Chefs' Perspective: Thoughts on a changing industry

by Julie Kauffman Strong, Stephen Wilson and Maria Campbell, CEC

Ask anyone who works in a kitchen and they will likely tell you the same thing: the industry is changing. To meet the demands of the American consumer, who is spending more money on restaurant food than ever before, the restaurant scene in major cities is booming, with new restaurants opening at a rapid pace. However, there is a shortage of chefs to fill all the open positions that are being created, and the young members of the workforce bring with them expectations for a workplace that is very different from the one of their predecessors. Because of this, today’s chefs are having to work hard to keep up with an ever-evolving set of challenges, and are having to train themselves to adapt to meet these challenges.

The chef experts at Imagine Impact, LLC are aware that these challenges exist. They see them first hand every day.  As part of the company’s mission to offer support services to chef leaders and kitchen management, the Imagine Impact team is constantly working to better understand the obstacles chefs face and the solutions that chefs are looking for.

There is a scarcity of data about the challenges that chefs and restaurant managers face in regards to staff, so the task at hand is to seek sources from which to gather this information. During the month of August 2016, Imagine Impact executed a beta test survey. This test, which was designed by Imagine Impact’s founder, Chef Maria Campbell along with Chef Stephen Wilson and writer Julie Strong, was the group’s first exercise to understand what chef leaders are facing today. The goal is to share insight and feedback by hearing directly from the back-of-the-house leadership.   

In the interest of furthering this goal, Chef Maria Campbell sat down to talk with two Philadelphia area chefs, Chef Keith Taylor, a chef/owner at several Philadelphia businesses who currently teaches at Drexel University, and Chef John Patterson, Executive Chef of Fork restaurant. She also spoke with Chef Eva Barrios, Executive Sous Chef of the Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas. These interviews provided a snapshot of what has been learned so far, by offering honest insight into today’s kitchens.

A Changing Culture:

Both Taylor and Patterson readily acknowledge that the culture around their profession is changing rapidly. One of the first changes that they each speak to is in the tone and atmosphere of the kitchen. The days of the yelling head chef alienating their staff are coming to an end, despite what you may see on television competition shows. “Yelling is destructive,” says Chef Patterson, who acknowledges that while yelling can give an immediate result, it ultimately leads to long-term disengagement and a frustrated staff that isn’t likely to stick around when they find a better position.

Chef Taylor mirrors this thought. The commonly accepted kitchen culture is infused with the attitude that when you are hired, you should immediately know what to do and you must not fail. “It’s demoralizing,” he says. Everyone knows that a workplace where people feel demoralized is not a place that people want to stay for the long term. It’s time to “humanize your kitchen,” says Taylor. 

The key to this humanizing process is establishing an environment of trust in the workplace. Chefs must, Taylor states, be fair and lead by example. He recognizes that sous chefs and the rest of the kitchen staff soak in more by watching their head chef than they do by listening. He strives to make sure that his staff knows that he is “real” by getting to know them, listening to them, encouraging them to be part of his planning processes, rewarding the behavior he wants, and most importantly, by knowing how to apologize when necessary.

For Chef Barrios, getting to know her staff and understanding their backgrounds is an essential step in this humanizing process. She leads a diverse team and makes a point to learn about an incoming staff member’s cultural and food heritage as part of the on-boarding process. This sharing of knowledge builds respect and a stronger connection between the people in Barrios’s kitchen. “Ability and technique,” she says, “are only part of the puzzle.” 

One reason that experts cite for this changing culture is the influx of millennials into the culinary field. Millennials, who by the year 2020 will make up 50% of the workforce, are looking for more than just a job. This generation expects to find a value in what they do that extends beyond the monetary value of their paycheck. They also expect to be valued by their workplace. The harshly competitive atmosphere in professional kitchens, with punishingly long shifts and few (if any) benefits is the norm in the restaurant industry and will no longer work for the next generation of young cooks.

Millennials “don’t want a boss - they want a coach,” says Chef Adam M. Lamb, industry expert for Foodable and host of the Chef Life Radio podcast series. Since there are fewer chefs than there are positions to be filled, this new generation of employees can afford to move from position to position until they find the type of atmosphere they are seeking. Head chefs who fail to create this type of kitchen environment are going to continue to find themselves short staffed and losing out. It is time to adapt.

Focus on Mentorship:

Since there is a chef shortage, the question then is how can chef managers in the food and restaurant industry develop people to fill the open positions in their restaurants? And, once staff are in place, what must be done to keep them? In the Chef Life Radio podcast episode titled “Are Millennials Changing Culinary Culture for the Better?”, Chef Adam Lamb suggests that there needs to be a shift from management to mentorship.

