W O R K / L I F E | THE PIVOT
VA N C O U V E R - B AS E D Tarek Chellouf says
there are moments in the series The Bear
that feel ripped straight from his life. Take
episode seven, where the printer keeps
spitting out tickets after a sandwich spe-
cial overwhelms the kitchen and Carmy,
the head chef, loses his mind. "I had that
exact situation happen," Chellouf recalls—
except it wasn't sandwich-order tickets, it
was breakfast vouchers for a ton of guests
that arrived on a cruise ship. The front-
of-house manager—"who was not good at
his job," says Chellouf—forgot to warn the
kitchen they were coming. It was just one
example of what he calls a rampant lack of
leadership—and the kind of chaos that, over
time, wore him down.
But for all the intensity, Chellouf hadn't
set out to be a chef at all—he stumbled into
cooking by accident. As an 18-year-old with
a younger brother to support and rent to
pay, Chellouf found an unexpected lifeline
in the kitchen. What began as a means to an
end soon ignited a surprising love for the
fast-paced, high-skill world of the culinary
arts—and kicked off a career that now spans
two decades.
Chellouf cut his teeth in hotel and restau-
rant kitchens, working every station in sight.
Seven years in, he doubled down, enrolling
in culinary school to sharpen his techni-
cal chops. From there, he jumped into the
high-volume world of banquets—cranking
out meals for up to 500 guests on weekends.
The grind paid off: he climbed to sous chef at
the Marriott in downtown Vancouver. And,
somewhere in the chaos, he even checked
off a career dream, spending five years
teaching both future chefs and passionate
home cooks.
Yet beneath the hustle and passion, Chel-
louf came to see a hard truth: the culinary
world often chews up its workers. Low pay,
relentless hours and poor leadership take
their toll on many employees. "Just because
someone is a savant at cooking doesn't mean
they'll be good at teaching people how to
cook," the 38-year-old says. In his view,
fragile egos at the top create a toxic culture
that quickly wears people down and drives
them to burnout.
76 | BC B U S I N E SS NOVEM B ER/ D ECEM B ER 2025
By the time COVID shuttered his hotel's
kitchen, Chellouf was at a crossroads—ready
to pivot but unsure where to turn. Talking
with some childhood friends who were elec-
tricians, Chellouf was struck by the unex-
pected parallels between their trade and his
own. Both demanded hands-on skill, mental
agility and constant problem-solving.
What ultimately drew the former chef
to the trade was its precision—clear rules,
strict codes and high standards.
In December, I was teaching
people how to make fine dining
cuisine and how to properly sear
the perfect steak. Now, I'm an
absolute beginner learning a new
skill from square one."
Mark Yuen
