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Tag Archives: Chef mentors

CHEF’S: CONDITION YOUR TEAM AND CHANNEL THEIR ENERGY

12 Wednesday Feb 2020

Posted by culinarycuesblog in Uncategorized

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Chef mentors, chefs, cooks, kitchens, Professionalism

mick and joe

CHEF-to-CHEF,

So..you made it! As a property chef you have reached one of the pinnacles of your career – having paid your dues and likely worked very hard in a variety of properties until demonstrating the right mix of skill, knowledge, experience, and temperament to hold the lead position in a busy kitchen. Congratulations!

So..now what? With the title comes a basket full of new responsibilities and challenges that will likely weigh you down for years to come. It’s a damn hard job – one that is full of twists and turns, joys and sorrows, successes and failures, and even a handful of unexpected opportunities. The chef is not just the leader of the kitchen, he or she is the leader of people, and as such you must act the part – all of the time, day in and day out, and when you want to as well as when you don’t. These responsibilities come with the job – embrace them.

As a leader of people – you have an opportunity, and to some degree – a responsibility to help to mold your staff into not just competent cooks, but also productive, successful, and happy members of society. It is an opportunity to “pay forward”, recognizing that your success rests on the shoulders of many – now it is your turn to do the same. It is also, from a self-serving standpoint, an opportunity and a responsibility to take on this role in an effort to attract, inspire, and retain a competent team.

The most effective teams are made up of people who are dependable, willing to learn, focused on doing their jobs well, supportive of their peers, and happy both on the job and when they are not. So, what can be done? What are your opportunities? Where can you begin to “pay forward” and help to mold those who call you “chef”?

If we begin with some basic understandings that a competent, happy, and confident team member is one who is physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually healthy –then the following list of opportunities could easily apply to your new job description:

[]         EXERCISE AND HEALTH:

One of the greatest gifts that you can offer another human being is a path towards better health and wellbeing. Do we (chefs) have any obligation to guide staff members towards this goal? A healthy employee is an energized employee, an employee who feels good about themselves, and this will, without a doubt, impact their work and their engagement with the rest of the team. Guiding individuals towards better health through exercise, at any level, is self-gratifying as you begin to witness the changes that take place in each engaged individual.

Be an advocate within your restaurant for a benefit package that includes exercise. Instead of those shift drinks and a small end of year bonus – arrange for employee memberships at a local gym. Offer a weekly yoga class for your employees, sponsor employee involvement in local 5K runs or power walks. Convince your restaurant to organize a softball or pick-up basketball team, or even install a few pieces of weight training equipment in the basement of your business. Anything that gets your employees to work those muscles, stretch those limbs, and breathe in some fresh air will pay back tenfold.

[]         DIET AND HEALTH:

Cooks notoriously eat poorly (at least at work). Unlike the passion they may show for the food they prepare for guests – food to a cook is oftentimes viewed as quick fuel to help them push through another service. It is common to see a less than inspiring staff meal consumed while standing up and leaning over a garbage can or picking at a few pommes frites or cookies from the pastry department.

As a chef – your commitment to staff meal is a true opportunity to set the tone for service, engage your staff in a moment of conversation and mutual appreciation for good food, and help create a pattern of good nutrition that can define a commitment to good health. Make those staff meals a celebration of this, a celebration of food, a celebration of staff as family, and a celebration of the relationship that well prepared food and the time to enjoy it has on body, mind, and soul. As chefs we are the gatekeepers for educating everyone about the relationship that food has to health.

[]         FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT:

We all understand that there is a problem with the work done by seasoned professional cooks and the amount of money and benefits that restaurants offer for this work. We need to collectively work on this issue and find a fair solution. At the same time, many of these individuals have a real difficult time managing their limited resources and planning for the future.

As a person who has worked through this and risen to the position of chef, it is likely that you are in a much better financial position than your staff. Offering them advice, helping them budget their funds, and finding resources for them to address their financial concerns is another opportunity for you to invest in your staff and give them a reason to relish where they work.

[]         EDUCATION:

Employee retention happens if staff members are compelled to stay because the employer invests in them. The best thing that you can do for your cooks is to consistently work at making them better at their job. When their skill set and knowledge base improve then so does their worth and their personal brand. Yes – a well-trained and educated employee has the ability to move elsewhere, but that is what makes you and your restaurant attractive to a steady stream of new cooks.

The best chefs invest in a cook’s in-house education, and even help those same employees find ways to engage in a formal education. Take pride in building exceptional cooks through your active support.

[]         MEMBERSHIP:

Some may find membership in organizations to be ineffective and un-necessary, but I have always found that there is much to gain from feeling a part of something larger than what an employee does day in and day out. Camaraderie, structure, representation, an opportunity to build a network of professionals and mentors, and the chance to validate one’s own skills is paramount to building pride.

Committed chefs and restaurants recognize this and support a cook’s interest in membership in organizations like The Chef’s Collaborative, Slow Food, The American Culinary Federation, Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, and The National Restaurant Association.

