chef Jet went on to
French and Japanese culinary schools, taking a giant leap of faith,
leaving the family business behind.

K N OW YO U R VA LU E .
In 2007, he received an invitation to demonstrate his skills in
Thai, Japanese, and Chinese cooking for a project in Las Vegas
which was opening in about 45 days. He was asked by the COO,
" What is it going to take for you to move to Las Vegas and drop
everything in the world to come here because we want you? " He
wrote down his magic number and was hired on the spot. He now
proclaims, " You know you've earned your seat at the table. Ask
for what you're worth. "

42

CAMPUS DINING TODAY | S pring Confe re nce

I T I S S O M U C H E A S I E R TO B E
N I C E , TO B E R E S P E C T F U L , TO P U T
YO U R S E L F I N YO U R C U S TO M E R ' S
S H O E S , A N D T RY TO U N D E R S TA N D
H OW YO U M I G H T H E L P T H E M
BEFORE THEY ASK FOR HELP THAN
I T I S TO T RY TO M E N D A B R O K E N
C U S TO M E R R E L AT I O N S H I P.
" If you have an equal skill set to somebody, the difference
in being hired or landing the job just might be you being
the nicer person. The person that you were working with
five years ago could be your higher up in the next five
years. That person you kind of gave guff to could be
the one kicking you out the door when they come into
power. "

W H E N E V E R YO U ' R E FAC E D W I T H
T H AT DAU N T I N G O P P O R T U N I T Y
W H E R E YO U CO U L D FA L L F L AT O N
YO U R FAC E , T H I S CO U L D O P E N A
WHOLE NEW SET OF DOORS.
While still in Las Vegas, Chef Jet was asked to battle Iron
Chef Morimoto, who was in Chef Jet's mind, the fiercest
Iron Chef. With only a few weeks to prep, he gathered the
best of the best around him and showed up with gusto,
even with the cards stacked against him to win. The final
score was: Morimoto with 52, Tila with 48. But, it opened
another door. He was asked by Food Network to do
further shows.

O N E O P P O R T U N I T Y CO N T I N U E S
TO L E A D TO M O R E A M A Z I N G
O P P O R T U N I T I E S , M E N TO R S ,
I N F LU E N C E R S , A N D E X P E R I E N C E S .
Chef Jet prides himself on living his mantra " The way you
do one thing is the way you do everything, " ending the
presentation with how he set his life's standards in a way
that even led him to meet, marry, and build a life with his
wife. He acknowledges, too, " without the losses, we can't
really appreciate the wins. "
Campus Dining Today Spring 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Campus Dining Today Spring 2021
