Top Chef Twins Brandon and Jonathan Dearden Ep. 196

Chef Andre Natera sits down with identical twin chefs Brandon and Jonathan Dearden to discuss rivalry, restaurant leadership, culinary school value, and the realities of running profitable restaurants.Both twins competed on Top Chef and built careers in very different directions. Brandon pursued fine dining and stages at elite kitchens, while Jonathan focused on leadership roles and restaurant managementThe conversation covers lessons from high-intensity kitchens like Alinea, the real value of culinary school, hiring pitfalls with impressive resumes, and how menu engineering helps restaurants stay profitable.They also discuss competing on Top Chef, the importance of building a chef brand online, and how AI tools are beginning to influence restaurant operations.What You Will Learn• The real return on investment of culinary school• What Michelin-level kitchens teach about discipline and systems• How restaurant owners engineer menus for profitabilityBrandon on InstagramJonathan on InstagramLINKS & RESOURCESSubscribe on Substack → https://chefspsa.substack.com/Shop Chef’s PSA Merch → https://shop.chefspsa.com/Visit Chef’s PSA Website → https://chefspsa.com/Sponsored by RATIONAL USA → https://rationalusa.com