I just finished reading life, on the line by Grant Achatz, an all-star chef of a couple of restaurants and a “bar” in Chicago. The story is pretty incredible from Grant’s start working at his parents restaurant as a short order cook, to working at The French Laundry in Napa Valley, to opening an acclaimed restaurant at a young age in the windy city….all of these incredibly successful endeavors. Grant unfortunately was diagnosed with tongue cancer and underwent massive radiation treatment VS. getting his tongue removed. He chose the riskier and more painful road, something that many other doctors had not even thought of. But the alternative would have left him without his biggest cooking tool…..taste. (spoiler alert) In a nutshell, Grant overcomes this disease and presses on, with sheer determination and extremely hard work, opening another restaurant and bar.
This story is inspirational for us at Pizzeria MOTO because of the sheer determination and focus of a chef to be the absolutely best that he can be, despite life’s happenings. When we started this business we could have gave you dozens of reasons why we should not have done it…reasons about the economy or the recession…but we didn’t….we put it all on the line, and we’re fortunate to have new opportunities presented every week. It truly amazes me.
Our commitment to the business is changing too ….we’re working harder, bringing more attention to the product and the ingredients we use, re-designing our web-site, and doing new things that will expand our business and provide new opportunities for those around us. This is a vision that keeps developing & expanding and I find that the more I do it, the more I realize this line of work is my life’s path. I truly want to thank every person that has touched MOTO in some way, weather it was just coming out to eat our pizza, or being a part of the business to help it grow and prosper.
Even better things are just on the horizon….stay tuned my friends.
-Jay