Lessons from Geniuses, Billionaires, and Tinkerers
“The interesting jobs are the ones that you make up.” – Chris Young
Chris Young is an obsessive tinkerer, inventor, and innovator.
His areas of expertise range from extreme aviation (world-record goals) to mathematics and apocalyptic-scale BBQs. Above all, he is one of the clearest thinkers I know.
In this interview, we discuss a great many things, including his wild story and lessons learned from rainmakers like Bill Gates, Gabe Newell, Neal Stephenson, and many more. More topics we tackle:
How he managed to get jobs working for the best in the world…despite having no credentials.
Advice — and incredible questions — from self-made billionaires.
Why raw foodism isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.
How geniuses show disappointment and ensure you correct yourself.
The “emoji egg” breakfast.
And much more…
If you only have 5 minutes, I highly recommend listening to Chris’s secret to working with hard-to-reach people.
Enjoy!
Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another podcast with a world-class chef and entrepreneur? — Listen to my conversation with Andrew Zimmern. In this episode, we discuss his meditation practice, morning routines, and creative process (stream below or right-click here to download):
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
Connect with Chris Young:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Naturally Occurring Food Toxins by Laurie C. Dolan, et al., National Center for Biotechnology Information
Biomolecular Structure & Design at University of Washington
The Complete Thomas Keller: The French Laundry Cookbook & Bouchon by Thomas Keller
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee
The 4-Hour Chef (official trailer)
ChefSteps in Seattle
What really happened in Memento?, Quora
Eclectic BBQ With Neal Stephenson by Trey Ratcliff, Stuck in Customs (with pictures)
Anthracite coal
Spatchcock
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
Seveneves: A Novel by Neal Stephenson
Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking by Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet
Snatch trailer
Seafair in Seattle
Michelin stars explained
Noma in Copenhagen
The Fat Duck in Bray
Essential Cuisine by Michel Bras
Best Food Writing 2002 by Holly Hughes
Puff the Magic Sorbet Dragon, ChefSteps (what it looks like when you mix liquid nitrogen with fine dining)
The importance of a mise en place list
Private Pyle in Full Metal Jacket
Ray Gun magazine
University of Vermont
Calculus for Beginners and Artists, MIT
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee
The Second Law by P. W. Atkins
Are You Hooked on Competence Porn? by Lewis Dartnell, The Telegraph
Intellectual Ventures
What is a Garde manger?
The Man Who Mistook His Kitchen for a Lab by Jay Rayner, The Guardian
Fluid Gels: A Culinary History, ChefSteps
Valve Software
Canlis in Seattle
Valve Handbook for New Employees (PDF)
Gabe Newell: I Learned More in Three Months at Microsoft than Entire Time at Harvard by Anthony Tosie, Neowin
High Output Management by Andrew S. Grove
Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely
Gliding competition
Sleep-onset insomnia
Sailplane Grand Prix in the Andes trailer
Windward Performance DuckHawk
Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono
The Last Lion Box Set: Winston Spencer Churchill, 1874-1965 by William Manchester and Paul Reid
Radio 1 Essential Mix, Live from Rojan in Shanghai, China 26-09-1999 by Paul Oakenfold
Pete Tong at Soundcloud
iA Writer
Hemingway Editor
Scrivener
Ferris Beuller’s Day Off
Pulp Fiction trailer (jarringly auf Deutsch)
The Right Stuff
OXO On Cordless Glass Electric Kettle
Wii DJ Hero
Shakespeare was funnier than you remember.
Biphasic and polyphasic sleep
Edible Emoji Egg, ChefSteps
La Marzocco espresso machines
Chemex glass coffee maker
Aeropress coffee and espresso maker
Builder’s tea
Nicholas Lander at the Financial Times
Engineers, applied mathematicians, musicians, and people who do amazing work that can be related to cooking: apply to work with Chris here.
Soaring Society of America
Williams Soaring Center
$30 OFF Joule™, Chris’s upcoming sous vide immersion circulator [Note: It is currently offered at the preorder price of $229, so it’s $199 for TFS listeners until August 1, 2016. Limit of one per customer.]
