YouSaid · the spoken record

Steve Ells

lines on the record: 65
first: 2017-10-30
most recent: 2017-10-30
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Yeah, I thought I would open it up in Boulder and had trouble finding a location that I liked. That I could afford nothing seemed right. And a friend of mine was working in Denver and somehow met a commercial real estate broker. I went to his office and made a pitch. Just said, here's what I'm thinking of doing. And I described Chipotle pretty much as you see it today.”
2017-10-30 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Chipotle: Steve Ells · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Sure, well, Stars was really good training. You know, we would come in at noon and we would learn at that time what we were going to cook that evening. And there wasn't a set menu per se, and there weren't recipes per se. You had to figure it out based on the style of the restaurant and what Jeremiah and Mark, the executive chef, wanted. And so it wasn't like I had to labor over the recipes. It's relatively simple food. Or I should say it's really simple food at Chipotle.”
2017-10-30 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Chipotle: Steve Ells · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, I mean, that seemed logical to me. I mean, that seemed like the way to do it. And, you know, these burrito shops, these taquerillas were small. The investment would be low, the rent certainly was low. And there were lines out the door. And I thought that I could make enough money. Fund my full scale restaurant. And so I knew I wanted to move back to Colorado to start this. Well, there's nothing like it in Colorado. I certainly didn't want to compete with all the Takerias in the mission. It was not, it wouldn't be novel to anybody. Maybe it would be really good. Maybe I could make better burritos, but again, I thought I wanted to go to a place where no one had seen this style of service before.”
2017-10-30 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Chipotle: Steve Ells · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The foil off, he said. No, no, no, you peel the foil back, and you know, I'm like, oh gosh, okay, let me rewrap and try this again. And I loved it. I was intrigued at growing up in Colorado. This is not how we ate burritos. Burritos were. A plate and then smothered with green chili, and you ate them with a knife and fork. And so, this was a really interesting experience for me. And I went a lot I just started counting the number of people going through the line and thinking, oh my gosh, these are five bucks apiece. I did some quick math. There was a couple guys cooking, a couple guys serving. How much do they make? So, you know, on the napkin, I was like, Wow, okay, this is a pretty good economic model. Of course, I wasn't calling it an economic model then.”
2017-10-30 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Chipotle: Steve Ells · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“There were a few of them, and they were quite good. And I used to go to these places before work. The first time I went, a friend of mine took me and I got the burrito. It was probably a carnita burrito. Giant flour tortilla and all the things on the inside, the rice, the beans, the meat, salsa, cheese, etc. And then wrapped up and then wrapped in foil. And I take it to the counter and I unwrap it. And he's like, what are you doing? I'm like, I'm unwrapping my burrito.”
2017-10-30 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Chipotle: Steve Ells · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Sure. Well, the idea for Chipotle is a sort of combination of food borrowed from stars and sort of a technique and a service format borrowed from the Takerias.”
2017-10-30 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Chipotle: Steve Ells · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It's hard to describe really what he's like. I will say that He's an amazing visionary and quite a perfectionist, and so it was high pressure for sure. And it was super, super stressful, really, really hard work. But you would put your dishes up and all the cooks would put their dishes up, and Jeremiah would come along and taste. And it ranged from, you know, a nod like, you know, good job to picking up the plate and throwing it in the trash, which was really traumatic. But I loved it. I really did. And I'm lucky to have been able to work there.”
2017-10-30 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Chipotle: Steve Ells · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“She knew I was into cooking, and I think she had visited the culinary institute of America and said, Steve, you would love this place. So I applied and I went and only went because I don't think I knew exactly what I wanted to do. So it was an adventure. But I would say there's a halfway point where you go for a few months and work in a restaurant of your choice. And I chose to work at Starr's restaurant in San Francisco.”
2017-10-30 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Chipotle: Steve Ells · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Of course. And I would say, you know, I don't know. We'll see how this unfolds. And probably I was thinking that I would continue and go to graduate school, but my roommate suggested to me that I go to cooking school. She said this just weeks before graduation”
2017-10-30 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Chipotle: Steve Ells · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, you know, my mom was a very adventurous cook and a really good one. And she had a garden and she got all the cooking magazines and had a lot of cookbooks. And I used to spend time in the kitchen and follow along. And at some point, I started watching cooking shows, Julia Child and Graham on the Galloping Gourmet and the PBS series, the Master Chef series. I really love those and would duplicate the recipes and like to cook for my family. And then when I was older in high school, I started having people over”
2017-10-30 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Chipotle: Steve Ells · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I mean, it was very, very smooth and almost non-stick. And I used to push the curds into the center in a square shape, a perfect square, maybe three by three or three and a half by three and a half, something like that. And then when it was just set enough, I would flip it over. And I mean, it was very controlling. And it says a lot about me because I'm a little bit of a control freak. And of course, I had no idea then. I don't know. It's an interesting memory.”
2017-10-30 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Chipotle: Steve Ells · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The earliest recollection I have of being in the kitchen and cooking was in the third grade and we lived in Germany and I remember cooking scrambled eggs.”
2017-10-30 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Chipotle: Steve Ells · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Now, Chipotle, as you will hear, was never meant to become what it became. It was supposed to be a one-off burrito joint in Denver, a burrito joint that would generate enough cash to finance a high-end restaurant. That was Steve Ells' plan. He's actually a classically trained chef, and he wanted to make Michelin-starred food, not foil-wrapped burritos.”
2017-10-30 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Chipotle: Steve Ells · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I don't know if freaking out is the right way to describe it. It was all encompassing. I mean, it was like really intense. You wouldn't wish this on. Anybody. You know, that anyone would get sick from the food that you serve them is really a tough thing”
2017-10-30 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Chipotle: Steve Ells · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You know, one of my favorite parts of traveling is getting a feel for a neighborhood, the way locals do. A few summers ago, I was in Rome and stayed in an apartment I booked on Airbnb. It was tucked in a quiet neighborhood just outside the Roman forum. Every morning I'd walk to the corner cafe, grab an espresso, and just watch the world go by outside. I even managed to chat with the owner about the neighborhood he lived in for nearly forty years. And he got me thinking about my own neighborhood. There are incredible hiking trails and great restaurants and, of course, the beach. And when I'm traveling this summer, listing my own place on Airbnb could be a really smart way to let someone else experience the area the way I do, like a local. Listing your home on Airbnb while you're traveling is a great way to make some extra money. You could put the money toward your next trip. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much”
2017-10-30 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Chipotle: Steve Ells · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT