CHEF’S PSA

CULINARY LEADERSHIP

FUNDAMENTALS

ANDRÉ NATERA

Copyright © 2022 André Natera

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

“This book is a great roadmap for Cooks and Chefs of all levels.  What struck me the most when reading this book was reflecting on my own career and how navigating through the hierarchy of a culinary career into leadership is one of the hardest transitions.  Cooking is a passion that leads many cooks into a culinary career, however many cooks underestimate the skillset and passion required to lead and become a Chef. A culinary career requires mentorship along the way to navigate through the decisions and questions at every crossroad. Decisions such as, do I want to become a Restaurant Chef or a Hotel Chef and what are the differences between each career path. Questions such as, now that I am handed an opportunity in a leadership position, how do I become a great manager, mentor, and develop my business acumen? This book provides you with the fundamental knowledge and the questions you need to ask yourself as you develop as a culinary leader. Leadership is a skill much like cooking and great leaders are always refining that skillset. One of my favorite quotes in the book:

“Leadership is all about energy and influence. The most successful leaders can create a positive culture within their team and inspire them to work together towards a common goal. – Chef André Natera”

I have had great mentors through many stages of my career and Chef André is one of those great mentors. To me this book represents a stage in my career mentored by Chef Andre that I hold dear to my heart as one of the greatest learning curves and one of the greatest experiences in my development as a culinary leader. There is no doubt that I am a better Chef and a better leader today after working with Chef André.”

Michael Pagnacco Executive Chef, Fairmont Hotels

Andre Natera is so much more than a CHEF. Throughout my career and still today his knowledge and perspective to see things differently are intangibles that most chefs do not display. I have learned from him to be humble and kind. This Book will give you a glimpse into a life that is not always glamorous, but how to navigate and be a true leader.  Thank you always for your continued support and mentorship! 

Paul Peddle Executive Chef, Four Seasons Hotels

Every cook learns to chiffonade herbs, fix an emulsion, and look for the shimmer of oil in a hot pan. Eventually, you'll know the temperature of a steak or lamb chop on the grill just by watching the juices. You may be able to coax the maximum flavor from a sauce by adding just the right amount of fresh herbs at the end or taste the difference between duck stock and chicken stock. You'll set up banquets with the correct number of steaks per tray, the perfect amount of potato puree, and no waste on the garnishes. Food cost, labor cost, schedules, order guides - all the boring stuff that comes as you advance your career. But when do you learn to lead people? To mentor, to manage a team of individuals, to lead a tired brigade into battle for one more push? If you're lucky enough to work for a Chef like Andre Natera, as I have been, that's where. Chef André is generous with his knowledge of food, his knowledge of systems and organization, and his philosophy of running a kitchen.

Matthew Schaefer

Regional Chef, Flower Child

CONTENTS

DEDICATION            

INTRODUCTION            

KITCHEN LEADERSHIP VERSUS KITCHEN MANAGEMENT            

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN EXECUTIVE CHEF            

KITCHEN COSTS EXPLAINED            

HEALTH, SAFETY, AND SANITATION            

DEVELOPING A KITCHEN CULTURE            

HIRING AND BUILDING A TEAM            

CONSISTENCY AND RECIPES            

NEGOTIATE LIKE A CHEF            

GETTING THE JOB            

THE GAME            

HOW TO STAND OUT IN A WORLD FULL OF CHEFS            

DEALING WITH ADVERSITY            

CLOSING            

ABOUT THE AUTHOR            

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all the chefs and kitchen leaders who are managing difficult situations and growing from cook to chef!

The people who make food are the ones who make this world a better place. Whether you're just starting out in the kitchen or have been cooking for years, whether you work at an upscale restaurant, hotel, diner, or country club—you are making a difference not just by nourishing others with delicious food but also by helping others become chefs and cooks themselves.

My greatest reward during my time as a chef was mentoring and helping others become chefs. So much joy came from seeing them succeed and stand on their own two feet. I feel that I still have a lot to give and will continue to teach and mentor chefs in hopes of seeing them fulfill their dreams of running their own kitchens.

I hope that this book inspires you not just to be a great cook but to become a great chef.

INTRODUCTION

At the end of 2021, I decided it was time to step away from the kitchen after twenty-seven years of cooking and working as a chef. It was a tough decision since it is what I have known most of my life. One of the hardest things to walk away from was all the cooks and chefs that I've worked with over the years. I take a lot of pride in being a mentor, and after stepping away, I wanted to ensure that my team still had access to me. I created a chef’s PSA as a joke, a sarcastic way to point out obvious good and bad behaviors in the kitchen. I would post weekly PSAs on my Instagram account intended to be funny, but I didn't expect that so many chefs and cooks I know would message me about how much they enjoyed them. After a few gentle nudges from chef friends to write a book, I decided to write the chef’s PSA on how to not be the biggest idiot in the kitchen. It was intended to be short practical wisdom for entry-level cooks and for chefs who wanted to be able to point out the obvious and not feel alone. I wrote it for my friends and chefs that were close to me since we all spoke the same kitchen language. I recognize that some of the ideas and concepts do not apply to every kitchen; however, most are culinary truisms.

The COVID era was very difficult for restaurants and chefs across the country, as it was for so many others worldwide. Restaurants closed, laid employees off, or had to find a new business model. Many were serving to-go food, and QR codes were everywhere as restaurateurs found quick ways to cut printing costs and keep menus sanitary. In my particular situation, many chefs I mentored returned to their home countries without completing their training under me. Once a month, I held a class called Food & Beverage University, where I would teach aspiring chefs all the things they needed to know outside of cooking. My hope was that while they were in the kitchen, they were learning how to cook through hands-on means and working closely with a team of chefs with more experience. But in my classes, I wanted to teach them how to run kitchens and become chefs. We would go over leadership principles, food costs, negotiation skills, interviewing skills, and how to build a kitchen brigade and culture. I felt that I needed to find a way to continue the education necessary for young chefs to learn.

One day I was walking through a department store, and I heard an advertisement for a celebrity who was a non-chef promoting their cooking class online. This was when every chef you know who fancied themselves a home chef was doing cooking tutorials on social media. No disrespect, but I'll be happy if I never see another one of those videos on how to make a spinach salad with salmon and strawberries. I thought to myself that if all these non-chefs can have cooking classes, why is it that I don't have my own cooking master class? So, I thought to myself I should make my own class but not about cooking; I would make it about leadership and kitchen management principles. Serendipitously I was approached within a few days to create an online training program titled “How to manage like an executive chef.”

There are so many amazing chefs in this world and so many fantastic cooks. I feel like the internet is saturated with cooking lessons, but there is a void regarding teaching how to actually run kitchens. The old expression is a chef can cook, but a cook can't chef, and that is because there are two distinctly different things. Culinary professionals will spend almost all their time prior to becoming the head chef behind the stove or on a cutting board. Then you're thrust into a leadership position and expected to be a good manager, mentor, strategist, accountant, and human resources director. The problem is no one showed you how to do any of that, and now you're expected to be an expert.

In today's world, where everything can be learned online at 10X speed, people can become sous chefs or executive chefs in half the time of the previous generation. In the era that I came up in and the era prior, it might take ten to fifteen years before you could accumulate enough knowledge to move up into a leadership position. What ends up happening is you find yourself in a position leading a brigade and not knowing where to start. This can lead to frustration not just for yourself but for your bosses, ownership, and employees.

Someone who can cook will always have a job, but someone who can lead will usually always be their boss.

In this book, I'm going to share with you what I've learned in my twenty-seven-year career as a chef at the highest levels. Many lessons I learned the hard way, and many I figured out on my own through determination, dumb luck, or were handed down to me by my mentors. You may not agree with everything in this book, and that's OK, this is intended to be a guide, and with time many of these principles might become obsolete. However, my objective is to give you a reference tool that you can use for the most common situations you will find yourself in as a chef in a leadership role.

Chapter 1

KITCHEN LEADERSHIP VERSUS KITCHEN MANAGEMENT

I have a saying in the kitchen that I like about people who want to be chefs.

Everyone wants the title, but not everyone wants the job.

When you're starting out in a kitchen, everyone has a grand idea of what it's like to be a head chef. When you get there, it's usually much different than everyone expects. If you've worked for years as a cook and you've mastered all the techniques you need to climb the ladder, you might be in for a big surprise when you realize that much of what you do as the head chef is different from cooking. It's not that cooking isn't a part of your job anymore because it still is; it's just that you're expected to do so much more now in addition to cooking. Things that, when you arrive at that position, you may not have much training for. Things like managing costs, dealing with inventories, ordering, negotiating with vendors, going on TV for interviews, or defusing a tense situation between employees.

Everyone wants the title, but not everyone wants the job once they get it. What looked easy from the outside is much more difficult when you're there. A lot of people can't wait to be the head chef, only to get there and realize they miss being a line cook. The job will be there, so take your time to get there and spend time learning and growing on different stations in a kitchen. The more you learn as a cook, the better you will be when you get there.

In this book, we'll focus a lot on leadership and management in the kitchen. Two distinctly different subjects, but as a chef, it's important that you are knowledgeable in both. You will spend most of your time making decisions that affect your restaurant and culinary team. You need to have a good knowledge base to ensure that you're not making decisions that could negatively impact them. A kitchen is a strange place; there's no time to think, but you must make decisions on the fly. It's where you're working with people who can't be replaced, but you must fire them when they mess up. It's where your work is all about caring for others, and your livelihood depends on treating them well. It's also where you can cook delicious food and serve it to happy people!

KITCHEN LEADERSHIP

Leadership is all about energy and influence. The most successful leaders can create a positive culture within their team and inspire them to work together towards a common goal. This can be done by sharing the vision, creating a shared understanding of how things will work, and providing the tools they need to achieve those goals.

A kitchen is a place of contradiction; it's fast and slow, chaotic, calm, emotional, and rational. As a leader in the kitchen, you must be able to manage this contradiction and keep yourself and your staff grounded through it all. To become an effective leader, you need to understand what motivates people, how they learn best, and what drives them forward into new areas of knowledge and experience. You also need to be aware of how others perceive you as a leader and chef and how your behavior affects them.

Think about leadership when you're dealing with people, mission, vision, strategy, and making tough decisions for your restaurant. Kitchen leadership might be second to cooking in order of importance.

KITCHEN MANAGEMENT

Kitchen management involves managing everything from food costs, labor, supplies, kitchen equipment maintenance, inventory management, and more. It's important for managers that have responsibility over these areas to ensure that everything runs smoothly. There are many processes and systems in kitchen management. A lot of time is spent in spreadsheets calculating costs and building templates. Many checks and balances verify that standards are being met, such as ensuring a proper health code is enforced in your restaurant. An easy way to think of this would be if it's on a clipboard or on an excel spreadsheet on your computer; it's probably related to kitchen management.

A CHEF CAN COOK, BUT A COOK CAN'T CHEF

This is an old expression in kitchens pointing out a subtle difference between a chef and a cook. A cook is a person who makes delicious food; they are working with pots and pans, cutting boards, and food products. They're able to utilize a specific skill set with tools and raw ingredients and produce something delicious. There are some amazing cooks out there, and some of them are even better cooks than the chefs they work for. If those immensely talented and proficient cooks build on leadership and management skills, they will usually have a very successful career as a chef. However, if they only focus on the culinary aspect, they may be in for a rude awakening when they realize the job is about more than just cooking. I think it is important that until you reach the position of sous chef, your main focus should be on becoming the best possible cook you can be. Then as you transition, you can begin to take on more managerial tasks. Focusing on management first can cause you to skip some important steps in your culinary skills. If you are going to lead a team of cooks, it is important you demonstrate what you are talking about.

They say someone who knows how to cook will always have a job, but the person who knows how to lead will always be their boss. That’s because to become a chef, you must go through trials of being a cook. Usually, you've worked your way through several stations in the kitchen and mastered them to a degree. But most likely, in addition to cooking, you've demonstrated responsibility and leadership, which got you noticed and promoted into the head chef position.

If you have two cooks in the kitchen and one is exceptional only in cooking, yet the other one, in addition to cooking, understands business and leadership and has a knack for solving problems. In most cases, the person with the additional leadership skills will get promoted.

Chapter 2

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN EXECUTIVE CHEF

First, I think it needs to be said that there are different types of executive chefs. Some executive chefs run hotels, others run restaurants, and some run country clubs, so no routine is exact. I've been fortunate to have run all three mentioned; I've been a chef of several restaurants, a country club, large city center hotels and resorts, and in a corporate position overseeing several operations led by other chefs. I can tell you they are all different but have a lot in common. I'm going to outline what the routine may look like of a chef who has a restaurant and a chef who's managing a large culinary operation with multiple kitchens, as I previously did in a large thousand-room hotel. I think you will notice immediately how one is much more hands-on and one is a much bigger-picture strategy. Regardless of what type of kitchen you're running, if you've never been an executive chef before, you might be shocked to find out that it's not how it's portrayed on TV, nor is it as easy as all the cooks who work for them to think.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A RESTAURANT CHEF

Arrive at 8:00 AM: Unlock the restaurant, unlock all the coolers, and check to see if the previous night’s cleaning projects were completed. Check any overnight cooking that took place, such as stocks or braises, and take care of them as needed. Turn on any kitchen equipment that needs to be turned on.

8:30 AM: Food deliveries begin to arrive, and I start to check in produce, seafood, meats, etc. I'm looking for quality and to ensure everything I ordered is delivered. I got on the phone with the product vendor, discussing what would be delivered later that day based on shortages. The conversation is smooth and efficient between us, as we have been working together for years.

9:00 AM: The cooks and porters begin to arrive, and the first order of business is they start helping me put away any deliveries if I haven't completed them yet. My sous chef may be arriving at this time.

9:30 AM: I began to set up my workstation; in most instances, I am working the pass, AKA expeditor, but I have some prep items I need to complete before service begins. In my case, I am usually doing the butchering, which may include seafood and steaks for service. I need to hustle because I must make a few phone calls to follow up with vendors before I do my line check. I quickly check on my team members in the kitchen — all are busy prepping for lunch service, which begins at 11:00 a.m.

10:00 AM: I confer with my sous chef, who is doing inventory, if anything needs to be ordered for tomorrow or if we are short of any product for service and need to run to the store. Sometimes the roles are reversed, and the sous chef perhaps cuts the proteins, and I do the inventory. Personally, I like cutting seafood. It puts me in a Zen state before service. So usually, they do the inventory, and I prep. The service team manager usually arrives around this time, and we have a quick coffee together to discuss any challenges from yesterday or potential challenges we may be facing today. I then check on my prep cooks to see if they need help with anything, but they're already making good progress and don't require any assistance now. The prep cook who was assigned to clean vegetables earlier in the morning has finished cleaning them all and is now preparing them for use later in the day, while another prep cook is preparing vegetables to be used in today's evening meal service (dinner).

10:30 AM: We open for lunch service in 30 minutes, and I use this time to do a quick shift briefing with the culinary team. We discuss any 86’d items, reservations, PX guests (aka VIPs), any new dishes or specials, and any other time-sensitive information for service. I attend a shift briefing with the service team after my shift briefing with the culinary team. Here I convey any information that they may need to know for service, such as specials, 86’d items, etc...

11 AM: Lunch service begins, all stations are set, and everyone is in place. No one is allowed to leave the line anymore at this point through service. Hopefully, all the bathroom breaks have been taken, as they could be major disruptions if someone must leave the line for a product or use the restroom during busy lunch service. Lunch service is a head down on the board or on a stove; everyone is busy cooking and has no time to joke around. This is game time, and everyone needs to have their head in the game. Even though lunch service runs until 2:00 PM, it usually slows down around 1:30 PM. This allows me to switch positions with my sous chef, and they will take over the expeditor station allowing me to step away and work on some admin projects.

1:30 PM – 3:00 PM: This is my time, and I stay busy. I'm checking invoices in, balancing my books, answering emails, writing schedules if needed, and adjusting any payroll issues and time punches. Anyone who knows me knows I will only accept meetings at this time, so I meet with vendors and employees or take any media interviews during this window. This one-and-a-half-hour sprint is almost as hectic as service because I have a lot to accomplish in a limited amount of time. This also seems to be when everyone wants to air their grievances to me, and I become the restaurant counselor. I might be sitting two employees down who are arguing to try and find a solution. I'm also going to use this time to discuss menus, specials, or any operational issues with my two sous chefs, the one that runs the morning and the evening chef. Or I might be addressing an underperforming employee on how they need to improve. I know that anything I don’t complete at this time needs to be completed at the end of service, and I don't want to be in the restaurant until midnight. I missed the staff meal, so I scarfed down a sandwich quickly and drank an espresso.

3:00 PM: The PM culinary team begins to arrive, and the shift transition begins from lunch to dinner. The setup is similar, and I have a little bit of prep during this time which usually includes more butchering if needed or sauce and stock work. I'm back on a cutting board and doing some sort of prep for the next hour and a half. My PM station is like my AM station; I will be working expeditor for the majority of the service.

4:30 PM: I'm going to start doing my line checks, walking around tasting food, and ensuring that everything is fresh and up to my standards. This is the opportunity for any cooks working to let me know if there are any issues, I need to be aware of. Everyone gathers around for a pre-shift meeting, like in the AM. Then I move on to the service team pre-shift meeting and inform them of the need-to-know topics as I discussed earlier.

5:00 PM: Dinner service begins. Everyone is on their workstation, awake, and ready to go! Dinner service is usually more intense than lunch service, as the food is typically more complex, and the timing requires more attention. Typically, people are ordering multiple courses, so on the expeditor station, I need to be aware of the timing for firing items and communicating with the service and culinary teams. During dinner service, I get called to the table occasionally to speak with guests who are enjoying the food and the occasional one who wants to chew me out. In both cases, I smile and am respectful, then return to the kitchen.

9:30 PM: Even though the restaurant closes at 10 PM, dinner service starts to slow down at around 9:30. This is when I will ask my sous chef to take over. I go back to the office and wrap up any administrative things that I didn't complete earlier in the day. I write a quick prep list for myself for when I come in in the next morning and make sure I have a plan for the day. This can be relatively quick, and I could be out in 5 minutes, or it could be lengthy, and I might leave at midnight.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A LARGE HOTEL CHEF

8:30 AM: I arrive and put my things away in my office, then make my way around the kitchens to shake in with everybody. I checked in with my executive sous chefs and sous chefs to find out if there were any issues with breakfast that I needed to be made aware of. I walk the breakfast buffet to check for quality and provide necessary feedback. I quickly make my way back to my office and grab my agenda before heading up to my first meeting of the day.

9:00 AM: The hotel has a daily stand-up meeting where all things are discussed, including arrivals and departures, special guests, any operational challenges, and announcements. We go around to the room, and I discuss what we have on the books today for events and what is being served in the employee cafeteria. Most of the leaders are dismissed after the stand-up meeting. However, I need to stay back for the guest recovery meeting. In this meeting, we discuss any challenges that guests faced the night prior and hope to learn from our mistakes, implement action plans, and, if necessary, follow up with the guest if not already addressed. Typical things I am talking about are usually guest complaints in the dining room, if any.

9:45 AM: I go to my office and meet with my assistant to find out if there is anything important that they need me aware of. They do a great job of providing me with a detailed calendar of where I need to be for the day, which might include interviews, meetings, or requests for me in operation. They also provide me with a list of the daily events and BEOs, which are banquet event orders with menus for the groups we are feeding for the day.

