Jordan Lebel, former restaurant reviewer and current Food Marketing professor at Concordia University, was kind enough to share his knowledge of the restaurant and food industry during a short chat earlier this week. His insights can provide a "behind the scenes" look of what it takes to succeed in this cut-throat competitve market.

As a restaurant reviewer, what was your thought process when trying out a new restaurant?

 I served as an inspector for the Distinguished Restaurants of North America program (DiRoNA), funded by American Express, Hiram Walker and Tiffany. We had 5 pages of criteria that I also helped develop.

So the thought process was guided by the fact that we had to complete (after the visit) 5 pages of questions and notes. Essentially the thought process is to evaluate as objectively as possible the restaurant on food, service, experience and to separate the objective from our subjective value judgments.

©QMI / Jordan Lebel

There are few people that know exactly what they want to do with their life from a young age and dive into adventurous experiences to achieve their main objectives without hesitation. Jordan Lebel can surely be classified in this category of people. Since the age of 12, Lebel's passion for food was a prominent factor in his life. Regardless of his parents' worried opinions, he began working as a line cook in a local restaurant. Lebel's parents strongly encouraged him however to pursue higher education given the unsteady and misunderstood reputation of a career path in the restaurant industry. This encouragement resulted in Lebel pursuing a course in hospitality management, which eventually shaped him into the person he is today: an inspiring and renowned professor as well as a multi-skilled credible professional.