Escoffier On Line

Most of my days are filled with a series of emotional highs and lows. One moment I can experience the exhilaration associated with executing near perfection, only to be deflated moments later when something does not reach my standards. You don’t have to be a Four Star Chef at a high end restaurant to feel this way. Passion and pride are not exclusive to any single segment of the industry, ethnicity, gender or age; you either feel this way or you don’t.

I beat myself up pretty good when things don’t work out as planned. Sleepless nights followed by stress filled days are common occurrences. Those days are lost forever! What a waste of my most precious resource, time. I know that during these challenging times, many of my fellow Chefs are feeling the same strain. We are all on edge. Uncertain of what tomorrow will bring and how our daily performance will influence our futures, we sweat it out through the end of each month, hoping and praying we hit our numbers and live to cook another month.

A little extra planning, a few more hours committed to the job, and a backup plan for most everything will allow you to better enjoy your down time. You may actually have a little less down time, but it will be higher quality down time and definitely worth considering. Remember that even the worst day will come to an end, try to brush yourself off, learn from it and set yourself up for future success.

Here are a few stress buster suggestions.

* Answer all emails, return all phone calls, and read all change logs  and daily reports before you go home. Ignorance is bliss until you're called on it. Know the answer; that’s what they pay you for.

* Read and know upcoming menus for at least a week in advance; run scenarios; think them through to identify and solve potential challenges.

* Plan your daily 5 minute staff standup meeting to provide the most useful and pertinent information, such as specials, prep lists and anything out of the ordinary.

* If you don’t have people you can trust to purchase, properly receive and store food. You need to oversee it. I can't tell you how many nights I counted steaks, not sheep, running scenario after scenario through my mind. Did we get that? Is it enough? This is not the way to recharge your batteries.

* Know your numbers before they're official. Run a daily food, labor and line item cost through a spread sheet.

* Don’t serve what you shouldn’t. I would rather 86 something than serve inferior or poorly prepared foods. In a preplanned banquet setting, you don’t always have this option. Proper planning and execution are crucial. Don’t be cheap; buy quality ingredients, and have a backup plan. You won't regret it.

* You're not running a test kitchen; cook what you know. Your customers expect a quality product for their hard earned money. Specials and new items must be researched, practiced and perfected before rolling them out.

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The Total Package Chef

I haven’t written a blog in awhile. I have been pretty busy; I lost some staff, and had to tackle multiple projects at both work and home. We all go through times like this, periods of overwhelming challenges, deadlines, personnel commitments and sometimes health related issues. Thirty days ago I wondered if I would fail or could I rise to the occasion and execute at the expected level? I was reading one of my older blogs and thought it may help to motivate others toward both personal and professional success. I have seen many chefs and cooks with top notch skills and good intentions never reach their potential. An ongoing pattern of self destructive behavior and poor decision making has sidelined them from the fast track. We all need to take a look in the mirror from time to time and give ourselves an attitude adjustment. If you can change your thinking you can change your habits, that’s all it is, bad habits. If you want to be successful in today's no excuses, just get it done world you need to be a Total Package Chef, no ones going to pay you for half of the package.

• Attitude is everything! You are going to do whatever is asked of you, like it or not. I choose to like it. I can't tell you how many times I grunted and groaned over last minute seemingly impossible requests only to execute with excellent results. If I had approached those situations with a positive attitude from the beginning I would have set a better example for others and added points to my reputation bank.

• Lead by example. You should get out of the office and on the line as much as possible, a few extra hours of work won't kill you and the payback is huge. Don’t curse, tell offensive jokes or talk politics, religion or baseball. I have my own thoughts and ideas; I just choose to keep them to myself. Keep smoke breaks and personal phone calls to a minimum if you want the staff to do the same.

• Hold People Accountable. No one likes to be the heavy. Honest and straightforward ongoing dialogue is necessary and most people actually appreciate it. If you are like an Ostrich its time to take your head out of the sand, it gets easier the more you do it. You can't afford to have non productive and problematic associates in the ranks.

• Train! Train! Train! I hear it over and over, "I can't afford to stop and train, it eats into production, I am to busy blah! Blah! Blah!" Without training you will never realize the level of success that you are capable of, you can't do it all yourself and you can't afford not to train.

