How many times have you heard or said this to your employees?
“Chef, isn’t it enough to teach skills? Shouldn’t prospective crew members show up already armed with maturity?”
Very simply put, the answer is, “No.” A great kitchen crew is made up of people with a variety of life experiences, and people aren’t always at the place you want them to be. You need to mentor your employees. The hospitality field is more and more competitive, and restaurateurs make a sizeable investment setting up the back of the house. Given that, what’s the role of a chef in raising everyone’s bar?
In a foodable.com post, Adam M. Lamb argues chefs not only are the heart of the kitchen, they also need to make their mark as the leaders of a well-oiled, responsive staff. Leadership does not have to be another task for a chef who may feel that he or she is already multi-tasking to the max. It does require a mindset which boils down to thinking like and being a mentor. It’s a mindset that infuses the tasks that are already at hand.
- Demonstrate consistently best practices – in activities large and small.
- Mentor maturity through your own behavior.
- Less talking, more listening….active listening.
“Use mentoring moments — whether you’re next to them dicing vegetables, setting up a station for service, or plating a banquet — as a way to share stories of when you were coming up, the challenges you faced, and how you overcame them.”
In short, it’s not just “Yes, Chef,” it’s being the one mentor that shapes a culinarian’s excellence, and the excellence of a restaurant. Find out more by reading the rest of the article from Foodable. More…
