Meet Mollie Guerra | Personal Chef

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mollie Guerra and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mollie, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk taking has certainly played an essential role in my business and life, which I think largely stems from my constant desire to challenge myself. My whole adventure started with me taking a risk on myself – do I really quit my corporate job to try out for MasterChef while I still had a mortgage to pay by myself? At that time in my life, I’d gotten to a point where I was stagnant with my career and myself, truthfully. I knew I wanted more and was capable of more, I just needed to get out of my comfort zone and go for it. While I didn’t make it very far in the show, that first big leap of faith made me come back with the confidence I needed to continue taking those risks. I sold my house with no solid plans for the future other than knowing I wanted share my passion for feeding people in whatever way I could.

Over the years there have certainly been some things I’ve tried that did not come to fruition in the way I may have hoped, but from each of those experiences I’ve learned more about what I want for my business in the future and what I can do differently to achieve that. That’s why I always try to take on as many new and challenging experiences as I can – so I can continue to grow as a person, business owner, and chef.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I will always and forever be grateful to my mentor, Chef Phillip Halff of Halff Culinaire. We both attended the same Culinary Program at Richardson High School and while he went off to Culinary School, I got my business degree and took an office job. When I came back from MasterChef and tried to first break into the Dallas culinary scene, he was the first chef to give me the opportunity to showcase my dishes to diners and gave me a creative place to learn and grow. He’s always pushed me to be a better chef than I thought I could be, and believed in my capabilities even when I didn’t. I remember the first time he let me stage at an event for him he asked me if I knew how to make Spätzle beforehand. Sure, I said, knowing full well I was going to have to learn how to make this as soon as possible. I happened to be in Chicago which has a ton of great German restaurants, so I went on a Spätzle tour and tried three different kinds so I could try and replicate it as authentically as possible. I came back and tested four different recipes, and when I finally presented it to him day of he tasted it and said “it’s good, needs a little salt”. It was the best seal of approval I could ask for haha.

Website: chefmolliegllc.com

Instagram: @chefmollieg

Facebook: Chef Mollie G, LLC

Image Credits
@rachelcleos Dallas Arboretum