5 Questions with James Camacho

1. WHAT LED YOU TO A CAREER IN DESIGN CONSULTING?

My father started this business 57 years ago, so I had always been around it, but I didn’t necessarily want to work for him. I wanted to do sales. I was working my way through college with a part-time job at a grocery store, and when they closed and laid us all off, I was in need of a job. It just so happened one of the draftsmen at my dad’s office quit, and I’d taken a couple of drafting classes in high school. I told him I’d come work for him until he found someone else. Forty-six years later, I’m still here.

2. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR FATHER THAT YOU STILL USE IN YOUR WORK TODAY?

My father taught me to walk the chicken through the kitchen. That basically means to think of every aspect of the path the food will take, and be aware of avoiding cross contamination and improving efficiency. He did that by visualizing the chicken coming in through the back door and then following the path it takes to storage, preparation, cooking, serving, and then back through the dishroom and out the back door.

3. WHAT IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHANGES YOU’VE SEEN IN THE CONSULTING FIELD SINCE STARTING OUT IN THE INDUSTRY?

We’ve made it less taboo to share, which helps people find success, in their own career and for their clients. When I was first starting out, I was learning as I went. I paid attention to what other consultants were doing, and learned from them. I also would go to NAFEM and other shows, and glean what I could from manufacturers. Everywhere I went, I listened. But I found that at that time many consultants, especially the older generation, were very tight-lipped about their projects. It made learning new things a challenge. Fast-forward to today, and there is much more open communication among consultants. That’s one thing I helped develop when I was chair of FCSI. We created a listserv and tried to provide more open communication between the professional members.

4. YOU HAVE GROWN CAMACHO ASSOCIATES FROM A REGIONAL FIRM TO ONE WITH OFFICES IN EIGHT STATES, AND NOW A NEW BUSINESS: FSC – GASTROTEC, IN MEXICO CITY. WHAT IS YOUR COMPANY’S KEY TO SUCCESS?

The one thing we teach our associates is to listen. Pay attention to the client, and hear what they’re asking for. We have learned over the years that it is easier for most of our clients to “react” then to “act.” This means that we take information from basic questions, develop preliminary layouts for them to comment, or “act” on. Using that feedback, we end up with more detailed information than what they would have told us without a reference to build on.

5. WHAT WAS ONE OF YOUR BIGGEST TAKE AWAYS FROM THE NAFEM SHOW 2025?

What I noticed were the new refrigeration units that had been reengineered to meet the regulations set by the Department of Energy. The changes will really make an impact on the environment. We also made sure that the younger members of our firm were at NAFEM walking the floor to meet with manufacturers and see the equipment we specify on our projects. Experiencing things firsthand helps give them the knowledge to have a great career in our foodservice industry.