Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Speck.
Katie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was little, around 8 years old, and I would play “Rose Cafe” with my family at home. Some girls liked to play dress up and have tea parties, while “Rose Cafe” has always been at the heart of my soul. My family fostered my passion, to the point where they would take me to cake decorating classes, then cooking classes, all so I could hone my adventures in the culinary field. I fell in love with everything that the kitchen has to offer. At 17, I was hired at Lighthouse Oyster Bar and Grill here in the Oceanside harbor. From there I went to the Culinary Institute of America in New York, where I got my bachelors degree in culinary science. Upon my return home, I worked through a number of casual fine dining restaurants like Herringbone under Brian Malarky, and then made my way to work under Whisknladle Hospitality Group throughout many of their restaurants as an executive chef. Before I decided to move back to my hometown of Carlsbad and Oceanside, where I have been working towards my long term goal of opening up Rose Cafe.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Throughout my career, I have never met a chef that would say that this industry would be a smooth road. I never thought the path I chose would be easy, but it was something that I knew I would find joy in. My dad always told me to pursue a career I would love, not something that would be easy, so to me, being a chef was a no-brainer. For a few struggles I can think of off the top of my head, I think about the long hours dedicated to the kitchen, the internal battlefield of constantly questioning myself if I deserve to be here, and having to prove myself to everyone, not just my peers, but to the guests as well. Also being a young female who loves pink and girly things, I feel like some of my experience has been discounted because of who I am. Even more so, I can think about all of the family time I’ve missed out on, and often I would go home needing to deal with the true dark side of being a woman in this industry is the outright misogyny, while I never let it stop me it’s a sad reality Ive had to deal with.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a young chef, it was really easy for me to focus on being creative and have the same day-to-day to focus on what needs to be done. It was really fun for me to focus on different cooking techniques in order to create something unique whereas being a chef and owner, I’ve had to not only hone in and let those skills thrive and having to learn a whole new way of being a manager. Instead of just worrying about myself, I gained more responsibilities of having to learn to lean on my team to help all of us succeed. Keeping my sanity while juggling many hats, I have learned that lists are my best friend, and I’m not a fan of micromanaging, accountability but not micromanaging
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
passion, grit, determination, great support system and a fantastic team that all truly strive and respresents our mission.
Pricing:
- Breakfast and lunch; fast casual service with average ticket of 30$
- Dinner Service, back to my roots; with a true sit down service. with 50-60 $
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rose-cafe.com
- Instagram: rosecafesd
- Facebook: rosecafesd
Image Credits
image credits to sip_n_savorsd (instagram for the brunch food)
