Leadership Lessons from a Chef ( Part 3)

Passion Can’t Be Faked

You can tell everybody how great your passion is, you can tell your boss how
special it is, you can tell your fellow chefs how great it is, but they will all see
through it if your own professional values are not as high as the ones you
are preaching. You can’t fake it! If you consider yourself a passionate chef,
but you are not, it will not take people very long to figure it out. So either
you believe or you don’t—either you live it or you don’t. It is up to you

1. Are you passionate about your work?
2. Does your passion for your work inspire others
among your coworkers and staff?
3. Does your passion for your work allow for you,
your coworkers, and your staff to try new
things and come up with new ideas?
4. Do you start thinking about your workday
before you get to work?
If you answered yes to all of these questions,
you are already a step ahead in establishing
yourself as a great leader!

Identifying Values

The first step is to identify your professional values. The foundation for your
professional life most likely includes the following:
Passion for Life
Culinary Passion
Passion to Build Great Teams
Commitment to Excellence
Determination
Follow-Through
An Honest, Caring Attention to Detail
Discipline
Dedication
Integrity

PASSION FOR LIFE

If you do not have passion for life it is difficult to have passion for anything
else. My friend Dwight Edwards talks about passion for life in his book, A
Tale of Three Ships (Charleston, SC: Booksurge LLC, 2005). Dwight lays out
three basic courses of life a person can take—for some, though, life’s greatest
goal is survival. Read his book, you will enjoy it. Passion for life is where we
all have to start.

CULINARY PASSION

Culinary passion is important and is hopefully the reason you are reading
this book. It is easy to slide into a role of pumping out food and going home.
Simply punching in and out is the way of life for many kitchens. It takes
culinary passion to step out of this habit.

PASSION TO BUILD GREAT TEAMS

Now that you have the passion for great food, it is time to take care of the
people who take care of you, the team that shares your passion. The whathave-
you-done-for-me-lately routine no longer floats. One of the biggest secrets
I can share with you here is that it feels good to help people, to make
a difference in someone’s life! Building great teams also means helping people
to achieve their goals while they help you to achieve yours. ‘‘What comes
around, goes around’’ is one of my favorite sayings.

COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE

This goes deep. Commitment to excellence means never, never, never sacrificing
quality. NEVER! Most often quality takes longer, costs more, and is
more difficult. It also takes research and requires never giving up until everyone
agrees that the results are the best they possibly can be—at that
moment. And the results can always be better the next time because we are
older, smarter, and more experienced. On the golf course someone hits a
drive into the woods—okay, usually me. But then I tee up my mulligan and
hit a perfect ball—well, maybe not perfect but better. As my dad always says,

‘‘Same guy, just a little older.’’
‘‘If you want to be successful, put your effort into
controlling the sail, not the wind.’’

DETERMINATION

As I said before, mean what you say and say what you mean. If you go around
telling everybody you are going to write a book and then you don’t, your
word does not mean anything. ‘‘A man of integrity’’ may not be in the same
sentence as your name. Be a strong person, have the determination to complete
projects you say you will. If you tell everyone you are going to lose
weight, do it! Make your word mean something. Don’t give up because one
of your goals is starting to become difficult or because it is no longer convenient.

FOLLOW-THROUGH

As you already know, follow-up is one of the most important qualities needed
for all of the ideas in this book to work. Schedule, Empower, and Follow Up,
or SEF, I discuss this concept in more detail in Chapter 4. Lacking followthrough
is like having the most beautiful stove and no gas with which to
cook. There is nothing more annoying than a weak follow-through. As a
young person and a new professional, if you want to make a tremendous
impression, if your boss asks something of you, follow through better than
he could imagine. I can’t tell you how many people don’t have the wherewithal
to follow through on tasks. These are the employees who constantly
get passed up for promotions. It is a simple idea that goes a long, long way.
‘‘SEF: Schedule, Empower, and Follow Up!’’

AN HONEST, CARING ATTENTION TO DETAIL

Being plain honest is great. Having an honest, caring attention to detail is
pretty special. The devil is in the details, as they say. If you don’t pay attention
to the details, it will show in the final results. When all of these values are
broken down, you might think: What is the big deal?, they all make sense?
What gets in the way of being a great person? Time, greed, heart, soul,
caring?

INTEGRITY

What a special word is integrity. It is not a word you can throw around lightly.
To know if someone has integrity it takes time to get to know them well and
see them in action. If someone describes you as a person of great integrity,
wouldn’t you be proud? It is one of the greatest compliments a person can
receive. To have great integrity is worth more than any culinary award you’ll
ever win. It is priceless.

These are all outstanding qualities and foundation-setting values everyone
should be proud of being associated with. You can add to this list every
day, based on what is important to you and what you find motivational.

ASK YOURSELF THE HARD QUESTIONS

I recommend that before starting any of the programs and concepts I am
going to share with you, you should sit down and spend some time evaluating
your values. Ask yourself very tough questions about each value. Be honest
in your answers, as this will only help you. For each value, give an example
of the times you have performed well in relation to this value and also an
example of a time your performance was not as stellar. I will dare to say we
all can use some help in some areas. We are not going to be 100 percent in
all categories all the time. It is very difficult to always perform at the highest
level. So what are your weakest values? Is this an area where you always have
problems or just some of the time? Identifying the problem areas will also
aid you in determining how you can raise your performance level to be more
successful.

indicate an area that needs to be improved: I saw a problem, but I did
not follow through. The hospitality business goes 150 miles per hour,
whether we are ready or not. If we have to feed 300 people at 8:00 P.M.,
there is only a certain amount of time we have to get the meal out. Many
times I walk around the dining rooms and kitchens and see things that may
be okay but not 100 percent. For example, I check on the dining-room lighting
before a function. Around 4:00 P.M. in the afternoon, I would see that
our buffet tables for that night were not properly lit. A thirty-foot ladder is
needed to move the lighting, so this is no easy fix. I would make a mental
note of it, and before the party started I realized that I had forgotten to have
the lights changed. Even though it is not my job to fix the lighting, the
lighting is part of the presentation of the meal, so it is important to have it
done correctly. I saw the issue but dropped the ball by not having it corrected.
I pride myself on my attention to detail, and I didn’t follow through
in this case. I have to be thorough; we all have to be thorough. If I see a
problem and fail to resolve it before a member or customer experiences it,
I have not done my job. Even though it was not my intention, the standards,
the values I expect for the club were lowered because I did not resolve the
problem. As managers, if we see a problem anywhere on the property,
whether or not it is our department, we own the problem until it is resolved.