Painted in Waterlogue

[]         DISCIPLINE IN LIFE:

Begin by understanding that most people actually respond well to standards, organization, and the discipline to be consistent, professional and to complete tasks correctly. Part of an education for life that you can offer cooks is to hold them to the highest standards, be consistent, and set the example in this regard. Whether it is how they look, act and interact, approach their tools, follow through with proper methods, or assemble a plate of food for the pass – discipline leads to great results and a way of approaching any job that they do for you or others.

[]         THE POWER OF MUSIC, ART, AND HISTORY:

A balanced cook is a person who has the opportunity to be exposed to the inspiration and healing nature of art in all forms. Talk with your cooks about music, physical artists, great books, and the history behind the profession of culinary arts. It is important to their outlook on life.

musicians

[]         PROFESSIONALISM:

Grooming, uniform, respect for others, dependability, work ethic, honesty, cost consciousness, and respect for the ingredients that cooks work with – the best cooks approach their craft as consummate professionals. As a leader and a mentor you owe it to your employees to show them what professionalism means, how it is applied, and why it is important to the operation and to their brand.

[]         CAREER MENTORSHIP:

Every career cook needs a person who is willing to serve as his or her mentor. Be the person who guides the cook along, points out his or her errors in performance and shows them how to improve, the person who will offer honest critique and be there to provide advice when requested. Be the leader who is willing to listen and not judge, but point out their errors in judgment. Be the chef who is always there (even after they leave your employ) to answer the phone and take the time to be that guide on the side. This is the kind of chef that people want to work for.

Painted in Waterlogue

[]         CONFIDENCE BUILDING:

When you engage in all of the above a cook’s confidence will grow, his or her pride in the profession will increase exponentially, the ability to perform at consistent peak levels will result, and their allegiance to you and the restaurant will help to create effective ambassadors for the future of the restaurant.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

BE THAT GUIDE ON THE SIDE

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting and Training

www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG

 

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CHEFS PLANTING SEEDS – THE RETURN OF TRAINING ON THE JOB

09 Wednesday May 2018

Posted by culinarycuesblog in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Chef mentors, chefs, cooks, kitchen labor challenges, kitchen training, line cooks, restaurants

chuck and mickey

Here we are – seven or eight years into a steady economic recovery in the U.S. leading to the admirable statistic of a 3.9% unemployment rate (granted this is not qualified with regard to those who have stopped looking or those who are working at less than full time) – a figure that a decade or so ago would have far surpassed what is referred to as “full-employment” (all who want to work are doing so). Feels great America! Of course every silver lining has a bit of a crusty exterior, in this case an exterior that is making it increasingly difficult for the restaurant industry.

I know – you have heard this story played out countless times over the past couple years, but the fact remains that the challenge is still there and, in fact, growing in severity. Restaurants can’t find talented, hard-working, passionate cooks and servers. This is true from coast to coast and in every sector of the food business. In recent travels I encountered quick service restaurant concepts without order takers and menu concepts that are becoming more and more automated. This is the answer that more and more restaurant operators are turning to – if they can’t find and retain workers then it must be time to streamline and automate. Another full-service restaurant had a fairly large sign out front that proclaimed: “Looking for Awesome Employees”. Good luck with that – most restaurants are looking for anyone who might show up.

THE ROBOTIC KITCHEN – Is this where we want to be?

http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/05/video-spyce-restaurant-opens-in-boston-with-a-robot-kitchen.html

So maybe it is OK to take one more stab at a partial solution to the challenge. We all know the reasons that go beyond full employment: low pay, weak benefits, damn hard work, battlefield working conditions, lack of upward mobility, the need to truly “serve” if you want to be part of the restaurant family, and far too many managers and chefs who fail to understand how to effectively lead and manage. Yes, these are real issues that the restaurant industry must wrap its arms around and approach as a systemic issue, but isn’t there some place where the average restaurant can start in the meantime?

From 1980-2001 or so, culinary and hospitality schools were flourishing. The overhyped excitement of working in the restaurant and hotel business drew young people by the thousands to these centers for career development. Swashbuckling, starched uniformed chefs were center-stage role models for young aspiring cooks who now carried kits of Henkel knives, Birkenstock clogs, Bragard chef coats and Thomas Keller’s latest food porn cookbook to classrooms from coast to coast. This was the career of a new generation of cooks with visions of grandeur and hopes of owning their own Michelin restaurant.

For a few, this dream became a reality; for a percentage a career in food lived up to the hype, but for a significant group the reality hit when kitchen jobs failed to be quite as glamorous as they had hoped, and the pay didn’t even come close to covering the burden of hefty college debt. Fast-forward to today and it is pretty easy to assess why we are facing such a shortage of energetic, hard-working, passionate restaurant employees.

