I have read and listened to a never-ending stream of concerns about the shortage of cooks and each operations unique perspective on the reasons for this significant concern. Thoughts range from culinary schools not doing their job, to the continued increase in the number of food businesses, meager pay and benefits, to the millennia generation and the perception that they are just not willing to work that hard. There is probably some slice of truth to all of these concerns, but understanding them is not likely as simple as pointing the finger in one direction.

Having listened to and collected these thoughts over the past few months I have pulled together my own theory, one that I hope is worth considering. The reality is that the issue is simply an inevitable challenge that has been building up for the past three or four decades. So, bear with me while I build my case.

The fix for this problem is that we must understand that change falls on the shoulders of all stakeholders in the food business.   If we “the larger food industry” are to create a long term fix that will allow the restaurant segment to continue growing and serving a more discriminating audience, then I feel it is time for everyone to stop pointing a finger at others and start looking in the mirror.

• STOP RELINQUISHING THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR TRAINING TO SCHOOLS

*This is the same dilemma that our country faces as some parents assume that the responsibility for raising good citizens falls primarily on the shoulders of the school system rather than good parenting. Cooks are made in the trenches – working on the line, facing the pressure of time and quality each and every day in the kitchen. College programs build the foundation, but transitioning from being a person who understands to one who is able to perform must involve the restaurant and the chef. It is time for restaurants to play a much more active, collaborative role in the training process.

• RESPECT THE OPINION OF OTHERS

*Restaurants and chefs must learn to trust that the opinions of their cooks and service staff have merit. Attracting passionate, competent employees begins with the creation of an environment of respect and a workplace where leadership listens to the observation of those who keep the engine running.

• COMMUNICATE AND ENGAGE

*Cooks like to know what is going on, what the plans for the future might be, how the business is performing and how they might contribute to success. Share what is going on, make them a part of the solution to problems. When they know that they can be engaged, they will more often than not – rise to the occasion. There are countless examples of businesses that have reaped the benefits of this approach.

• HOLD EVERYONE TO THE HIGHEST STANDARDS

*Consider that most people want to do a great job. There is tremendous satisfaction gained from pushing your cooks to excel. You may very well be impressed with their desire to be exceptional and produce exceptional food. Never accept mediocrity, expect excellence and hold each employee to that standard. At some point they will learn to accept nothing less than the best performance from themselves and others. This is a case where “Tough love” rings true.

• WALK THE TALK

*When chefs and operators live the standards that they expect of others, the staff will be more inclined to follow the lead.

• COMPLIMENT IN PUBLIC, CRITIQUE IN PRIVATE

*This is just an old rule of thumb that unfortunately has eluded many chefs. Embarrassing or demeaning your cooks in the public eye never leads to good results and this type of approach towards staff will build a reputation for the restaurant that turns future employees away. When correction needs to happen it should take place in private with directions pertaining to how that employee might improve in the future. When an employee shines, the opposite is true. Make sure that everyone understands how positive the chef or manager feels about great performance or behavior.

• PAY A FAIR WAGE, OFFER FOUNDATIONAL BENEFITS, PROVIDE TIME OFF, SHOOT FOR MORE PREDICTABLE SCHEDULES

*This is an area that we can no longer avoid or excuse. Defining not only a fair wage, but how much would allow an employee to stress less about his or her ability to pay bills, what benefits fall under the heading of reasonable (co-pay health care, some sick time and personal days, the opportunity to buy in to some type of retirement plan, etc.), a reasonable work week with ample time to deal with life, and a schedule that can be anticipated – allowing the cook to plan out the balance of his or her life, is not an unreasonable thing to expect. There is no question that this is challenging for an industry that realizes such a small percentage profit, but it must be addressed nevertheless.

• PROVIDE THE TOOLS TO DO THE JOB

*Frustration over an inability to complete tasks because the necessary tools are unavailable can and does drive people away from a particular restaurant. Tools can go beyond equipment and may include solid leadership, great communication, process and procedure, standards of operation and the like. These are not little issues; they are defining ones for many.

• INVEST IN TEAM BUILDING – BUILD PRIDE

*People, in general, enjoy working for a company that is well-run, one that they can be truly proud of. Helping this process along with thorough hiring practices, solid orientation and training, and celebration of team success will go a long way toward developing the reputation of a restaurant to work for.

