Today Andres Mendez earns more than $3 million a year, selling between 10,000 and 11,000 meals a week in New York and Los Angeles. And to think that he was originally a rider.
The story
Being a chef today can mean many things, and no one is a better example than Andres Mendez. Starting from humble beginnings with a salary of $40,000 a year, he has managed to build a culinary empire that now earns him as much as $3 million a year, Busines Insider reports. When Mendez arrived in the United States from Mexico in 2009, aged 16 at the time, he settled in New York to join his brother and began working as a delivery boy for a fast food chain, earning $500 a week. After two months of frantic bike rides through the city streets, he realized that the job was not for him, especially because of the numerous accidents he witnessed. He thus decided to look for another occupation.
Thanks to a friend in the restaurant business, he found a job as an assistant chef at the Essex World Café. Although not a professional cook, he had always harbored a great passion for cooking, influenced by afternoons spent with his grandmother preparing mixiote, a Mexican dish of meat and spices wrapped in a maguey leaf. In this new stage, Andres learned the art of kitchen collaboration and acquired fundamental skills in preparing sauces and meats, earning $620 a week for eight hours of work a day. After three years, feeling he had reached the maximum for that role, he sought new challenges in a larger restaurant.
So it was that he became a line cook at Pacific Grill, where frenzy and accuracy were the order of the day. Here he managed the preparation of pastas and side dishes, and although he loved the adrenaline rush of cooking, the stress began to take its toll. Two years later, when the restaurant closed for renovations, she moved on to work at Extra Virgin in the West Village, where he honed his skills in preparing desserts and salads, earning $820 a week. Working side by side with the chef-owner was one of the most enriching yet challenging experiences of his career. 2016 marked a new chapter for Andres, when a friend introduced him to CookUnity, a Brooklyn-based meal subscription platform. Although he was initially skeptical, he decided to take the job as a dishwasher, eager to be part of an innovative startup. He earned $790 for four days of work a week, which left him time to pursue his passion for music, playing in a mariachi band.
His commitment and dedication did not go unnoticed, and in 2017 he was offered the position of kitchen manager. With an annual salary of $45,000, he worked up to 14 hours a day though, making sure the cooks had all the ingredients they needed for their creations. This experience allowed him to familiarize with ingredients from around the world and further sharpen his organizational skills, despite the great effort. The advent of the pandemic in 2020 changed his life again. He went from employee to contract chef for CookUnity, creating recipes that were then prepared by sous chefs and cooks. Thanks to the growing demand for meal delivery services, his income increased dramatically. By 2021, he earned $969,000, and as CookUnity expanded to several U.S. cities, his success continued to grow.
Today, Andres Mendez earns more than $3 million a year, selling between 10,000 and 11,000 meals a week in New York and Los Angeles. Despite his success, he remains deeply connected to his roots and his family. He bought a farm in Mexico where he employs 20 people and dreams of buying a second house in Mexico or Texas. During the week, he is busy creating new recipes, while weekends are devoted to his wife and children. He has invested in sustainable initiatives, using local ingredients and promoting environmentally friendly practices in his restaurants. This commitment to sustainability has not only improved his brand image, but also attracted an environmentally conscious and mindful clientele. His story is an example of how passion, dedication, and resilience can transform a person's life, taking them from humble beginnings to extraordinary success.