• Keep Developing Yourself. Our industry is constantly changing, trends come and go quickly, new products are constantly introduced, techniques and methodology are refined and new technologies applied. There are many Chefs in my age bracket who no longer cook, study food, attend industry events, seminars or engage in any activity that will better them. Even the best and brightest in the industry realize the need to constantly move forward and evolve. Join the ACF, attend trade shows, read Escoffier, Plate magazine or Martha Stewart it doesn’t matter, knowledge is everywhere.

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Are You One of Them?

Who are they? They are a large percent of the workforce and as a group wield a great deal of influence and power. They work within all areas of the hospitality industry. There is no socioeconomic, gender, educational or physical requirements to be one of them. All you have to do is show up for work everyday, it’s that easy. Most of them feel that the world owes them a living. And that by virtue of their presence, the majority of their daily responsibilities have already been completed. The fact that they are doing their job at any level should be enough to satisfy anyone who dares to question their intent or the competency of their work. The sad part is that most of the group had big dreams earlier in their careers. Many had the potential to rise through the ranks and even to become leaders but some how lost their way.

I say it’s never too late! Escoffier published Ma Cuisine in his late eighties. Surely you can put a little more effort into what you do and get back on track; it’s a new year that comes with new challenges. There will be upward and sometimes outward movement within the ranks creating new opportunities, are you prepared to capitalize on them? Don’t let opportunity pass you by. Take the “Are You One of Them Test” to get an honest assessment of your status and how rank and file may perceive you.

*The Are You One of Them Test*

• Do you consistently show up exactly or slightly after your daily scheduled start time?

• Does your day often seem like it will never end?

• Are your breaks more important to you then getting your work completed?

• Do you ignore the needs of others in favor of completing your own daily agenda even when you have the time and ability to assist others?

• Do you turn a blind eye to the incompetency of others when you have the knowledge or skill to correct them?

• Do you walk past spills, debris on floor, out of place equipment, a spotty glass on a set table etc. never intending to contribute to the overall organizational efforts?

• Do you prefer keeping ideas for improvement to yourself, hoping to save it for your next job or the right opportunity to look good?

• Do you choose your daily level of productivity based on how you feel that day?

• Were you once a candidate for advancement before you became one of them?

• Did you once have a dream to become an executive chef, manager or even an owner?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, see a career counselor. Life’s to short, find a job you like and even love, you will be much happier, productive and successful.

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Staying On Top Of Your Game

Its three days later and I am still shaking off the effects of the weekend. We did 600 covers in about three hours. I gave my AM Sous Chef the day off? His kids are young and mine are grown so I didn't mind doing the work, but I was cemented to the line and did not move for almost 10 hours. It was out of control, but in spite of the economy it was very encouraging to see so many people come out and spending money.

I was off yesterday but ended up spending most of the day working from home trying to close the financials for the month. It would be nice just to be able to cook all day, but the fact is results count. If you can’t run the numbers, you can’t run the business and you won’t last long. Even the most successful chefs have got to wonder what they will need to do to stay on top of their game. Running the business, keeping yourself contemporary and your food exciting is a full time commitment.

Chefs my age who are moving into the autumn of their lives may be especially challenged and vulnerable. If you don’t cook on a daily basis or challenge yourself to develop new skills and techniques you may soon find yourself obsolete. I can tell you first hand stories of many one time successful chefs who spent too many years in the office living in denial about their own skill sets. Many lived vicariously through the abilities and successes of subordinates only to find that time has passed them by. A starched snow white tunic with an impressive line of abbreviated credentials may no longer garner the respect it once had. If you want to stay on top of your game you will need to devote time to self improvement. Here are a few suggestions that may get you started.

Know the competition and the expectations of your existing and potential customer base. Eat at a variety of restaurants and most importantly your competition to keep in touch with what’s happening out there.

Read, surf, and study everything and anything you can get in front of you. Don’t believe what people tell you, you can’t have it all, there’s so much happening out there and only so many hours in a day. If you neglect this ever-changing information you are short changing yourself of the potential it holds.

Take a continuing education course if you can. It’s a great way to not only acquire new techniques but revisit areas of your repertoire that may need a tune up such as baking, garde mange or charcuterie.

Compete in industry contests and culinary competitions to test your skills. Each time I compete I learn something new about my abilities and weakness’s. It also introduces new products and techniques to our repertoire.

Attend industry related vendor shows, seminars, ACF events and a whole host of other available and inexpensive resources.

Take advantage of the broad range of experience and diversity you probably have right in your own kitchen. Chef tables, specials and buffets are all great ways to showcase and incorporate these authentic items into your menus.

Most importantly, whatever avenues you choose hold yourself responsible for your own success.

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