We changed the brunch menu today. When I got to work today the kitchen crew was behind the ball. No big deal. I helped them finish their mise en place by service while we discussed ways to get it done sooner. I made a sample of one of the new dishes for the staff. I headed into the dining room with the dish 15 minutes after we were open and noticed the FOH scrambling to get set for service. They weren't even in uniform. Scrambling in their civilian clothes. I immediately asked the first server I saw (who is always chill) why he wasn't in his nice clothes and he snapped at me about being in the weeds getting set up. I immediately went to his manager and he didn't even notice his dining room wasn't set. or maybe didn't think it was important. This exact scenario played out last Saturday as well. Two Saturdays in a row we had guests in the building that had to watch us scramble. That is how highly we think of our first guests on the busiest day of the week.
My staff is never ready by service without my help. Why? Because as soon as they figure out how to get ready on time I throw something else at them. Today was a new brunch menu. Today was also a crab special. They had to break down whole crabs for service. Messy. Last weekend was shucking oysters. I keep them polished in the winter. They will thank me later.
I was trying to explain this management tool to the FOH manager today. He is a wonderful colleague and I really enjoy working with him. He is also a little green and doesn't always see the peripheral duties of management. He needs to keep a fire lit behind his employee's asses at all times or they will get lazy and mess up what we've worked so hard to achieve.
"We've got the rules down now, and we're done learning how to speak.
We're on top of a cliff, and we're wondering if we should leap."
7 comments:
when I change a menu, I'm the first one in the building. If the staff can't be ready for service without your help, then it sounds like a power trip to make your presence necessary. I don't want to be necessary unless it's balls out volume, something VIP or other extenuating circumstances poke in their nasty heads. I attended a 77077 sponsored seminar in 2002 run by a guy named Jim Laube. Smart dude. He stressed the fact that you cannot work "on" your restaurant, if you are consumed with working "in" your restaurant. I can get far more accomplished for the company working on my numbers in the office or even on the pass expo'ing a slow lunch then I can when I have to physically be on line giving overwhelmed slackers hot underpants.
My presence is indeed necessary. A chef's presence is indeed necessary. It is always necessary. Is it a power trip? Sometimes when I'm bored, I guess.
Here is how I see it: If we don't constantly remind our employees of their potential and if we aren't constantly on them about their mise en place being perfect and each plate being awesome, then they will lose sight of it.
I see it all the time with FOH. They become desensitized to "being on stage" during their shift. Some of them forget they are being watched at all times by our guests and that they are the for their whole shift representatives of our dining experience. They lose sight of the bigger picture.
The same goes for cooks. After they've sent 50-100 plates out the window I am certain they will try to sneak a few compromised dishes out.
I would love to think that all of the discipline we hammer into our cooks will shine through 100% of the time, but it just doesn't. Not with any set of cooks I have ever seen at any restaurant I have ever worked. If I am there, I at least know for certain that no compromises are made.
I will not chain myself to the expo window during a slow lunch. I will sometimes set up my computer in the kitchen so I can do my numbers and watch them at the same time.
As long as they know I could be seeing every plate they make, they stay more focused. If they think I'm in the office, they are more likely to allow something to slip through the cracks.
The same goes with morning set up. They want to be done on time. I know they can do it. I love the days when they are ready 1 hour before service opens and are asking me for more stuff to do.
We most certainly find time to work "on" our restaurant. We build strategies and set them in motion. The reality is that it does no good to work "on" a restaurant if the food, wine, and service aren't on point at all times. If I can't guarantee a tasty meal to every guest, then what is the point?
I love to be challenged and i feel I need it more the most. BUT having spent 6 weeks with a menu that was unprepable in the time given, finishing early makes me feel good. "throwing something new at them" Is a very opened ended statement. I first thought of the worst case situation: clean the fryer or go sweep the parking lot(without herbal refreshment). It could be helping someone with their prep or prepping for tomorrow catering.
I have been thinking of making a list of extra work that needs to be done each week. That way the staff knows what is expected and can do each task as it fits into their week.
I hate shucking oysters.
Valentine's Day weekend is rapidly approaching. I have 4 days (Friday-Monday) of oysters as a special. Kumomotos from Hood's Canal are the Pacific Northwest aphrodisiac. I feel much better going into this coming weekend knowing that my new staff got to train on oysters last week.
I'm not playing games with my staff. I just now more than ever appreciate where I work and the freedom I am granted and the trust they put into me. I work long hours. I I'm there a lot. I know other places aren't like the place I work and I need to take advantage of it while I can. I've seen what happens when you push your staff to become great. We are put under nearly impossible odds during our summer months. "Get better everyday" is the name of the game. When they leave and go work for other chefs at other joints they always thank us for it later. Some of them go on to even bigger and better things. I want to prepare them.
Shucking oysters is like rolling joints... the more you do it the better you get. I am all for pushing I am glad to hear you jump in and help. The more I think back to last August/September my boss never helped me. Even when he knew I wouldn't get it all done on time. He certainly let me know how slow I was.
I get this entire post more now. It is better to push the staff but be there to catch them if they are about to fall.
As far as being in the kitchen on the computer to watch them, that has to do with integrity of the staff and each individual cook. Integrity is a essential part of running a restaurant. I would even say it could be defined as doing the right thing when no one is looking.
I've been thinking about this for the past few days. I really wasn't meaning to sound like an asshole. After reading through the comments I really am beginning to sound like one. You are right Crotchstarch, It is about "doing the right thing" and knowing that your staff will do the right thing is a very comforting. It is for certain though that their commitment will be tested constantly just like it is for all of us.
We have a great staff and they work very hard for us. We push them not just out of dedication to our restaurant, but also for their future as cooks and chefs. I've been volunteering my time to work with the Culinary students from Lane Community College. I enjoy pushing cooks to be their best and being at the college has been a good release. I could see myself being a Culinary school chef someday. Summers off. 3 weeks for Christmas. 9 days for Spring Break.
I really cringe thinking about a manager putting his staff in the weeds, not helping out, and then calling them "slow." Yes it is about making your staff tougher and stimulating critical thought, but it is in my opinion counterproductive to push them and watch them fall. It only builds resentment. As a chef you need your staff to trust you. If they don't it just takes all the fun out of being in the weeds. When the whole team is in the zone it can be a shit ton of fun. Isn't that why we do this?
I have to say that I was unfairly harsh with my comments on your post, Sous. I'm currently caught in the middle of a negative reinforcement policy that isn't working. Chef's solution is to ride them until they quit, because the one's that can handle it will come back for more and thank you later. I have to say that I don't agree. I'm there to be your boss (not your babysitter, your Sanchez or even your friend), but I personally don't respond well to angry stimulus because you are in the weeds or frustrated with FOH or upper management or your baby's mama. I'm getting off point, because I'm trying to describe my new dilemma and I have to be especially cryptic. Did I say new dilemma? This one's as old as the restaurant industry. (I guess the true novelty is experiencing all this shit in a different language.)
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