Harvest America CUES BLOG

I was listening to a person the other day who was involved in the restaurant business. He was making a point about how we (those of us who work or have worked in kitchens) need to embrace more technology and convenience foods if we are to survive. It was imperative, from his perspective, that we automate and simplify to solve our challenges with labor and a dwindling bottom line. I listened and gave thought to countering his logic, but then simply sighed and skirted the issue and inevitable argument.

This conversation has bothered me ever since. This is not the reason I became involved in the business of food, and I would dare say, not the reason nearly every student, cook, or chef with whom I have worked would view as a logical consideration when they first stepped into a kitchen. The thought of losing any connection with proper cooking technique, cutting corners to find ways to survive, or replacing the human touch with automation is so foreign to me. This idea goes against nearly everything I believe in, my background, and the mentorship that I received from so many great chefs and cooks in the past. I just keep shaking my head.

Don’t get me wrong – I fully understand the need for and the goal of positive financial performance and am fully away of the challenges to that reality that restaurant folks face. I’ve been there and lost many a night’s sleep trying to figure out how to resolve the challenges that every chef faces. But I just can’t accept that the solution is to commoditize and sacrifice the craft in any way shape or form. It seems like a slippery slope to me – once we sacrifice a bit of the craft, when does it end? I wonder: “why am I doing this, if not for the craft?” What will happen to this wonderful, important profession if the mindset is a movement from proper cooking to food production.

We have all witnessed where this ends up. We have all experienced food that is approached with the mindset of efficiency void of passion and commitment to “doing it right”. Some may ask: “what choice do we have? We can’t find people to work, those who do sign on seem to lack the skills or the desire to apply proper methods, the cost of goods continues to rise, and business volume is the only way to make a profit.” Ouch – the challenges are there, but surely, we don’t need to sell our soul just to make it through another day. Or do we?

Think back to that first job in a kitchen, probably when you were in your early teens washing dishes or bussing tables. Remember how you watched the cooks preparing breakfast or lunch, engaged in advance prep with stocks, soups, some meat or fish fabrication, peeling breads from the oven, or roasting 109 ribs for a banquet. Flash back to how amazed you were watching line cooks perform their magic at grilling chops and steaks, sauteing fish and shellfish, finishing pan sauces and pulling those beautiful plate presentations together. Think about the symmetry, the organization and communication, the dance that they performed in perfect unison as plate after plate slide into position in the pass. It was mesmerizing and you were hooked. Then came the sequence of events as you got your chance – maybe helping to set up plates for breakfast, frying pommes frites on the line, setting up a station for the first time and learning about proper mise en place, or that monumental moment when you owned a station for the first time. Never forget the enticing aromas of a simmering veal stock, onions and garlic caramelizing slowly in a pan, artisan breads being pulled from an oven, or the sweet smell of truly fresh fish as your filleting knife removes a portion from recently caught salmon, turbot, or sea bass. It was the step-by-step process of learning how to do things right, discovering the language of the cook, experiencing the chance to join the team, and become part of the dance that made you realize that you wanted more. You wanted to learn about the methods and techniques, understand the why as well as the how, build your palate, and become part of the proud traditions that made real cooks and chefs.

You spent decades perfecting those skills, trying to learn as much as you could about a cuisine, the people behind it, the ingredients you used and how to differentiate quality, developing speed without sacrificing quality, fine tuning your palate, and connecting with likeminded cooks and chefs – now is not the time to give up on any of that.

It was Edwards Deming, the quality guru after WWII who spoke the truth about what it takes for a business and an economy to thrive. Raise and never sacrifice quality and at the same time find ways to ensure that people see the value regardless of price. He theorized that employees want to be part of a business with integrity and will gravitate towards those who treat the employee with respect, pay a fair wage, and recognize their contributions. In fact, even though he was American, the most prestigious award for business in Japan is named after Deming. His words hold true today.

As restaurants and other businesses related to hospitality and food try to find their footing after the most catastrophic event in modern history let’s rally together to adhere to Deming’s approach and protect and embrace doing things right as we find that balance with efficiency. Let’s not abandon the craft that drew us to the kitchen in the first place. It is the craft that attracts customers initially and the craft that brings them back time and again. It will be support for the craft and recognition of fair treatment of employees that will help us through this labor challenge.

Don’t forget what drew you to this career in the first place – that wonderful tasting, beautifully presented, respectful plate of food.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

DO IT RIGHT

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

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