Restaurant operators spend a lot of time talking about skills.
Knife work.
Speed.
Experience.
Wine knowledge.
Food costs.
POS systems.
Prep lists.
But after interviewing thousands of hospitality workers and opening 10 restaurants across the country, Nathan Heartman says the most important hiring trait still has nothing to do with technical ability.
It’s showing up.
“Almost every chef says: I can teach anybody to do anything except how to show up.”
Heartman is currently the Director of Culinary Operations at FareStart in Seattle – a nonprofit organization that uses food service and hospitality training to help people facing barriers to employment rebuild stability, confidence, and long-term careers.
That includes people recovering from homelessness, formerly incarcerated individuals, people navigating mental health challenges, immigrants entering the workforce for the first time, and others trying to reestablish themselves through structured job training and support.
But despite the nonprofit mission, the lessons Heartman talks about sound remarkably familiar to restaurant operators everywhere.
Because whether you’re running a nonprofit kitchen, a neighborhood cafe, or a multi-unit restaurant group, the hiring challenges are often the same.
“If You Show Up And You Make Good Eye Contact…”
Heartman has spent decades in kitchens.
He started dishwashing at 15, worked his way through pizza shops and sandwich counters, opened restaurants across Los Angeles, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Newport Beach, and eventually became a corporate executive chef overseeing multiple openings and large hiring teams.
After interviewing thousands of candidates over the years, his hiring philosophy has become surprisingly simple.
“If you show up and you’re not an asshole, and you make good eye contact, you’re probably going to get the job.”
In an industry obsessed with technical skills, Heartman says some of the most important qualities have always been deeply human ones.
“The ability to recall a question asked, paying attention, being present… half the battle is just showing up.”
It’s the kind of advice that feels almost old-fashioned now, but hospitality veterans hear versions of it over and over again.
Not because restaurants are lowering standards.
But because experienced operators understand something younger workers often don’t realize yet:
Technical skills can usually be taught.
Consistency, communication, awareness, and reliability are much harder to build.
For Heartman, eye contact matters because it signals presence.
Showing up on time matters because it signals respect.
Listening matters because kitchens only function when people are aware of the team around them.
And after decades in food service, he says those qualities still predict long-term success more reliably than almost anything on a resume.
Why FareStart Focuses On Life Skills First
One of the most interesting parts of FareStart’s model is that it isn’t really designed as a traditional culinary school.
The kitchens matter.
But the kitchens are really the classroom.
Students spend significant time learning:
how to interview,
how to use computers,
how to build resumes,
how to open bank accounts,
and how to rebuild routines and structure.
The culinary environment simply becomes the vehicle for teaching accountability, teamwork, communication, and confidence.
And according to Heartman, that team-building process becomes one of the most powerful parts of the program.
Students from wildly different backgrounds work side-by-side through production kitchens, catering operations, and service environments until they begin functioning as a cohesive team.
“They actually did something. They graduated. They got their certificate. They got their knife roll. They made it through.”
For many students, that consistency alone becomes transformative.
Rising Costs Are Hitting Everyone – Including Nonprofits
Beneath FareStart’s mission-driven work is something every restaurant operator would recognize immediately:
a constant fight against rising costs.
Heartman described dramatic food cost increases over the last year, including tomatoes jumping from roughly $30 per case to more than $80 per case while serving hundreds of sandwiches per day.
At the same time, FareStart works to keep meals affordable for schools, shelters, preschools, and community organizations – many of which are also dealing with shrinking budgets themselves.
“It costs more than $4.23 to make a meal in Seattle.”
To offset those pressures, FareStart works with food recovery partnerships, donated resources, grants, and operational efficiencies while still trying to maintain food quality and strong employee benefits.
In many ways, it mirrors the exact balancing act restaurant operators everywhere are facing right now:
higher labor costs,
higher ingredient costs,
and constant pressure to do more with less.
Kitchens Still Create Community
One of the strongest themes throughout the conversation was the idea that kitchens still create belonging.
Not because they’re easy.
But because they require people to rely on each other.
Hospitality has always attracted people from complicated backgrounds.
And kitchens have historically been places where people could rebuild themselves through consistency, mentorship, teamwork, and structure.
That’s part of why FareStart’s work resonates so deeply with so many people in the industry.
The restaurant world understands reinvention better than most industries do.
Supporting Organizations Like FareStart
While FareStart is based in Seattle, similar workforce development and culinary training organizations exist in many cities across the country.
Many focus on:
job training,
reentry support,
youth hospitality programs,
food recovery,
community meal programs,
or transitional employment services.
If your restaurant is looking for hiring partners, volunteer opportunities, donation programs, or workforce development initiatives in your area, it may be worth exploring local culinary training nonprofits and workforce development organizations nearby.
Organizations like FareStart don’t just help individuals.
They help strengthen the long-term labor pipeline for the entire hospitality industry.
And in an industry still struggling with hiring, retention, and burnout, that kind of investment matters more than ever.