Unless you really enjoy cooking, or watching cooking-related programs, you probably haven’t heard of Logan Guleff. However, he is arguably one of the most successful culinary entrepreneurs in the world, even as a teen!
In recent weeks, we have covered other kidpreneurs, including Maya Penn, Rachel Zietz and Ben Pasternak among others. Whilst the latter operates (somewhat) in the same industry, they have control over different aspects of the industry.
Early Life
Logan Guleff was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 20 2002 to Tom and Kim Guleff. As of the time of writing, Logan has lived there his entire life, and currently does so (as of the time of writing).
According to Logan, he began cooking at the age of three. According to Logan, he enjoyed it so much he began doing it, a lot. For him, there was nothing better than relaxing and cooking a nice meal.
However, this was mostly for fun, which a young Logan baking things that he and his family would eat. Eventually, this became something that he did for more than just fun. Or rather, the challenge.
When Logan was nine years old, Logan made a recipe for the most creative Jif sandwich. To promote this, Logan went on several TV shows, including NBC’s The Today Show. Despite this, another sandwich won over Logan’s.
However, he didn’t let this stop him. Even though he was rather sad that he hadn’t won the competition, his mother convinced him to compete in another competition. He won this one.
This began him entering a series of different cooking-themed competitions. Whilst he won many, he didn’t win others, but this latter fact never stopped him…
MasterChef Junior
In December 2014, MasterChef Junior aired for its second season. The show was a clone of the well known MasterChef show, however, the contestants were aged between eight and thirteen years old.
As he was only eleven years old at the time, Logan Guleff was eligible to be on the show. As such, Logan applied, alongside 20,000 other eager cooks. Logan was selected as one of the contestants from this group.
Competing against people both older and younger than him, Guleff was able to come out on top most of the time. By the end of the show’s second season, Guleff had been declared the winner for season two.
Logan’s winning meal was comprised of a starter, a main and a dessert.
First, there was appetizer of saffron spot prawns with olive remoulade and smoked aioli. The main course was an entree of salt-crusted branzino. The dessert comprised of lemon madeleines with goat cheese mousse and a berry compote.
Entrepreneurship
After appearing on MasterChef Junior, Logan Guleff became very interested in entrepreneurship. From this, he has done three major things, although he is most famous for his first and third business ideas.
Writing
Unlike most other chefs, Logan Guleff doesn’t keep his recipes, tips and tricks to himself, or share them solely on cooking forums. Instead, he runs his own blog, having done so since he was on MasterChef Junior.
Although, in recent years, his cooking has taken priority over continually writing and updating his blog.
With that being said, in 2017, after having won MasterChef Junior (as well as starting several of his other business ventures!) Logan Guleff decided to sit down and write a book that is reminiscent of his blog.
This book is entitled Logan’s Chef Notes & Half Baked Tales – Cooking Dreams. It is a mix between a memoir, cook book and general cooking help book, which makes it rather unique. Due to this, it has sold very well.
TV Shows
Logan has stayed true to being a cook. This means that he isn’t off acting in some superhero-themed TV show or some true crime TV show. He only ever appears in cooking-related TV shows.
For the most part, these are a part of the MasterChef brand. He is still very active with MasterChef Junior, even after winning it well over five years ago (as of the time of writing).
Logan first appeared on the show as a contestant in Season 2. In Season 3, he returned to show once again, albeit not as a contestant. Instead, he returned as a cupcake judge, becoming the youngest person to ever be a MasterChef judge!
In 2017 (during the show’s fifth season), Logan returned, again in a completely different role. Instead of being a judge or a contestant, he was the subject of an interview, looking at his life after winning the show.
To the same end, Guleff has appeared on The Today Show twice. The first time was for his Jif recipe, and the second time, he appeared as a chef for a special segment involving James Beard Winning Burger.
In order to raise awareness for his brand, Guleff has appeared on several other tv shows, mostly talk shows, talking about his new brand. He has also done the same on many podcasts too!
Food
Capitalizing on his reputation as a well known and respected chef, Guleff has started his own luxury food brand. As of the time of writing, he has two products on the market, although more will likely follow.
The first product is an egg seasoning. This is used whilst cooking an egg in order to give it more flavor. Logan markets this under the catchy name The Good Egg.
Logan’s second product (to date, anyway) is a spice blend of his own design. This can be used on meat to give it extra flavoring. Logan market’s this one using his own name, calling it Logan’s Rub.
By his own admission, he created these by accident, and will continue to create more as long as they are useful to other cooks (and sell obviously!).
Today
Despite his immense fame, especially in his local area, Logan Guleff is similar to many other kidpreneurs in the fact that he is rather private. Besides his business ventures, not much is actually known about him.
This even extends to his net worth. This sees experts estimate his net worth and completely separate figures. Some outlets state that his net worth is as little as $100,000, whilst others state that it is over $10 million.
At Finance Friday, we estimate his net worth at around $9 million, deriving mostly from his business holdings and book advances. However, short of Logan releasing his taxes, this is only an estimate.
Similarly to many kidpreneurs, Logan is very active on social media. Here, he shares tips on how to cook better as well as general things about his day-to-day life. He also answers the questions his fans want to know the answer to.
