The restaurant business is known for gruelling shifts, big personalities and strict hierarchy. Sure, you can play up the Hell's Kitchen vibe. Or you can follow the lead of these respected chefs who are reinventing the business of cooking.

1. Recognize a diamond in the rough. Meeru Dhalwala mentored Vij's dishwasher, who is now head chef.
2. Control yourself. Temper tantrums will get you TV ratings (exhibit a: Gordon Ramsay), but they might not buy you employee loyalty.
3. Know your limits. Vij and Dhalwala divvied up the responsibilities at Vij's to preserve their sanity and take their business to the next level.
4. Reward your staff. Most kitchen staff work long hours for measly pay. When the famed restaurant Alinea was named best restaurant in America by the magazine Gourmet, star chef Grant Achatz and his business partner doled out US $15,000 in tips to their team.
5. Give back. Food is about community. Innovative chef Dan Barber, who co-owns Blue Hill restaurant in New York City and was one of Time Magazine's 2009 100 Most Influential People, is almost as well known for his environmental activism as his Berkshire pork.