If you’ve never ordered a late night meal from Chef on Call, you should probably re-evaluate your career as a McGill student. The delivery service – which offers up everything from wraps to poutine – quickly became a staple in Montreal students’ food repretoire. Now, four years later, they are expanding beyond the borders of Quebec. I spoke with Gabriel Malbogat, one of the founders and owners of Chef on Call to find out the business side of things and what’s new for Chef on Call.
Reba Wilson for Her Campus McGill: How did you decide to start Chef on Call?
Gabriel Malbogat: Robert Kauffman and I were friends throughout university. [We were] both running university promotional companies. In our last year, we recognized a void in the late night student food delivery market so we decided to test it out. Being in university for four years, we were never satisfied with the food we ordered. From there, we came up with a menu that delivered taste but most importantly it was affordable for the student demographic. In just two short weeks, we outgrew our small kitchen apartment and realized our concept could work on a larger scale. We then found a small basement commercial location and launched our very first Chef On Call restaurant at 362 Sherbrooke West.
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RW: Do you think you learned most of the skills needed to start a business in school or through jumping into it? Where did you develop your business sense?
GM: My partner studied at JMSB; it definitely gave him a foundation on the understanding of running his own business. Personally I took poli. sci. and history, so I had some ‘catching up’ to do. However, most of the skills we learned were from jumping into it. University can’t teach you how to be a ‘grinder’, its innate within you. We had no experience in the restaurant industry whatsoever; we learned something new everyday. Mistakes happen every day still. We just learn how to solve them better. Our business sense was developed through running our promotional businesses before Chef On Call. It taught us how to market to a student demographic and gave us an understanding of what students want.
RW: What are the most popular items on the menu?
GM: The chicken tenders are a crowd favorite. Everyone loves them, as well as the array of dipping sauces we offer. The ‘oh so crispy’ and the ‘spicy big crunch’ are the most popular chicken burgers. People love the high quality breaded chicken and the secret recipe we use.
RW: What is your favorite thing on the menu?
GM: Personally, I enjoy our healthy salads and wraps.
RW: Is there anything new or exciting we should know about?
GM: We went from running a restaurant operation to running a franchise operation now. With our first franchise opening up at the CĂ´te des Neiges area and another one opening in Ottawa next September, we are working hard on expanding our business outside of the borders of Quebec.Â
RW: How big is the Chef on Call team?
GM: The Chef on Call corporate restaurants hold about 45 to 50 staff members… the franchise operation about 10. A lot are part time students from all across Montreal, but we have a full time roster of about 12 people. We are an eclectic mix of ages, ethnicity, and races. All one big Chef family. We will be celebrating our Christmas party in style at Apartment 200 on St. Laurent.
RW: When you went into college did you know you wanted to be an entrepreneur? What was the moment you decided to take this career path?
GM: We both knew from a young age that we wanted to run our own business. When my partner was 12, he went shopping mall to shopping mall selling mix CDs to merchant stores. The only kid who was smart enough to buy a CD burner when they first came out. Unlike other 12-year-olds, at the time he was selling his own idea to a market he knew he could generate revenue from. I was like any other kid, whether it was raking leaves from my neighbors’ lawns or shoveling my neighbor’s walk way filled with snow, I was always looking for a way to boost my weekly ‘allowance’ that wouldn’t be from my parents.
We knew it would be our career the minute we both graduated in 2009. After investing the rest of our student loans and throwing down our credit cards, we had a lot to lose. The bank was not about to loan a bunch of broke students money who had no assets at all. With the same goal in mind, and the same work ethic, we knew we could make it work.
Logo Retrieved From: http://www.manaboutmtl.com/201…. Photo Retrieved From: Chef on Call (the founders; from left to right: Josh kauffman, Gabriel Malbogat, Robert Kauffman)