To make sure that banquets run smoothly, I take
all the BEOs (banquet-event orders) for a onemeal
period, cut them to a size that fits in my
breast pocket. During any one-meal period, I
could have up to seven or eight BEOs in my
pocket. As I walk through all the dining rooms
and check station and buffet setups, I make note
of any needs or changes on the corresponding
menu. When I get back to my office, I double
check all issues and resolve them—thus, the
problems do not repeat themselves in future
banquets.

It is up to you to set the standards you want for yourself and your department.
No matter how busy we are, we have to be sure we keep our
standard as high as possible. If a problem does manage to slip by unresolved
to your satisfaction, hopefully your execution of other standards is so high
that the end product is still great.

As I keep saying, it all starts with you. Are you happy with yourself, your
job, and your kitchen? Because, if you are not, there is nothing I can say or
do that will help you make your kitchen better. ‘‘It all starts at the top,’’ as
the saying goes. Your staff will often do what you do, even without prompting.
In certain situations, they may act exactly as you act, simply because they are
learning from you. So, if you are throwing pots around the kitchen, they will
think it is an acceptable thing to do. Chances are you will work the way you
feel. If you are not feeling well, you need to ask yourself why. By discovering
the reasons behind the problem, you can turn it around to positive energy.
I know when I start getting a bad attitude around the kitchen, it is usually
because I am getting tired. You have to recognize this and do something
about it!

Don’t Carry Around Stress!

We all have a few things we enjoy doing for stress release. Hobbies or other
nonwork-related activities provide ‘‘refueling’’ time. Exercising gives me great
energy and a sense of release. I feel better about myself after doing it. I leave
the house around 7:30 A.M. and work until around 2:00 P.M., then I try to
go to the gym three days a week for a workout, return to the club around
4:00 P.M., and work until 9:00 or 10:00 P.M. Some of the employees or managers
who don’t really know my schedule will say, ‘‘he is always leaving,’’ or
‘‘he is never here.’’ I think it is a pretty honest schedule, as I am at the club
during all three meal periods. I also do not leave if it is not possible. However,
I can honestly tell you I am so much more productive in the first hour
when I get back from working out, than if I stayed and worked for two hours.
I have more energy, I am more focused, I am more productive, and I concentrate
better on the projects I need to do when I get back. I find myself
starting to crave these workouts, and the stress they relieve allows me to
better focus on my work.

‘‘Do something about it! Stop complaining and do
something about it!’’
—Torill Carroll

My wife Torill is now a fitness instructor. She inspires me to work out,
mostly because she is so fit herself. I admire her strength and personal discipline.
She will have coffee made, the kids’ breakfast and school lunches
made, a load of laundry going, and a thirty-minute workout completed before
I get out of bed at 6:00 A.M.! Don’t say you can’t find the time after
hearing that!

One morning before I made it a point to start working out, I was telling
my wife how I felt fat and how tired I always was. A few days later I repeated
the same story. After a few more days of bellyaching, she finally shouted to
me: ‘‘Do something about it! Stop complaining, and do something about it!’’
Pretty much the story in life, wouldn’t you agree? Nothing gets done by
complaining. Only you can make it happen! Most importantly, people who
feel good about themselves produce good results. It takes discipline to work
out because you don’t get results in just a day but gradually over time. You
can’t go to the gym and work out and lose five pounds in just a day. It takes
time, and discipline is a wonderful character trait to have.

‘‘Most importantly, think about this, people who
feel good about themselves produce good
results!’’

My point is that it is important for you to find something that works for
you, whether it is working out or something else. Make the effort to relieve
stress in your life. The more stress you carry with you, the less effective you
will be at work and at home. It will help you focus your attention on what
is important. I just love the feeling after a good workout. I hope I can inspire
you here, because this kind of stress relief does the body and mind good.

‘‘A little nonsense now and then is relished by
the wisest men.’’
—Willy Wonka

Take a Vacation Already

You know when you are the busiest at your establishment and when things
slow down. Early in the year or in advance, schedule your vacations. This was
a mistake it took me a few years to figure out. Early on in my career, with
all the traveling with the Culinary Olympic teams, culinary demonstrations,
presentations, dinners, or whatever, I always told myself I would take a vacation
when things slowed down or when there was an opening. The problem was, there is always something going on, always work to be done, always some
commitment. As a result, I never took time off. Now, I schedule my vacation
in advance: I plan on it, put it in the books, and look forward to it. We all
need to see the light at the end of the tunnel, the reward for working hard.
Look at it this way, there is ALWAYS going to be work on your desk! It is
not going anywhere, and it will be right there when you get back.
We have talked about our own attitude, our kitchen atmosphere, and
our professional values. Now let’s take that knowledge and start building our
program!

Running a profitable kitchen requires efficiency and productivity

Running a profitable kitchen requires efficiency and productivity. Effective use of materials, equipment and manpower lowers cost, increases your kitchen productivity and raises profits.

Keep Track of Your Materials

An inventory helps you keep track of your ingredients as they move in and out of your stock room. To make sure you’re managing your materials efficiently, you’ll need two systems of keeping inventory

Physical Inventory

Typically conducted on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis, a physical inventory is a count of all your ingredients, equipment and utensils in the restaurant.

Perpetual Inventory

This system keeps track of all materials entering and leaving your restaurant on a daily basis, giving you a record of how fast your inventory moves.