Chef Patterson prefers to start from the very beginning. He favors hiring younger, inexperienced line cooks and training them to be part of the culture he wants to create. Chef Taylor favors hiring someone at a lower position, such as a dishwasher, with a clear timeframe of how they will move up through the ranks in the kitchen while learning on the job. In this scenario, a dishwasher should be actively working towards being a prep cook within three to four months, under the guidance of their kitchen leadership. “Smart leaders are looking to build more leaders,” Taylor states. It is up to the head chef to identify staff with potential and consistently carve time out of busy schedules to focus on building and training these individuals.

The need for this type of one-on-one development is not only seen by the chefs interviewed. In the preliminary set of anonymous management surveys that Imagine Impact conducted with chef managers and their sous chefs during the month of August 2016, the responses mirrored this conclusion. Two thirds of the sous chefs surveyed agreed that one on one development time with their chef manager would be key to improving their personal development as chefs. Almost two thirds of the chefs surveyed also agreed that this one on one time would lead to a better-developed staff. 

One positive note that has emerged from this on-going discussion is that it seems that many chefs do enjoy teaching and developing their support staff. Both Chef Taylor and Chef Patterson spoke to this as being one of the greatest rewards of being a chef. In a preliminary management training session that Imagine Impact held in August, all of the chefs who volunteered to participate stated that one of the aspects of their job that engaged them the most was watching members of their teams learn new skills and grow professionally, while also learning from the knowledge that their teams bring to the table. However, they all acknowledged the demands of the business leave them with very little time to be as involved in this development as they would like to be. It seems to be a common theme that staff development is one of the first things to go when a chef is pressed for time.    

So, if the industry is changing, the workforce is demanding change from their leadership, and many chef leaders are expressing an interest in making the leap, the question one must ask is: How do we get there from here?

A Need For Training:

One common theme that was recurrent in all the conversations with chefs was the need for more business and management training in the food industry. In Chef Taylor’s estimation, 9 of 10 restaurants suffer due to bad business management. Chefs need to be able to do more than produce amazing food. They must be able to manage the people in their kitchen in such a way that produces consistent results daily, encourages professional development and creates new leaders ready to step into management roles. 

Chefs who are hired and trained by larger corporate restaurants are often able to obtain management training on the job. Chef Taylor credits his training as a chef with the Disney Corporation for a thorough focus on management as well as on food. Under this system, one is required to learn on the job for six months before managing any staff members.  But this type of training is unusual in most workplaces, especially in smaller, independent operations.

Even chefs who have graduated from culinary school are often sorely unprepared to take on management responsibilities right away.  Chef Patterson expressed frustration that culinary schools do not do a better job of instilling realistic expectations in new chefs. A recent graduate is not going to be hired for a sous chef position, or earn a sous chef salary right away, no matter how well they did in school because they are not adequately prepared to handle all the responsibilities. He mentioned that many people he interviews seem surprised to learn that there is more to the job than just turning out amazing plates. When he hires people as line cooks, he feels it is his responsibility to give them the real picture of what their job development will look like: it will take a minimum of four months of training and learning before they can step into a sous chef role.

Standards and Solutions:

Chef Taylor says it boils down to two words: standards and solutions. He offered the example that if you walk past a problem without doing anything, you have just created a new lower standard. Chefs need to set high standards for their teams and create an infrastructure that is clearly communicated, while also creating the right kind of environment in which members of their teams can thrive. “We are masters of gracious hospitality,” says Taylor, and that hospitality should be on display in the workplace, directed inward as well as outward towards the guests. 

One goal is a happy staff, because a more engaged staff is more productive and has more ownership over their position within a company. Chef Taylor suggests engaging staff by paying them well and teaching them continuously. A chef should continue to ask themselves these questions: Do I make it easier for my staff to learn? And are people in my kitchen set up for success? Staff members feed off this type of environment, and respond with their dedication, which is beneficial to the whole organization.

Chef Patterson echoes the need to compensate staff fairly. He states that chefs should not bury their heads in the sand and wait for labor laws to force them to make changes, but be proactive by considering how to make paid time off and sick leave possible. He also cautions that chefs should examine their expectations of their staff. Making time for family and a healthy life-work balance should be encouraged, since these are qualities that are known to increase staff satisfaction.

Chef Barrios reiterated the need to be conscious that staff have a life outside of work. Recognizing that all staff members make time sacrifices to help a business achieve success is crucial. “Since they take care of us, we take care of them,” she says. It is important to express gratitude, and be flexible with regards to family obligations, without losing focus on the needs of the business.

An On-Going Conversation:

This conversation is far from over. The chefs at Imagine Impact continue to strive to understand the challenges facing today’s chefs, so that they can better tailor services to meet those needs. If you want to join the conversation by sharing your voice or participating in an upcoming management survey, contact Chef Maria Campbell at [email protected]. To learn more about the services we offer and how we help chefs overcome challenges and exceed their goals, visit our website weimagineimpact.com. We look forward to hearing from you.