• SCHOOLS NEED TO RE-THINK THEIR PROGRAMS AND THEIR PURPOSE

*Back to culinary schools – the days of requiring sizeable debt for an education that does not initially yield sufficient pay to compensate for this debt are quickly coming to an end. Just as restaurants need to step up and play a more active role in training the next generation of cooks and chefs, so too must schools re-examine their program requirements, curriculum content, method of delivery, and cost structure to allow investment in an education to make sense.

• EMPOWER COOKS

*There will always be a need for, and value from the “Yes Chef” environment of the kitchen. It is, after all, the conductor of the orchestra that keeps the music flowing. However, giving the cook a bit more control over his or her environment and providing the opportunity for that same employee to make decisions in the best interest of the guest and the business will certainly strengthen the commitment to the operation and serve as a magnet for attracting the best of the best employees.

• PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH OR HELP THEM TO MOVE ON

*When a cook succeeds and builds his or her brand, the restaurant reaps the short-term and long-term benefits. When a chef recognizes talent and potential in a cook, it is imperative that a path for on-going success be paved, even if that means that the cook will eventually move on to another employer. This investment in others will help the restaurant along a path that attracts others to fill the void of cooks who move on.

Our industry will never fix the labor problem until we invest in long-term solutions. This is not an individual restaurant problem it is a systemic issue that will require understanding and consensus to fix.

PLAN BETTER- TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com

How often have you heard stories like this: “Jake and Carla have worked for years to get to this point. Both are culinary school graduates, both spent the past ten years working in great restaurants as they built their skill sets and understanding of restaurant operations, and together they have managed to figure out a way to keep their relationship strong while working in the restaurant business. Thanks to a generous investor, they are just two months away from opening their own place. The help wanted ad that they placed has only yielded a handful of applicants for cook positions and most of them are not qualified to prepare the type of menu they have planned. They attended Job Fairs at regional colleges, including their alma mater, have talked with other area chefs, and even offered signing incentives to try and fill their schedule with the team players that will make the restaurant a success. It appears that other restaurants in the area are suffering from the same problem. They are worried that all of their well-planned menus and designs are in jeopardy and they haven’t even opened their doors yet.”

Those of you who follow this blog know that I am a strong advocate for line cooks. My feeling has always been that they are the soul of the kitchen and any level of real success depends on their ability, commitment, passion, and desire to be part of a restaurants team. I have, over the past few months, addressed the issue of the line cook deficit in bits and pieces, but with the recent flurry of commentary about the problem, I thought that a more comprehensive approach was necessary.

Recent articles in trade magazines, on Linkedin, and other forms of social media have inferred that the problem might be that young people don’t want to work hard any more, or that there is a growing number of restaurant competitors for a diminishing pool of cooks. Some also addressed the growing concern over compensation for cooks who, unlike some of the quick service restaurant staff in the news, have a real commitment to cooking and a skill set that has significant value to restaurants with more extensive and complicated menus. I choose to build a model that addresses all of the issues that resulted in this human resource perfect storm.

THE ISSUES:

[]         A LACK OF RESPECT FOR LINE COOKS

With the complexity of operating a modern restaurant kitchen it should be no surprise that although the chef may plan menus, develop flavor profiles, and build standards by which menu items are prepared and presented, most of the cooking that takes place in a restaurant is handled by line cooks. The chef would not be able to accomplish his or her job without a great team of dedicated and competent line cooks, yet far too many restaurants view them as interchangeable parts. The chef is obviously a critical player in the operation of a restaurant, but the line cook is the lifeblood. Respect them for the role that they play and let them know how much they are valued.

[]         SCHEDULES MEAN NOTHING IN A KITCHEN

The nature of the business is such that “in the moment changes” constantly require chefs to adjust cooks schedules. It is not unheard of to find your schedule change two or three times in a week. This makes it impossible for a cook to plan and have a life outside of work.

[]         A LACK OF INVESTMENT IN TRAINING AND TEAM BUILDING

Training sounds nice, but most operators (chefs included) are ill prepared to effectively train and always find reasons to defer on this need for the sake of some other emergency that crops up. Cooks are often times left with training themselves, working with the buddy system for problem solving, and trying desperately to not screw up.

[]         MEAGER PAY FOR THE SKILL SET REQUIRED

A line cook may find that their rate of pay ranges between $10 and $15 per hour. This is not an unskilled position! The line cook is expected to understand ingredients, know flavor profiles and be able to adjust seasoning to accommodate variables in raw material quality, be able to multi-task and maintain sometimes dozens of cooking processes at the same time, and have the ability to artistically present dishes for guests with the pressure of timing looming over their heads. This takes months or even years to master and has a value that goes beyond typical rates of pay.