Organise your inventory with a good spreadsheet application like Excel. It allows regular updates and the ability to sort your master list with ease. This makes your inventory system more accurate and efficient.

Ingredients for Efficiency

When choosing ingredients, keep convenience and consistency in mind to be able to serve dishes on time and at a consistent quality your diners expect.

Equipment & Utensils for Your Kitchen

Keep your kitchen efficient and productive by having the right equipment and utensils, no more no less. When assessing your kitchen equipment, ask yourself the following questions:

·        What types of equipment and utensils are needed?

·        How much space would they occupy?

·        What kitchen layout is appropriate?

·        Are they easy to clean and sanitise?

·        Are chopping boards and knives color-coded?

With the right equipment, you’ll be able to avoid high maintenance cost as well as space constraint.

Organising Your Manpower

Your staff are a valuable resource; maximise their potential to optimise the productivity of your restaurant. Here are five things to keep in mind when managing staff arrangement:

The Right People for The Job

If you’re running a grill place primarily serving steak, you want line cooks that are good are grilling. Hiring the right people with the right skills makes your kitchen more productive and efficient.

Adopt Economies of Scale

This theory of having cost advantages as you expand can be applied to your staff. Maximise their productivity by assigning specific roles to increase their productivity: hire a saucier to focus on sauces and let the rest of your line cooks concentrate on what they do best.

Assign Responsibilities

From the head chef down to the dishwasher, making sure everyone has a specific responsibility ensures a smooth and productive workflow. Sit your line cooks down and tell them in detail what they’re responsible for and what’s expected of them.

Ensure Work Safety

Accidents in your kitchen disrupt the workflow and lower productivity. A safe kitchen not only ensures smooth kitchen operations but also makes your staff feel more secure about their work environment.

Assess Efficiency

An efficient kitchen means maximising the number of diners you serve with minimal waste of time and resources. Look for new ways to improve your kitchen operations, like introducing bouillons and more efficient methods to save time.

Staff Rotation & Scheduling

Whether it’s weekly or monthly, a well-prepared work schedule will keep workflow smooth and encourage camaraderie between workers. Divide the workload equally to ensure proper work and life balance amongst your staff without overloading any individuals.

More Efficiency Means More Money

Follow the tips above and make the necessary adjustments to suit your operations. By cutting down on prep time, using the right ingredients and managing resources well, you’ll get to see lowered operating costs and increased profits!

Leaderships lesson from chef ( Part 2)

Testing the Kitchen Atmosphere

Iam going to ask what is hopefully a stupid question for you: Do your
chefs taste everything before they serve it? It is crazy to me that once in
a while I still catch chefs putting out food without having tasted it first.
Mostly, because they are just pumping out the food, they don’t stop to taste.
One day I had a chef make fifteen gallons of spaghetti sauce for a children’s
luncheon to be held the following day. The next morning he heated
up the sauce and started serving the party. I came over and tasted the sauce;
it was scorched. I held the tasting spoon up and asked, ‘‘Did you taste this
sauce?’’ I was a little upset, because I always preach, ‘‘Taste everything.’’ In
fact, it is one of our guiding principles, which I am going to talk about later.

He said, ‘‘I tasted it yesterday, Chef.’’
‘‘Yeah, and you burnt it today!’’ I said.
We have to continue to cook, no matter how busy we are; but I insist
that everyone taste everything.
Stop and Smell the Roses (or the Roast)

I can just about tell when a prime rib is ready after slow roasting in the oven.
You can smell the caramelization in the air. You can smell the fat rendering
and self basting this beautiful piece of meat. We know we have to start out
roasting the prime rib at a high temperature until you can start to hear the
meat sizzle, lock in the juices, then turn down the temperature, and cook
the meat slowly on low heat. This perfect roasting technique allows the meat
to cook perfectly, end to end. There is nothing more beautiful than when
you slice a prime rib or a rack of lamb, after the meat has rested properly,
and it is perfectly done and consistent from the top of the slice to the bottom.
The reason I’m spending so much time on this is because I often find
that chefs and cooks, believe it or not, don’t cook. They are going through
motions, as they put the meat in the oven. They neither massage the temperature
nor monitor the meat and aroma during the process; then they
take the meat out of the oven, sometimes putting the roast in areas that are
too hot, so the meat overcooks. Or, they will not plan the timing of the roast
well enough, and end up slicing the meat immediately rather than letting it
rest, and all the juices come running out and the meat looks like a sponge.
At this point, you might as well serve me boiled barn owl. Cooking is an art,
cooking is passion, your passion is hard at work. The more passionate the
cook, the better the flavors. Be careful you don’t catch yourself just going
through the motions. It can happen to anybody, especially in a very busy
property when chefs don’t think they have time to use proper techniques.
Great cooks handle the beautifully roasted prime rib as if it is their firstborn.
Ahh, the smell of beautifully caramelized mirepoix—the carrots, celery, and
onion turning perfectly golden brown—that is a happy kitchen!

‘‘The more passionate the cook, the better the
flavors.’’
Know What You Are Serving
1. Taste the food.
2. Taste the food.
3. Taste the food.