10:00 AM: I arrive at the hotel executive committee meeting, where big-picture strategy is discussed with the hotel executives. Everything from sales, finance, operations, and human resources. This can be an intense meeting as executives are called out for having not resolved issues previously discussed. The meeting is led by the hotel general manager, who is at the top of the hotel hierarchy. When it gets to me, I discuss new menus we are rolling out, new hires in leadership positions, and any significant operational changes and challenges I am currently having.

11:30 AM: I leave the executive committee meeting and make my rounds throughout the kitchens again. I used this as an opportunity to check on any banquet events and walk the floors to inspect setups. I then make my way to the restaurants in the hotel and ensure that service is going seamlessly. Usually, all kitchens operate independently and are not looking for my particular help; what I am looking to do is ensure that my standards are being held and I address any issues that I see.

1:00 PM: I am conducting a weekly health and safety audit, where we check the cleanliness and sanitation standards throughout the kitchen and ensure employees have good sanitation practices. I inspect a different kitchen every week, so it doesn't take as much time. I walk with the executive steward, executive sous chef, admin assistant, and engineering director. We try to get as granular as possible and identify as many deficiencies as we can. My admin assistant will then type up the notes and send out action plans with due dates to all those that are affected. Anything that can be addressed on the spot will be addressed.

1:30 PM: My pastry team is presenting me with new desserts for a restaurant, and it is the first go-round but not yet the final tasting. I take my executive sous chef, admin assistant, and pastry chef to try all the desserts while we discuss any changes that need to be made, the taste, quality, and presentation. Once we agree on all the changes, we set a date for a follow-up tasting, and hopefully, there will be none further.

2:00 PM: I attend my second tasting of the day for a dinner menu change in one of the restaurants. This is the final tasting for dishes that I have already approved with all my required changes. This tasting will be attended by the hotel general manager, the dining room manager, the director of food and beverage, and the operations manager. This is the final presentation, and I am hoping there is no last-minute feedback for changes. My role in this tasting is to present the food and sell it to the executives. They might not like all the dishes, and it's my job to convince them as the culinary expert that they do. The sooner all the dishes are approved, the sooner we can roll them out. This menu is a seasonal change, so we have a hard deadline starting at the beginning of the season. Any changes that need to be made are discussed and quickly implemented on the spot if possible. This will ensure that we don't have to do any re-tastings. If we cannot correct them on the spot, we will have to schedule another tasting on the specific items requested, slowing down the process further.

2:30 PM: I get summoned to the human resources office to have a meeting with the human resources director to discuss a grievance that has been brought to their attention. Two of the cooks in the kitchen are arguing and feel that they have been treated unfairly by one of the chefs. I listen to the issue, offer my opinion, and agree to address it immediately. The human resources director approved my decision and encouraged me to follow up once I've had a conversation with both employees. I then head to my office and quickly approve invoices and purchase orders before the 3:00 PM deadline.

3:00 PM: It is free time for me before my next meeting, and I choose to sit down and answer any emails that have been lingering in my inbox. I try to respond to as many as possible, prioritizing them with my boss first and anything that is time-sensitive second. I delegate things to some of my other chefs that are in their specific areas. I don't get much done; I have often returned to over 300 emails.

3:30 PM: I go to the daily chef line-up, which is led by my executive sous chef. We discuss hotel operations, business levels, daily standards, and anything else pertinent to service. Being that I have a large staff, this is an opportunity for me to be in front of all of them and give some words of encouragement, inspiration, and wisdom. I feel like I am running for office at these meetings and trying to earn their vote.

4:00 PM: I have my weekly one-on-one mentorship meeting with one of my sous chefs. This is their time, and it takes about an hour for the meeting. We go over any questions that they have, as they are expected to come prepared with three questions for me. In addition, they will update me on the homework which I assigned to them. We wrap up the meeting by me giving them more homework for our next meeting. This is one of the most important meetings of the day for me as it gives me an opportunity to spend quality one-on-one time with one of my chefs that's up and coming.

5:00 PM: I have about an hour of free time before I'm expected to be in the banquet kitchen for dish-up service. I tried to get back to my emails when I was interrupted by the two employees that were arguing earlier. I have them come in as I know this needs to be addressed promptly, and I sit down and listen to both sides and make a decision. Hopefully, we have come to a peaceful resolution for them. They both agreed and thanked me before moving on back to their shift. This took more time than I had available, so I couldn’t begin my next project. The catering manager comes in on their way out to discuss an important conference in the next few months and wants to make sure it was on my radar to write the menu. I let them know it is, and I will work on the menus this week.

6:00 PM: I head up quickly to the banqueting kitchen, where they are already started without me, and begin plating a banquet for 800 people. I walk up to my executive banquet chef and ask him where he needs my help. He seems frustrated that I wasn't there earlier or on time and says we are fine; we don't need the help. I know he needs the help, so I kick someone off a station and take over. Plating lasts for approximately one hour before the final plate is served. I let my executive banquet chef know I'm going to make my rounds in the other kitchens.

7:00 PM: I check all restaurants and meet with my chef de cuisine to discuss the direction for the next menu change. We discuss food ideas for a few minutes, and he offers me a couple of things to try and get my opinion on. He is also in the middle of service, and one of his cooks stepped off the line briefly. He asks if I could work the expeditor station for about 20 minutes while he switches over to another station to cover. I do so, and upon his return, I let him know that we could discuss the menu tomorrow. While I was in the restaurant, one of the customers asked to speak with me, so I touched the table briefly and then headed back to my next kitchen. I make my rounds through all remaining kitchens, letting them know I will leave shortly. I ask if there are any issues, I need to be aware of to ensure service goes smoothly.

8:00 PM: I am back in my office for a few minutes to see if there are any lingering important emails that I need to address. I have a little bit of admin time to work on some projects, which keeps me glued to the computer for about an hour. I look up and notice that it's already 9:30 PM, thirty minutes longer than I expected. I pack my belongings and make my way out for the evening. I happen to pass through the kitchen to grab a cookie on my way out, and I get looks from the chefs who are surprised I'm still there. They thought I left an hour and a half ago. I keep them on their toes.

Chapter 3

KITCHEN COSTS EXPLAINED

COSTS EXPLAINED

For some of you, this might be the only reason you purchased this book; you wanted to understand costs. When you transition into a leadership role, whether it's a restaurant, hotel, or country club, a big part of your job as the chef will be managing expenses. You will now be responsible for food costs, labor costs, equipment expenses, and rentals. The tough thing about this is most of your career; you will have probably spent focusing on cooking, working stations, and organizing daily operations. You may be new to the world of expenses and, in many cases, might not have the gift of time to learn them. This may be one of the terrifying things for chefs as they climb into a more senior role. It's a whole new world; if you haven't been exposed, it can be like learning another language.

When I earned my first executive chef job in 2003, in addition to wanting to set the world on fire with soigné food, I wanted to show that I could manage costs. I spent a lot of time ensuring that I could lower food costs by a few points and reduce the cost of labor. The chef who promoted me was still in the building as he got promoted also. He was my mentor, and I really wanted to impress him by demonstrating that I was ready for the job. In my mind, what I needed to do was be excellent at lowering costs, as I thought it would make me shine in the eyes of my bosses. My mentor pulled me aside and informed me to be careful about lowering costs so far that it may affect quality. Cutting people's hours and running a leaner operation made us less efficient. In my quest to lower food costs, I compromised the quality of certain ingredients to find a less expensive option. One thing led to another, and before you know it, we have a leaner model, and food quality had been a shadow of what it was.

In my opinion, I thought managing costs was what an executive chef did and was the most important part of their job. My chef mentor gave me advice and told me that no one remembers the chef's name, who is great at managing costs, but the legends are known for their great food.

I know that might not be what you want to hear as we start the section on understanding costs, but I think it's important to state. I am not diminishing the importance of costs and being able to manage them efficiently. But I would caution any chef who tries to create a legacy by managing costs. It can be a slippery slope towards poor quality. There is no glory in bragging about how low your food cost and labor cost are to a group of people who are passionate about food.

Getting back to the point of managing costs, in this chapter, we will dive a little bit into several areas but the main ones being food costs and labor costs. There will be other costs that you will come to deal with; however, they are less important than those two. Having a solid grasp of food cost really comes from two things. Number one is understanding the mathematical formulas of food costs. The most basic being cost divided by sales equals food (or labor) cost percent. This will be the formula you use most often; once you know it and commit it to memory, you don't need to return to it. The second most important piece is knowing what to do to get costs in line. This is an oversimplified explanation, but the reality is outside of this, there isn't much. In this chapter, I will show you how to think of food as money, and I will teach you where to look when you need to mitigate costs. Once you train your mind to know these two things, you will then be able to expand on the knowledge that you've learned here.

FOOD, LABOR, AND EQUIPMENT

Restaurant kitchen costs are the money spent to prepare food, clean, and maintain a restaurant's kitchen. It is important to understand how to manage these costs to be able to run a successful culinary operation. So, let's look at how to manage your restaurant kitchen costs so that you are profitable.

What are kitchen costs?In simple terms, kitchen costs are everything that goes into preparing and cooking the food you serve in your restaurant. This includes:

Food inventory (ingredients)

Labor cost (employees)

Equipment (small wares, cleaning chemicals)

COST OF FOOD

The cost of food is the largest component of a restaurant's operating expenses. The cost of food includes the price paid for ingredients and raw materials, as well as spoilage, waste, and shrinkage. Food costs are expressed as a percentage of total sales or as a dollar amount per item sold. The average food costs for restaurants range from 30% to 40% of sales or, in some hotels and large operations, 18% to 30%. There is no specific industry standard as food costs can be affected by location, weather, season, and type of business. The numbers given are guidelines but not set in stone.

COST OF LABOR

Labor costs include salaries and wages for cooks, bussers, wait staff, and other front-of-the-house employees; payroll taxes such as FICA (Social Security) and Medicare; workers' compensation insurance premiums; unemployment insurance premiums; employer contributions to retirement plans such as 401(k)s; vacation pay; sick pay; holiday pay; and administrative overhead associated with hiring employees. We will not get too granular on all this, but it is important to know. In most places, you will not have to worry about the majority of those things other than your total hours and salaries.

EQUIPMENT COSTS

Equipment includes everything from refrigerators and stoves to dishwashers and ovens. However, most of these purchases are in place for the restaurant to be operational. The majority of the spending for day-to-day will be on disposables and cleaning supplies. This includes gloves, towels, uniform rentals, to-go products, and cleaning products.

FOOD COST DEEP DIVE

Food cost is the difference between the price you pay for ingredients and the price you sell the product for. Food cost is also called the cost of goods sold (COGS) because it represents how much money it costs to produce your final product.

Food cost is typically higher than labor or overhead costs because it's more variable and can change depending on factors like seasonality and weather conditions. If a restaurant doesn't have enough food in stock to serve guests, it can lose both guests and revenue if diners must wait for an order to be filled. Therefore, kitchens must carry an inventory of items without knowing exactly how much of each item will sell.

The food cost percentage is usually what you will be measured by on a P&L statement. The reason it is so important is that not only does it explain how you are managing your operation, but it is also the main measurement on which all the other costs are determined. Food cost is usually the first thing in the budget, and then labor, miscellaneous expenses, etc., are calculated. A restaurant's food costs are one of the most important indicators of overall financial performance.

Food cost percentage is calculated as follows.

Cost of food / sales = food cost percent

As stated earlier, this formula is one of the most important to know as a chef.

A higher food cost percentage means that your kitchen is paying more for the ingredients it uses to make its food than it's getting in revenue from customers. In other words, if your total sales are $100,000 and your total costs are $120,000, then your food costs would be 120 percent. Food cost is a percentage of the revenue generated from your food sales. It's a key metric to track because it helps you understand how much of your revenue is being spent on food.

Whatever the industry, whatever the business, food cost is a critical financial measure that you, as a chef, should track. In a restaurant setting, I would track food costs daily. In a hotel setting, I might track them weekly. But rest assured, I always know where my food cost is trending. Many organizations may pay for software that does this for you; others may use a simple excel spreadsheet. Whatever it is that you choose to use, make sure you use it and know where your food cost is daily. This is critical for you in case you need to make mitigation plans to lower food costs. When you are tracking purchases and expenses daily, you can see where there may be a potential area of concern. For example, if you noticed one day you spent 10,000 more dollars than you usually do and your food cost is slightly higher, you may be able to go back to that specific day and understand what it is you spent your money on.

Chefs are the ultimate food cost managers. They understand the costs of ingredients, labor, and overhead. They know how to use the right amount of each ingredient and then create recipes that are costed effectively. The key is to create something that is not only delicious but offers the correct value for the customer and for your bank account. Some dishes may have higher costs, and others may have lower costs, but at the end of the day, you want to try and find a balance between all dishes sold to hit your overall food cost goal.

Chefs know that one way to increase food profits is by lowering food costs. But they may be unaware of some best practices. These can help them reduce their food costs even further if needed.

Here’s what you need to know about managing food costs:

Ensure you have all recipes costed and regularly updated with price changes.

Get a clear picture of what you're spending on food by tracking expenses from week to week or daily. If you don't know what you're spending, how can you expect to manage it?

Ensure cooks follow recipes accurately. I recommend using digital scales and working in grams and kilograms, as this ensures greater accuracy.

Reduce waste by using every part of ingredients that have multiple uses (e.g., leeks top can be used in soups and stocks).

Buy local ingredients whenever possible so that transportation costs are low and freshness is high. Local producers can also offer seasonal specials at great prices.

Act! If you recognize that there may be a problem, don't wait; start to dig and find the root cause. See if you can do anything before it's too late. The sooner you catch a food cost issue, the sooner you can correct it.

Take inventory regularly so that you always know exactly how much stock you have on hand (and what condition it's in). Then plan to use surplus products so you can reduce the inventory that is slow moving.

Even though we touched on food cost in its most basic form, the calculation is much larger and more complicated depending on if you do inventory or not. Think of it as a checking account; you start with money, and you end with money, and in between, you pay bills. If you've paid all your bills and have less money than you started with, you used some of your initial money. Additionally, people may have given you money during this time which needs to be factored in. Below is an example of how many places calculate food cost more in-depth.

Opening Inventory +

$50,000 +

What you counted at the previous month/period end

Purchases +

$200,000 +

Every food item purchased in the current month/period

Transfers in +

$500 +

Any food that is given to you from internal transfer

Transfers Out -

$2,000 -

Any interdepartmental transfer, i.e., lemons to the bar

Closing Inventory -

55,000 -

Current month/period closing inventory

Total Consumption =

$193,500 =

Dollar amount of food you consumed

THINK OF FOOD AS MONEY

I once went to hear a speaker on food cost strategies and he used this analogy, I loved it and have been using it since. Food cost is more than just producing meats and dairy. It's important that we think about food costs as cash because you exchange dollars for the product, and without the dollars, there is no exchange. Once everyone starts thinking about food as money, you'll notice a significant shift in how people treat products. People will become more aware of what they throw in the trash, what they give away for free, and how they protect it. There is an expression in the kitchen that the most expensive thing is that which goes in the trash or doesn't get sold. If you can't sell it or you throw it away, you've generated $0.00 off of it. Even the most expensive thing, food cost percent-wise, might bring in a few dollars. But if it goes in the trash, that's 100% waste.

DELIVERY TRUCKS = TRUCKS CARRYING CASH

Let's change how we think about the food delivery truck; instead of it being a food truck, imagine it's a truck full of money delivering cash to the bank. Everything that's in that truck is dollars and has a different set of value to it. If you were having $10,000 delivered to your restaurant, would you make sure and count it, or would you trust that they just dropped it off? You would probably verify that the money you're expecting is what is being delivered. So why don't you always verify what is being dropped off food-wise? If you're paying for $10,000 worth of food and you only receive $8000 because you didn't weigh your delivery or you didn't check it in, how do you expect to keep your costs in line? You wouldn’t do that at a bank, so don’t do that with the food.

WALK IN COOLER = BANK VAULT

Next, let's use the example of the walk-in cooler. Depending on the size of your refrigerator, you may be storing a few 100 to 10s of thousands of dollars’ worth of product. A good mental exercise is when you're looking at the shelves of food. Imagine that you’re looking at stacks of dollars or gold bars. If you had a bank vault full of gold or cash, would you just allow anyone in and out? Would you lock it? Would you make sure that it is protected? Would you keep a ledger of what was going in and out? Your bottom line is impacted significantly by how much attention you pay to your coolers and storage areas. If you have a culture where it's a free for all, you can expect that your costs will be higher than if you have strict control. Treat your cooler like a bank vault, and you will protect your bottom line.

GIVING AWAY FREE FOOD = GIVING AWAY FREE MONEY

A common practice amongst restaurants that don't have clearly defined rules for comping and giving away food is to ring things up at no extra charge. You're losing money if you're selling a burger and giving away free avocado or free bacon instead of charging for it. If you were serving a guest and they said can I have my burger, and can you also give me $3 extra would you say yes? You're giving them free money if you are not charging for all the little extras. Everything has a price, and you have to pay for it, so if you’re going to decide to give something away, make sure you're aware of the impact that it can have on your bottom line. I know some of you will argue that the small comps create loyal customers. This is a valid argument; however, in most cases, the people you are giving away free food to are not loyal customers. It's important to recognize the difference and have a consistent standard for your restaurant.

FOOD IN THE TRASH = MONEY IN THE TRASH

It's important to track your waste as a chef and be mindful of what is being discarded. Anytime food is discarded, that is money that you're throwing in the trash. No, I'm not saying to save a product that is not usable, but if you're consistently left with a product that is not usable, you might want to question your par levels. A common practice in restaurants at the end of the shift is to throw away everything that was left in the food danger zone as it will no longer be good enough quality for the next day. A good exercise is cost and track this expense and know how much food you are throwing away nightly and what the impact of that is per week, per month, and per year. Once you have a good idea of how much money you're throwing away nightly, it might challenge you to re-evaluate pars, prep lists, and production. Additionally, be aware of the amount of trim and waste you have on products and see if you could find other utilizations for these items. A good practice is to try and get as close to a zero-waste kitchen as possible. Some vegetable trim can be used for stock; meat trim can be used to make tallow, and product that is close to going off can be turned into jams, preserves, or ferments. If you're constantly having a surplus of something and throwing it away, make a list and keep track of why.

THEORETICAL FOOD COSTS (TFC)

When it comes to understanding food costs, theoretical food cost is something that can be a great benefit to a chef. It's a concept that chefs use to gauge whether their food costs are on track. It's not an actual number; it's more of a guideline or estimate. It is important to note there are a few correct examples of theoretical food costs. You can look at the individual dish, group of dishes, menu, or entire operation. Once you understand the basics, you can zoom out as needed.

An example of theoretical food cost is the percentage of sales you'd have to make just to break even on your food costs. So, if you're selling $1,000 worth of food, but it costs you $1,200 to make it, your theoretical food cost is 120%. That means for every dollar in sales; you're losing 20 cents right off the top. This is not a likely situation, but you’d be surprised to know that there are cases where this happens. Doors shut soon after if this is not addressed.

Theoretical food cost can also be the estimated food cost for a particular recipe. It is calculated by multiplying the recipe's quantity by its price per unit.

Theoretical food cost does not include sales tax or non-food expenses (e.g., labor, rent, utilities).

Example: Theoretical Food Cost = Quantity * Average Cost Per Unit

Once you have costed out your recipes and sub-recipes, you can build your theoretical food cost. There are many programs that can assist with this; however, a simple excel sheet will work. You will need to have the following information to give you the best results.

All menu items being included for the theoretical costs

Accurate costs of those items

The estimated or actual number of those items sold

The menu sales price for all menu items

You will total the number of items sold * cost = this will give you the total theoretical cost

Next, you calculate the number of items sold * menu price = this will give you total actual or theoretical sales

From there, you can divide the number of total menu item cost / total menu item sales = theoretical food cost %

You can extrapolate this out as far as needed or shrink it as well.

What you may find out is that some items are doing most of the heavy lifting and helping your food costs, and others are hurting it. You may also find that your theoretical food cost is not your actual food cost. This can mean a few different things, i.e., your recipes are not costed accurately, waste is higher than expected, or you may have a thief. Going through the process can teach you a lot about where you are versus your assumptions.

It is important to know that in most places, you are held accountable for the actual cost, not the theoretical. So, make sure you use this as a tool for understanding and education versus rational that you are doing a good job when you miss food costs.

FOOD COST AND MENU ENGINEERING

Every chef might tell you a different way to design menus, and I don't think that there is a consensus. But you're not reading their books; you're reading mine, and I'm going to give you my opinion when it comes to designing menus. I must start by telling you that this does not apply to all restaurants as some restaurants in the high-end world do not repeat a single ingredient. As with everything, there is always an exception to the rule; we are discussing the large bucket of restaurants, which consist of about 80% of kitchens. When designing menus where possible, you want to have as much cross-utilization across menu items. Except for center of the plate items, i.e., proteins or vegetable entrees, you want to have multiple uses for an ingredient. If an ingredient only has one place on your menu, see if you can put it in multiple places and if you cannot, question if you need to use that ingredient or if you could substitute another one that is on multiple dishes. If there is still no way around it and you must have that ingredient, best case scenario, it will be on a high-performing dish. If it is not on a high-performing dish, you run the risk of carrying something in inventory that isn't moving, which could lead to waste and lost money.

FOOD COST MITIGATION STRATEGIES WHERE TO LOOK

There may be times when food cost is high, and you need to look to cut costs. The challenge is, if you run a large operation, where do you even begin to look? I've worked in places where we have thousands of items and inventory multiple storage rooms with people coming in and out. It's difficult to find the single item that may be driving food costs higher. Below are a few examples of where I would begin to look if I came into a place that had a high food cost.

Inventory report: Look at your food inventory and see where you are carrying the most amount of dollars. You may have been over-purchasing in certain areas, or you may find that you have slow-moving items or ones that cost way too much. This is the first place I would look. This is assuming you're keeping good inventory records, and if you're not, you should.

Top spend: It's easy to run this report from most inventory software, or your vendors may be able to provide it for you where you can see what your top 20 spend is. This is where you're going to see the largest impact on your food cost; start at the number one item and see if there is an opportunity to get a less expensive one or reduce the portion size. Work your way down the top 20 items, and you will make the largest impact on your food cost reduction. Many chefs make the mistake of looking at the bottom items thinking that it's going to make an impact, but if you're only spending $100 on something and $10,000 on something else, then fish where the fish are.

Menu pricing analysis: Audit your menus to ensure that you're getting the right price for your food linked to your computer system that is ringing it up. I've seen many times where a menu and price change, but what is being charged to the guest remains the old price. Ensure that whenever menu changes are happening, you have a critical path that includes updating point of sales systems.

Competitive set analysis: Do a market analysis of the competitive set in your area. Look at their menu prices and ensure that you are not on the low end. Depending on the type of restaurant you are you may have room to raise your prices. As a chef, where quality is concerned, I prefer to raise prices rather than cut quality. In the past, I've always wanted to remain at the top price in my competitive set. The others will follow based on you adjusting your prices as well, so the market helps itself. In large banquet hotels, I always insisted on being the highest price because I knew we were the market maker, and others would raise their price as well.

Security: Make sure your coolers are being locked if you can have cameras, even better. I always made a policy of no backpacks in the kitchen. I've seen people walk out with full tenderloins in a backpack. Making sure that you create an environment where it is difficult to steal will discourage or at least reduce the amount of theft. I can tell you from working in kitchens for a long time I've never worked anywhere where you can completely stop it, but you should try to deter it as much as possible.

OTHER STRATEGIES TO KNOW

Below is a list of a few other strategies that can be implemented on menu items to reduce food costs if that is your goal. I am cautious not to list things that may impact quality, as that may hurt you financially in other ways by guests not returning.

Shrink the portion size: Something as simple as reducing an ounce to 1/2 ounce of your protein can be significant. Imagine you're paying $20 a pound for something; if you shave off one ounce, you're saving $20 for every 16 portions sold. Now you can factor that out over multiple items, including more than just the protein. A reduction in sauce, vegetables, and starches will all yield a cost savings benefit.

The protein flip: It's normal in today's world to serve larger portions of vegetables and smaller portions of protein. Even making the vegetable the feature of the dish and garnishing it with a little bit of protein is acceptable. In most cases, having a more vegetable-forward menu will yield significant cost reduction.

Portion control: Weighing and measuring all the ingredients is a good practice to follow to ensure you are controlling costs. Many restaurants premeasure and store line production in deli containers or small bags, which have all been pre-weighed to ensure that the portion size is the same on every order. Allowing cooks to freestyle portion size can be chaotic for your bottom line and your guest's expectations when it comes to consistency.

Check your recipe costs: Periodically check your recipe costs to ensure that it is still relevant as prices fluctuate rapidly. Also, check for errors in your formulas if you are using excel or something similar to cost your recipes. A simple formula error can make a significant impact.

Ensure recipes are followed: I recommend that you and your kitchen team use standardized recipes, especially if you are trying to manage costs. Not only is it a good practice to ensure consistency but a costly ingredient used haphazardly can significantly change the recipe cost. When it comes to recipes, I highly recommend that a digital scale is used, and if you are working in grams, this will give you the most specific cost and consistent recipe.

Remove unnecessary garnish: Although garnish is beautiful and makes dishes more appealing, sometimes it can be extremely costly, especially if you're the type of restaurant that uses expensive microgreens, herbs, and flowers. If there is an opportunity to reduce the amount of garnish and bring significant savings while not impacting the quality of the dish, it may need to be re-evaluated.

Theatrical presentation: You can take inexpensive dishes and charge a lot of money for them if there is a significant amount of skill or theatrics in the presentation. A good example is a souffle presented table side with sauce. A lot of places charge a lot of money for souffle and will present the sauce table side. But in reality, a souffle is a low-cost item. Adding some flair to the presentation can allow you to charge more money for something.

Kill zombies: Zombies on a menu otherwise known as dishes that no longer sell and are like The Living Dead. If a dish is no longer selling or relevant, it's time to retire it and bring in something fresh that your customers will enjoy. Occasionally re-evaluate your menus and put the zombies where they belong.

Make it from scratch: If you're buying a lot of prefabricated products, it might be worth examining if your team can handle making them from scratch. In most cases making something from scratch will be less expensive. Doing the prep work in-house, like cutting the vegetables and proteins, can be less expensive at times. This is not always the case, so it's important to do a cost analysis to ensure that it is more cost-effective for you to do it in-house.

Ensure you're getting the best price from your vendors: Working closely with your vendors is important so you can ensure that you're always getting the best price. If you are not satisfied with the price you're paying, don't be afraid to ask for a better one, and if they cannot give you a better price, don't be afraid to go to a competitor and see what they can do for you. Loyalty is important, but at the end of the day, this is business, and your job is to keep the restaurant open and running.

LABOR COSTS AND MANAGEMENT

The two biggest expenses most chefs manage and deal with are labor costs and food costs. Kitchen labor cost is the price of labor in a restaurant. The price of kitchen labor is directly related to how many chefs and cooks you have working in your kitchen. The main factor that affects the cost of kitchen labor is experience. The more experienced your chefs are, the higher their pay will be. Chefs and cooks must be trained, so people without experience usually make less than those who have been working in kitchens for years. The other factor affecting the cost of kitchen labor is where you live. In some areas, it's more expensive to live than in others, which means that wages are higher there as well.

More specifically, kitchen labor cost is the amount of money that a restaurant spends on its kitchen staff. This includes the wages, benefits, and payroll taxes for all employees working in the kitchen.

HOW TO CALCULATE KITCHEN LABOR COSTS

You might be wondering how to calculate kitchen labor costs. Here is a simple formula that you can use to determine the labor costs of a restaurant; keep in mind the food cost formula as they are the same. We are only exchanging food for labor.

Total hours * rate = labor cost

Total labor cost / total sales revenue = labor cost percent

Let's look at an example. Suppose you want to know how much it costs to run your restaurant for one month, and you have the following information:

Total hours worked: 6,000

Average hourly wage: $15

Total payroll: $90,000

Total restaurant sales revenue: $500,000

To calculate labor cost percentage, divide total payroll by total revenue. So, example $90,000 / 500,000 = 0.18 (18%)

It bears to be repeated. The calculation of labor cost percentage is the same as the calculation of food cost. In its simplest form, it is the total cost of Labor divided by total revenue equals labor cost percent.

STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING KITCHEN LABOR

In a perfect world, your labor costs will always be in line; people will clock in and out on time, no one will call off, and everyone will stay productive. But in the real world, managing labor is a full-time job and requires commitment and attention from kitchen leadership. People will milk the clock if you're not watching them and arrive late or early. Below are a couple of strategies and best practices I have used to manage labor costs.

Build a strong team. A strong team will be productive and know how to work efficiently. Spend as much time as you can developing the team around you; with time, they will become efficient. I have been in situations where one cook with experience can do the same amount of work as two or three inexperienced cooks.

Write prep lists. Giving people specific things to accomplish will ensure that they stay on task and don't wander around, not sure what to do. In my experience, I've noticed that no matter how long the list is, for the most part, it usually gets done miraculously. My personal strategy has always been to write prep lists that were almost unable to be finished, and you would be surprised how much more efficient people will become at accomplishing things.

Inspect what you expect. Ensure that your team stays busy and productive and produces food as you expect them to. Telling someone what to do or giving someone a prep list and walking away is not good management. You need to circle back and ensure that what you are asking is being followed according to your specific directions. People are notorious for taking shortcuts when things are difficult.

Teamwork. There will always be people on the team that work much more efficiently than others. Due to this, it's important that those who are more efficient help those who are less efficient. Assigning people in groups and team projects creates a little bit of social pressure on those that aren't as fast. This leverages the speed of those that are more productive.

Audit time clocks. People are notoriously for staying later than their scheduled shifts if it means a few extra dollars. If you don't call them on it, they will assume they can continue doing this. Make sure that people are not milking the clock and staying later than expected. If there is work to be done and your team consistently leaves later than scheduled, then you may need to adjust schedules but make sure people understand that the schedule should be followed. Additionally, make sure people are not stealing time; in many kitchens, this is a terminable offense.

Stagger shifts. Staggering shifts so that not everyone starts and leaves at the same time can sometimes allow you to save hours so that there is constant coverage, but not everyone is there at once. For example, some cooks may start at 5:00 AM, others at 7:00 AM. That way, when the PM team starts at 3:00 PM, the one who started at 7:00 AM is still there, but the 5:00 AM person has gone home.

Shave the shoulders. A simple way to reduce hours if your labor cost is high is to cut the in and out times by one hour to 30 minutes. If you shave the start time and the end time by 30 minutes, you can save an hour a day in labor costs. If you do that with eight people, you save a full body per day. This is a good strategy because it means you can maintain your entire team without losing a body but receive the cost benefits.

Breaks. Ensuring your employees are taking unpaid breaks for 30 minutes and are sitting down eating not only is good for the employee to replenish and re-energize, but it also saves you money. Be sure to check your local labor laws as these change from place to place.

Send people home. At times when you notice that business has come in less than expected, it is important that you recognize this early and send people home for the day. As unfair as this is to the person who came in, it is a strategy that needs to sometimes be implemented to keep the doors open and ensure people keep their jobs.

Reward your productive employees. If you are in a position where you can reward your top performers with more hours and shifts, this will incentivize those that are not top performers to either work harder or it may cause them to also leave. But in my opinion, the people who work hard and are productive should be the ones getting the greatest number of shifts as it will benefit the operation and service the most.

KITCHEN PRODUCTIVITY

While many places focus on labor cost, other places focus on kitchen productivity; depending on where you are working will determine what you need to know. Just because your labor cost is in line does not mean your productivity will be in line and vice versa. This can work to your benefit at times as you could use one to justify the other one being out of place.

Kitchen productivity is the number of meals a kitchen can produce in a given time period. Another way to look at it is productivity measures, the chefs' and kitchens' performance. Not all locations place a great emphasis on productivity, but some do. If you are working in a hotel, productivity is something that you will most likely measure on, as it is a good indicator of kitchen performance.

Kitchen productivity, in simple terms, is the measure of how productive the kitchen is. It is defined as the number of meals or servings of food prepared per hour, often referred to as hours and covers.

The formula for calculating this metric is as follows:

Kitchen productivity = (total hours worked) divided by (total covers).

It's important to know this formula, and even though it gives you a good idea of your performance, it is not the only answer. But it is an answer from a big-picture standpoint. An argument that is often made is you don't take productivity to the bank; you take dollars. Kitchen productivity is the amount of time you spend in your kitchen versus the amount of time that you're making food.

Kitchen productivity is calculated by dividing your time in the kitchen by the amount of time it takes to make a meal. In theory, this metric should help us determine how efficient we are at using our kitchens. In practice, however, it's often difficult to get exact measurements for all meals because we often use different recipes (and cooking times), and many factors can affect our efficiency.

How much time do you spend washing dishes? This can vary greatly depending on how many dishes you have and how dirty they are. If you have only a few dishes and they're relatively clean after each meal, then this won't be much of an issue, but if you have a lot of dirty dishes or if they require soaking before washing, then this could add up to quite a bit of wasted time!

The most important factor in calculating kitchen productivity is the chef’s ability to manage their time and kitchen. However, there are several factors that are not within the control of the chef.

The weather and other anomalies may affect business volume and staffing.

The time spent by customers waiting for their meal to be served.

Lingering guests, causing tables to wait.

ECONOMIES TO SCALE

The term economies to scale refers to the ability of a business to grow without increasing its costs. The concept of economies to scale is used primarily in relation to the restaurant industry and kitchens. The underlying idea is that as you increase your output, you are able to spread fixed costs over more units and hence reduce them per unit. This means that if you can do 100 covers with two cooks, you might be able to do 150 without having to add another cook. This would give you 50 additional covers at the same cost as the two cooks. Many times, kitchen lines can only fit so many bodies behind them. However, the dining room may be able to fit more people, or if you were working in a hotel, maybe room service can accommodate more than the normal amount. If you’re working with a fixed staffing model based on a certain number of expected covers, once you exceed those covers and you are no longer able to add staff, this is an example of economies to scale. This will help your productivity and your labor cost to have a more beneficial number. It is important to know what this point is in your specific kitchen operation.

Chapter 4

HEALTH, SAFETY, AND SANITATION

HEALTH AND SAFETY

I think it goes without saying that having a clean kitchen and good sanitation practices is as important as managing costs or serving great food. A clean kitchen should be an immense source of pride for any chef. It says a lot about you when someone walks into your kitchen and everything is clean, organized, and sanitary. Not only that, but it is also a much more pleasant experience to cook in a clean kitchen versus a dirty one.

I am not going to spend a ton of time on this subject, as when you start to lead a kitchen, you most likely have already received a lot of health and safety training. You have probably had to get some sort of certification from local authorities in addition to having already passed local inspections to operate. This will not be the deep dive into all the health and safety laws that apply nor cover all the food-borne illness-causing agents. I will instead focus on some best practices I used in my previous kitchens that you can incorporate into yours.

ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH FOOD SAFETY STANDARDS FIRST

While the thought of food safety and health program may seem like a good idea, most chefs are still not taking the initiative to create one. This is because they don't know why it's important or what can be done to improve their kitchen's safety standards.

The following are some of the reasons why you need a comprehensive health and food safety program in your kitchen.

PREVENTING FOODBORNE ILLNESS

Foodborne illness is something that every chef wants to avoid at all costs, as they should. It can be very costly for both your business and your guests if someone gets sick from eating your food, especially if it results in legal action. A health and food safety program will help prevent this from happening by enforcing strict codes of conduct for employees, proper cleaning practices, and good hygiene.

INCREASING GUEST CONFIDENCE IN YOUR RESTAURANT

When someone goes out for dinner, they want to feel confident about where they're going to eat. Having a food safety program in place can go a long way towards building trust between you and your guests by showing them that you're taking their health seriously. This will make them more likely to come back time after time, which is what every chef wants. Safety guidelines for chefs and cooks are designed to ensure compliance with food safety standards, thereby preventing the spread of food-borne illnesses. Most chefs and cooks know the basics of food safety in the kitchen, but many do not know the specific health and sanitation practices that they should follow to prevent cross-contamination. Having a solid program in place is crucial for you to be successful and have a clean and organized kitchen.

BASIC HEALTH AND SANITATION PRACTICES FOR CHEFS AND COOKS

The following is the basic health and sanitation practice that applies to all chefs, cooks, and other employees working in commercial kitchens. If nothing else, everything should begin here.

Wash your hands thoroughly before starting work and after using the restroom. Also, wash whenever they become dirty or contaminated by raw foods or other substances, after handling raw meats or poultry products, after any interruption during which you might have touched a contaminated surface or object, and before eating or drinking. You should also wash your hands immediately after handling money. Do not touch your face (especially your mouth) when handling food. If you happen to have any doubts, wash your hands.

If you are running a kitchen that doesn’t prioritize hand washing, make it one.

NEW KITCHEN STRATEGY

Whenever I have taken over an executive chef position in the past, for some reason, I am not happy with the level of cleanliness in the kitchen. It might be my need to work in a cleaner kitchen, or it might be that they were truly in bad shape. Regardless of the reason, I have made it my priority to get kitchens clean and organized upon my taking them over. I feel that if the kitchen is clean and organized, I can think clearly, allowing me to focus on the food. In my opinion, a clean kitchen needs to be a part of every kitchen culture.

For the first few weeks, I spent time getting coolers organized, teaching the basics that are missing regarding sanitation, and getting the tools needed to do the job. I start to build a culture around sanitation and make sure everyone on the team knows it is a non-negotiable that the kitchen is clean. I hold a strong position on this, as it will be easy for a kitchen to drift back into a chaotic mess in no time. I keep solid notes in my first few days and address as many sanitation issues as possible. In my experience, the longer you wait, the easier it is to no longer notice it. The things that used to bother you become normal, wallpaper, as they say.

After you have trained the team and gotten the kitchen clean, it is important then to implement standards and systems around keeping the kitchen clean. Doing so will make it much easier to maintain when it becomes a part of everyone's daily routine.

KITCHEN STAINLESS CLEANUP METHOD

This is a cleaning system that a lot of restaurants use as it seems to be extremely efficient and practical. If you have everyone on the team jump in, it can get the kitchen looking like new in just a few minutes. I suggest doing this multiple times throughout the day to instill the habit and have immaculate kitchens.

Wipe the counters

Sweep up the debris on the floor

Scrub the counters with soapy water

Squeegee the soapy water off the counters onto the floor

Use the soapy water to then scrub the floor with floor brushes

Dry mop the floor and squeegee if necessary

Soigné step optional – Buff the counters using only a back-and-forth motion with scrubbing pads

Sanitize counters

CHEF'S TOP TEN SANITATION

I think it is important in a kitchen for a chef to have their top 10 sanitation priorities listed. There are hundreds of little things that go into sanitation practices, so cutting through some of the noise can help you focus on the bigger things that are more important to you and often the most broken rules. Customize your own list; mine is just an example but feel free to use it if you don’t have one. Below is a TOP 10 list I have used for my cooks; I will blow this up and post it on kitchen walls so everyone can see them. Don’t forget to inspect what you expect.

Label everything! Use green tape; make sure it’s cut and not ripped. Item, initial, and date. Keep the tape less than three inches long.

Use sanitation buckets! They need to be on every station, labeled and time stamped. Make sure to use them and change the liquid frequently.

Keep your towels folded and clean. You will get more usage out of your kitchen towels if they are folded. Discard dirty towels in the dirty towel bin. Don’t keep them on your station.

Fill out your temperature logs at the beginning, middle, and end of your shift!

No cell phones in the kitchen! Never on the cutting board or workstation. You use the phone on the toilet, so don’t put it near food.

Ice the fish and change the trays daily!

Never pass a mess and not address it! If it’s on the floor, pick it up!

Coolers must be cleaned and organized at the end of every shift! Swept and mopped!

Consolidate! Food, containers, etc., are always minimized for efficiency.

Never work over a garbage bin! If it falls in and you leave it, you're wasteful; if you take it out, you are gross.

INSPECTIONS

Depending on where you are and where you work, health and safety inspections may be a big deal or not. Regardless, you should make sure your kitchens are always inspection ready if you want to have a good score. I recommend you do some sort of internal inspection where you thoroughly go through all areas of your kitchen with a fine-tooth comb. Be as hard as you can be on yourself and your team. As they say, the more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle. Take notes and create plans and actions with due dates for follow-up by responsible parties.

When the real health inspector shows up, make sure everyone on your team knows what to do. I used to have a fire drill I would run the team through so everyone knew their roles and responsibilities. I recommend you have one as well. Usually, when the health inspector shows up, depending on the size of your kitchen, you may be able to stall a few minutes by having them wait for you. The extra time can be used to do one quick ocular assessment if needed.

Be respectful to the inspector, seriously. I have seen chefs being rude to inspectors, only for them to turn up the heat and start to nit-pick at everything. Walk with the inspector, get a pen and pad and take notes of everything; this way, they know you’re taking it seriously and, when possible, address things on the spot. I would also caution you not to challenge them on every little thing; if they are right, then take the feedback, correct it, and move on. You don’t want to gain a reputation for being “that chef.”

Once the inspection is completed, make sure you follow up with everyone needed and correct the health violations. It can be worse if they come back and find repeat offenses. Share the results with the team and use this as an opportunity to get better. If you score a perfect score, then be proud and celebrate but not too long; there is food to cook.

Chapter 5

DEVELOPING A KITCHEN CULTURE

DEVELOPING A CULTURE

This might be the most important chapter in the book, it is the one I'm most passionate about. Culture is everything defined as tangible and intangible in your kitchen. It's the way people behave, how they act, the habits they have, and how they cook. Whether this is written down and standardized or not is irrelevant. Because whether you agree with it or not, the culture exists, and as the chef, you are directly impacting it, good or bad.

During my time as a chef, I had ups and downs throughout my career, and they seemed to have no rhyme or reason as to why. In some places, I was successful, and in other places, I was less. The food was not necessarily better in places where I was more successful. I struggled with this idea because, in my mind, as every year passed, I became a better cook. I saw my food improving. With my skills getting better, why didn't the results match? This kept me up at night. In 2014 I took a big hit to my ego when I was involved with my restaurant closing, where I was the head chef. This was just a few years after I had been recognized by the Dallas Morning News in 2011 and 2012 as one of its best chefs and received a 4-star rating. It was something that I struggled with for a long time because it was basic math that didn't make sense 2 + 2 = 5. If my culinary skills were getting better, why was the success not matching? After a lot of soul searching, the realization finally occurred to me that the places where I had been most successful, regardless of the quality of food, were the places where everyone was happy and we had a thriving, positive culture. The places where I was least successful were the places where everyone was unhappy, and the culture reflected it.

I was determined to make culture a priority, and I wanted to create an environment where cooks were respected by the chefs and the chefs were respected by the cooks. An environment that would naturally encourage the food to flourish because people weren't busy fighting over trivial things. In my mind, I needed to standardize as many things as possible and make every detail important. I learned about decision fatigue and how having too many decisions to make can waste precious brain energy. I wanted people in my kitchen to use their brain energy to make delicious food and not on trivial decisions. I also understood that people need parameters to succeed. Just like learning how to play chess, if there were no rules to the game, it would be chaotic, and you wouldn't know how to win. Once the rules are defined, people understand the game and see it's winnable. In my experience, the kitchens that are most chaotic are those that have the fewest number of rules, and those that are most successful have a very specific set to follow.

In 2017, I was working as a preopening chef and working in an office with two other chefs. We were months away from opening and had all the free time in the world to develop a culture. We thought long and hard about what we wanted our kitchens to be like, and so we wrote down every detail as specifically and vividly as possible. We modeled our culture after some of the world's best restaurants and figured if they were performing at the highest level, we could learn something from them. I'm not talking about the food that they’re cooking; I'm talking about how they work and why they do what they do. We were fortunate in that many of the team members had worked in some great restaurants and under legendary chefs. We were able to leverage their experience and knowledge to take the best of those kitchens and implement them in ours. We broke it down into two categories; one category was for behaviors and expectations like saying hello and greeting people when you see them. The other category was for specific work expectations, like how to set a workstation or how we wanted fish to be prepared. One of the benefits of starting from scratch is you get to build a culture from the ground up. It's not easy, but there are no bad habits built into the system yet. Going into a place where you must change an existing culture is a little bit more difficult, but it can be done. Your job as the head chef is to create a good culture for your employees and customers.

When we were finally close to opening, we rented a temporary kitchen where we trained all our staff daily on only those things that were specific to how we wanted our culture—everything from folding towels a certain way, scrubbing tables, to brunoise and cutting chives. I can tell you that this was a highlight for me in my career, a special moment in time that I often look fondly back on. Spending time developing a culture made opening much smoother than it could have been as many people know, openings can be chaotic.

The advice I would give a new chef taking over a new job would be the following. During your first 30 days on the new job, don't change anything! I can't emphasize that enough because you may be changing something that has a very good reason for being that way, and you don't fully understand yet. During those first days, take very good notes and write down all the things you would like to improve, but do not act on them. The one caveat I will say is if you see something that is potentially going to make someone sick or a business practice that is losing a tremendous amount of money and is unethical. Change those immediately; those would be the exception to the rule. When writing the list of all the things you would like to improve, try to make it a point to get to at least 100 items. The reason you write these things down early on is that after you have been in a place for a minute, you may not notice them anymore, and you become part of that culture you are trying to change.

Something else I'd like to do is write down a mitigation plan in case costs need to be cut later. Write down as many savings opportunities as you see. If you find 20 items, keep them in your back pocket if that day comes when you need to save a significant amount of money. You can implement them as needed over time. My only caution would be to not implement them all at once because if you do, you may be asked to implement more savings the following month, and you have no more ideas. Don't show all your cards and keep them close to you.

Now after the 30 days have passed, is when you want to begin implementing the changes that you wrote down. Most importantly, make sure that they are still valid, as you may have discovered you may not want to change something because it now makes sense to you. You have begun to understand the operation better. When rolling out your new processes to the team, it's important not to overwhelm them. For example, if you have 50 items that you would like to change, don't roll out all 50 at once. Roll out five initially until everyone understands, and it sticks. Then roll out the next five and repeat the same process. Something is not a standard just because it's written down; it's a standard because it sticks. I've heard people say they have a standard of the day when they implement something new. I suggest you make it a standard until it's right, and if that means repeating the same thing every single day until everyone gets it, that's what you do.

Implementing a culture might seem like an insurmountable task in large culinary operations like resorts, city center hotels, and convention centers where you have hundreds of employees. I was facing this when we were opening; I had over 100 cooks reporting to me. It seemed very difficult to implement standards to that many people and get them to buy in. One of my good friends, a world-class chef who has worked in some of the best restaurants in the world, gave me advice on implementing the culture. He told me that I didn't need to convince all 100 people; he said I needed to convince the eight people who reported directly to me. It was their responsibility to convince the people who reported to them. It took a large task and made it seem manageable. I spent most of my time working with the people who reported directly to me and getting them to believe in what we were trying to achieve. When implementing the culture, find out who the most influential people are in your kitchen and convince them first.

The difficulty you may encounter is resistance from the teams who aren't accepting of the change. This is a common and natural thing for people to do one day, as they’ve been doing something a certain way for a long time. But if you're making change for the right reason, it's important that you are relentless in implementing the change. One of the most important things is to make sure you get buy-in from the team, and an easy way to do that is to explain why the change is happening and needed. Suppose you start giving out orders without explaining why people will be slow to move and possibly resentful. They are more likely to accept the change if they understand what your line of thinking is. Even if that line of thinking is because I like it that way, it's better for people to know that you have a preference for something versus not understanding why. The more you explain “the why,” the more successful you will be at implementing change.

Keep in mind that once you've established culture and standards and everything seems to be moving along, there will be a need to recalibrate. There will be drift, and if you don't keep an eye on it, something that was standard three months ago will no longer resemble what it was initially. Make sure everyone understands your expectations and constantly circle back to ensure they are being followed. Reward those people doing the right thing and correct those who are not.

The great thing, once you have an established culture and everyone is operating off a system, is that when new people come in, they will adjust to the new culture. If your culture is strong, your team will enforce it for you when you're not around. The new person coming in wants to feel a sense of belonging, so they will see what everyone else is doing and quickly acclimate. If they don't quickly acclimate because they don't like it, they might leave, which is not a bad thing; not everyone is going to be a perfect fit in your kitchen. It is more important for you to maintain your culture than adjust it because someone doesn't feel like following the rules.

I'm going to share with you some of the top 10 practices I have implemented in kitchens where I am the chef and why. You can choose to use these or not, but it is a good starting point, and I have found success with them.

Greet everyone and shake in and shake out. I wanted to foster a culture of respect where regardless of where you are in the hierarchy, you greeted everyone in the kitchen. I've worked in places where certain positions wouldn't talk to positions lower than them; I didn't want to have that type of environment, and this established equality amongst the team. Additionally, restaurants and kitchens can be stressful places at times, things go wrong, and people get into arguments. We wanted to make sure that regardless of what happened during service, we always began the day as a professional and closed the day as a professional; it was the daily reset.

Caesar is not above the law. Once something became a standard, it was a standard for everybody regardless of position. If everyone on the team couldn't follow it, then it wasn't a standard. Sometimes the head chef and sous chefs think they are above the law; I wanted to create an environment where everyone followed the same rules, regardless of rank. If those rules were broken, you were encouraged to call the person out, even if that person was your senior. There will be more buy in if everyone knows the rules are for everybody and not just for some. I would note that if you cannot stick to a rule, don't implement it.

Win together, fail together. Every success we had, we celebrated as a team, even if it was an individual who received an accolade. Winning is contagious and addictive. The more you celebrate it, the more you get used to winning. Unfortunately, so is losing, and when people lose, they usually try to blame one person as the single point of failure when it is a team effort. Getting people to have this shift in their beliefs will gradually move everyone towards a winning mindset where no one gets left behind. Those people that are stragglers will not want to let the team down, so they will push themselves to become better, which elevates everyone.

Everything is important. Creating this mindset helped us avoid making arbitrary decisions that may impact quality, staff morale, or the bottom line. Knowing that any decision we made could have large repercussions, negative or positive, we always had to take into consideration what the potential outcomes may be, good or bad. Most of the team knows that if we are thinking about the importance of shaking hands, how much more are you thinking about the food you cook? Everything is important!

Respect the hierarchy. This one is important to prevent chaos from breaking out in your kitchen. The chefs must respect each other; the cooks must respect the chefs. Even when decisions are made that people don't agree with, they need to be carried out assuming they are not illegal or unethical. There are always going to be bad apples in the kitchen, but the system must be maintained. It is the chef's job to address the bad apples. A piece of advice I would give someone is that even if you don't respect the person, respect the position. You will expect the same thing when you are in that role.

Learn from your mistakes; don't feed them to guests. This one was important for cooks to understand that mistakes are natural, and everyone makes them. But it's never acceptable to make a mistake and still knowingly feed it to a guest. That would be unforgivable in the kitchen. If you burn a steak and you still send it out knowingly, that is a conscious decision. I can forgive someone for making a mistake and telling me, we can have the guest wait a little bit for their food. However, they can only do this if they feel comfortable doing the right thing in your kitchen. Allow people to learn from mistakes but never serve them.

Practice brevity. Kitchens can be busy, chaotic loud places, and learning how to speak in busy kitchens is a skill. Getting your point across in as few words as possible during a busy service saves everyone time and allows them to focus on the tasks at hand. Making sure everyone understands the kitchen jargon helps ensure a smooth service. We wanted to say as few words during service as possible, so initially, we used to say “yes chef” or “no chef” as a callback. We determined that it was one too many words and dropped the yes or no and just used “chef” as the callback. Eventually, people understood the different tones to mean yes or no. During service, if a waiter comes back to you and explains to you the life story of the guest at the table while holding a plate in their hand for five minutes, this is a major distraction. They just had to say, “My guest wants their steak well done.” In the words of the Gza from the Wu-Tang Clan, “Keep it brief, son, half short and twice strong.” Say more with less.

Improve yourself and your team. It's important to encourage your team to get better. They can do better and always need to be striving for the next level. Encourage them to read books, find educational courses, or exercise to improve their fitness. Help them find resources and provide them with opportunities to do so. You can never go wrong by investing in people; helping someone become better not only helps them but will also help your kitchen.

Walk with a purpose. We wanted everyone to know what they were always doing. If we ask someone what they were working on, hopefully, they would answer with the next three moves, like a game of chess. If they got to a point where they didn't know what they were doing, we wanted them to make sure to ask for the next assignments and prep for service. Every move needed to have intention, like going to the walk-in multiple times during service. Make a list and go once.

Bring value. Make sure everyone on your team has a purpose and a sense of belonging. Everyone has a unique talent and sharing that creates an environment of growth and inclusivity. If you are going to be on the team, you need to bring something to help move it forward and make it better. Even if you are the newest person in the kitchen, you can bring value by something as simple as bringing cooks water during a busy service or filling salt on the line. Find a way to bring value to your team and keep this at the top of your mind.

ELIMINATE THE NOISE

As a Chef, your purpose is to lead your team, create great food, run service, and manage costs. As you already know, working in a kitchen is chaotic, and the number of distractions one has is without end. In my experience, I had the best results when I reduced the noise and allowed people to focus on what was most important. Having an unlimited number of distractions and choices to make can create decision fatigue.

"Decision fatigue" is a phenomenon that affects your ability to make decisions. According to the theory, making a lot of decisions daily can wear you down and make it harder for you to make good decisions in the future. A lot of people who work in kitchens — cooks and chefs — experience decision fatigue, and I think if you want to run a more efficient kitchen, it’s important to know how to reduce the number of distractions.

The idea behind decision fatigue is that when you make lots of choices over time, they start taking a toll on your brain. You might not be able to think as clearly or creatively after a long day of decision-making. It makes sense; if you’re at work all day long making hundreds or thousands of decisions, you won’t be at your best when it comes time to cooking, prepping, leading, or running service.

Decision fatigue affects everyone differently because everyone has different limits for how many choices they can make in a day before getting tired and wanting some relief from those choices. But as a leader, knowing this is a challenge, you should have as many decisions made for your team as possible that are minor distractions. Help them set habits on autopilot so that they can focus on the most important thing, COOKING!

This goes in tandem with building a workplace culture and standards. The more specific you are with the rules of the game, the better. This leaves no room for someone to have to make a decision that may affect the outcome of delivering amazing food. You want everyone on your team to spend their brain power on making the food taste good and having great service. When people get distracted by frivolous details that bear no impact on the food, you affect their decision fatigue.

In my kitchens, I made sure as many things as possible had a standard. Same color uniforms, socks, the language we use, and how we set a cutting board to folding towels. For example, I didn’t want someone to be distracted by another team member wondering if they have a cooler apron or t-shirt than them or why they set up their cutting board differently.

If the cook is not focused on things that can be on mental auto-pilot, the result is a focused cook. If you want to push your kitchen to the next level, turn down the noise and have them focus. I can tell you from my personal experience that this was a game changer and helped me reach the highest levels of my career in the kitchen.

If you decide this is something you want to do, here are the things I would focus on first.

Uniform standards – Have a standard that everyone wears and you feel it fits your culture. This will reinforce the concept of a team and uniformity. An inconsistent uniform is easy to notice when someone breaks the rules and helps identify a troublemaker.

Sanitation and cleanliness standards – Clean kitchens are the mark of a professional, and if your kitchen has a system and standard of cleaning, it will be much easier to maintain over time. It is important that everyone have a cleaning responsibility, if not inevitably, a few do the hard work and others disappear. If everyone understands this is a non-negotiable standard, it will just become part of the routine, and routine is not a problem. If people don’t clean every night and you ask them to, they will be upset, but they will be happy if they clean every night and work in a kitchen that is immaculate. They will take pride in this and encourage others to as well.

Food production standards – Having as much specificity in how you handle food will make the most noticeable impact on your business. It can be from how to store products in coolers to how to brine and cut fish. Whatever it is, make sure that everyone knows what you deem the most important and can demonstrate the technique in your absence.

WHY CULTURE

If you’re going to spend all the time building and developing a culture, it might be good to help others on your team understand why. You cannot expect others to believe in something just because you say so; blind faith leads to disgruntled employees later. One of the best things you can do to get buy-in from your team is to build your culture around the subject of why. Create transparency around why certain decisions are made or things are done a certain way. Not only can people support an idea better if they understand it, but they can also begin to teach it to others when you are not available to do so yourself.

This practice will also help you better understand why you are personally making the decisions you are making. Are they to improve the operation or a system, or is it just a personal preference? Personal preference can be a slippery slope for others on the team if you do not explain that to them. The reason is that if your explanation is “because I said so,” people on the team may not fully buy in as they will also have biases. But if you say it is because I personally like it that way. After all, I did this as a young chef; at least they can explain that. It will humanize you and possibly remove some perceived arrogance.

I built a whole training around this for my culinary team in a previous job because I wanted them to understand that the why behind everything is equally as important as the what. When I shared stories and examples of “why culture,” I noticed that people started to believe in the culture and reinforce it with others as an extension of my voice.

SHARED PASSION & SENSE OF BELONGING

Why do you need a sense of belonging in a kitchen? As obvious as it is, a kitchen is not only a team but also becomes like a second family for many. You spend more of your waking hours with your team in the kitchen sometimes than you do with your own family. For this reason, you need to ensure that you are creating an environment where people feel they belong. As in most kitchens, I'm sure you will likely have a diverse background of cooks and chefs. With different backgrounds and life experiences, it offers unique perspectives. The one thing that brings them altogether universally is food.  I have noticed that in kitchen environments where there is a sense of belonging, there tends to be a lower staff turnover. Everyone needs a purpose and a sense of belonging; if they don’t, they will become disengaged, or potentially worse, they will leave.

As the leader in the kitchen, it is important that you build a commonly shared passion among the team. If you can find a common mission for everyone to come together on, you will find that this will bond them. You want your team to have a family-like bond that supports each other and wants everyone on the team to win. It’s best to have a diverse team with different backgrounds and life experiences, as it offers unique perspectives. Obviously, the easiest thing the team can have a shared passion for is cooking great food. But I’ll share a few examples of some other things people can come together on.

Clean kitchens: Again, this comes up having every team member responsible for a certain aspect of the kitchen and all having a unified responsibility can encourage them to come together on cleaning. Scrubbing down at the end of the shift or during shift intervals is a good place to start.  A clean kitchen is a happy kitchen and much easier to work in. If cooks and chefs don’t clean after themselves over time, this leads to dirtier kitchens, and it’s not my job attitude.

Staff meals: Everyone sitting together is a great way to start to build camaraderie. In some places, there is a rotation of who cooks; in others, everyone pitches in potluck style, and in some, there is a specific team member who cooks. Regardless this is one of the most memorable things in the day when people get to sit, relax, and have a conversation with friends and colleagues while enjoying a meal.

Food awards: Having the team set their sights on achieving a certain food award is a great way to have them focus on their improvement. This will improve their culinary skills and unify them toward a common goal.

Departmental competitions: If you work someplace where you are one of the multiple departments, such as a hotel, it is good to try and make your department the best in class. Many places do department or employee of the month celebrations. This is a way for you to bring your team together and push them to earn recognition among the larger group.

Local food events: Having your team participate together at local food events or competitions is a good way to have everyone support a few individuals. If it is a competition, you can have different members assist with coaching or be kitchen assistants. If you win, the whole team will feel as if they also won.

The success of a team member: Many times, there are individual achievements of team members. It is important to recognize and celebrate these milestones. Such as when someone gets promoted or opens a restaurant. No individual gets there alone, and it’s important to highlight others’ success and let the team know you will also support them to achieve their own greatness.

Now that you have a better understanding of creating a culture, you need to determine the most important things to you. Build it and nurture it; over time, you will be amazed at how this will soon make all the other things in the kitchen fall in the right place.

Chapter 6

HIRING AND BUILDING A TEAM

When you become a chef, building your team can be one of the most fun things to do. You get to surround yourself with like-minded people who share the same goals and passions. If you have a strong culture already, the next step is getting the right people to help you continue your path towards kitchen success. We will cover hierarchy, your needs, hiring, and onboarding. There are many ways to approach this, but this will be a good overview and some best practices I have used that helped me build a strong team.

KITCHEN HIERARCHY

In the 1800s, French chefs started organizing their kitchens into what's now known as a brigade system. The brigade system is a method of managing the kitchen staff. It divides the kitchen into specific stations, each with its own chef and responsibilities.

Traditionally there is a chef de cuisine at the top who oversees all aspects of the culinary operation. Reporting to them, there will be sous chefs who oversee a team of cooks. The team of cooks is usually broken down into specific types of cooks, Chef de Partie, Demi Chef, and Chef Commis. This is basically station chefs and prep chefs simplified.

In many places, you will have the executive chef, executive sous chef, sous chef, and cooks in the modern brigade. The cooks can be named all sorts of things depending on where you work. In some places, they are cooks one through three, and in other places, they are cooks three through one. I will have to tell you that none of this makes sense to me as in some places, three is the highest, and in other places, three is the lowest. Some places also use the Chef de Partie position to acknowledge someone in a supervisory role. What is consistent, however, is that there is no consistency in specific titles and roles. I have seen people who are called sous chefs in restaurants where their responsibility is that of a line cook by another restaurant's standards.

Regardless of what hierarchy and brigade system you're using, it's important that everyone has a firm understanding of how your brigade works. If no one is assigned specific tasks, it can be chaotic if no one takes ownership. Clear lines of communication and chain of command to help establish responsibilities and ownership. For the system to keep going, everyone plays a very important role regardless of where they fall in the hierarchy. A kitchen with only an executive chef and no cooks will not be successful. A kitchen with only cooks and no leadership and direction might also not be successful. Both are equally important parts of the system.

Recently there has been a rise in kitchens that operate without a brigade system, and everyone can do every job. I personally have not worked in this environment, nor have I seen this environment in action. So, it's difficult for me to comment on it as I do not have experience. However, I will be paying close attention so I can understand how it works.

In my experience, setting up layers allows people to work up the ladder, and you can reward a performance like a jiu jitsu class where people can work their way from white belt to black belt. Having different levels in the hierarchy allows people to measure their progress in culinary. It also allows you to create goals for people to achieve, which can motivate people to get better and improve the operation and themselves.

Many places will introduce the junior and senior title as a transition between cook to sous chef and sous chef to executive sous chef. The senior sous chef is very close to the executive sous chef role but needs some development. While the junior sous chef is very close to the sous chef role but still requires some development also. Having these positions in place allows you to give people more money and a little bit more time to grow into the position. This incentivizes them to stay longer and remain a part of your team while also growing.

Once the hierarchy and brigade have been established in your operation, it's important that you practice one voice and follow the chain of command. What that means is that when a decision is made above them, the teams below can relay the message without bad-mouthing the boss who made the decision. As difficult as this may be for people, it's important that they understand why. When decisions are made at the top, they have usually considered a lot of factors that affect profits, quality, and the team. Tough decisions, when made, are difficult to communicate to the team when they know people don't like them. But sometimes they are necessary to ensure the success of the whole. Undermining the decisions that have been made not only causes the team to lose respect for the boss but also causes them to lose respect for the person undermining. It can cause dissent amongst the team players, and that may begin a downward spiral into chaos for your kitchen. Ensure that you and your leaders all practice one voice and deliver the same message. I would allow my leaders to challenge me in private as much as they wanted on any decisions I've made. However, once we were in public amongst the team, we needed to ensure that we had the same voice, although we may disagree in private.

As the last point with regards to hierarchy and brigade, it is important that those within the system understand how important they are to it and how they can maneuver within it. Provide a clear path for promotion and mobility. Help people understand how important they are to ensuring the success of the kitchen. As we've touched on, a sense of belonging and purpose makes a large difference in your success.

KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Everybody has strengths and weaknesses, and chefs are no exception. Knowing your individual strengths and weaknesses is an important part of improving yourself as a chef. As an over-generalization, most chefs are either very strong in managerial administration or culinary acumen. There are varying degrees between these two; however, these are really the two major buckets. Many chefs prefer to spend all their time in the kitchen and delegate their administrative responsibilities to someone else on the team. Other chefs take on all the administrative duties and have another kitchen team member run the operation. Neither approach is wrong; it is all individual preference.

However, it is important as a chef to know if you are spending too much time on managerial duties or in the kitchen; it may be because you lack the skills in one or the other. It's important after you recognize this that, you start to strengthen one. You may never fully excel in one or the other and may have a stronger side. However, to become a better chef, you need both. The more you strengthen your weaker side, the more balanced you become, and more opportunities can present themselves for you to succeed.

In my experience, I found that most chefs are usually stronger in the kitchen if they come from an independent restaurant background. However, those that come from a corporate background are usually stronger on the administrative side. This is not a one-size-fits-all answer, but I have noticed a pattern. It's important as a chef to find the balance between the two because as you continue to grow in your career, a lack in one of those areas may become a detriment to your progress. You can only go so far with culinary skills, and you can only go so far with managerial skills. But you can go very far with both. I know a lot of chefs who look down on those who only do the managerial work, and I see the point because we are chefs first, and we got into this business for the love of food. However, those who are good at managerial work oftentimes can make more money and ascend the corporate ladder because they understand the game a little better. My advice is to be good at both, and then you become unstoppable and are in the driver's seat of your career.

If you find yourself in a position where you are fully aware of your shortcomings, surround yourself with complementary team members. For example, if you are not strong with administrative skills, hire a person that can do this for you. If someone on your chef team is good with admin work, give this to them as an opportunity for development. If you are not the strongest in the kitchen, hire very competent cooks and chefs around you who are culinary wizards. That way, you can focus on administrative duties and, at the same time, use this opportunity to learn from those that are helping you.

You want to have a well-balanced team around you of people who are good with admin and people who are good in the kitchen. This is a sweet spot for most kitchens; however, the caveat is the more high-end the kitchen you are running, the less relevant admin skills are, and the more important culinary skills are. The reverse may also be true; in places where the food is much simpler, admin skills become more important than culinary skills.

My advice is, even though not everyone will agree with me, the most memorable chefs are those that were fantastic cooks. There's a greater legacy in this, as no one remembers the person who is good at managing food costs. All the glory is earned in the kitchen behind the stove.

BUILDING THE JUSTICE LEAGUE

Maybe the Justice League isn't the team you build; maybe you want to build The Avengers. Let's not get caught up in which superhero team is your favorite. Let's focus on what we mean by building a team of superheroes. What makes the team of superheroes so powerful is that they all have different skills when they come together. They become an unstoppable force, and kitchens are the same way. You need to build a diverse group of chefs and cooks around you so that you may create your own unstoppable force.

As we talk about building a culture, you need to ensure that everyone is working off the same rules and that everyone has the same mission in mind. Suppose we are all working towards the same goal and mission, which creates a united front amongst the team. Once you've defined what that is, it's important that you hire those people that have the required skills. An expression used is that if everyone thinks the same and begins at the same point, we all end up at the same point. This can be good or bad, depending on your strategy. Sometimes you do need everyone to think the same, but other times it's good to have multiple viewpoints and different opinions.

Some people say if we both agree on the same thing, then one of us is useless. This is because the person who disagrees with you has a different perspective, which may sometimes be a blind spot for you as the leader. How someone disagrees with you is important, though, you don't want someone who is disrespectful or rude, but you do want someone who is thoughtful and offers a unique perspective. In my opinion, this person should be your number two, which might be an executive sous chef or a chef de cuisine or sous chef, depending on the kitchen. Your number two person in the kitchen is the person you're most likely going to spend the most amount of time with and might be your unofficial confidant that you can discuss big problems with in privacy.

When we're talking about specific culinary skills, it's important to hire chefs from multiple restaurants and different styles of cuisines so that people can learn from each other. Having people with different backgrounds can bring unique opportunities for problem-solving. If you were trying to build a great kitchen, you would want to hire people from other great kitchens. You wouldn't want all of them coming from the same place, or you just might end up replicating where they came from. They may be coming from a great restaurant, but you need to be able to stand on your own two feet and create your own identity. Hiring chefs and cooks from different restaurants within the city will bring a lot of fresh perspectives where other people can learn from each other.

“I want the Justice League, not Batman.”

This is a quote that I've used in the past when hiring people or explaining how I'm building a team. The reason I say this is because a lot of times, people want to be the star of the show and don't like working with others. In my opinion, this doesn't lead to a successful team. You need someone who wants to celebrate the team's success and wants everyone to get better and not want all the credit for themselves. This doesn't mean that you can't have strong players on your team, but it's important that they remember it's still a team. Win together and fail together should be the mantra. If you create an environment where only one individual wins all the time, the blame will be passed around the kitchen for failures. People will begin to distance themselves from failure instead of owning it as a team would and finding common ground for solutions.

Think about your specific kitchen and its needs and think about what a group of superheroes may look like. Hire for that! Then make sure that they know they're on a team and that all their successes and failures are linked together. Then explain what their specific role is to ensure that everyone succeeds. Once that is determined, find how your group of superheroes is going to save the day and give them their goal. You will be surprised how efficient a team can be when everyone knows what they're supposed to do and feels a sense of purpose and belonging. When goals are reached, you can capitalize on this and start compounding wins because people get addicted to winning. Just be careful because people can also get addicted to losing. It's important to recognize when you spot that pattern and correct the course. Your job as the chef leader in the kitchen is to ensure you have the vision and mission. In addition to making sure you’re savvy enough to adjust the plan when things aren't working out.

THE CHEF INTERVIEW

Let's talk about the interview process when it comes to hiring cooks and chefs. Throughout the course of my career, I've probably hired over 1000 people, including executive chefs, cooks, sous chefs, and everything in between. So, you might say I have a little bit of experience. After interviewing so many people, my process has become refined over time. There are always some good interview best practices to follow, like asking open-ended questions. However, when we're dealing with cooks and chefs of all different levels and experiences, we may need to tailor the questions a bit. I'm going to share with you the formula I have found success with. This is not set in stone nor needs to be taken as gospel. But it's worked for me, and I'm hoping you can gain something from it and learn from my experience.

Let's start with the interview basics that you are looking for in a candidate. It's important when making a job posting, whether you're using social media or traditional forms of advertisement, to have some information on what you are specifically looking for so you can narrow down the applicants. If you're using social media such as Instagram, most likely, people who follow you have an idea of the type of food and restaurant you work at, or they wouldn't be following you. So, you could be a little bit more generic here and post the specific positions you're hiring for and maybe some general idea of the benefits of working at your establishment. However, in other online advertisements, you might want to include a little bit more information such as experience, specific tasks, hours, benefits, pay, workplace culture, and future career opportunities. This will give applicants some general information and an understanding of what they can expect if they apply at your establishment.

Now that your job is posted, hopefully, you will start to receive applicant flow. It's important that you screen applicants quickly as it is very easy to find a job these days. Depending on your hiring process, it might take several weeks before you can have that person start. You also must consider that they may need to give notice to their current employer, which in general could be anywhere from two weeks to several months. In my opinion, if anyone is unwilling to give their employer notice, that's a red flag, and I wouldn't hire them. If the shoe was on the other foot, they might do the same to you. Get back to them quickly and start making phone calls as soon as possible to schedule face-to-face interviews, skype, zoom, etc. Because if you have a great resume in hand, you want to make sure you don't lose them to a competitor.

When screening applications, everyone is different and looks for different things. I feel that if I'm hiring someone, I'm looking for attention to detail in the resume. Are things spelled correctly, do the dates of work experience align and make sense? If the resume seems sloppy and there is no attention to detail on it, this might be a sign of things to come when they are working in the kitchen. When I'm looking for specific experience, I want to ensure they have done a similar job prior. I'll give you an example if you were working in a fine dining restaurant and the applicant has zero fine dining experience, that person may not be a good fit on paper. That does not necessarily mean that you should ignore them, but it does mean that there may be a significant learning curve for them to adjust to the style of cuisine and kitchen culture. When culinary schools were pumping out students a few years back, every single resume that came through looked the same, as if they all went to the same class for resume writing. Every single student had their culinary experience listed up top, with zero work experience, and then a list of their volunteer experience. When I would receive 30 resumes that all looked the same, it made it hard to figure out which ones would make it to the next round of interviews. However, every now and again, a resume would come through with work experience in addition to schooling. This resume would usually stand out amongst all the others; this meant that the person with a little bit of experience most likely was adapted to the pace and intensity of real kitchens versus that of the classroom. When you're new in the industry, real-world experience makes a huge difference.

Once you have filtered through resumes and selected the best candidates that you determine will be the best fit for your kitchen, start the interview process.

Here are some things to keep an eye out for during the face-to-face interview.

Are they on time for the interview? If they are not on time for the interview, it may be an indicator of things to come. You don't want to cook that shows up late to work every day.

Have they dressed appropriately for the position they are applying for? If you are interviewing for an executive position meeting with the executive committee of a hotel, wearing a business suit might be the right choice. But this would be the wrong choice if you were interviewing to be a line cook, as you may be expected to perform in the kitchen as part of the interview process. As they say, dress for the job that you want, and if you want to be a cook, look like you are ready to cook. Specifically, be clean!

Did they bring a copy of their resume? This is a personal pet peeve of mine because even though I had seen their resume when I called to set up the interview, I may have been doing that from an office that is nowhere near the coffee shop where we are meeting or the kitchen. The common answer I get is I sent it in an e-mail, so you should have a copy. If you're the applicant, bring a copy of your resume, it's expected.

Are they professional? Do they greet you properly, make good eye contact, and use professional language during the interview? Nothing is a bigger turn-off during an interview for me than someone who swears to their potential boss during the first encounter.

Are they a good fit for your team? The team’s energy and dynamics are important. When it’s great, it is a thing of beauty and affects the quality of food and kitchen atmosphere. This is a tricky one because only you know your kitchen’s energy and what it’s missing. Sometimes the kitchen lacks energy, so it needs someone to help you lift its spirits. Make sure you trust your instincts and don’t dismiss this important factor in the decision to hire.

Do they have relevant experience? Sometimes you can really fall in love with a candidate, and they interview well. But an important question to always ask yourself is whether they are qualified with relevant experience. In some cases, it doesn’t matter, but in others, it’s imperative. For example, if you are running a high-end Michelin-level restaurant, you wouldn’t hire someone without a high-end background to become your sous chef. There would be things that they certainly won’t know due to lack of experience and exposure. Other times their experience might be great at cooking but lack in managing others. If they are a good fit for the team, try and find a spot for them, even if it is not what they applied for. Let them know you think they would be a good fit for the team, not the position, and guide them towards something else.

Do they have prepared questions? At the end of interviews, I typically allow people to ask questions. It blows my mind how many people don't take advantage of this opportunity to find out more about the operation, the restaurant, the food ideology, or even the team. Have some prepared questions; a good tip is to have a minimum of three questions which seems to be the magic number.

Are they ready to cook if they must? Now in their defense, you may not have told them that they would be cooking. So, they may be unprepared to do so, but even then, they should be willing if you can give them an apron and possibly a chef coat. As the person conducting the interviews, if you know they are going to cook, it might be a good idea to inform them beforehand, so they are ready. The downside to this is that many people will not show up for the interview when they find out they must cook. Maybe that's not a bad thing.

Now depending on where you work and whom you work for, there may be very specific questions you are required to ask or not ask due to legal reasons. I suggest you investigate that first and make sure you're doing what your company and the law require. With that in mind, I want to share with you a list of questions I have used when interviewing cooks and chefs. These questions were designed specifically to challenge them and get them to think. There really wasn't any right or wrong answer; I just wanted to know how they think about food and what level of chef they are. I am not saying you need to ask these questions; however, I will share with you the questions that I thought were interesting, thought-provoking, and always gave an opportunity for a good conversation.

Tell me about the worst service you've ever experienced and what did you learn from it?

Tell me about your best day in the kitchen. Please describe it in as much detail as you can.

What do you do in the kitchen better than anybody else?

If you could invite any three chefs over for dinner, living or dead, who would they be and why? What would you cook? And what would be your icebreaker to start the conversation?

What is the best meal you've ever had?

What cookbook has influenced you the most?

If they are more seasoned chefs, ask what advice you would give yourself when you were just starting in the industry.

What would your dream restaurant look like? For this question, in particular, I dig deep for as many details as I can. I will start asking questions like how many items are on the menu. What do the uniforms look like? How many tables? What material are the menus made of? What are the hours of operation? In this dream kitchen, what position do they hold? This can go on endlessly. It allows you to really understand how in tune someone is with the restaurant business, specifically their own vision. In my experience, this is the one question that tells you the most.

HOW TO BRING IN A NEW TEAM MEMBER

If you're the chef leader of a team, you've probably had to bring in a new member at some point. It can be a challenge to integrate a new person into an existing team. The good news is that the process isn't as difficult as you might think. In fact, if done properly, it can help your team gel and become more productive. The key is to make sure everyone knows what their role is and what their responsibilities are going forward.

Here are some tips for bringing in new cooks and chefs.

Make sure everyone knows what they're doing Before you bring someone on board, make sure everyone else knows what their role is and how they fit into the larger picture. This will give them time to prepare before this new person shows up, so there aren't any surprises when they come on board.

Set ground rules. Once people know what they're supposed to do, set some ground rules around how they should interact with each other and how they should communicate with chefs or other teams within the kitchen. This includes everything from how the culture works to some of your top 10s. Sit with them and spend time onboarding them. They may be nervous and don’t want to flounder in the kitchen, not knowing what to do.

Give them some space. New hires need time to look around and get acclimated to their new environment before they feel like they're part of the team. It might take them a week or two to really feel like they belong in your kitchen. So, give them space to do that by letting them ease into their schedule by coming in early or staying late for a few days until they feel comfortable with the flow of things. Or additional training on a station if that permits.

Give feedback quickly. Both good and bad, so you can start to establish what is and is not acceptable. It's also important that you provide positive feedback as well as constructive criticism because cooks who feel challenged want to do better. The appeal of being a chef is that you see the journey and daily improvement as a reward.

Make the job description clear! Answer any questions they have on it. If you're looking for an entry-level position, write down the tasks involved in the job and make sure they're realistic for someone with little experience. If you want someone with five years of experience as a sous chef, don't ask them to perform tasks that someone with limited experience would normally perform. It's better, to be honest upfront than waste time with false expectations later.

Now that you have an idea of what you’re looking for on your team, how to interview and hire, go and build a team of great chefs.

Chapter 7

CONSISTENCY AND RECIPES

I'm a big believer in recipe consistency, and I think to have a great restaurant, there should be recipes for cooks. This seems like a simple concept, but you'd be surprised how many restaurants freestyle their recipes. The problem with that environment is the amount of drift you will have from the original idea. A recipe starts one way, but over the course of time, after it's been passed along from cook to cook, it no longer resembles the original idea. If you want your cooks to be successful and you need to hold them accountable, they need recipes. How else are you going to confirm if something is made correctly? Taste? As the head chef, one must assume that your palate will be more refined than your cooks. Therefore, the taste is not a good measure of consistency unless the same person tastes everything.

In my experience, the best way to create recipes is to have them measured by weight as much as possible using grams and kilograms. When recipes are made in cups and ounces, it creates havoc for consistency. Even when using ounces, cooks will get confused because sometimes it might be fluid ounces versus weight. You may be leaving it to inexperienced cooks to make that decision. Don't leave it to chance, and weigh everything out to the gram to ensure that it is made as close to spec as possible. Additionally, it is much quicker and more efficient to use weight as a measure for making recipes. ChefSteps.com has a great video demonstrating using a scale versus cups and spoons where you can clearly see that it is much more effective. 

A simple formula for recipes is to list out the ingredients in batch sections as to how they will be made. For example, if the first step in a recipe requires three ingredients and the next step requires another three, list them in the order that they would follow in the recipe. This makes it easy for the cook to organize themselves while preparing the recipe.

The recipe description should be easy to understand and not too wordy. Brevity is your friend when writing recipes, but ensure all-important points are discussed. Personally, I like steps one through five, etc., as that seems easy to follow versus recipes that just list out a long narrative. When recipes are listed out in steps, it makes things much easier to go back and review and not get lost.

Recipes should also be costed to ensure that you are making good business decisions, as discussed in the food cost section at length. If people are following the recipe, then you know what it costs. Using grams as your measure also allows you to cost a more accurate recipe. You may have a computer program as there are many out there that cost recipes for you and link them to your inventory system. This is a good benefit for your kitchen, and you should take advantage of it, as it will update your costs as your prices change.

Dish diagrams are something separate from recipes, but I believe kitchens should have them for all menu items. This might include a photograph or a sketch of a dish, the components, methods, costing, and other things may be included such as allergens, table markings, beverage pairings, and notes from the chef. This is not an exhaustive list, and it should be customized to meet the needs of your operation. These dish diagrams are a great tool for your culinary and service team to use. For the culinary team, it explains how to properly pick up the dish and all the components that go into it, including finished sub-recipes. For the service team, it helps educate them as to what all goes into the dish, including allergens and other information the chef would like them to know. This is an important tool for any restaurant kitchen to use to ensure accuracy and consistency in plated dishes.

The costing on dish diagrams will give you an idea of your per plate cost. I think it's a good habit to include a waste factor in your recipes. There's not a standard answer to this. Some places just add a $2 plate cost; others add 15% for waste. But regardless, some sort of cost should be factored in as there will be a loss on the food you are preparing, and it needs to be accounted for.

Additionally, it is good to include the food costs percent and cost per dish. Knowing exactly how much each dish costs will help you make better decisions about it. If you are building a theoretical food cost, each plate needs to be costed so you can have a theory on what your overall food cost is before launching a menu or opening a restaurant.

Once you have created recipes, sub-recipes, and dish diagrams, the most important thing to do is use them! Make sure everyone on the team has them; as updates come in, they receive them. One of my biggest pet peeves as a chef is when people don’t follow recipes, so as the chef, it’s important to make sure that recipes are accessible and accurate.

Now I would be remiss if I didn’t discuss that technique in the kitchen is paramount for recipes to succeed. If you don’t know the basics of cooking, the recipe can’t help you. There are things in a recipe that sometimes can’t be described, and only the experienced understands. If you have a team of talented and technical chefs versus inexperienced cooks, you can give them the same recipe and see very opposite results. As many chefs say, “the recipe is a guide,” but if your recipe is well scaled and written, it will require less of their culinary intuition to adjust for nuance in ingredients, temperature, and location.

If you don’t know where to start, I am a fan of ChefSteps.com and the way they have their recipes written and laid out.

Chapter 8

NEGOTIATE LIKE A CHEF

CHEF-STYLE NEGOTIATION

Negotiation is an important skill that every chef needs to get good at. Everything is a negotiation in the kitchen. Putting a new dish on a menu, agreeing on a schedule, negotiating a salary, getting the best price from a vendor, and the list goes on. The better you become at negotiating, the better your operation will run, and the fewer headaches you have. Also, people will know that you run a tight ship and that nothing gets past you. As a chef, it's important that you watch everything because the second that you take your eye off is when people will take advantage of you. Those people that take advantage of you are usually the people you least expect it from. Some of those people are your employees who might take advantage of a scheduling issue. Or it might be a vendor who starts slipping in a bad product because they know you're not looking at it or, worse, slowly raising the price of something. Once you understand that, you can negotiate everything, and I mean everything. You will understand how to negotiate and win, you will start yourself in an advantageous position in many situations.

A lot of people are afraid to negotiate because they think they will get ripped off or be perceived as a cheapskate. For those people, I say don't worry about that; concern yourself with what happens if you don’t get good at negotiation. Negotiation is one of the most important life skills, and it's not worth worrying about being perceived negatively, as this is business.

I started learning about negotiation by seeing things that I clearly would think people would not agree to, only to see them agree to things that I thought were ridiculous requests. I found myself in positions where I was able to negotiate for more, but I was too embarrassed to ask. I felt like I was taking advantage of the situation. Even worse, I was passed up on a job that I really wanted because I was too afraid to ask for it. Afterward, the hiring manager asked why I didn't apply and that they really wanted me, but they thought I wasn't interested. I learned an important lesson that day, ask for what you want, or people will assume you don't want it. Additionally, ask for more because you might not be aware of everything, they are able to provide. It's easy for them to take it off the table if they don't have it, but you'd be surprised how much you can get by simply asking.

When I go into a negotiating situation, I will normally ask for several things that I don't necessarily need just to put myself in a position where I can take things off the table. But to do this, you must identify the most important thing you are negotiating with. Is it money or a specific schedule that you can't adjust? Once you identify the most important thing that you absolutely cannot let go of, build some additional items around it. Some of these things might be unreasonable, and they will be easily let go. If you went into a negotiation with five things, but you only wanted one, the one that you really wanted is the one that is the walk-away item. The other four are bargaining chips. What's great about this tactic as many times, you get all five or walk away with three out of five, which is just icing on the cake. I'm going to give you an example as if I was an executive chef negotiating for a new position. Below are the five things I would request, but the most important thing I want is a specific salary.

Salary of X dollar amount per year (Be very specific more on this later)

3% ownership of the restaurant.

Carte blanche on all menu items.

Two weeks of paid vacation and medical benefits

Monthly dining out stipend towards competitive set restaurants

Now imagine you went into this negotiation, and the only thing you really cared about was getting a very specific salary. Yet you were able to walk out with all five, wouldn't that be something incredible? You wouldn't know if you didn't ask for them. Now let's say some of these seem a little much for the potential employer; you can counter and say fine, let’s take off the stipend and reduce the vacation to one week. Now you are negotiating from a position where you seem very reasonable and willing to compromise. There may be a little bit more back and forth, but in most cases, you will walk away with more than you intended to walk away with.

When it comes to negotiating salary, there are a few things that I think you need to keep in mind. These items are not 100% certain, but I have seen them play out many times, and then the chef ends up on the losing end of the negotiation over time. So, use these examples to arm yourself with knowledge before you agree to something. Once you accept the job, it can be difficult to go back and change things.

Promises of more money later – This is what a lot of people do to get you to take the job and later never live up to their end of the deal. There might be hundreds of excuses why, but the fact is you may never get the money later as promised. This is a sucker's game; if they can give it to you later, they can give it to you now.

Review your performance in 90 days – The promise of a raise in 90 days falls in line with the above; however, many places do come through on this as it may be a company policy. However, clearly, they have the money now, so why not get it all now and even more in 90 days? Negotiate for more now and more later.

Stake in ownership – Get this in writing or a contract. Handshake deals just aren’t what they used to be, and many people will use this to get you in. Don’t get taken for a fool. If it’s not in writing, then it can end up being your word against theirs, and people have bad memories.

Achievable bonuses – Many places promise you can make even more if you achieve your bonus, but is it realistic? You need to know if the previous chef made their bonus and if they are on track. Ask to see some numbers, and make sure they are transparent with the process. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

NEGOTIATING SALARY

There are a lot of books written on this, and one of the best on negotiation I've ever read is “Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss. I don't want to spend a lot of time on this subject, but I will say a few things about it. When you're negotiating salary, it's important that you are realistic with your experience and the position. Sometimes you may price yourself out, and they will go with a different candidate. Other times you may not have the confidence to ask for what you deserve, and they may lowball you. Do your homework and have a very specific number in mind. Let's say that number is $52,651. Once you've determined what that number is, you must be hard-set to walk away from anything less than that number. When you negotiate, ask for 15% more which is roughly $60,000 ($60,548 to be exact). As someone who's hired many people, I can tell you there's always room to negotiate if the candidate is the ideal candidate. In the best-case scenario, you get the salary you asked for plus a little extra. If they don't like this number, they will push back, and it gives you some room to negotiate. And if push comes to shove, you have a walk-away number. The reason this is so important is that when you take a job, most likely, that is the salary you're going to take for the first year, maybe a little longer before you're able to get an increase. I've seen many places promise an increase after 90 days etc. that never happened. Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad actors out there that use this as in negotiation tactic to hire you and not follow through on later. Obviously, it's much harder to quit later once you've committed to a job and don't have something else. Before you accept the job, make sure you are satisfied with the salary.

HOW TO NEGOTIATE WITH FOOD VENDORS

You might want to negotiate with a vendor because there are some things that you really want from them. You might want them to lower the price of their goods or services, but this can be tricky because they don't have any incentive to change their pricing structure for one customer. However, there are ways to persuade people to give you what you want without spending money or compromising on quality.

When negotiating with a food vendor, the first thing to do is to determine what kind of food you want, at what price, and how much you want to spend. Here are some tips on how to negotiate with food vendors:

1) Bargain in a friendly manner, but don't be afraid to be firm. If you're too soft-hearted, they'll take advantage of you and charge more than they should. Be assertive and stand your ground in most cases, they need you, and you have the power to walk away.

2) Don't rush into bargaining until after you've had a chance to look around at what other people are paying for similar items. Compare prices before making an offer; this will help establish a baseline for negotiations later.

3) Ask if there are any deals available or if there's any other way that they can lower their prices without affecting their profit margin too much (e.g., they may have a slow-moving product you can use). If there isn't any room for negotiation here, ask if they have rebates or if there's anything else they can do besides lowering their prices (e.g., free delivery, gas fee, etc.).

4) Don't be afraid to walk away. If they know you are willing to walk away from a deal sometimes, that's when you get to the better pricing. If you can't walk away from a deal, then you are not in a position to negotiate.

5) Hold them accountable for whatever you negotiated. I've seen many times where what was agreed to has slowly drifted over the course of time to resemble something different. If they have broken the terms of the original deal, use this as an opportunity to call them out; if you don’t, they will continue to take advantage of you. This is also an opportunity to either walk away or restructure the deal; the difference is you are holding more leverage now.

I'll give you a quick example of something I had done with a vendor. Whenever I negotiate with vendors, I have very specific criteria for us to even have a conversation. The price has to be better than what I'm currently paying, or the quality needs to be significantly better than the quality I currently have. If the answer is no to both, there's no point in having a conversation. An example of a win-win would be that the price is better, and the quality is better. Let's assume that only one is; then it's up to you to determine if you're in a position where you can compromise the quality of something or if you can take on the additional cost.

I was negotiating with a meat vendor once, and they really wanted our business, but I was very happy with the quality of the place I was currently using. I was able to get them to agree to lock in pricing for a year at 20% less than I was currently paying. In addition to that, I asked them to feature us once a month on their social media and sponsor a chef trip to a farm for continuing education. What surprised me was that they said yes to everything as they really wanted the business. All I wanted was the 20% savings; the rest was a bonus.

Chapter 9

GETTING THE JOB

Now let's talk about if you're the person interviewing for the job. I'm going to share with you my secrets when I'm on job interviews that have gotten me the job 100% of the time. As a matter of fact, I've NEVER failed to get a job that I applied for after doing this. Some of it involves psychology, body language, neurolinguistic programming, and in general, good manners and common sense.

Do your research! Find out as much as you can about the place where you're applying, study their menus, study their chef, or if you're applying for the chef, study your boss and sous chefs if you can. Be prepared with as much information as possible prior to the interview. It will demonstrate intention and professionalism.

Practice the interview. You can probably google interview questions, so you have something to practice with. Have someone help you rehearse the interview; it's better if the person helping you has some experience interviewing people. This is where your mentor comes in; hopefully, you have one. Practice the interview several times until you're comfortable with your answers. The person who's helping you should be giving you critical feedback. One thing I've done in the past is to record myself on my phone and watch it back so I can hear myself and see my body language during the interview. This is a great tool for delivering instant feedback.

Arrive early but no more than 10 minutes. You might be in a waiting room or dining room lobby, so you don't want to be too early, but definitely don't be late. If you're late, game over! If you arrive earlier than 10 minutes, don't go inside, and wait in your car or outside before going in.

Introduction. Use positive body language, smile, give a firm handshake or fist bump, whatever is appropriate. At the initial meeting, upon shaking hands, introduce yourself and say your name. If you know their name, make sure you use it right away. For example, I would say, “Hi Bob Smith, I’m Andre Natera. It's a pleasure to meet you,” while maintaining eye contact and having a friendly smile on my face. A good persuasive hack is using their name two times within the first 60 seconds of the encounter. People love the sound of their own name, and this will start racking up points in your favor. If it's time to sit down, as a rule, let them sit first, and if they don't offer you to sit, a simple “do you mind if I sit down” will suffice before sitting. Sit straight, have good eye contact, and try not to fidget during the interview.

Mirroring. Mirroring is a body language technique used in NLP (neuro linguistic programming). I highly recommend you spend a little bit of time researching body language for job interviews online. YouTube has some great resources. Specifically, what I'm talking about here is slightly mirroring the body language of the person who is interviewing you and matching their vocal tone slightly. In a nutshell, the reason you do this is because people like people who are more like them. By mirroring them slightly, you're demonstrating as a mirror would just how much like them you are. I encourage you to dive deep into this subject matter; it’s a game changer.

Have questions ready. Have a minimum of three questions prepared, but at the same time, don't go in with 20 questions; that’s way too much. Asking questions demonstrates that you're engaged and interested in the job. It also demonstrates that you are interested in the person whom you may be working with or for. Here are a few questions I like to ask.

“Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and how you got started on this project?”

“If I were to get this job, what would our relationship look like?”

“How would you measure success in this position, and what would I need to do to make sure we are both successful?”

The reason I like these questions so much is that it gives the interviewer an opportunity to talk specifically about themselves and their expectations. And in case you didn't know this, everyone's favorite subject is themselves. When someone spends the majority of the interview talking about themselves, they usually walk away from it saying, “Wow, that was a really great interview.” Of course, it is! They only talked about their favorite subject, themselves.

Closing and follow-up. When closing the interview, thank them for their time, let them know what a pleasure it was to meet them, and ask them what the expected follow-up may look like. I learned this long ago, but it works like a charm that I write handwritten thank you cards personalized to the people who interviewed me. I dropped them in the mail immediately after the interview, so hopefully, the person will get them the next day. This type of gesture is lost on most people today, and most likely, you will be the only one who did this, which will cause you to stand out in the interview process.

THE COOKING INTERVIEW

Whether you're interviewing or you're the interviewer, if you're working as a chef, there's a high likelihood that you may have to do a cooking portion of your interview. Every place is different and has a different requirement of what this may look like. I've seen some places that just make you dice an onion, and other places want you to put on a buffet and a tasting menu over the course of two days. Unfortunately, there is no set standard on what the cooking interview is, nor what qualifies as a good cooking interview. However, I will tell you how I've structured my cooking interviews in the past and the reason why I feel it is best. If you don’t have a standard cooking interview for chefs, I recommend you use the one I am outlining below.

For line cook positions, I usually don't get too complicated. In a kitchen, these positions are usually not writing recipes or creating dishes. They're usually the ones who prepare the chef's vision during the daily service. What I'm looking for in these positions is how clean they are, how efficient they work, and basic knife and sauté skills. Don't get caught up in these minutiae; obviously, if it's a grill position, it might include grilling a steak, or a pizza position might include stretching the dough. This is for 80% of the line cook jobs that exist. It's simple; I have them dice an onion and make an omelet. I'm not looking for a specific dice that might be unique to my kitchen or a specific omelet that all my cooks know how to make, and only them because they've worked with me for years. No, what I'm looking for is a basic understanding of how to use a knife, how to set a workstation, and how to control the temperature on the stove and flip an omelet. That will pretty much tell me everything I need to know about the cook in a limited amount of time. In many classic European kitchens, making the omelette French style was a prerequisite to any job.

Now let's talk about a more complex cooking interview. This is the interview I used for the sous chef and up to the executive chef. It involves giving them a whole salmon, a whole chicken, a live lobster, and a whole fresh artichoke. I tell them that they must prepare two portions of one dish with each featured ingredient. They must use the ingredient given as the dish's focal point but have access to every other ingredient in the kitchen. They can take as much time as they want just to let me know when they plan on serving.

I'm unsure if this is still the case, but at one point, the practical cooking exam for a certified executive chef through the American Culinary Federation was to cook those ingredients listed above. The reason was that it could showcase a tremendous amount of skill and technique with the most basic ingredients. This resonated with me, so I decided to incorporate it into my cooking practical for chefs. Let me tell you, I've been doing this since 2005, and it has broken even the most seasoned executive chefs. All these ingredients are rather boring and vanilla, which requires the chef to demonstrate strong fundamentals in cooking. It's easy to make luxury ingredients taste good, as many times they taste good without having to do anything with them. However, vanilla boring ingredients (which some might consider salmon and chicken) require much more skill to prepare and make delicious. If you can make a chicken taste good, you can make a duck, squab, or pheasant taste good. If you can make salmon taste good, most likely, you can make other more expensive fish varieties also taste good.

Chicken. The reason for a whole chicken is that it allows you to demonstrate a variety of different skills. Butchering, trussing, stock making, roasting, sauteing, frying, braising sauce work, and forcemeat, just to list a few. With the simplest ingredient, I can gauge a chef's level of creativity and technique. What's very interesting is how many people choose the path of least resistance and simply cut off a chicken breast and sauté it. This is an opportunity for you to showcase everything that you know as a chef, and you showcase one skill. In my opinion, demonstrate as many skills as possible during the cooking interview.

Whole Salmon. The whole salmon can demonstrate fish butchery so that you will see someone's level of proficiency with a knife and understanding of health and safety practices. Do they keep their fish over ice, wear gloves, or clean their cutting board? Also, it allows you to see their comfort level and knowledge with it. When butchering it, do they scrape the bones for salmon tartar, or do they leave it? In every kitchen I've worked in, we butcher the fish from whole. Chefs and sometimes cooks do this task. If I was hiring someone for a sous chef position and they didn't know how to butcher some salmon, it might be difficult for them to gain the respect of the line cooks and other chefs who know how to proficiently. I'm looking for a certain level of skill set to lead the team. When it comes to serving the dish, I'm also looking to see how well they can cook fish. Is it overdone and dry? Is it raw? Or is it cooked a perfect medium rare?

Live lobster. Lobster is the luxury ingredient in the mystery basket. It's important that I see how people treat luxury ingredients. I will also know right away if they've worked with lobsters before; there are some obvious signs. It's surprising how many people have climbed the kitchen ladder and skipped over certain skills. In kitchens that I've run, everyone knows how to work with lobsters, so similar to the salmon, I want to make sure that leaders who come into my kitchen know how to do the same. Also, when someone is cooking lobster, they have choices of, are they going to use the claw? Are they going to use the tail? Are they going to make a bisque out of the shells or a sauce? Once again, so many skills can be demonstrated.

Artichoke. The last one in the mystery basket is the artichoke; this one is the destroyer of chefs. I've seen chefs in cooking interviews trying to give their artichokes to line cooks to clean them, saying they are too busy. Obviously, they don't know how to clean it and are looking to pawn off work. Like all the ingredients above, many chefs have climbed the ranks without having butchered chicken, salmon, prepared lobster, or cleaned artichokes. They bought frozen chicken breasts, salmon already portioned, frozen lobster tails, and artichokes in the can. There's nothing wrong with kitchens that do that. But call me old-fashioned, I believe in having the title of a chef; there are certain techniques and foundations in cooking that must be established.

After the chef has prepared all their food, you will have a firm understanding of what their culinary skill set is. Trust me, after doing this interview hundreds of times; I can now know whether they're getting the job or not within the first few minutes. It's how they move in the kitchen, where they place their knives, how organized they are, and how comfortable they are with the ingredients; It all shows. My best advice is to be prepared; you don't necessarily have to be the best cook in the world; you need to be better than the other applicant for the job. That's what gets you hired.

MYSTERY BASKET

Many places will give chefs a mystery basket as a cooking practical for a job interview. A mystery basket is usually a mixed goods basket that the person performing has no idea what they are getting. Think of an Iron Chef competition where the contestant doesn’t know what they are getting until the chairman reveals the secret ingredient. A mystery basket is the same but sometimes has more than just battle mackerel.

If you find yourself having to cook using a mystery basket, the best advice I can share with you is to remove the mystery from the basket. What that means is to go in with a strong plan on what you’re cooking regardless of what they give you. Have a plan for poultry, beef, or seafood. So, no matter what type of poultry they give you, you're ready. For the vegetables, know that you can group certain things together, like vegetables for sauteing or puree. You can categorize all things into a few different buckets. If you have strong techniques, you can apply techniques to a variety of ingredients and walk in confidence that you are prepared.

A few tips for cooking during a job interview are below.

Manage your time! Just because you can do something quickly in your home kitchen doesn’t mean you can in a foreign kitchen that you are unfamiliar with. If it takes to 20 mins in a comfortable setting, give yourself 30.

Make a plan. Take a few minutes to organize a prep list and timeline. This allows you to organize your thoughts and can help you stay on track, as sometimes cooking interviews can make you nervous and cause you to make mistakes that you usually don’t make.

Work clean! People are watching; if you are the new chef, they will want to see what you know. The team is sizing you up.

Don’t make something for the first time during a job interview. Make dishes you have mastered and made hundreds of times. You may be saying that you are tired of a certain dish, but keep in mind what might be old to you could be new and exciting to someone else.

Bring an extra apron. Things can happen, and you might get dirty and spill something on your apron. Having a change of clean apron or even a clean chef coat that can be changed before presenting your food can make you look more professional. I once changed my coat and apron before presenting my food for a tasting, and the new boss kept commenting to everyone about how clean I was for a chef and how impressed he was.

Have a story. Tell a small story about the food you present. Food is subjective, and if they don’t like something you made with no back story; there is no redeeming quality. I once over salted a dish for a tasting but said that in this small town, they oversalt the food, so be careful as it is not intended to drink the salty broth. I got the job, and they loved the story.

Go in confident and professional, and if you don’t get the job, learn from the experience, and get better.

Chapter 10

THE GAME

WHAT IS THE GAME

I heard an expression once that said, “If you don't know how to play the game, you're not even in the game.” I think running a kitchen is analogous to a game, specifically chess. I am not a world-class chess player, but I enjoy and play the game daily. I think someone can learn a lot about running kitchens, specifically strategy, by playing chess. When you're in a leadership role, specifically as the executive chef knowing how to move the pieces on the board (meaning the people who work with you and for you) is a critical skill. If you are good at this, you can excel, your moves are more calculated, and you consider many different possibilities and variables. Before making a big decision, I would think of every possible outcome; I would include my senior chefs to help me think of anything that I could potentially be overlooking. Afterward, I would weigh all the potential outcomes and would determine what I felt was best for the direction of the restaurant and kitchen operation.

Here is my example of chess pieces as culinary positions.

King - in my opinion, the king is like a restaurant. Your job is to make sure that the king is protected at all costs. The king getting captured is analogous to the restaurant closing or failing game over.

Queen - The queen, in my opinion, is the Executive Chef or Chef de Cuisine, the strongest piece on the board and really the piece that you don't want to lose at all. It's the one piece that could move anywhere on the chess board like a chef can move anywhere in the kitchen. It has the most amount of power, but it is still vulnerable. Just like the queen can be captured, the chef can lose their job and get fired. Making someone else the most important piece on the board. Just because you are the most powerful piece doesn’t mean that a mistake can’t get you removed from the game.

Rooks - These are like your executive sous chefs or number two in the kitchen, depending on your organization. Their job is to protect the king, AKA restaurant, and they have more freedom to move around; however, they are a little bit more limited than the queen. They do a lot of the heavy lifting in the end game, like how an executive sous chef will come in to assist cooks when things aren't going well to save a disastrous service or help them with the final push.

Bishops and Knights - These positions are like sous chefs; they do most of the work in the middle game and in the openings. They are powerful positions, usually working with pawns to control the center and make moves to capture opposing pieces. I view them as the ones who get most of the work done. Without them, life can be hard, so they are extremely valuable, and when a good strategy is in place, they can make the game easily winnable.

Pawns - Before everyone gets upset that I am calling the cooks pawns, I believe pawns are the most important pieces on the chess board. Just as I believe, cooks are the most important piece in the kitchen. There are usually more cooks than there are chefs, so there are more pawns on the chess board. The pawns are being directed similarly to how chefs manage their cooks. But the most amazing thing about being a pawn in chess is that a pawn is the only piece that can go through battle and prove itself and become any other piece it wishes. All chefs have started out as cooks and have crossed the chess board to receive a pawn promotion to become chefs. If you understand this, you understand the magic of the game. As a chess player Chef, I take a lot of pride in knowing that I have promoted many pawns to queens! My proudest moments as a chef are seeing my former team members get their first head chef position.

Now the most important part of playing the game is using all the positions together to win! Teamwork and understanding how all pieces are important is the most successful strategy to know.

RULES OF THE GAME

I have used this old expression before, “If you're not at the table, you're on the menu.” What that means is that on every level, a game is being played, even in kitchens. This is how people get promoted, how schedules are determined, how hierarchy is organized, and how menus are created. We are playing a game, and the game is called “THE KITCHEN.” It needs to be determined how to win the game. If everyone in the game is a player, then it's important that everyone who plays knows what the rules are. Establishing the rules gives everyone an idea of how to win. It's important as the chef leader of a kitchen that you establish the rules of the game.

I'm going to go through the basic things people need to understand about the game. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, but it will give you a good frame of reference for where to begin if you are unsure. Feel free to adjust this to your needs for your specific kitchen.

Mission and vision - it's important that everyone in your kitchen knows your vision and mission. It's also important that they know why it is your mission. Make sure that this is clearly communicated to everyone and that they understand what success looks like.

What does winning look like? - Make sure especially you know what winning looks like. If you've been on a winning team before, that's a plus because you know what it looks and feels like. Make sure you communicate this to the team so they can start getting a sense of winning.

Kitchen hierarchy - Establish your kitchen hierarchy and clearly define roles so people know what they are supposed to do. In places with no defined roles, it can be chaotic as people think someone else is doing it, and no one takes ownership. Having good parameters establishes accountability.

Rules of the kitchen. Rules may be recipes, systems, processes, or specific things on how you like onions cut. Whatever is important to you, make sure that your team knows also. Make sure it is accessible information for everyone to go back and verify when they are not sure. Many kitchens have very specific ways they work. I could tell when chefs had worked under certain chefs simply by how they organized themselves or prepped ingredients.

Culture – This is the environment in which the game is played; as the leader, no one makes a bigger impact than you do. People feed off your energy, positive or negative. I can't emphasize enough how important creating a positive workplace culture is. Even though this is not listed as number one, it may be the single most important thing that you can do. Workplace culture affects everything from food to morale, retention, and success. Everything is defined by your culture.

Zero tolerance - Identify what those zero-tolerance items are in your kitchen. These are the things that will get people fired instantly. Whatever these items are cannot be rules for thee but not for me. Make sure you are following the zero tolerance rules also. If not, people will break the rules when you're not there, just like you do. The best thing about zero tolerance rules is that people know when they break them, there is no recovery or negotiation to get their job back. When creating zero-tolerance rules, always make sure they are ethical and legal.

How to get promoted - A lot of people want to grow in positions. Some people are not ready, and others are. It's important that you clearly define what growth looks like in your kitchen and how to get promoted. Every place is different; when I was in a large hotel, my rule was that you needed to be in position for a minimum of six months, complete our internal culinary training program, and work in two different kitchens to even apply. This would weed out people that I knew were not serious about it. If people are not willing to do something for themselves, they won't be willing to do something for you. It's important to establish criteria for the promotion.

How to handle losses - A loss can come in the form of bad service, high costs, a negative review, etc. If you work in restaurants long enough, this is bound to happen; it's important that you know how to deal with these issues. Have contingency plans ready in case of high costs. Have a public relations statement ready when you have a bad review or be able to evaluate service to see how you can do better the next day. Processes need to be in place for all these things in order to handle challenges when they arise. Remember, sometimes things are easy, and you think you don’t need them; the industry has a way of adjusting the difficulty setting without notice, so be prepared.

Difficulty adjustment – If you’ve achieved your goals and mission, it's important to adjust the difficulty setting yourself occasionally. Let everyone celebrate and enjoy the moment, then go back to work and strive for greater. Challenges keep people engaged, as that is when they feel they are learning and growing. Make sure you don’t push to an unachievable level, as this can cause discouragement when it is impossible to achieve the goal without additional resources provided. An example might be adjusting the complexity of the food as people’s skills have improved.

Level up in competition - As you get better and your restaurant becomes more successful, you will feel like you are winning the game and need to level up your competition. That might be moving your sales goals higher or trying to get a higher restaurant rating on Open Table or Yelp. Identify what that is for you and your restaurant but don't be afraid to level up in competition.

POLITICAL GAMES

Politics in our industry are a very real thing. You're dealing with different personalities, fragile egos, passive-aggressive people, snakes, good people, and even people who don't know they're playing the game. But it's important that you know your position in relation to the others. Are you the queen on the chess board, or are you a rook supporting the king? Saying the wrong thing can sometimes offend someone with a sensitive ego. If you know someone has a sensitive ego and a lot of power, do you risk offending them at your expense? These are things that must be considered.

People that have worked with me over the years might comment that I had a Machiavellian nature. I was constantly using strategies and tactics to get myself and my team ahead. Understand that I am not ever condoning being unethical; I am talking about how you engage with people in the kitchen and restaurant. When you work in larger organizations and manage multiple people, understanding political chess might be the difference in the success of your kitchen. Below, I will list the top 10 rules I use when it comes to playing politics, aka chess, in kitchens and business.

Never make a big decision without considering all potential outcomes.

You don't have to win every battle or argument. Sometimes losing intentionally wins in the long run.

Your bosses’ priorities need to be priorities to you also.

Make sure you, your team, and your boss win as much as possible, share the success and celebrate. People love being on a winning team.

Make allies with powerful players in your work and outside of your work.

Be likable. Likability can get you forgiven when you've made a big mistake; if they don't like you, they might use it as a reason to get rid of you.

Always have an insider close to the people. When you are in a higher position, people will no longer speak freely in front of you. It's important that you have someone that can be your ears when you're not around. But don't lose their trust!

Have good advisors and listen to them when they tell you that you may be making a mistake.

Understand that you're not the only person playing political chess, and you might not be the best player; remain vigilant.

Always negotiate from a position of strength and never let anyone know your next moves.

BECOME VALUABLE

The best thing you can do as a chef or in life is to become valuable. The more valuable you become; it allows you to move ahead in many aspects of life. Everything from making more money to people wanting to work for you and to sometimes having your boss overlook some of your shortcomings. The more valuable you are, the harder you are to replace, and you could use this to your advantage.

There are different ways for people to become more valuable. The obvious answer in this regard as a chef is to become better with food. Continuing to build your knowledge base by adding new skills and understanding the market and trends will all help with your overall culinary knowledge. Read books, attend seminars, get involved with the community, and absorb as much industry information as you can. Something I challenged myself to do was to read one book a week. At first, this sounded like something that was impossible, but once I set my mind to it, I realized I could. Fully immersing yourself in culinary knowledge will make you an expert, and experts are valuable.

Be the go-to person that people call when they need something. Make yourself open and available to others. When you are the go-to person, you become invaluable in your organization. People will know certain things can't get done unless you are on the team or involved in some capacity. This is a good position to be in because it gives you leverage, especially if you are the type of person who likes a lot of control and influence. Having the reputation of being the person that can get things done and make things happen is a great place to be. Everyone wants this person on their team.

When you've established yourself as a highly valued member of a team or community, there are a lot of perks that come with that, which you can leverage to your advantage. As a chef, we're all fighting for the same number of finite resources being cooks available in the market. If you are valuable, people will want to work for you because they will feel important by association and will view you as someone they could learn from and help their career. In the competitive world of chefs hiring, good cooks can make a big difference in your day-to-day operation, so you want to surround yourself with the best people.

Being valuable can also help make you more money. If your employer sees you as a highly valuable chef, it gives you more negotiating power. If you are just like everyone else, they could replace you with anybody else, in theory. Make sure you stand out above the rest in a positive way and make sure you can articulate how you stand out. You don't want to be in a position where you think you do, but actually, you don't. Quantify the areas in which you are exceeding in your company, restaurant, or competitive market. No employer wants to lose a good chef for a few dollars; if you know your worth, make sure you ask for it.

Having value and being likable can also get you out of situations where you're in trouble or have made mistakes. Sometimes your shortcomings can be overlooked if you bring tremendous value to the restaurant. It doesn't give you an excuse to be a jerk, so make sure that you are treating people with respect because no matter how valuable you are, some things just won't be tolerated. But a lot of times, your boss will forgive you for minor mistakes simply due to the amount of value that you bring to the kitchen. Trust me; it’s a good place to be, as I have made my fair share of mistakes at work only to be forgiven because my boss liked me and I brought value.

The game is not for everyone; many will tell you they steer clear from politics at work. From my point of view, though, and having been in the room with some of the best chefs and very successful people, I know they all play the game on some level.

CHAPTER 11

HOW TO STAND OUT IN A WORLD FULL OF CHEFS

THERE ARE A LOT OF CHEFS, WHY SHOULD YOU STAND OUT?

In today's world, it's more important than ever to be able to stand out in a crowded world full of chefs. Today's chef doesn't just have to be good cook or leader; they also need to understand how to market themselves. Attention is an important commodity; if you operate a restaurant and run a kitchen standing out can give you a competitive edge. Having a presence on social media, I think is very important for any chef today. Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and tick-tock can all be leveraged in your favor if used properly.

You may be asking yourself why I need to be on social media, I cook in a kitchen, or I manage a kitchen. If you want to drive business to your restaurant, having a presence on social media brings awareness to your food and your restaurant. Additionally, if you are trying to recruit staff which in today's day and age is extremely important, people want to know whom they're working for, and having a cool factor can attract younger cooks. Where this weighs a little more heavily is on Instagram and Tick Tok. LinkedIn is a great place to recruit more experienced chefs who have already established themselves as a professional. In addition, it can be used to establish yourself as a professional when you're looking for a new kitchen to run.

It's important to note that there are two types of people on social media, content creators and content consumers. Which one are you? If you're trying to develop a brand, you need to be a content creator. Bring eyeballs and attention to what you're doing versus giving attention to someone else.

So how do you stand out? It's important to come through authentic on social media and develop what your brand may look like. I like to write down who I am, what interests me, and what makes me interesting. Once I've identified those things, I try to amplify them on social media. So, if you know me in person and on social media, you might say that there are slightly different people. I would recommend that you look at the highest performing social media accounts and study what they do; they're performing well for a reason.

If you have the ability to work with a marketing team, take full advantage of it. PR can be the difference between a known and unknown chef. When I was a young chef, someone who was a celebrity chef at the time told me the biggest difference between them and me was that they had a marketing team. They told me that cooking doesn't make a big difference when you reach high levels, but marketing and PR are game changers.

GAME CHANGERS

In all industries, there are people who operate as the exception to the rule. They are the game changers literally because you can notice a significant change in the game before and after these people. The culinary world is no exception, and there are many chefs that I would consider game changers. Chefs like Thomas Keller, Alice Waters, Rene Redzepi, Ferran Adria, Paul Bocuse, and Auguste Escoffier significantly impacted the culinary world. When they made a move, the entire industry took notice.

In the chef world, one can argue that there is not much originality; it mostly just riffs on things that already exist. I have said before that everyone steals recipes, but to which degree is determined by the skill level of the chef stealing. Meaning that if you are extremely talented, you can steal from the best, but if not, it might look like the Mona Lisa drawn in crayon. What separates the game changers is they didn’t steal from anyone; if they did, I am unaware of who. They reinvented themselves and created a style unique to them, so when you see their food anywhere in the world, you know it's theirs. Take the example of the famous dish of “oysters and pearls,” if you see this dish anywhere, you know it was inspired by Thomas Keller. Or if you see alginate spheres, you can thank Ferran Adria.

Something I live by as a chef is always trying to be the exception to the rule. You don’t have to be and think like every other chef out there. Find your own unique voice and express it through your work in the kitchen. I know this is easier said than done, but greatness lies on the other end. It is easy to get lost in a sea of chefs all doing the same thing; you want to make a different sound that gets you noticed. Sometimes you might wear a tuxedo to the park to turn heads, metaphorically speaking.

One word of caution for a game changer is to make sure you understand the game first before you break the rules. In other words, right out of culinary school, don’t try to make a name for yourself by cooking a new style of cuisine you invented before you have mastered the fundamentals of cooking. All the great chefs who have changed the game did so after a certain level of cooking mastery.

Now, as an exercise, ask yourself what your legacy will be and how you will, as a chef, change the game.

MARKETING YOURSELF AS A CHEF

What is marketing, exactly? Marketing is the process of getting your products and services in front of the right people at the right time.

The first step in marketing yourself as a chef is to figure out who your customers are. What kind of restaurants do you run? What kind of food do you serve? What are your goals? The answers to these questions will determine how you market yourself as a chef.

Marketing yourself as a chef means understanding what differentiates you from other chefs. If you’re an executive chef, what makes your experience unique? If you’re just starting out, what skills do you have that others don’t?

Once you’ve identified your target audience and what makes you stand out from other chefs, it’s time to start promoting yourself on social media. Post pictures of your food and accomplishments on social media so potential employers can see how great your work is. Blog about your favorite recipes or techniques so other chefs can learn from them too!

If there are any local events coming up (like farmers’ markets or community fairs), consider volunteering to help promote them by making dishes using local ingredients or cooking demonstrations using local products. This will help build relationships with local businesses that might be able to assist you down the road. As we’ve said, you want to have a wide network of chefs, cooks, business owners, and customers.

SOCIAL MEDIA AS A CHEF

You may have a great story to tell, but the industry is saturated with content from all kinds of chefs who have equally compelling stories. So how do you stand out? How do you make sure that people are listening to you?

The answer might be social media.

As a chef, Instagram has become an essential tool for building an audience for yourself. It's easy to use, visual, and mobile-friendly — all of which make it perfect for sharing photos and videos of your food with people worldwide who might want to try your food.

Build a personal brand on Instagram (or other social media platforms). If you're not already using Instagram, start today! You can use this platform to share photos of your dishes or behind-the-scenes shots from your kitchen at work or home. Your followers will see what inspires you and how you make food look so delicious. They'll want to try what they see!

At the time of writing this, I feel the most influential platforms for chefs are Instagram and tick tock. You can really build a large online presence using these platforms. As I mentioned before, LinkedIn is good for professional networking, but in my experience, it hasn't really done a great job of building an audience for chefs. In my experience, most cooks aren't looking for jobs on LinkedIn; however, you can find more senior chefs and other positions there. Twitter is a fun platform if you have a lot of interesting, witty things to say. Not many chefs have a strong Twitter presence, so at the time of writing, I feel that Twitter is ripe for the taking. I'm curious to see how social media evolves over the next couple of years; many of the things I write about today may become irrelevant as social media evolves rapidly.

Below is a list of social media best practices that I use and recommend. I'm not going to sit here and say I am the best at Instagram, as a lot of people measure success on Instagram by the number of followers. There are plenty of chefs out there with more followers than me. However, I will say that a lot of the big Instagram accounts are bought and paid for, and those followers are not real, so don't be fooled. You're competing with yourself, so the social media content that you're putting out should hopefully be seeing incremental improvements over time, more engagement, likes, comments, direct messages, etc.

Stay on brand. After you have determined what your brand is, make sure you stay on brand. For example, if people are expecting you to make daily videos on how to cook, don't mix it up with a how-to-ride bike tutorial. Your audience comes back for what they expect; you don't have to stick to one thing, but you should stay on brand.

Post regularly once a day if you can. Consistency is key; if people are looking forward to your daily posts, make sure that you are regular with your schedule. If you go a long time without posting, some of the algorithms may be set up to not have you appear on people’s main feed anymore. Give people something to look forward to on schedule.

Pay attention to captions. Make sure your captions aren't too long and make sense. Simple things like typos and grammar errors should be checked prior to posting. I type out my caption in my notes app and read it out loud a few times before posting it to make sure it makes sense. I occasionally get called out by the grammar police but trust me, it could be a lot worse.

Engage with others. Like other people’s pictures, comment on their posts, and in general, engage with other people, especially those in your similar field. Engaging with people is rewarding and part of building your network.

Share other people's content. When appropriate, share other people's content that you like. People will appreciate this and hopefully reciprocate the favor. If you are tagged in photos, it's good to share them on your Instagram stories. Also, make sure to tag people so they can share it on theirs as well. You want to get in front of new audiences when possible. Sharing other people's content is a good way to get other people to discover you.

Create more than you consume. It's easy to get sucked into mindless scrolling on social media and consume the content that's there. As they say, if something's for free, then you're usually the product. As discussed, be the creator, not the consumer.

Mix it up. Just because you're a chef doesn't mean you only have to post food pictures; people love to see behind the scenes these days. They want all aspects of chef life, and food pictures can become boring. I, for example, am a fan of smoking cigars, and you will see me on social media with a cigar, often claiming to be a cigar influencer (I am not).

You don't have to be like everyone else. One of the challenges I've noticed on social media is that everyone posts pictures in a very similar fashion with similar captions, and this can be boring. Being different stands out and gets you noticed; find out what is unique about you and bring a spotlight to it.

People love funny. If it's in your personality to be funny, you should showcase this. People love funny content, and I find that it is the most shared, allowing you to be discovered. You don't have to be so serious all the time, and showing a funny side makes you human.

Pay attention. Check your analytics and see what posts are bringing you the most amount of engagement. That is the reward system, so in a way, you need to give the people who follow you more of what they are already rewarding you for. There are a lot of social media tools you can use to manage analytics if you choose to do so.

NETWORKING AND EVENTS

Get involved with local food festivals or competitions. The more people see your name mentioned in the press and online, the more famous (or infamous!) you'll become, for better or for worse! Use these opportunities to spread awareness about yourself and your cooking style so that people know whom they're getting when they order from you. It’s important for chefs to attend events and network with other industry professionals. This is something that I overlooked when I was a young chef, and I didn't understand why I needed to go to so many events or participate in chef organizations. One of my chef mentors used to drag me to all the food grazing events as his assistant, where I would get to do most of the heavy lifting, including clean-up. I believed this to be a waste of time back then but wasn't yet aware of all its value. My chef said to me that it was important to be at these events to network with other chefs, so they get to know me and meet other industry professionals, including vendors, and even make loyal customers and fans. Years later, I am glad I took his advice and now help with organizing such events.

There are a lot of different chef organizations that people can join. Even though they are not for everybody, it's important when you are starting out as a chef to try a few of them out to see what feels right for you. Meeting other chefs and having a large network of colleagues is beneficial for a variety of reasons. Find local chef organizations in your area and see if you can attend a meeting as an introduction. Introduce yourself to the chefs there and start to network. You never know where this may lead. A lot of chefs join networks for certification, like the American Culinary Federation, which allows them to validate their competency as a chef. This can lead to more money and opportunities.

Being invited to local food grazing events is a great opportunity for you to meet potential new customers for your restaurant, local food writers, other chefs, and cooks. These are events where you normally prepare a small portion of food and feed a large number of people. After doing a couple of these, you will start to notice the same faces, which is good because they also start to notice you. If you are constantly invited to these events, people will begin to know your name, and your network will begin to expand. A lot of chefs who are close friends do not see each other outside of these events and use it as an opportunity to reunite.

The expectation when attending these events usually is that you're going to cover your own food cost and labor. The exchange you're getting is the PR and marketing for your restaurant, which puts you at the level of all the other participating chefs. Don't participate in these events if you are solely looking for ROI. Many of these events raise money for charity or for some other cause. You will get a tremendous amount of exposure which you will not get if you don't ever participate in these events. If you are a new chef trying to build your reputation, this is a great place to start; say yes as much as you can at the beginning. As you start to build your name and reputation within your city, you can then begin to pick and choose which ones you go to. A rule of thumb I used to use was I would only participate in events where I felt the other chefs were on the level where I wanted to be, or the cause or charity was something that was important to my restaurant or me.

If you are new to the food grazer scene, here are a few tips from someone who has done hundreds of them.

Make sure your dish can be executed quickly. Lines will get long, and you don't want your food to be so fussy that people don't get to try it because the line is too long, so they skip your booth.

Take a few team members with you so they can help with the service set-up and breakdown. Off-site events are fun, but they can be a lot of work.

If you are the face of the restaurant, make sure you are at the front of your booth speaking to guests. Don't be head down in the back where they can't make a connection with you, a lot of people buy tickets to these events so they can have some face time with chefs they wouldn't be able to meet otherwise. Make yourself available.

Bring collateral. Whether it is menus, business cards, discount coupons, or free swag, bring something.

If you are able to select your location, try to position yourself close to the big-name chefs. This will allow you to network with them and most likely meet the most people who go to their booths.

Don't run out of food too early. Running out of food isn't the worst thing but running out very early is bad. It makes you look unprepared and possibly might cause you not to be invited to the next event. Most chefs start to run out of food in the last few minutes of the event; this is normal. But not in the first few minutes of opening!

Have fun and network; meet as many people as you can.

Chapter 12

DEALING WITH ADVERSITY

As chefs, especially over a long career, you're eventually going to experience setbacks. In life, you experience setbacks, and being a chef is no exception. Knowing how to deal with and overcome them guarantees your future success. It's important when you're experiencing difficult times to learn from them. Every great chef started somewhere and has failed multiple times to get to where they are. Unfortunately, in today's society, all we see is success and not hard work. We see the product of someone's effort over the years. However, we weren't there for all the ups and downs, setbacks, failures, and hardships that many chefs have experienced.

Our industry is brutal, and if you're in a position where you have a team that you are responsible for, you have extra pressure to perform because your success is linked to others. One of the most difficult experiences I had, was being the chef of a restaurant that closed. This came at a time after I had amassed a certain amount of success locally, and my star was rising. I didn't think anything could slow me down, and I thought I was the next big thing. Unfortunately, things didn't work out as such, and even though I thought the restaurant I was running was amazing, the public didn't think so. This led to low sales, low customer count, and people not returning. This eventually leads to a restaurant closure, one of the most defeating things a chef can experience. Not only did I have to close the restaurants, but I also, at the same time, was receiving negative press in the local paper. My troubles had become compounded at the time. I had to take some time off to make sure I could get in the right frame of mind. As difficult as times are, I knew that I could learn from these mistakes and not make them again. I pushed myself daily to regain the status that I felt I had lost.

You must have a strong mind and determination to overcome setbacks. As bad as they are in the moment, they are a great lesson to learn from. Most of the learning and discovery someone has are from difficult times. When the game is on easy mode, anyone can win, but when things are difficult, and you still win, that is much more satisfying. Don't let setbacks deter you from your mission to become a great chef. The greatest chefs in the world rise and fall and rise and fall again. It's the cycle of a career for a chef. As the old expression goes, it's not about how many times you get knocked down; it's about how many times you get back up.

I know it's easier said than done but do your best to surround yourself with positive people who support you. Look at your setbacks objectively and learn from them, see where you may have gone wrong, and accept responsibility for decisions you made or didn't make. Avoid trying to blame others; this will only cause you more frustration and anger and prevent you from moving on. Next, identify what your ideal state is, then map that out as specifically as you possibly can. I like to write things out in great detail down to the fold of the napkin. Then work relentlessly to achieve that. A setback is an opportunity to get better and use it as such.

YOU’RE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR LAST MEAL

One of the oldest expressions in the kitchen is “you're only as good as your last meal.” This is a sad statement that many chefs have accepted as a reality. The idea that you can have your career always hanging on a thread like the sword of Damocles is not an inspiring thought for a chef. Nothing is final when it comes to the kitchen, and a bad meal or service comes with the territory regardless of how great of a chef someone is. However, that shouldn't define you as a chef, nor should you let it. It can be difficult when you're in a situation where you're being reviewed by food critics, the online public, and your local community. It's important when you experience setbacks to use this as an opportunity to evaluate the feedback you are being given. There may be some truth in what they are saying that you may have overlooked. It's important to be able to filter out objective feedback versus people's personal preferences. Take the feedback and learn from it but don't dwell on it for too long. If you are a chef long enough, you'll understand that feedback is a part of the game.

The thing that I love about the expression “you're only as good as your last meal” is that it makes the reverse also true. You can completely redeem yourself with your next great meal. Imagine a chef who has never received much success or accolades and never really served a great meal. What would happen if that chef were to create a restaurant that served one of the best meals and received the recognition of the food public? Even if that chef had a lackluster career prior to that event, they would be able to completely redeem any mistakes of the past. Your next great meal can redefine your future. I believe it's important to always strive to make your food better and better daily—a continual refinement of techniques and recipes over the course of a career and striving towards elusive perfection. Many great chefs talk about this at length as they understand that striving for perfection and daily improvements is real work.

So, use all your setbacks as an opportunity to get better and know that they are only a moment in time. The good news is time keeps moving, and you have opportunities every single day to redefine your career in a positive way. Instead of saying you're only as good as your last meal, let's reframe that to “You're one meal away from greatness.”

DEALING WITH DIFFICULT EMPLOYEES

Managing a difficult employee can be one of the most frustrating and time-consuming tasks in any manager’s day. Each difficult employee is different, and so are their problems. Some may be lazy or overly demanding, while others may be overly critical or constantly late. Whatever their issues, these employees will test your patience and take a good portion of your time dealing with them.

The best leaders are ones who can effectively manage their people and their situations. It's easy to tell someone what to do. It's another thing entirely to teach them how to do it. There's a big difference between telling someone they need to improve at something and teaching them how to improve at something. The latter makes you are leader and mentor. People are inherently good and want to be a part of something great. The problem is that people can become negative and resistant in times of change. When people are resistant, it's important to address the issue directly and provide them with the tools they need to adapt. If they're not receptive, then you must consider whether they're a fit for your kitchen.

Here are some tips on how to manage difficult people and situations:

Set clear expectations: You should define what it means to be a part of your team because every person has different abilities, values, and motivations. This allows you to identify those who don't fit into the culture or environment you're trying to create. Knowing the rules of the game allows you to know when they are being broken. Set very clear rules and expectations, then make sure that you don’t allow people to bend them.

Manage conflict: Conflict can be healthy if handled correctly, but if left unchecked, it can cause resentment among members of your team, which will only fuel more conflict down the road. Address conflict immediately, directly, and fairly. Sometimes it may be appropriate to have a little cool-off period If needed, but don't let a problem go longer than a day before you address it. Waiting for too long of a period can send the wrong message that the behavior is acceptable or that you are not going to do anything about it. You don't need to tell everyone about the conversation to avoid embarrassing people or breaching confidentiality, but it needs to be known that it was addressed.

Listen carefully: Don't jump in with solutions too quickly when someone is upset or frustrated; instead, listen carefully so that you understand their perspective completely before offering feedback or advice on how to resolve the situation. If you have an employee who needs help improving in a certain area, make sure that they know you have noticed their efforts and encourage good behavior.

Act with urgency: If you see something that begins to get out of hand, it's important that you address it immediately. Don't wait for tensions to rise if you notice behaviors such as harassment or bullying; even if it's just minor, address it. Small problems can turn into big problems If not handled immediately. If you notice a pattern with a particular individual, the sooner you address it, the sooner that person can decide to correct it or deal with the consequences.

Be direct and honest: I wouldn't advise spending 30 minutes tiptoeing around the subject before you get to the issue. People know when they are in trouble, and as much as it's a difficult situation for you, it's also a very difficult situation for them. You're not doing anyone any favors by talking in circles or not getting to the point. This does not mean delivering feedback abrasively or rudely, but it does mean that you need to demonstrate honesty and directness.

Explain what needs improvement: Give them an opportunity to get better and improve. For them to do so, they need to know what needs to be done. Moreover, you need to make sure you know what needs to be done for them. I encourage you or the person to document the necessary action steps for improvement. This will allow you both to have something tangible that you can go back to measure progress. It's important that as a leader, if you notice that they have been making improvements in what you've asked, you recognize them for this. This will go a long way and encourage positive behavior.

FIRING

There are few things more unpleasant than having to fire someone. Whether it's because they aren't a good fit for the job or because they've been caught stealing from the company, it's never fun to let someone go.

But if you're a leader, it's a responsibility that needs to be taken seriously. Hiring and firing are two of the most important decisions you will make, and while you may not like it, firing someone is sometimes necessary.

How do you know when it's time to fire someone?

They're not performing well at work and seem disengaged. If an employee just isn't pulling their weight or meeting deadlines, then it could be time for them to leave your kitchen. If they're not giving 100%, and you have addressed it previously, and they have not corrected it, then chances are they aren't going to change their ways and start doing better any time soon. It may be best to cut your losses now rather than keeping them around and hoping they'll improve over time — especially if they have other employees relying on them for help with projects or tasks around the kitchen.

Firing will be an extremely difficult thing not just for you but also obviously for the person being fired. This is already a tough situation, so it's important when you enter the conversation that you do so with a few considerations in mind. If the company you work for has specific policies, ensure that you always follow them as directed.

Find a private location: No one likes to be publicly humiliated, so find a private location so you can have this confidential conversation. Many times, things become emotional, and there may be yelling or crying and everything in between. Prepare a safe space in case people feel vulnerable.

Treat them with respect: Regardless of how you came to this situation, it's important as a leader that you maintain dignity. Treat the person with the respect that they deserve. This is a delicate situation and, in my experience, maintaining respect and dignity goes a long way in this difficult conversation. Insults may fly, so it's important that you are aware and do your best to keep your cool, as this can be a tough situation. Something that has helped me in the past is when things get heated, is to take a moment and remain calm and stay quiet while I gather my thoughts. I may say something that could potentially make the situation worse. A cool head goes a long way.

Thank them: As a professional leader, I believe it's important that you thank them for their service. Even if they are not a good fit, and as the expression goes, you are helping them find their success elsewhere. They were a part of your team at one point and may have relationships with others on your team. Be respectful, thank them for the time that they assisted you, and wish them well. I have had to let people go previously who have thanked me on the way out because of how I handled the situation.

Maintain confidentiality: You want to make sure that people are aware that the person is no longer a part of the team. However, there is no sense in bad-mouthing them or explaining the details of what happened to those that don't need to know. People are not stupid and will figure it out. But if you start spreading gossip and rumors, people will assume you would do the same to them if it were they who was let go. The gossip and rumors hurt your credibility amongst the team. Always maintain professionalism and confidentiality, as these are difficult conversations for everyone.

CLOSING

Being a chef is rewarding and challenging. You may be just starting this journey or towards the middle or end. Many of us start our careers thinking this is easy. When we begin to work as a chef, we realize that it’s very hard and nothing like we expected. Then after a time, we look back and say that it was easy; anyone can do it. Over time being the head chef will become easier and less stressful. The things you didn’t know will seem mundane later.

When I am asked what the hardest part of being the head chef is, I am unsure if I have one answer. Sometimes, it's knowing that you are solely responsible for everything, good and bad. You have a co-responsibility with everyone on the team. Everyone needs to partake in the celebration when you win, but when you lose, you take it alone. It never gets easier; you just adapt and understand the deal.

My second answer would be that once you are the chef, it's hard to go back. I became an executive chef at twenty-five years old after seven years of working in the kitchen. I was in such a rush to get there that I pushed myself there before I was possibly ready. What is difficult is sometimes, I just fantasize about being a prep cook. Those were the best days for me. I sometimes will spend hours on a cutting board with prep just so I can zone out. I miss the days of being a cook; in retrospect, I would have taken more time.

Enjoy the ride of being the head chef, and just as opportunities were given to you, make sure you give that back to another. Mentor young chefs and help the next generation behind you get better. After twenty-seven years in this business and many awards and accolades, I can say seeing people I mentored become chefs has been my greatest source of pride.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

André Natera worked in professional kitchens for twenty-seven years and as an executive chef for seventeen. He was most recently the Culinary Director for the Fairmont Austin Hotel. He currently sits on several boards and councils of culinary and food and beverage organizations, in addition to being a member of the Epicurean World Master Chef Society, inducted in 2011. He has received numerous accolades and recognition as a chef, including Best Chef, according to the Dallas Morning News in 2011 and 2012. At the beginning of 2022, Andre left running professional kitchens to focus on mentoring future chefs, including writing this book, and running the Chef’s PSA

For more Chef’s PSA content listen to the Chef’s PSA podcast and follow on all our social channels @ChefsPSA.