Chefs Expanding Restaurant Empires at Break-Neck Pace

The Washington City Paper profiled several D.C.-area chefs who are rapidly expanding the number of restaurants to their names, often opening new enterprises every two years or less.  Those profiled include Mike Isabella and Spike Mendelsohn.

The chefs interviewed say the pressures to build an “empire” are coming from multiple sources, from the new definition of a successful chef perpetuated by the Food Network (which now includes blogs, book deals, shows, and merchandise), to the hype generated from new concepts, to the shortage of cooks and the need to create a place for talented staff to move up and not on.

For more on this trend, read the full article here.