Flywheel Leadership · Graham Peelle (Managing Partner, Endeavor Strategic)

Episode #77: Finding Your Recipe for What Really Matters, with Chef Franck

·37 min·2 clips

Franck says his true legacy is being a good father and husband, not just his work.

1. Flywheel Leadership Episode #77 centers on Chef Franck’s career, consulting work, book, and leadership philosophy in hospitality. 2. Chef Franck is the guest, and Graham is the host who asks about leadership, mindset, cuisine, consulting, and Franck’s book. 3. The episode asks how a chef with 26 years in hospitality builds teams, adapts to change, and finds a recipe for what really matters. 4. Franck says his superpower is mindset, including resilience, adaptability, self-assessment, and introspection. 5. He says labor shortage in hospitality is not new and will never be a non problem, so leaders must manage differently. 6. He argues for culture-driven leadership rather than only performance-driven leadership. 7. Franck says generational leadership now includes Gen Z, Gen X, millennials, and soon Gen Alpha. 8. He explains that he tries to understand what team members aspire to and be part of their chapter rather than making them part of his chapter. 9. He says he left high school at 15 in France, worked in hospitality for about 26 years, and moved from cuisine and pastry into chef and director of food and beverage roles. 10. He has worked in French Polynesia, Australia, France, Hawaii, California, San Francisco, Arizona, and Connecticut, and built Incrementum before going full-time entrepreneurial in 2023. 11. Franck says he hires for attitude rather than skills and wants to develop younger professionals into the best version of themselves. 12. He wrote his book so younger hospitality professionals could access his philosophy without working directly under his leadership. 13. He says the book is aimed first at students at places like the Culinary Institute of America and second at people who are newly promoted or stagnant in senior roles. 14. Franck says the apprentice mindset never expires, regardless of age, title, success, or status. 15. He says he likes to cook new things during chef tastings instead of repeating safe dishes he already mastered. 16. He says he prefers European food, especially Spanish food, but also values his mother’s cooking and a good pizza. 17. Franck describes consulting work that covers restaurant renovations, reconcept development, underperforming operations, beverage programs, wine lists, and marketing fit. 18. He says his best leaders taught him and bad leaders taught him what not to do, especially around toxic culture and micromanaging. 19. The tone is reflective and practical, with long-form answers and repeated self-assessment from both speaker and host. 20. People in hospitality leadership, consulting, and team development will get the most value, while listeners wanting a short food-only chat may skip it.

As heard by us

Leadership is treated as a practice built on mindset, adaptability, and steady operational judgment.

The piece treats leadership as a working habit, not a slogan. Franck keeps the focus on mindset, resilience, adaptability, self-assessment, and reading the room, and that gives the discussion a practical edge.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you lead teams and want sharper judgment, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Flywheel Leadership