Talking Food

Equally important to building a good team and making good food is talking
about food. What is the conversation like in your kitchen now? Cooks and
chefs like to talk about what happened last night and what they are doing
tonight or over the weekend, watercooler conversation, as they say. Inspire
them to talk about food. Ask them questions about classic foods. Deliberately
spark conversations about food. Now, I can see you sitting there reading this
saying: ‘‘Yeah that makes sense, yeah that sounds good, what else have you
got?’’ Imagine if all your cooks thrived on culinary conversation! What an
atmosphere! Inspire your team to talk about food.
One Thanksgiving we were very busy checking all
the turkeys, hams, prime ribs, and legs of lamb. We
were crazy busy, with roughly one hundred
complete to-go meals and 1,100 for lunch service.
The hustle around the kitchen was at a good level. I
saw one of the cooks checking the internal
temperature of one of the twelve prime ribs. He
took the probe out of the rib, wiped it, and placed
it in his pocket and then he started to take all the
ribs out. I asked him what he was doing?
‘‘Taking the ribs out, Chef,’’ he said with a sense
of urgency.
‘‘What was the internal temperature of the ribs?’’
‘‘120 F, Chef, on the dot, just like you wanted.’’
‘‘I trust the first one you checked was 120 F; but
what about the other eleven that you did not check
the temp of?’’
The chef stopped in his shoes with a look on his
face like, are you really going to make me put all
these roasting pans back in the oven? I explain to
him all the ribs do not weigh the same and not all
of the ovens keep the same heat, so each roast has
to be tested. At that point, I asked a younger
apprentice what temperature the lamb should be.
Then we started talking about the fact that the
bigger the piece of meat, the more the temperature
will carry over after you take the roast out of the
oven. Yet another chef chimed in with the fact that
a steamship roast of beef would have to come out
of the oven at 110 F internal temperature because
the size of the meat causes the steamship
temperature to carry over longer. At this point,
everyone started quizzing all temperatures of a
variety of meat, and everyone was learning.

One time I had a cook who was making some quiche; when he pulled
it out of the oven, it was caramelized but not set. You could not slice it. I
asked him what was his ratio. He looked at me like I had three heads. ‘‘What
do you mean?’’ he asked. ‘‘I mean, what is YOUR ratio?’’ I said.
I could not believe he did not have a ratio for the custard. Granted,
there are many different quiche recipes—some with milk, some with cream
and milk, some with whole eggs and yolks, and some with just eggs—but all
cooks should have a basic custard ratio in their head that they know works,
like 7 to 1: 7 eggs to 1 quart of milk is at least a good starting point.
1. Listen to other chefs in the kitchen.
2. Ask questions of other chefs in the kitchen.
3. Educate yourself by learning from the
experiences of those you work with.
Talk about food. You will be surprised how many cooks start listening in
on your conversation. You will be surprised how many join in the discussion.

Most of them want to learn. Next thing you know you’re having a whole
discussion on ratios. How important is this? I remember a chef at the CIA
(Culinary Institute of America) constantly giving us ratios, so by the end of
the three-week class we had pages of ratios. These are the special keys to
cooking. You can braise any piece of meat, as long as you understand the
art of braising. Ratios work on the same principle.

Challenge Your Team; Inspire Your Team

Challenge your team, and they will challenge you back. How about getting
everyone involved in an educational conversation about one of E´ scoffier’s
classic recipes? How about one of E´ scoffier’s famous consomme´s? It has to
start with YOU! How exciting is it to a young chef when you explain the
consomme´ concept and ratio and how it works. I will never need a cookbook
to make a consomme´. Sure, if I want to research some different flavor profiles
or garnish ideas, I can look in cookbooks for that; but my point is that
I will always have the perfect ratio in my head. How the acid works with the
albumen. How you have to stir the raft until it reaches 120 F, then stop stirring
because that is when egg whites start to coagulate. How the impurities that slowly rise
to the top have to be cleared away. How amazing is that concept? What about
the consomme´ ratio? How special is it when you give a young chef the ratio
of 3 egg whites, 1 pound of protein, 1 gallon of stock, and some acid? You
can make any consomme´ you want! This formula will work with any protein.
These are the conversations we should be hearing in the kitchen.
All of the lessons that follow in this book start with you. We have to
change in order to change others. If the executive chef uses bad language
in the kitchen, does not talk about food, and does not challenge the staff,
they will not challenge themselves! End of story!

1. Talk
2. Listen
3. Learn
4. Listen some more
The Days of Screaming Chefs Are Over
In years past, much of the kitchen turnover rate was accredited to the atmosphere
created by the head chef. There are still kitchens today with chefs
who have a reputation for screaming at their staff and working people eighty
and ninety hours or more a week. Many new cooks and chefs commit to this
environment for a short time just to get the incredible food experience, and
then they quit. They can only take the punishment for so long, getting burnt
out in the process. People do not want to work in an uncomfortable atmosphere.
They do not want to be yelled at, embarrassed, or humiliated.

‘‘We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and
gentlemen.’’
—Herman Rusch

I live by a three-strike rule. First strike: You make a mistake, I am going
to point it out to you. Second strike: I will give you a stern reminder that we
already talked about the problem. Third strike: I will lose it, but I rarely raise
my voice. Sometimes silence is deadly. More often than not, the good employees
will put pressure on themselves.

‘‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then,
is not an act but a habit.’’
—Aristotle

It is funny, I’ve had three executive chef jobs in seventeen years, and
each time my predecessor was a screamer. This made my entry to the new
job seem like a great breath of fresh air to the staff. I could almost feel the
positive energy coming from the staff. Many years of getting beaten up takes
its toll. I can’t remember the last time I raised my voice at an employee. Now
I didn’t say my temper, or my tempo, stayed level, but I did not raise my
voice. Usually, when we lose our tempers and raise our voices, it is because
we are frustrated, angry, and busy, and sometimes fatigue plays a role. Yelling
may make you feel better, get it off your chest, relieve ‘‘your’’ stress, but what
about all the stress you just caused in the kitchen? You may have corrected
the situation with the chef temporarily, but you haven’t solved it in the long
term if this is all you are going to do. Stopping the bleeding does not cure
the patient.

Body Language

Do you want to get a reality check on your
personal body language? Try asking one of your
outspoken, nonshy chefs his or her impression of
you. You will likely be surprised by what they
have to say (don’t ask for the impression if you
don’t have a sense of humor!). I don’t think any
of us think that we have mannerisms that can be
mimicked or enacted. It is kind of like a chef who
grew up in Vermont but now lives in Texas and
thinks everyone else talks funny while he sounds
normal. No one considers their own speech
accented, right? My point is that everyone in the
kitchen picks up on your body language all day
long. So just imagine how you look. One of our
guiding principles is a quote from Herman Rusch,

‘‘We are ladies and gentleman serving ladies and
gentleman.’’ Let’s get back to the screaming
thing.

Positive Body Language

Always make eye contact with your team
members.
Say what you mean and mean what you say.
Think before you answer.
Do not slouch. Walk tall.
Be conscious of your facial expressions; be sure
your message does not come across negative.
Your smile is the most powerful and positive
body signal you have.
Have a firm handshake.

‘‘You may have stopped the bleeding but you
have not cured the patient.’’

Speaking Softly Carries Great Weight

There may be times where your voice will rise or you make a situation personal,
causing you to lose your temper, but there are a few things you should
think about.

1. Make sure raising your voice or temper is absolutely necessary.
2. If you are addressing a particular employee, do it privately and not
on a grandstand in the middle of the kitchen.
3. If you lose your temper in the middle of the kitchen, blasting someone
in front of the rest of the staff, you are doing it for your own
ego and not for the good of the team.
4. If you ‘‘blast’’ someone, do it sparingly and effectively.
5. Address the issue immediately and not several weeks after the fact.
6. Carefully explain what the problem is and exactly what is expected
of the individual in the future.

Your expectations and directions have significant impact on the performance
of your staff. Most importantly, reinforce the correct behavior as soon
as it happens.

I recently had an instance where I got pretty upset. We had a new employee
start working without all the proper paperwork completed. Now, in
this day and age, this just cannot happen, does not happen, should not
happen...but it happened. This is a cardinal sin at our club.

One of my chefs, let us call him Norm, is in charge of all new employee paperwork. There
were several reasons this did happen, all very valid reasons: (1) it was a
holiday weekend, (2) there was a miscommunication about the appointment
with human resources (HR), and (3) Norm was off work the day the new
employee was scheduled to start. But, unfortunately, there is no excuse. I got
the call from HR and was told the employee was not fully processed. At the
same time, Chef Norm got an e-mail stating the same thing. By the time
Chef Norm got to my office, my body language must have been pretty clear
because before I could say a word, Chef Norm said: ‘‘Chef, I’m sorry. It was
my fault. It was a misunderstanding, and it will not happen again.’’ I felt like
saying, ‘‘You bet it won’t happen again,’’ but I didn’t. Chef Norm knew the
severity of the situation, all I needed to do was to run through a series of
questions to find out how it happened, review with Norm the expected behavior
of the hiring process, and let it go.

‘‘The most important single ingredient in the
formula of success is knowing how to get along
with people.’’
—Theodore Roosevelt

It used to be common practice that when your dog had an accident in
the house, you rubbed his nose in it and then put the dog outside. This was
supposed to teach him not to do it in the house again. Well, guess what, that
scares the dog more than anything and actually the opposite happens. You
rub the dog’s nose in the mess and then throw him outside, he’s thinking,
‘‘Every time I have an accident, they rub my nose in it. I better stop doing
my business.’’ The poor dog gets all backed up and constipated because he’s
scared to death. Anyway, the days of screaming and rubbing our staff’s noses
in their mistakes should be over. It is up to us to lead our staff to success.

We have to be careful how we talk to our staff so we don’t send the wrong
message.

Stay on Message

What is the message we give our staff? Do you lead by example? Do you set
clear and understandable directions, goals, and standards for them? Do they
have a clear understanding of what their jobs are? Do you make yourself
clear when addressing them? My point goes back to what happens to the
dog. He gets scared of the trainer and confused by the instructions.
What happens to those team members you scream at in the middle of
the kitchen? Yeah, you feel better; good for you. Are we getting the full
potential of that employee? My bet is that you have just shoved any confidence
that that person once had so deep into her or his being that you may
never see that employee’s full potential. Granted the production around this
person may have picked up because the staff is scared to death, afraid they
are next, but what kind of atmosphere is that to work in? The only sure bet
is that you will have a lot of turnover.

Instead, I hope you feel inspired every time one of your team members
moves on to the next job. Remember, every person who leaves you is like a
customer: They tell ten people, and those ten people each tell ten more,
and so on.

How about pulling the employee over to the side to talk. Put your arm
on his or her shoulder and say: ‘‘Chef, we have talked about this problem a
few times now, right?’’
‘‘Yes, Chef, we have.’’
‘‘You understand that I’m starting to get pretty upset by the fact that you
are continuing to ignore my instructions. Is there any particular reason we
are having a problem communicating?’’
‘‘No, Chef, I just dropped the ball. I’m sorry.’’
‘‘You understand that if this problem comes up again, I am going to have
to write you up, and it will go in your file. Do we understand each other? Is
there something else I can do to help you achieve this goal?’’
I will share with you one other saying I like that I think holds people
accountable.

‘‘If I don’t hear back from you, I will assume this job will be completed
100 percent. I don’t need to go behind you and check on it, do I?’’
Instilling a sense of ownership on the team takes a lot of the pressure
off and any added pressure is the positive kind. It inspires them to contribute
and to do good work. They own it! They are in charge. I trust them, and it
is now their reputation that depends on the success of this job not only being

completed but completed at a standard they are willing to put their name
on!

What Will Be Your Legacy?

Did you ever think about what your personal and culinary legacy would be?
I would guess that most of us don’t. What I mean by legacy is, how does your
last job, how will your current job and how will your next job all think of
you and your ability to lead a team. How do they all think of you as a mentor,
a disciplinarian or a leader? Will you be considered to be thoughtful, caring
and genuinely interested in the future and personal growth of your staff?
Will you be known for helping young people develop into great chefs? Will
you be known as a chef of great integrity? I love that word integrity, because
you can’t fake integrity. Either you have it or you don’t. Either you care about
people or you don’t. What will be your legacy? You have a choice to be great,
you have the choice to make a difference in someone’s life, what choice will
you make?

