Making the Chef

The Problem with People

The problem with people is that you just can't escape them. They're everywhere, kind of like this weird mutant breed of roaches that doesn't scatter when you turn on the lights. But you don't do time when you kill a roach.

Part of the reason that I got into this business was because of the fact that I was going to be in back of the house. I didn't have to deal with people or customers. The problem that I'm quickly learning is that in this business line skills count for a lot, a good deal, but line skills only get you so far. How far? About as far as I've gotten - working any position on the line. The days of the tyrant chef are over ... no longer can you be an ass and still have people come into your place. Somewhere in the past twenty to thirty years soft skills became much more important.

I imagine that's because of the competitive nature of the restaurant business. Although, yes, Americans are dropping a lot more cash on dining out, they are becoming much more picky in what's become an increasingly crowded restaurant market. Honestly, how many people a decade ago cared about the differences between varieties of heirloom tomatoes? Or the fact that you can get baby iceberg lettuce (a trendy new luxe item ... makes a nice composed Cobb salad)? So there's a heck of a lot more risk involved ... every detail needs to be paid attention to and no longer can you get by on one aspect alone.

And that's where people skills come in handy. You need a good front of the house crew. You need a good back of the house crew. You need a good marketing crew. You need a good management crew. And you need all of them working together towards the same goal.
Modern management points towards a much more touchy-feely style of business. The fire and brimstone approach is definitely out. Incentive based approaches are in. Direct insults and debasement are out. Constructive criticism is in.

Part of me really hates this reality because it's geared towards a skill set that I am very poorly based in. I do well in having definite standards and living up to them. I don't know really the first thing about motivating people, about getting them to work for you. I have an extremely critical eye and high standards. I tell you once, it's normal. I tell you twice, that's okay. I tell you three times, we have problems.

I guess that's why I like Gordon Ramsay so much is because, on the line at least, he can say whatever the hell he wants to. But for him, what happens on the line seems to stay on the line. Outside of work, he seems to be something of a very different person. I'm not as able to divide up my social interactions as much. I value competence and an ability to get things done. That comes first. If you can do that, then maybe you'll be worth getting to know. If you're incompetent, then why would I want you on my line let alone get to know you?

But in reality, you might have someone that is a horrible line cook, but they might have some great insight into the industry. You just need to find the right fit for them. Now, sometimes that fit is in a completely different industry. Or at a McDonald's. But you need to be able to identify the difference.

I question whether management at where I work is able to identify those differences. Or, if they are, do they care? The exec where I work talks a good talk about wanting to raise the standards of the restaurant and to get good product out and, eventually, open up a larger part of the restaurant for evening sales. Yet he tolerates having one person on the line that, personally, I view as one of the sloppiest "cooks" I have ever seen in a kitchen. This guy can manage to cross-contaminate something with a substance from three or four inserts over, always works dirty, never is able to work at line speed, sends food out that looks like ass, and, most importantly, can't seem to think the necessary three steps ahead it takes when you have five tickets in the window at once. Working in a kitchen is all about competence and, quite frankly, this guy isn't competent.

Yet management keeps him around.

As instructive as it is to learn the right way to do things, it's also instructive to learn the wrong way to do things. They should fire him, Washington is an at-will employment state after all, but they aren't. Which creates another object lesson of how to deal with someone that you may not enjoy being around. So in the meantime, I bite my tongue and try to learn how to deal with the people problem. This'll be useful. One day. In the meantime I wish I could videotape this so you could laugh at me for my appalling lack of people skills. I should probably pitch it to a network as a reality TV show.

posted by LindyChef @ 2:30 PM