How do a chef and the restaurateur unravel this complex problem and build a cadre of cooks and service staff who share in the enthusiasm for a restaurant concept and the art of cooking great food? Maybe, just maybe, it is time to turn back the clock a bit and identify when and why things went a bit sideways.

I would dare say that the vast majority of chefs today who are over the age of 40 probably became interested in the profession because of a chef or fellow cook who inspired them on that first job. Maybe it was washing dishes, or if you were lucky – working as an assistant on the breakfast line, but surely your initial passion for a career in food came from that first experience working with an individual with admirable skills and a willingness to take you under his or her wing. This may have been your first experience with a mentor – a person with the ability and desire to commit to you and your success. This was (I know it was for me) an exhilarating feeling that even surpassed the encouragement that your parents and teachers may have provided. It didn’t always take the form of a person who patted you on the back and told you great things about your promise as a cook; in fact, it might have been the opposite. This might have been the person who rode you incessantly; a chef who never let you take a shortcut, always told you that you could do better, and always insisted that you work harder than you thought was possible. This is, after all, what true mentors do.

tony and I

The chef/mentor never let a day go by without showing you how to do more, explaining why things were done a certain way, and/or showing disappointment when you failed to live up to his or her expectations. On occasion, the chef might say – good job, but compliments were never given freely unless they were duly earned. You wouldn’t think of coming to work with a $300 French knife or any tool that was beyond your level of expertise. Tools were important, but just like position in the kitchen, they needed to be earned. On the other hand, this same chef/mentor wouldn’t allow you to step foot in the kitchen if you were not properly groomed, your uniform clean and pressed, and your shoes polished. If you wanted to be treated like a professional then your mentor would insist that you look and act like one. Maybe it’s time to look back in time and reinstate the rigor of mentorship and the honor of training.

Not everyone can afford the go to culinary school. There was a time when it was a luxury, not a right of passage. When one can’t afford the cost of tuition then the degree becomes as much of a burden as an opportunity. The chef, however, has within his or her power – the ability to teach, train, share, mentor, and demand excellence from those who have the passion but not the resources to take the college route to a career.   If you can’t find the talent from outside then maybe it’s time to return to “training your own” and realize that the first and most important job of the chef is to “pass it on” and build those with desire into competent cooks with the ability to rise to a chef position in the future.

When you invest in others then you create a dynamic that far exceeds the importance of other immediate forms of compensation. Without the burden of college loans, many of those passionate young cooks might just be able to tough out those formative years before responsibility and compensation fall into line.

Here are some basic rules of mentorship that might be best served as part of the modern chef’s bag of tricks when it comes to building and keeping a team:

[]         BE A BEACON OF EXCELLENCE

People may select a job for various reasons: money, location, type of work, lifestyle, flexibility, etc., but they typically leave a job because of the person they work for or the people they work with. When the chef or restaurateur defines the standards of excellence in quality of work and how others are treated then there are far fewer reasons to look for opportunities elsewhere.

[]         NEVER ACCEPT MEDIOCRITY

The chef should set the standard, by example, for excellence and never waiver from that standard. Excellence is contagious and as such it will become a source of pride.

[]         PUSH OTHERS TO EXCEED EXPECTATIONS

Although there are certainly exceptions to the rule – many people rise to the occasion when it is assumed that expectations will always be met or exceeded. The chef should always push members of the team to constantly improve and strive for exceptional results.

[]         CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT OF RIGOR

There is something truly gratifying about working hard to achieve results. Whether it is physical, mental, or emotional – when a restaurant environment is created that challenges employees to accomplish more than they felt was possible, then the bar is constantly raised. “The difficult we do right away, the impossible takes a little bit longer.”

[]         DO THINGS RIGHT

Look at the truly extraordinary restaurants and you will quickly note that no matter what detail – the operation is totally focused on doing the job correctly. This is not a goal; this is simply the way that everything is approached.

[]         HONE YOUR SKILLS AS A TRAINER AND A TEACHER

Once a chef understands that his or her primary job is to “pass it on” and spend the time necessary to properly train, teach, and develop employees then the operation takes on a brand new energy that can be quite intoxicating.

[]         SET THE STAGE FOR TEAM

Concentrating on the individual will only go so far – the goal is to ensure that those individuals bond to form a cohesive, like-minded cohort that moves in unison, thinks collaboratively, and acts as if they are one. This happens when the chef is able and willing to create an environment of inclusion, focused excellence, self-critique, discipline, and results oriented effort. Great communication, high expectations, superb training and teaching, and active critique will help to build this environment.

This is certainly not the “one answer” to the restaurant industry’s labor challenges, but maybe it is a start. Invest in people and they will tend to invest themselves in you and your business.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

Restaurant Consulting and Training

**See other articles of interest in The American Culinary Federations Official Blog:

www.wearechefs.com

**PHOTOS:  #1:  Chef’s Charles Carroll and Michael Beriau (two incredible influences in my career), #2: Chef Anton Flory, CMC – my mentor

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