Leaderships Lesson From Chef ( Part 1 )

Chapter 1

What Makes You Tick?
What makes this book realistic about ‘‘team building’’ but useful and
still fun is that most of what is required is raw material—hard work,
sweat, trial-and-error—that comes from the heart. I’m not going to
tell you hypothetical stories about two mice or moving mountains. What most
motivates me about food is what I still have to learn. What most inspires me
is working with young professionals and building great teams. From day one,
building great teams has been something I have thrived on; I love building
a culinary team in the same way that a pro football coach builds a team. I
work hard to find the perfect fit for each position—the perfect chef, journeyman,
or student—for the perfect position. I have sometimes moved chefs
to different positions to maximize their strengths or to maximize the team’s
depth, just as a football coach would. It is really that simple. Do you ever
review your team and then move the chefs around so they don’t get stagnant?
Do you ever wonder if your team would be stronger if you made some of
these moves?
Sometimes the Best Solution Is Right in Front
of You
‘‘What most inspires me is working with young
professionals and building great teams.’’
I remember I needed a garde-manger chef and could not find the right
person for the job. It was a difficult position that needed someone who could
think on his or her feet, who was able to make decisions, and who could
supervise a staff of ten, not to mention possessing the garde-manger skills
required for the position. In the midst of my frustration, an apprentice came
to me and asked, ‘‘Why don’t you promote your wife to the position?’’ Now
first off, working with your wife in the same building, let alone the same
kitchen, isn’t always a good idea; but in this case it was a great idea. My wife
is a no-nonsense Norwegian chef who trained with a two-star Michelin chef.
On my best day I have a trace of nonsense in me, so why she married me is
still a mystery. Anyway, the apprentice was right. I had the best person for
the job already in my kitchen; but because I did not look outside the box, I
could not see it. This is really important in your operation. You need to take
a good look around, often, to see if there is a move that would benefit both
the chef and the company. Some of the best moves may not be the obvious
ones.
1. Consider those around you for key roles in
your team.
2. Be willing to take risks.
3. Just because it isn’t obvious does not mean it is
not a good idea.
4. Step outside the situation and look at the
challenge as a whole.

Early Influences

It all started for me at Rabbit Hill Inn in Waterford, Vermont. My mother,
Ruth, and father, John, bought the Inn in 1972 when I was eight years old.
Even so young, I had to work my tail off several days a week. Those of you
who have grown up in a family business or who are familiar with owning
your own business know it is an eight-day-a-week job. I had regular chores
that included stocking bars, running for ice, showing guests to their rooms,
setting up fireplaces—you name it, I had to do it. I actually worked the
breakfast station when I was ten years old. What I did not realize until later
in life, however, was that growing up in this environment was very special,
and my experience later benefited my career tremendously. Not only did I
grow up in an incredibly disciplined environment, my home constantly had
guests. Brothers Greg and Tom, sister Celinda, and I were constantly on
stage, as it were. We could not throw fits, fight over toys, toss food at the
table (okay, there was this one time...never mind), or fight over the remote
(well, there was no remote, and we only had two channels). My point is that
we were always busy taking care of guests; when we were not taking care of
them, the guests could see us. I think this made us grow up faster.
Most important of all, I learned: how to behave in front of people, not
to be afraid to talk to people, and proper manners. I did not realize how
important this was until I saw other chefs afraid to walk into the dining room
to talk with their guests. Some chefs are so nervous about giving a demonstration
that it would prevent them from sleeping the night before or cause
them to throw up just before the presentation. I did not realize what an
effect this early prep had on me. Growing up in this environment was special,
a lot of work, but special. My early first-hand experiences unknowingly paved
the way for my professional career.

My Early Profession
My next position was at the Balsams Grand Resort, a 15,000-acre, four-star,
four-diamond resort in the northern tip of New Hampshire. I apprenticed
there, went to the Culinary Institute of America, graduated, and returned to
the resort, supposedly long enough to get some money in my pocket and to
research my first big job. Little did I know that that was my first big job.
Working there for two years prior to beginning my formal culinary education
and making my way through every department, made it easy to go back. I
was able to rise very quickly from sous chef to apprenticeship coordinator
to executive sous chef and finally to executive chef by age 24.
‘‘The beauty about my passion is that to this day,
I have not stopped working to improve my
qualifications.’’

I had sixty employees working for me in the kitchen, more than half of
whom were older than me. It was a pretty challenging task, although at the
time I didn’t think so. I would have chewed off the end of a wooden table
if that is what it took to be successful. In many ways, working with the resort’s
apprenticeship program made me realize early on the significance and mechanics
of building a great team. The apprentices believed in me, which in
turn put a lot of pressure on me. It made me want to be better and to have
all the answers. I remember someone telling my boss at the Balsams that I
was not old enough or qualified enough for the executive chef job at the
age of 24. Think about that statement for a moment. Talk about providing
motivation and inspiration!

‘‘People don’t care how much you know, until
they know how much you care.’’
—John C. Maxwell
What better motivation could you have than someone telling your boss
that you are not ready for the job or that you are not qualified! I might have
agreed with him to a point, but the beauty about my passion is that to this
day I have not stopped working to improve my qualifications. All my life I
have had ‘‘young’’ kitchens and a refreshingly hungry kitchen atmosphere.
What the team lacked in experience, we usually made up in effort and will—
and a ‘‘chewing off the end of the table’’ mentality. I love that!

1. Turn challenges into motivations.
2. Always work twice as hard as those around you
to enhance and improve your qualifications.
3. Don’t be afraid of what you do know, and
don’t be afraid of what you don’t know.
4. Realize that you never have all the answers,
rely on the talent that surrounds you.
5. Ask the opinions of those around you.
6. Agree as a team once the team has come to a
conclusion.
7. If you show your staff that you are genuinely
interested in their opinion, they will respect
you.

