When It's Time to Say Goodbye to the Industry: A Special Conversation with Chef Andrew Turner, Proprietor of Valley Wine Merchants (Newberg, OR)

·46 min·4 clips

Chef Andrew Turner reveals how back pain and failed relationships forced him to reconsider his lifelong kitchen career.

This episode of Andrew Talks to Chefs features a conversation with Chef Andrew Turner, who left the restaurant industry to run Valley Wine Merchants in Oregon. Host Andrew Friedman introduces Turner as a longtime listener and Patreon supporter who reached out to share his exit story. Turner begins by recounting his early culinary inspiration from TV chefs like Jacques Pépin and a high school apprenticeship at a French restaurant in Orange County. He describes his two-year unpaid apprenticeship with Hubert Keller in San Francisco after culinary school. Turner then details his grueling experience at Joachim Splichal's Patina in Los Angeles, where he struggled initially but thrived after a two-year mentorship deal. Splichal later secured him a position at Alain Ducasse's restaurant in Monaco, which Turner describes as a surreal environment with 32 cooks and custom equipment. After working in Napa and Vermont, Turner met his partner Michelle at a James Beard House dinner, which influenced his perspective on work-life balance. Approaching his 30s with physical pain and relationship stress, he decided to leave the industry. Turner explains his transition to wine, first attempting winemaking before managing a wine shop for ten years. He discusses the identity crisis and mourning involved in leaving a career that defined him since age 14. Turner still identifies as a cook and occasionally stages in kitchens for inspiration. He reflects on whether he would make the same decision today, concluding he's in the right place. The episode concludes with Friedman thanking Turner and promoting the show's sponsors.

As heard by us

A clear-eyed look at kitchen pressure, earned confidence, and the life beyond service.

Chef Andrew Turner frames kitchen life through the pressure it puts on bodies, relationships, and the private idea of what balance might look like.

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Why you'd press play

Press play for a chef taking stock of what kitchen life has cost his body, relationships, and sense of balance, then looking toward a new chapter in France.

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