As of the time of writing, Logan has a little over 50,000 followers on Instagram, 33,000 followers on Twitter and 400,000 Facebook friends. On top of this, he also has a old YouTube channel with 20,000 subscribers.
Logan also considers himself to be a cooking activist. He has used his position as both a famous chef and as a teenager, to help run the “Get kids Cooking” campaign, which he has done with expert precision.
How Can I Replicate What Logan Guleff Did?
Short answer: You can’t. And why would you want to? Logan Guleff has become so successful because there is truly no one else quite like him. Yes, there are other teenage celebrity chefs, but none who do exactly what he does.
On top of this, why would you want to be a carbon copy of someone else? Yes, you can take inspiration from them, but replicating them is not only illogical, it’s just plain stupid!
Long answer: You can. Whilst not meaning to belittle Logan’s achievements, he is probably one of the easier kidpreneurs to replicate. Although, it will still take a monumental amount of effort in order to replicate.
Let’s assume that you are similarly an aspiring celebrity chef or some other food-related entrepreneur. It would actually be quite easy to become a contestant on MasterChef (Junior). It’s winning that’s difficult.
Assuming you win, you’ll similarly get a lot of media attention. If you can capitalize on this like Logan did, you could quite literally go anywhere!
You could choose to follow what Logan did, or you can do something completely new.
Instead of writing a book and starting your own food brand, you could start a chain of high-end restaurants. Here, you put your name on the front of it, and let the media attention follow.
Soon you could be the next Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsey, or maybe even the next Logan Guleff!
What Can we Learn From Logan Guleff?
Despite only having recently entered adulthood, the life of Logan Guleff can write easily teach you a lot. This isn’t just about starting and running your own business but also about life and personal finance in general!
Follow Your Passion
Most children tend to view cooking as a chore these days, rather than something you can do for enjoyment. Logan, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. He loves to cook.
Whilst most children who enjoy cooking, it is a task that they do in an evening or in a morning to relax. And Logan was like that, initially. But then he realized that through his passion, he could go anywhere…
Initially, he wanted to be a celebrity chef, akin to Gordon Ramsey or Jamie Oliver. As such, he competed on, and late won MasterChef Junior. This gained him the celebrity status he previously wanted.
Following this, he decided that he wanted to write about his passion. Instead of starting a blog, he wrote a book, which sold well. Today, he’s making his own food brand, so who knows where his passion will take him?!
Age is Just a Number
For the most part, entrepreneurs are very special and intriguing people. However, Logan is part of a very special subsect of entrepreneurs: he’s a kidpreneur. To many, the concept may seem strange, whilst to others, it is not.
Kidpreneurs are any entrepreneurs who started their business before they turned 18. There are only a handful of them around the world, with some of the most famous being Mo Bridges, Alexander Pask and Mikaila Ulmer.
For most teens, the idea of running their own business is completely alien. After all, they have school to focus on, and what self-respecting businessman would trust a teen to do business with?
Logan, as with most other kidpreneurs, has simply brushed this aside. He doesn’t need to think about that. If he can’t do his homework, so what? It was that or a large sum of money (and being happy whilst he did it!)
Diversify
Logan first became a household name when he partook on MasterChef Junior. Here, he came first, which landed him sponsorship deals and newspaper headlines all over the country, and indeed, the world.
However, he didn’t just stop there. He has continued to appear on some of the most famous cooking shows on TV. This has included all of the various shows under the MasterChef brand, as well as a few others.
On top of this, he has also written a book. In 2017, at only 15 years old, Logan was publishing a book about his career as a chef and TV star. If I had to guess, this won’t be his last book…
He has similarly started to develop his own food brand, capitalizing on the media attention he earned previously and the recognition he gained as a result.
Be Consistent
As with likely every other kidpreneur and entrepreneur in general, Logan doesn’t get “days off”. If he wants to succeed, and beat the competition, he has to be working on his business 24/7.
This means working well into the night, even after his restaurants have closed up for the night. Even when all his employees have gone home, he’ll be in the kitchen or in his office trying to sort X problem with Y solution.
By the same token, he probably also works on the weekends too. When his friends are all going out and partying or going shopping, he is in the kitchen or the office doing the same.
It’s also highly plausible that he will be doing this on public holidays. yes, that does likely include Christmas. And this is every year, likely without fail. Otherwise he wouldn’t be able to be so successful!
Don’t be Afraid to do Something Different
For most ten year old kids, the most important thing in life is something like TV or video games. Indeed, this is what it is for many teenagers and adults too (although there are probably things that supersede them in importance).
However, for Logan, it was cooking. But it’s more than that. He loved cooking so much, he quite literally became a master at it.
Through this, he was able to start his own business, something that many people want to do, but most never even attempt. As of this wasn’t good enough, he did this all whilst he was at elementary and high school.
People have undoubtedly mocked him for his chosen line of work. However, he has not let this slow him down. Instead, he has thrived. He has used this to build a miniature empire!
This is something he’ll undoubtedly grow over the coming years and decades!
Has the story of Logan Guleff inspired you? Tell me in the comments!
Fetaured image courtesy of Youth Today.