Show Notes
Chris expresses surprise that I remember much about the last time we hung out in Seattle. [06:07]
Why are vegetables trying to kill you? [06:59]
Chris explains his interest in math and biochemistry. [10:43]
Chris’s first job out of college (and the Jedi mind trick that secured it). [13:09]
How Chris’s chosen profession plays perfectly into his anti-social behaviors. [18:45]
Chris explains the science behind the inverted rotisserie spit that was built for Neal Stephenson’s BBQ. [19:30]
Gabe Newell and The Tornado of Fire. [23:17]
Chris explains how he befriended Neal Stephenson while working for Nathan Myhrvold. [24:23]
Neal Stephenson’s Victorian exercise regimen. [26:38]
The journey between Chris’ first job and working for Heston Blumenthal. [27:40]
The symptoms of maxing out the learning curve. [29:35]
Permission to apprentice in a famous kitchen is often granted — if you know how to ask. [32:59]
Liquid nitrogen, fine dining, and the science of palate cleansing. [35:41]
The circumstances (and pressure) of sudden promotion. [39:35]
How to reverse engineer and solving problems. [42:03]
Has Chris always had OCD superpowers? [48:22]
How did Chris become interested in math? [49:41]
What books has Chris most gifted to others? [51:37]
What is competence porn? [54:52]
What’s Chris’s secret to getting hired by hard-to-reach people, and what lessons has he learned from them? [57:54]
“The interesting jobs are the ones that you make up.” [1:02:14]
The biggest lesson Chris learned from Heston Blumenthal. [1:06:45]
Chris reminiscences about one of his most cringeworthy mistakes under Blumenthal. [1:08:29]
How does one uphold high standards without driving support staff toward mutiny? [1:10:56]
The challenging questions Heston Blumenthal asks that provoke excellence. [1:16:12]
What is Chris’s company, how has it changed over time, and what novel decisions have pushed it forward? [1:20:33]
Who is Gabe Newell, and how has he influenced the trajectory of Chris and his company? [1:24:15]
What’s worth spending $100 million on in the kitchen space? [1:31:30]
Gabe Newell’s real superpower. [1:33:20]
Wisdom from Matt Mullenweg regarding people who steal intellectual property online. [1:34:13]
What Chris thinks doesn’t work well for a company that’s supposed to get the best, most innovative, and most interesting work out of people. [1:37:54]
Books and people who have influenced Chris’s business decisions. [1:41:45]
Why Chris is prone to changing his mind a lot. [1:42:41]
Chris and competitive gliding. [1:44:31]
Chris’s thoughts on sleep [1:50:08]
The value of less structure. [1:56:12]
Chris’ thoughts on batching activities. [1:58:36]
Chris and his creative process. [2:04:10]
When Chris thinks of the word “successful,” who comes to mind? [2:04:52]
Does Chris have any superstitions? [2:08:31]
Music Chris listens to when he writes. [2:10:42]
Chris’s editing process. [2:12:48]
Favorite documentaries and movies. [2:14:30]
What recent purchase of $100 or less had the most positive impact on Chris’s life? [2:16:60]
Morning rituals [2:21:31]
How The Fat Duck almost went bankrupt in spite of being so innovative and respected in the culinary community. [2:25:30]
What advice would Chris give his younger self? [2:30:14]
We discuss shifting focus from being “right” to being effective. [2:35:07]
What would Chris Young’s billboard say, and where would he put it? [2:37:15]
Last requests for the audience. [2:37:53]
People Mentioned
Bill Gates
Nathan Myhrvold
Gabe Newell
Neal Stephenson
Matt Mullenweg
Jeffrey Steingarten
Harold McGee
Tim Kelley
William Belickis
David Bouley
Heston Blumenthal
René Redzepi
Gordon Ramsay
Michel Bras
Ferran Adrià
Albert Adrià
Eric Cressey
Molly
Alex Honnold
Ed Zschau
Peter Thiel
Michael Phelps
Charles Spence
Grant Lee Crilly
Ryan Matthew Smith
Edward Starbird
Jason Franey
Michael Natkin
Yahn Bernier
Greg Cole
Edward de Bono
Winston Churchill
Benjamin Franklin
Paul Oakenfold
Pete Tong
John Hughes
John Cusack
Samuel L. Jackson
William Shakespeare
James Watson
James Petrie
Nick Lander
Derek Bulmer