Wearing the Right Shoes
A friend of mine once told me that you have to pretend to be something
before you can actually become it. Think about it. You cannot just flip a
switch and be an executive chef one day. I practiced every day until I was
confident that I knew every department just as well as the department head.
You have to practice and put yourself in the shoes of the chef every day.
Don’t put blinders on and worry only about the task at hand. Learn about
everything that goes on around you. It kills me when I have a cook who
thinks he or she is ready for a sous chef position and don’t even know what
time the dinner function is going out that night or even what the menu is,
for that matter. As a new professional you should be eager, and you should
want to excel and take the next step. But don’t lose track of the concept
that you need to LEARN first. You can’t get so wrapped up in getting your
name on your chef’s jacket and the department head black pants. In fact, I
tell my superstars to be patient, and chances are they will fly by many of the
chefs who have mentored them. But patience is the key. The most important
thing in your career as a new professional is to train well and work hard,
work harder than anybody around you. If you do that, trust me, you will be
great.

‘‘Focus on your work, not the titles. If you
produce beyond expectations, the titles will
come.’’

Let me tell you a secret for new professionals. Show up! What I mean
by show up is just that: Show up ready! Do you know how many average-tobelow-
average employees we see day after day, week after week, year after
year? Do you have any idea how wearing that is? More employees are concerned
with when they get out rather than what they can get out of the
experience, more concerned with how tired they are than how much more
energy they have. Some employees are worried that someone else in the
kitchen is actually doing less work than they are.

Show Up!
This is the secret. If you show up to work focused and prepared for the day
and work harder than anybody around you, the executive chef will notice.
The chef will give you more responsibilities; you will move to the top of the
promotion list because you have made a choice to do the job and to do it
to the best of your abilities.
Do not give the chef any other option but to recognize you. Just do it!
Believe it or not, it takes as much energy to do a great job as it does to do
a poor job. So why not be great, do great? Trust me, you will feel better
doing a great day of work as opposed to cheating yourself through the day.

Mentoring

‘‘YOU have the power to make a difference in the
lives of everyone you touch. That is pretty
special.’’

Chef John Folse is a dear friend of mine and a great inspiration to me.
At last count, he has thirteen companies, all built by him. I have known John
for fifteen years, and he is a true genius. He is one of the busiest chefs I
know, a make-it-happen kind of guy, in case you haven’t been able to figure
that out. One thing that is very special about John is that he always has time
for me. As busy as he is, with all his companies, TV shows, radio shows, and
culinary classes, he always takes my calls. I’ve been bugging him for years
with half-cocked ideas, and he always finds ways to put me on the right path.

This is very special to me and a good lesson for all of us. Don’t start getting
wrapped up in your own press such that you forget to stop and help those
just beginning their culinary careers. That has to be one of the best benefits
of our job, helping young people. YOU have the power to make a difference
in the lives of everyone you touch. That is pretty special.

When John first started his cheese company, he told me he was going
to find the best cheese maker he could find, hire him, and then learn more
about cheese making than the cheese maker himself. And that is what he
did! You can’t be afraid to surround yourself with talented people, especially
those more talented than you. John has a weekly meeting with all his managers
from all his properties. They all give their reports; John gives them all
direction and lets them run their departments. He empowers them to do
the right thing.

Seek out challenges and work toward learning from them and ultimately
conquering them. Do the research needed to be great. Have you ever heard
the saying, ‘‘Sometimes I think it is good to put the cart in front of the horse;
this will make you work harder.’’ Sometimes I book several deadlines in a
short time period just to keep myself motivated and focused and to keep the
pressure on.

Has anybody ever asked something of you, to run a demonstration, to
give a lecture, to assist in a competition or a special event? It would be fun
once you got there, but the road getting there was going to be a boatload
of work? Great opportunities don’t usually come to those people who choose
to sit on their hands. Great opportunities come to those who work hard.
What I mean by booking several events or deadlines to keep focused is that
if you tell somebody you’re going to do something, if you agree to an assignment,
put an event in writing, it’s now up to you to do it! You own it.
Therefore, you have to be careful about what you agree to do. I choose the
events that I know I will benefit from in the long run as a professional or
those that I know will make a huge influence on someone’s career.

Question Yourself, Question Your Team

There is a simple exercise I learned from Chef Ferdinand Metz, CMC. If you
are not satisfied with something, ask yourself some questions. Sounds easy,
but do you do it? Or do you just let it slide, because it is good enough?
Consider this. Let us say you are plating a banquet, the first plate comes
off the line and you don’t like it for some reason. The food is fine—servable
but not stellar. What is not right about it? Ask yourself some questions. What
don’t you like about it? Is the color okay? How about the textures, doneness, portions?
You can start a whole series of questions until you find the answers you need
to be great. Imagine this menu: pan-seared Chilean sea bass with mashed
potatoes and broccoli. There is a lot of room for improvement here, but
where do you start?

‘‘If you are not a team, you’re just a crowd of
people standing in an empty room.’’
Some of the questions I would ask include the following:
Do I like the way the plate looks?
No.
What don’t I like about the look of the plate?
Very plain looking, white fish, white potatoes, green vegetable. The plate is too
elementary looking.
Do I like the components and the composition of the plate?
I like Chilean sea bass, but I don’t like how the potato and the broccoli go with
it.
What kind of vegetable and starch would I like to see on the plate?
How can I make the plate look better while adding components that
are compatible with the sea bass?
I would like to see better color, maybe a broiled, marinated tomato, maybe some
spinach and arugula saute´ed with prosciutto.
What do I want to see for sauce and starch? Is this for lunch or dinner?
I think for lunch I would keep it lighter, maybe some lightly saffron-poached
pearl couscous tossed in with the spinach. Yellow pepper coulis would taste great
with all of the ingredients and look great with the tomato and spinach.
How does it all come together?
Coriander-dusted Chilean sea bass atop wilted arugula, spinach, and prosciutto,
broiled vine-ripened tomato, and yellow pepper coulis.
You can use this concept with any subject. You just have to be smart
enough, or brave enough, to ask the questions until you get to the bottom
of the problem. This really is a great tool, and it works not just with the food
you prepare but with the people who work for you.

How Is Your Team?

Always question how things are going and what
can be improved. Here are eight great questions
to ask yourself to make sure your team is on the
right path:
1. Do you have a great team?
2. Is your team inspired?
Is your team motivated?
4. Are you motivated and if not, why not?
5. How do you rate the atmosphere in your
kitchen? Is it a fun and productive kitchen?
6. Do your employees enjoy working for you?
7. Do your employees follow your lead?
8. How often do you lose your temper or raise
your voice in your kitchen?

