At any rate it was a fabulous evening. Great friends. Great music. Great environment and absolutely fabulous Vodka/7’s. Thanks Stu. Shortly after arriving I went out for a cigarette knowing that I would find Executive Chef there. It was great seeing him and we both greeted each other like old comrades. Big hug and big smiles.
As always he was excited to hear how I was doing. What was going on with me and in my new job. I let him know that I landed well at The Club at which point he gave me his telling smile and a wink; “I knew you would.” In retrospect it was a great decision on his part to force me to go out and experience something else. Hindsight is always twenty twenty.
We spoke freely and easily about how he is enjoying being Executive Chef. His voice was even more gruff than usual as the Head Chef at one of the other restaurants is having a baby so he is working the pass expediting. Though tired he let me know that he is absolutely enjoying the job.
I let him know about my experiences at The Club and he gave me some great advice. Naturally I wanted to talk about the horror of handwritten chits. His eyes seemed to almost glaze over. A tell tale sign of his many experiences with handwritten chits. I expressed, as I did, in my previous post, the story as best I could. He asked how I handled it and I explained but then I asked him how he would have dealt with it. He explained that I had the right idea and that as time goes on I will find myself even better at dealing with the hiccups that are a very natural part of the kitchen experience.
Using the resources that are available to me I asked him numerous questions about brigades, kitchen issues, etc. He was, naturally, more than pleased to give me advice. I asked him about how to handle issues of keeping the brigade motivated in times of trouble. Again recounting my experience that had just happened. I made a rookie mistake in dealing with it he explained. In that I acknowledged the storm. He said that I didn’t need to do that. It’s obvious he explained that there is a storm. And the last thing you want to do is give any negativity to your crew when you are in a situation like that. He explained that you take a moment, which I did, but different from my experience he said that I should have said to them something to the effect of;
“Listen guys, we all know our jobs. We know what has to get done. We can do this, it is in our blood, and it is what we do. Now lets do it. COME ON!” We spoke about this for another few minutes and I feel that by using him as a resource I have become a better cook. Moreover that if this is to happen again I will have a better arsenal of tools at my disposal to motivate any brigade.
I also asked him about how to handle it when dishes are being put out incorrectly. He immediately grabbed an empty glass in front of him and the started role playing with me. There was one lemon in the glass and so he looked at me and said; “Is this your dish? Did you create it?” I playing along said; “no.” He said; “Well then why is there not two lemons in it.” I looked at him blankly still playing the role. He said; “Listen, this dish demands two lemons and a shot of vodka. Make sure that you put in the two lemons. Anything less and you are messing not just with the dish but also with the customers’ enjoyment. Now, make the dish right and put the two lemons in it.” I started to giggle because after he said it made perfect sense to me. He also said that one of my issues is that I am verbose and have an extensive diction at my disposal. He said that I need to avoid lots of words where only a few will do.
He also pointed out that in doing the dish wrong, while cheating the Chef and the customer, you are also cheating yourself. It is your heart and soul going into the dish he explained. Are you satisfied putting out a dish wrong he asked? Then lets get it right. Now do it again. He also told me that it is the responsibility of the Chef to ensure that the dishes are going out wrong. He said you don’t need to correct behaviours publicly but can pull them aside the first few times. After that he said that you can do it publicly. POWERFUL MOTIVATION.
I am grateful for him as a resource. He asked about C and I said she was back in a couple of weeks and that we would all get together for a drink. A big smile came over his face.
Over the course of our conversation that was about an hour he also said that he regretted that he did not have as much time for me as he would have liked when I was there. His tone was apologetic and I expressed that I understood. Nonetheless he did seem truly upset that he hadn’t had more time for me. But he made it clear that he is always there for me to answer any question I have.
Thanks Chef! For everything!
Dan Rather once said; “The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth.”
Kahil Gibran once said; “The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.”
Are you dreaming big and inspired?
A la prochaine
SDM
