Couple good friends are chefs. What do you want to know? My impression of the process... go to culinary school, get a crappy line/sous chef job, work your ass off, get yelled at by the head chef, get a good letter, get a better job at another restaurant, work your ass off, get a good letter, get lucky and find an open head chef position or someone with money willing to open a new restaurant, get lucky and do good business, profit.