What is a “chef”?
I meet a lot of people new to the restaurant business, or sometimes people that have only a few years experience and are thrown into a postion they don’t fully comprehend yet. Many of them are unclear on the meaning of that word “chef. Many assume its the person in charge of the kitchen. But there’s s little more to it.
A chef is a leader, first and foremost. Let’s forget about cooking for a minute. All the great chefs I know or have worked for were great leaders, they understood that their primary function was to inspire, motivate, and educate. They understood that there were no excuses, none. If a guest is unhappy its their fault, regardless of who or what was going on in the kitchen or dining room. Wine glasses not clean? Yes, chef’s fault, dishwashers need to be trained and managed. Cook no show? New guy on saute station? Delivery come late? Hungover? Tired? Server forget to fire main courses? Absolutely none of this fucking matters and it shouldn’t. The prices on the menu don’t change because the chef is having a rough day. People are paying a lot of money to come eat your food, this is their night out, if thats ruined its on you. Deal with it, accept responsibility, fix it. It takes so many people to make sure a restaurant runs smoothly but lets be honest, people aren’t coming to your restaurant because of your accountant, steward, or prep cook, they are there because of you. Its your job to make sure everyone on your team has received proper training, is motivated and inspired to take care of guests needs, and exceed them if you want to be successful.
Chefs are generous to a fault. That doesn’t mean just sending an extra course out to a foodie or a famous person. It means donating your time, expertise, and support to your staff, your customers and your community. A regular like your bread? Give them some to take home. Line cook can’t afford a new knife, donate yours or buy him/her a new one. Inspired by a new cook book? Buy it for your sous chef. Charity ask you for a donation? Give them a gift certificate. Have a regular that supports you and brings people to your restaurant on a regular basis? Say thank you, buy them something, engage them if possible. This is what we do. The most respected chefs I know are also the most generous.
A chef is a student. No matter who you are there is always someone more talented, smarter, faster, younger, and more knowledgeable than you, fact. If you don’t learn from these people or seek them out, you probably get very far. This is a lifelong process, and no one person can possibly know everything there is to know. If you are not seeking knowledge, inspiration, or motivation on a daily basis you are doing yourself, your staff, and your customers a disservice. Learning is good for the soul.
A chef has to have the best work ethic in the building. Its just part of the job. If you don’t want to push yourself everyday its just not going to happen. There is no way anybody on my staff is going to outwork me, not going to happen. Nothing wrong with time off, nothing wrong with family time but if you are in the building you have to bring it.
Ultimately it has to be understood that to be successful, to be a great chef you have to put other peoples needs ahead of your own. Your staff rewards you with hard work and dedication, your customers come back and talk about you, your peers respect you, your community supports you. If you have that “chef” gene you probably already know all these things, it comes naturally to some people. A chef that truly understands hospitality will always succeed.
