A career centered on a fondue (French for “melted”) franchise was not what Schaibly predicted for his future. “I had no idea that I would be doing this,” says the Tampa-born chef, recalling his culinary start.

“My mother was a single parent raising two rambunctious boys, so we spent a lot of time doing sports. We didn’t sit at home cooking and eating. At 14, I got in trouble and my mother grounded me. She said the only way I could get out of being grounded was to get a job. I wanted my freedom so I went to the closest place—a German restaurant right down the street.” Despite this modest beginning, Schaibly cherishes those days. “I loved the excitement of the kitchen,” he says. “The experience opened my eyes. I learned cooking basics. I learned to appreciate food.” It also instilled a sense of pride in the teenager/ “I wanted my apple strudel to be the best and I never, never overdressed a salad.”

Finding Your Niche
While cooking was a positive influence, Schaibly’s family was not on board for a culinary career. “They wanted me to attend ‘real’ college,” he says. “So like a good son, I enrolled in Auburn University with a full architecture scholarship.” After one year, Schaibly knew he was in the wrong place. “I didn’t like it at all,” he says.  “I couldn’t imagine sitting in an office all day and never being in the kitchen again. So I left and found my own way.”

Schaibly attended Johnson & Wales University in North Miami and while at school worked at The Ritz-Carlton in South Beach. After graduating top of his class, he returned to Tampa and went to work for Café Pointe in Clearwater. There, he served as lead pastry chef and sous chef, but not without first proving his talents.

“The chef needed someone to do pastries,” Schaibly says. “This was not my training, but I was given the recipe book, which was in French and used the metric system. I was not proficient in either. Then the chef went on vacation and I was left to learn the recipes on my own. I did. I also learned that I do pastries well. Not being a pastry chef actually helped me create things out of the box since I was not confined to the traditional rules.”

Today, at only 30, Schaibly’s corporate-chef responsibilities include overseeing the research, development and cost planning for all of Front Burner Brands’ menu offerings. He creates and assists in the procurement of new menu items for The Melting Pot and its signature cocktails. He does the same for Burger 21—the company’s newest franchise concept, which touts gourmet burger favorites and those made from turkey, chicken and tuna, too.

Schaibly has not found the fondue-specific menu at The Melting Pot nor the confines of a franchise operation limiting. “It can get pretty involved and creative,” he says. The Melting Pot does honor quintessential Swiss fondue (a blend of Gruyère and Emmenthaler, white wine, garlic, nutmeg, lemon and kirschwasser) and also the traditional custom of fondue cooking (diners spear bite-size bread on a long, two-pronged fork and then dip them into a shared pot of melted cheese, which is kept piping hot at the center of the table), but the menu expands from there, using fondue as inspiration.

The Melting Pot offers a four-course meal (cheese, salad, entrée and dessert). Guests choose from a choice of fondue cooking styles and dipping sauces, which result in a large variety of combinations. The entrées include cooking your own sushi-grade ahi tuna or Angus sirloin. And who doesn’t love melted chocolate? The majority of guests finish their meal with chocolate fondue accompanied by an array of dippers—fresh strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, Rice Krispies Treats®, marshmallows, pound cake and brownies.

Teaching Large
The Melting Pot menus are loosely themed around a geographic region and change biannually. As in any culinary operation, consistency is key, and Schaibly collaborates with the purchasing and distribution department to ensure quality ingredients. “We all need to understand the recipe and how the ingredients will be used,” he says. “Is the item imported? What’s the shelf life? Do we need 100 cases or 100,000?” All franchises receive the same products, so purchasing is made on a huge scale, which has the benefit of better buying power.

Maintaining consistency in all locations requires that Schaibly provide organized training so that every dish, whether served in California or Pennsylvania, is perfect in appearance and taste. “I work with the education department, and every franchise receives a packet of recipes, procedures and dialogue examples preparing servers to describe the food.” Teaching to so many is accomplished through a 45-minute instructional DVD in which Schaibly demonstrates how to make and plate dishes.

“It is everything you need to know,” he says. “I also try to convey the background of the item and explain why I chose it.” To support quality control, a franchise-business consultant visits each location three times per year.

Working for a large operation has demanded a change in Schaibly’s perception. “Now, my outlook is different,” he says. “When I worked in an independent restaurant, I focused on one week at a time. Did we have a catered party? How many reservations did we have that night? In my current position, I focus on the larger view—three to six months out. I have to think on a different scale. I am also able to affect more guests per day. More people enjoy the food I’ve created. Instead of 200 guests in one restaurant, I am reaching 140 locations.”

Schaibly acknowledges that he is young. “I began here as a manager of culinary development. During the last five years, I have proven myself and have been promoted. I have drive and ambition, and that is what the company saw in me.”

Schaibly often takes time to speak to local high-school students about the culinary industry. “They see that I am young and that I have lots of tattoos,” he says. “They can relate to me, so they listen. I tell them to experience different facets of the industry because, like me, you never know what you’ll be doing. Work in a hotel. Work in an independent restaurant. Go to the best place in your city or go to a new city. Learn everything. Work hard. That’s what will get you recognized.”

Lynn Schwartz, a former New York City restaurateur, is a writer and writing instructor/coach (fiction and nonfiction) based in Maryland. Visit www.writerswordhouse.com.