The Capable, Confident Cook

The chaos

Working in a commercial kitchen is, on it's best day, a stressful occupation.

You spend countless hours in a cramped, hot box filled with fire, sharp metal, dull knives and edgy personalities. You battle a seemingly never-ending prep list, obey the printer (how much longer on that lead bill?), scrub pots and mop floors. On a good day, everyone shows up for their shift and - gasp - they're on time.

Any given day, numerous factors can have a huge detrimental impact on your shift.

• Someone not show up?
  • Sweet, guess I'm not getting out of here on time today.
• Burn your hand grabbing a pan in the middle of service?
  • This is going to be a long shift.
• Morning cook had to leave early and the dish area is a nightmare.
  • Can you run some cutlery through? We're out!

Why, you ask, would any reasonable person wish to subject themselves to this consistently inconsistent occupation? The answer is actually really simple.

When the chaos is managed the right way, it's fun. The music, the team, the intense pressure cooker that are restaurants can be an exhilarating thrill ride. Those same variables that could wildly impact your shift? They also make it so work isn't the same, boring, punch-in punch-out type of job.

However, when the chaos is left unchecked, every shift quickly becomes a burden for a cook. Often times, the absence of clearly communicated job descriptions, expectations and accountabilities for a position leads to internal strife.

• Why is the new cook getting 37 hours and I only have 34 this week?
• I despise closing with ['insert anyone']. They just disappear and I'm always left doing the fryers.
• How come nobody told me we were hiring a new Sous Chef? I've been here for years and wanted to apply.

Canary in the coal mine

Imagine you're stewing on the above, working your 6th split shift this week (still only 34 hours) and your Chef pulls you into the office to write you up for not cleaning the mop sink the night prior. How appreciated or valued do you feel? How long until you dust off your resume and submit it at a restaurant where your friend just started and put in a good word with the Chef?

Most people leave jobs because they don't feel appreciated or valued. Everyone wants to have a voice, do a great job and help make a positive impact on the team. The trouble starts when cooks don't know what they're accountable for and what a great job looks like. Everyone has a role to play and failure to provide clear expectations and consistent coaching sets cooks up for failure.

Ever had a disciplinary conversation with a cook and they seemed absolutely bewildered by it because they thought they were doing a great job? That should be your canary in the coal mine that there is an opportunity to better outline and communicate accountability.

Attracting, filtering through and training new applicants to replace outgoing bodies is an expensive process. Someone has to manage the ads, conduct the interviews then tax your already short-staffed crew with training the new hire on "what they normally do".

Let's avoid that as much as possible and focus on staff retention!

Communicating accountability

You, above anyone else, need to feel confident with your team and clearly articulate your specific expectations for the role. There are multiple ways to accomplish this. Here are some of my favourites!

• RACI chart
• Job description & outline
• General knowledge quiz
• Plating guides

The more information you can provide to your team, the easier it is to review and action any follow-up necessary as they progress through their training.

As a cook, it gives me a clear list of daily tasks and objectives to focus on each shift. I know that if I get through my tasks (and help the team) I'm doing a great job, which helps me feel and become more confident.

Added bonus? It's easy for you to review job performances and celebrate the wins with everyone! It's nice to hear that you're doing a good job, even if it's an assigned part of your role.

• Awesome job cleaning out the oven last night! Way to tackle the weekly cleaning.
• Nice job clearing out the prep list today!

Consistent, documented coaching

The places I chose to work at while apprenticing offered more than a cheque. They provided me a place to learn, to be creative and made to feel like my input mattered. All of that was worth it's weight in canola oil!

Like we mentioned above, being a cook is supposed to be fun. If you're someone who is eager to learn and wants to improve, what happens when work becomes stagnant? What if every day feels the same and there doesn't seem to be any growth opportunities? There's a good chance you're going to apply elsewhere.

Challenge your team to grow. One of my favourite sayings from my father is "You want someone to be responsible? Give them responsibility.".

If you want a position or a specific person to learn how to place orders, how are you training them? Who's training them each time? Is the training repeatable and consistent? Here are some ways to help impact this:

• Standardized training
  • E.g. New cooks always start on Tuesday on a 10:00AM - 6:00PM
  • Come up with a list of key, important tasks assigned to their position and outlined as focal points on their training shifts.
  • Provide cooks an opportunity to provide feedback during their training
• Performance reviews at set intervals
  • Allow for two-way feedback. Are there tasks they feel they are struggling with? Is there anything we can do to help support? Document this.

Standardized training can and should always be reviewed and improved upon. The feedback cycle from cooks is invaluble in this process. The more refined the training, the faster you will be able to onboard great hires while simultaneously redirecting the wrong candidates away. New applicants that successfully complete the training will instantly make a positive impact on the team and be much more confident in their capabilities.

The challenge

When you get a moment, take a deep look at the current operational depth of your kitchen roster. Try to identify gaps in knowledge, ability or number of people trained on a given task. For example:

• Who can work what stations?
• Who knows how to place orders?
• Who knows how to write the schedule?

E.g. If only 1 person knows how to place orders, what happens to the budget when they're sick and the person with no idea is on the phone with your supplier?

Once you've identified the areas of opportunity to improve on, review your current training materials. Make sure that every task important to your operation is assigned to a role and can be taught in the same way with each cook. Once you're confident in your materials, start addressing the shortcomings in depth you noted by scheduling the training with your team.

The end result? A team of confident, capable cooks that you can trust are adhering to your expectations. The better the morale, the better the retention resulting in lower labour costs. Production costs go down as well, as the team is more skilled and multiple people are trained to positively impact all levels of the kitchen.

The work? It's still chaos. However, now that it's managed well with a strong supporting cast of confident, capable cooks on my team, it all gets a little more fun.