“Nobody makes money cooking.”
That was the warning Ara Zada’s grandfather gave him when Ara decided to leave the family printing business for culinary school. His grandfather believed Ara was walking away from a successful future. Ara went anyway. By his own account, within about a year of graduating, he was earning more than he had at the print shop.
Today, Ara Zada is an Armenian-American chef, cookbook author, television personality, and content creator in Los Angeles. On Episode 4 of Menu EN, a restaurant and culinary podcast powered by Orders.co, he joined host Lani Manaseryan. They talked about the career his family doubted, the Armenian food traditions he set out to document, and how cancer changed the way he works.
Why Ara Zada Left the Family Printing Business for Culinary School
Cooking was not Ara’s first plan. He grew up in Los Angeles, skateboarding and snowboarding, and he initially pursued music. Eventually, he found his way into the family printing business.
The business provided a living, but it also took over. Ara describes a family life where work filled the conversations and crowded out personal time. Cooking became the place he could decompress, and eventually the thing he wanted to do.
His grandfather’s reaction to culinary school was blunt. Ara’s reply, part of the exchange he recounts starting at 25:29, was just as direct: “I’ll show you how cooking will make money.”
He graduated from Le Cordon Bleu and set out to prove it. His work since then has included:
- restaurant kitchens
- running a commissary kitchen
- corporate chef roles
- food styling
- recipe and product development
- TV appearances on PBS’s No Passport Required and on Food Network
Ara enjoyed restaurant kitchens, but the late nights and weekends did not fit the family life he wanted. Rather than leave food, he found other ways to earn a living from it while keeping more time at home. For anyone considering a culinary career, that is the useful part: a restaurant line is one path, not the only one.
How Armenian Heritage Shaped Ara Zada’s Cooking
Ara’s family history runs through the Armenian diaspora. His roots are Egyptian-Armenian. On the podcast, he shares a story passed down in his family about an ancestor who escaped the Armenian Genocide, which began in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. He grew up surrounded by Armenian culture in Los Angeles.
Traveling to Armenia changed his understanding of Armenian cuisine. The cooking he grew up with was largely Western Armenian, shaped by the countries where the diaspora settled. In Armenia, he kept encountering dishes he had never seen. Many of those traditions had been passed from cook to cook without written recipes.
That gap became a project. In 2019, Ara co-authored Lavash with food writer Kate Leahy and photographer John Lee. Published by Chronicle Books, the Lavash cookbook centers on Armenia’s UNESCO-recognized flatbread and more than 60 recipes for the dishes eaten with it. The three later collaborated on a second book, Artsakh, focused on the food of the region, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh.
One scene from his travels stands out: a small lavash bakery in Lusakert, where four women were making exceptional bread in a modest space. The setting was simple. The knowledge was not. Places like that bakery are where Armenian food traditions actually live.
Ara also describes how people responded to the book. For many Armenian readers, seeing familiar foods and family recipes documented in print was emotional. Cookbooks, bakeries, and small food businesses do more than feed people. They keep a community’s knowledge from disappearing.
Finding a New Perspective After Cancer
Ara’s experience with cancer changed how he thought about his time. He talks about wanting to keep pursuing his creative ambitions rather than set them aside. He also re-evaluated how he worked, which projects deserved his energy, and how much of his time went to his family.
The experience shaped his approach to food, too. Ara describes paying closer attention to what he eats and to the quality of his ingredients, as personal choices rather than medical claims. What comes through most is intention: he became more selective about the opportunities he pursued and more protective of time with the people closest to him.
How Ara Zada Built His Audience Through Consistency, Not Shortcuts
Ara’s social media growth started without much of a plan. At first, he recorded videos while cooking for his family and posted when he could.
His wife encouraged him to be more intentional, so he began setting aside time to film recipes made specifically for his audience. Then, on December 16, 2022, he committed to posting a new video every day.
According to Ara, his audience started growing quickly after that. His explanation is simple:
“The cheat code is to do the work.”
