“I remember being like seven years old staying up till midnight to watch ‘Iron Chef’. It was only out of Japan back then, so I had to beg my parents to stay up.”But after years of grinding it out in restaurant kitchens — including the restaurant his family owned, where he ran the kitchen as a teenager — now Esparza is helping aspiring chefs learn that owning a restaurant isn’t the only recipe for success in the food world.
Thus, it was that Haro conceived Food Hero – to help other would-be food industry entrepreneurs avoid the mistakes he made. Haro says Food Hero’s ultimate goal is advancing equity in the food industry by educating students on the wide variety of paths to entrepreneurship, including not only restaurant ownership, but also enterprises like catering services, packaged food, and street vending.
“We care about education, training, mentorship — forever, entrepreneurship and innovation,” Yancey said. “Those are the five pillars of success of our company.”