‘‘To do a common thing, uncommonly well, brings
success.’’

—Henry Heinz

Motivate Your Team Members

Meet Jack, who works in the early morning. Jack has been late several times
and has received verbal and written warnings. He has been given extra
chances by the banquet sous chef to perform his duties on time. Finally, the
executive sous chef came to me and said that Jack needed to be fired. He
can’t seem to get through to Jack that he needs to be on time. Jack claims
he has three alarm clocks but sleeps right through them. He just hates working
in the morning and hates getting up early. Now, I always thought Jack
was a pretty good guy. I even sent him to another property to train during
our slow time. He had really set himself up to be fired, but I wanted to get
into his head a little, so I decided to bring him in my office to have a ‘‘sitdown.’’

This is basically how it went:
‘‘Jack, you’re having a difficult time getting to work on time.’’
‘‘Yes sir.’’
‘‘What seems to be the problem?’’
‘‘I don’t know Chef, it’s not like I’m partying or staying out late, you can
ask the guys. I just can’t get up on time. Can’t you move me? I asked to be
moved to another P.M. station a month ago, but my request was ignored.’’
‘‘First, Jack, normally we move our staff during the off seasons. And,
second, we like to reward great performances. It appears that yours has been
less than stellar.’’

‘‘I just hate the breakfast and lunch banquets.’’
‘‘The first rule of holes: When you’re in one, stop
digging.’’
—Molly Ivins, columnist

It kills me when I have a young and sometimes cocky student, journeyman,
or cook in my office, and they tell me how they don’t want to work
pantry, breakfast station, or banquets. I try to keep my cool as I talk to them.
It is my job to help point out the importance of our industry and all the
elements that go with it. This is key. As a new professional, you don’t see all
the potential a property has that can possibly help catapult you into culinary
success. Think back to when you were just beginning in this field, and imagine
the impact an advisor or mentor had on you. If you didn’t have anyone
to help shepherd your career, think about how awesome it would have been
to receive advice from someone experienced. Regardless of your own experience,
it is now your job—you are the coach, the advisor—you can make a
difference in a person’s life. They may not always recognize it, but someday
they will understand that you helped them tremendously.

This is very special.
Okay, let’s get back to Jack.
‘‘Let me ask you something, do you anticipate staying in the culinary
field?’’ A bold question; but sometimes such questions bring surprising answers.
You need to find out what your employee is thinking.
Jack, looking astonished that I even asked such a question, answered:
‘‘Of course, Chef, this is my life!’’
‘‘Where do you see your first executive chef position being?’’
Jack’s eyes started to open wider. ‘‘Well, I’m not sure yet, but I want to
see the country and find out. Maybe a club or a resort or restaurant.’’
You could see the excitement in his expression.
‘‘Well that’s a good start, Jack. Do you foresee not serving breakfast or
lunch at any of these properties?’’
Jack’s face went blank, as he started to turn red.
‘‘I suppose they will serve lunch and breakfast but...’’
I then ask, getting in his face a little, ‘‘What is the recipe for the beautiful,
fresh ginger pancake batter you picked up from the bakeshop this
morning? Or what about the raisin bread for the French toast? What about
the club’s signature sticky buns? I just love them, don’t you? Do you have
those recipes?’’

Jack is starting not to feel so well. ‘‘Well, no, Chef, no, I don’t,’’ he said.
‘‘Seems to me they would be good recipes to have as you’re touring the
country looking for the first executive chef position, would you agree? What
about your station, do you know how many cases of eggs it takes to feed 100
people? Bacon? Potatoes? Do you have all our soup recipes? Or, better yet,
do you know what soups we are serving at the club today? Are you going to
buy all your salad dressings at your fancy restaurant?’’

‘‘Success seems to be connected with action.
Successful people keep moving. They make
mistakes, but they don’t quit.’’
—Conrad Hilton, hotel executive

In my opinion, breakfast, in many properties, is not done very well.
There is an art to breakfast preparation and something special about a breakfast
done well and with passion. The bottom line is that we have to point
these things out to many new professionals. Tutor them; make sure they are
building their resources. Your A players will already be doing this, but you
need to be sure you are pushing your B players as well.

What Makes Them Tick?
You know what makes your blood start to pump.
It’s just as important to know what makes your
team members tick.
Show an interest in your team members, and
they will be motivated to learn from you.
Let them know the importance of the tasks they
do and how it will benefit them.
Encourage questions and ask questions in
return.

So Jack finally started to get the point. I suggested to him that he should
be building an incredible resource book for every department he is in. And
if I were a new chef, just getting started, I would be getting into the bakeshop
as well, to get all the experience possible, so when I’m running the kitchen,
I would be able to explain to my crew exactly what I needed. Everything Jack
needs to be a successful executive chef is right in front of him. As leaders
we have to help point out all of the opportunities to our staff. Help them
see, give them guidance. Long story short, Jack did finish his season on the
morning banquets, and we moved him to P.M. a` la cart, and he is doing
great! He is a lot happier and has not been late yet. His whole attitude has
changed. Maybe we made a difference in this young man’s life. It would be
great if we did!

What many young people don’t understand is that moving them from
department to department does not necessarily benefit the company, at least,
not early on. It takes a lot of hard work, preparation, and planning by everyone
involved, just to make this chef a better culinarian. Sure it would be
much easier to leave the chefs in the departments in which they are most
talented—less stress and no transitional errors or slowdowns. But what does
that do to your staff? Do they get stagnant, bored? Do they feel they need
to go to another property in order to grow? Sure, it is more difficult to move
young staff from department to department, but in the end your staff will
be strong and versatile, and they will understand each other’s jobs—it becomes
a stronger team. As executive chef, this is our investment and, trust
me, your return will be well worth it.

Shorinji Kempo