The work had a structure: a clear commitment, a repeatable filming routine, and a recognizable focus on Armenian food tied to projects he already cared about. He kept going when other people questioned whether it was worth the effort. His results are his own, not a formula, but the discipline behind them applies to any food creator.
Social media also brought back an old friendship. Ara reconnected with his childhood friend, comedian Jack Assadourian Jr., known on stage as Jack Jr. The two began making Armenian-Mexican fusion food videos.
They later took that content offline with pop-up events, including one at the HaHa Comedy Club in North Hollywood. There, dishes like the Lahmarito went from video to plate. It is a clear example of an online audience turning into real-world food experiences.
Can Restaurants Serve Better Ingredients Without Pricing Customers Out?
Ara’s focus on ingredient quality led to one of the most practical parts of the conversation: what happens when a restaurant builds its menu around cleaner, higher-quality ingredients.
Ara acknowledges the problem plainly. Better ingredients can be expensive. A restaurant that buys premium products still has to sell each meal at a price customers believe is worth paying. If diners do not see enough value in the final experience, a higher food cost alone will not bring them back.
That leaves owners protecting two things at once: the concept they believe in and the margins that keep the doors open. Doing both starts with knowing what customers value, which dishes they return for, and what each plate costs to make. Better food needs a business model that can pay for it. For a closer look at how ingredient prices are moving, read our guide to restaurant food costs in 2026.
How Orders.co Helps Independent Restaurants Protect Their Margins
Choosing better ingredients is one part of building a food business. Making those choices financially sustainable is another. Ara’s story is about his own career, but the pricing challenge he describes is one independent owners face every week. Knowing what sells, where revenue comes from, and what each ordering channel costs makes those decisions easier. That is the side of the business that Orders.co builds tools for.
Restaurant reporting shows sales, top-selling items, and performance by ordering channel in one place. Paired with supplier invoices and recipe costing, that data shows which dishes sell consistently and whether prices still fit actual food costs.
Menu management lets operators update items, prices, and availability once across connected ordering channels instead of repeating each change on every platform. Marketplace listings may update on different timelines depending on the provider.
A branded direct ordering website lets customers order from the restaurant itself. That reduces reliance on marketplace commissions and gives owners more control over customer relationships, though payment processing and fulfillment costs still apply.
What Aspiring Chefs and Food Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Ara Zada
There is more than one way to make a living from food. Ara built a career across kitchens, styling, product development, television, and cookbooks.
Heritage can become a culinary identity. Lavash and Artsakh grew out of his need to understand Armenian food, and they gave his cooking a clear point of view.
Consistency needs a process. Daily posting worked for Ara because he built a routine around it.
Collaboration opens doors beyond the kitchen. Reconnecting with Jack Jr. turned videos into pop-ups.
Success should fit your priorities. Ara stepped back from late-night restaurant hours to protect family time.
Great food needs a business model behind it. Premium ingredients only work when customers see the value and the numbers hold.
For another Menu EN story about family recipes and food heritage, read how Polly Tseng keeps her mother’s legacy alive at LT9 Tea Blends.
Food, Family, and Making the Most of Each Day
Near the end of the episode, Lani asks Ara what he would want people to remember about him if there were no tomorrow. His answer, at 1:03:03, has nothing to do with books or followers.
“Live every day to your fullest and enjoy every moment you have with your family.”
That answer ties his story together. He left a successful business for a career his grandfather doubted. He stepped away from restaurant hours that cost him time at home, and he traveled to Armenia to document food that had rarely been written down. After cancer, he became more deliberate about how he spends his days. Each decision put the same things first: food, culture, and family.
Watch Ara Zada’s Full Conversation on Menu EN
Watch Episode 4 with Ara Zada on YouTube, and find more conversations in the Menu EN podcast archive and on the Menu EN YouTube channel.
Menu EN is powered by Orders.co and shares real stories and practical lessons from people building careers in food and hospitality.
Follow Chef Ara Zada
- Website: arazada.com
- Instagram: @arazada
- YouTube: @chefarazada
- TikTok: @chefarazada
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