I moved to the US at 16 and went from fast food delivery driver to making $3 million a year. Here's how I did it.
Cook Unity
- Chef Andres Mendez moved to NYC and went from fast-food delivery driver to earning over $3M a year.
- Mendez's income skyrocketed when he became a contract chef for Cook Unity, a meal subscription service.
- Cook Unity's expansion and increased demand during the pandemic boosted Mendez's earnings from recipe commissions.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Andres Mendez, a 31-year-old chef in New York City. It has been edited for length and clarity.
When I moved to the United States from Mexico in 2009, I had no idea how much my life would change.
I arrived as a 16-year-old to join my brother and started working as a fast-food delivery driver. 15 years later, I'm a chef who earns seven figures.
Here's a breakdown of all my jobs and earnings and how I got to where I am today.
Food delivery driver, $500 a week
My brother was already working in New York City when I arrived, so he asked if I would like to work at the same fast-food company he worked at. I started earning $500 a week.
After two months of navigating the city's streets on a bicycle, I realized I didn't enjoy it.
Everyone was always in a hurry, and I saw several delivery riders get into accidents. I decided to look for another job.
Chef's assistant, $620 a week
I told a friend in the industry that I was ready to leave and wanted to get into cooking. I'm not trained as a professional chef, but I've always enjoyed cooking. As a young boy, I'd join my grandmother in the kitchen and help her make mixiote, a Mexican dish of meat and spices wrapped in a maguey leaf.
My friend told me Essex World Café was seeking a chef's assistant. I applied and got the job.
I learned a lot about camaraderie and teamwork. I also learned how to work with ingredients, make sauces, and prepare each type of meat.
I worked eight hours a day and earned $620 a week. After three years, I felt I'd gone as far as I could in that position, so I looked for a job in a larger restaurant.
Line cook, $710 a week
My next role put me in the hot seat. Another friend also told me about this job. I became a line cook at Pacific Grill.
Line cooks work as a team. One manages the grill, another manages the fry, and, in the middle, someone handles the pans. I was in the middle in charge of pasta and sautéed vegetables.
I never got bored. I loved the pressure of producing the perfect dish at a certain speed, but that pressure sometimes stressed me out.
I stayed for two years but left when they closed the restaurant to remodel it in 2014.
Line cook, $820 a week
I next joined a restaurant called Extra Virgin in the West Village in 2015.
I was a line cook again, producing desserts and salads for $820 a week. I learned how to make Mediterranean foods and dabbled in making my own dressings.
The owner was also the chef, so everything had to be perfect, well-arranged, and flavorful. I had a fantastic experience working in that restaurant and stayed for three years. The most challenging aspect was having the boss work alongside me in the kitchen.
Dishwasher, $790 for four days a week
My network grew, and another friend told me about a startup called Cook Unity in 2016. I didn't know anything about it and wasn't sure if it was for me, but my friend gave me the owner's number and asked me to call him.
Cook Unity is a chef-to-customer meal subscription platform based in Brooklyn. Customers order ready-to-eat meals from an online menu and see which chef wrote the recipe. The chefs, who are private contractors, earn up to a $3 commission for every dish they sell that's prepared using their recipe.
When I met the owner, he explained they were looking for chefs but didn't have any line cook positions available. I had gained a lot of experience and knew a lot of recipes, but I didn't say I was a chef. The only other job they had available was a dishwasher. I wanted to be part of the company, so I became a dishwasher.
Being a dishwasher is a very tough job, as the chefs want the kitchen to be immaculate at all times. Over the next year, I saw the dynamics of how the chefs and the team worked.
I earned $790 for four days a week of work, so I had extra time for my music hobby. I played in a mariachi band and still play when I can.
Kitchen manager, $45,000 a year
In 2017, I was asked if I would like to become a kitchen manager. My role was to work with the chefs and ensure they had all the ingredients they needed for the dishes.
Each of the Cook Unity chefs has a different menu, so I had to learn about various ingredients from different parts of the world. I worked between 12 and 14 hours a day and earned a salary of $45,000 a year.
I was a kitchen manager until the pandemic hit in 2020.
Chef, $969,000 a year
In 2020, I became a chef for Cook Unity, transitioning from full-time employment to being a contractor. I started creating recipes, and the sous chefs and cooks made my dishes.
At first, my dishes were only sold in New York, but during the pandemic, the need for food delivery services rose. My earnings started to increase.
I receive a commission from the sale of each of my dishes. In 2021, I earned $969,000. Cook Unity expanded to Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Austin, Atlanta, and Seattle. Now, 85 sous chefs and cooks across the country produce my dishes.
Chef, $3,000,000 a year
By 2023, I was earning over $3 million. I sell 10,000 to 11,000 meals weekly in New York and Los Angeles. My goal is to sell that many in each of the other cities and continue to provide job opportunities.
At first, my rise in earnings felt like a dream. It was a big accomplishment for me. My friends are extremely happy for me, and I offer advice to my friends who are chefs when they need it.
During the week, I create recipes and cook, but on the weekends, I spend time with my wife and children.
I bought a farm in Mexico where I employ 20 people. I plan to buy another home in Mexico or Texas. I'm extremely proud of how I can give my family a better life.
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