[]         LACK OF UPWARD MOBILITY

If a line cook is truly serious about his or her craft, he or she will want to eventually progress to sous chef and eventually chef. In private restaurants, these opportunities are very limited unless the restaurant is part of a group or chain. There are some exceptional chef/operators who continue to open more restaurants so that there are opportunities for their best employees to grow.

[]         LACK OF BENEFITS

Talk to your average restaurant line cook and unless they are part of a restaurant group or chain, they probably do not receive healthcare, retirement plan options, sick day pay, life insurance, or even vacation pay. Even with Obamacare, the restaurant is not required to provide healthcare options unless they meet a minimum staffing number.

[]         EVERYONE NEEDS TWO DAYS OFF

It is very common for cooks to be scheduled for 10 plus hour days, six and sometimes seven days per week. Sure, there may be overtime pay involved, but without a time to recharge, deal with the demands of home and family, and an opportunity to do something that is not food related, the person will get stale, become disgruntled, and lose their level of efficiency.

[]         CULINARY SCHOOLS MAY BE MORE OF A PROBLEM THAN A SOLUTION

It would be easy to simply state that culinary graduates have unrealistic expectations when they leave school, but why is this the case? The cost of a culinary education today, far exceeds a person’s ability to pay back loans with current line cook wages. With a huge debt looming over their heads, and sometimes erroneous promises from school admissions offices – graduates are not inclined to work their way up to that sous chef position. They expect it too soon even if their skill set is not mature enough to handle the responsibility.

[]         THE NUMBER OF RESTAURANTS HAS NOT GROWN EXPONENTIALLY OVER THE PAST DECADE AS SOME MAY INFER, BUT THE NEED FOR TALENTED COOKS AND CHEFS IN OTHER SECTORS HAS

Those segments of the food business that most cooks stayed away from for years have changed. Grocery stores, hospitals, business food accounts, college feeding, and even food manufacturing are not only looking for talented cooks, they are paying well for them, offering terrific long-term benefits, investing in training, and praising their performance. Why wouldn’t a good cook look to this option in lieu of the sometimes-thankless demands of full-service restaurants?

SOME THOUGHTS ON SOLUTIONS:

[]         EFFICIENCY YIELDS BETTER OPPORTUNITIES FOR ATTRACTING GREAT COOKS

Restaurants work with low profit margins, yet without the talent of great line cooks; their ability to please the guest would be greatly diminished. Operators might consider investing more time in strategic planning of restaurant menus and selection of efficient equipment that could mean fewer cooks with even more comprehensive skill sets who can thus be offer better compensation.

[]         PARTNER WITH SCHOOLS, DON’T JUST TRY TO HIRE THEIR GRADUATES

Become actively involved with your local or regional culinary school by offering supervised coop programs, well-designed and managed externships, and special event staff options to help prepare their students for the rigors of the industry and help to fill your staffing needs at the same time.

[]         MODIFY THE ROLE OF THE EXECUTIVE CHEF

Look at what the chef does on a daily basis and build in a requirement for training. Hire chefs that are good teachers and trainers and insist that a portion of their everyday activities evolve around building the kitchen team through effective training.

[]         RESPECT YOUR COOKS AND CELEBRATE THEIR SUCCESS

This can be as simple as a thank you to programs that involve recognitions, bonus programs, reimbursement for attending conferences and classes related to their profession, payment for memberships and subscriptions, the purchase of uniforms with embroidered names, provision of health benefit options, vacation pay, sick pay, etc. Try to build a scheduling format that is consistent enough that a cook can plan his or her life outside of work.

[]         CREATE AN APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM ON SITE

You might begin with an internal program and eventually grow to affiliate with the American Culinary Federation’s formal apprenticeship. Programs require commitments from the property and the individual cook that would include: 2-3 years of employment, scheduled raises based on completing certain criteria, rotation to various positions within the kitchen, scheduled training sessions on everything from cooking technique to cost controls, and even affiliation with local community colleges for complementary business courses.

There are many cooks who would like to attend culinary school but simply cannot afford the tuition or the time away from a paying job. Apprenticeship is a service and benefit that would be extremely attractive to serious young cooks. It does require a real commitment from the property and the chef or manager to live up to the promise.

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The solution to the problem of a dwindling pool of cooks goes beyond dealing with the effect of unfilled schedules. Those operations that invest in long-term planning that deal with the causes will be the restaurants that win in the end.

PLAN BETTER- TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericaventures.com