Harvest America CUES BLOG

Think back in personal time. Do you remember when you first discovered how to snap your fingers or whistle? What about that moment when the training wheels came off and you were able to balance and ride your bike independently? Throughout life there were extraordinary moments in time when discovery and learning coincided: driving a car, hitting a baseball, throwing a perfect spiral with a football, standing up on skates, or playing your first song on a guitar or piano. Do you remember the feeling, the sense of pride, the excitement, the feeling of accomplishment and even wonder that you were able to do it? As a cook it may have been learning how to hold a French knife properly, getting that perfect caramelization on scallops, successfully combining clarified butter and egg yolks into a hollandaise, or pulling a perfect artisan bread from the oven hearth. Each accomplishment added to your portfolio of learning – something else that you had not been able to do just days before, but now it is part of who you are. Whether a public display of pride was evident – you were beaming inside.

We should never underestimate the power of learning. People are wired to learn, to grow, to use their brains, and flex their muscle memory. Human beings only use a small portion of their brain’s capacity – why is this so? So many walk-through life thinking they are incapable of learning certain skills or expanding their knowledge of a particular topic. Are we placing our own limits on ability or are we simply unable to access the stimulus and mentorship that would allow us to learn and reach beyond our expectations?

Such a shame that individual potential goes unrealized in so many instances. How many inner musicians, writers, athletes, teachers, entrepreneurs, cooks, chefs, and restaurateurs never rise to the surface because they were never recognized, encouraged, trained, taught, or given the opportunity?

If you are a chef – take a moment and walk around your kitchen, look into the eyes of the people who hold a position on your team and ask yourself: “What is this person’s potential, what are they capable of, what would they like to learn if only given the chance?” How many people in your kitchen alone could be the next great chef, the owner of a chain of restaurants concepts, the developer of a great new food product line, or the winner of a James Beard Award as a Rising Star? Talk with them and dig deeper. What are their dreams and what gets in the way? Now, ask yourself: “What can I do to help them realize these dreams?”

Could learning be a key to attracting and retaining the best employees? Could learning be a key to restaurant success? Building a culture of learning may just be as important as a restaurant concept, the design of the kitchen space, ambience of the dining room, and intensity of a marketing plan. If we are to assume that people want to learn, wouldn’t it make sense that an operation committed to teaching, training, growing, and investing in their employee’s knowledge and skills would be attractive to the best of the best? I might go even further and state that a restaurant committed to teaching and training would be able to provide the best quality, consistent product and most impressive service thus attracting guests who seek excellence. So, isn’t a commitment to learning a great investment for the operator?

“One of the greatest discoveries a person makes, one of their great surprises, is to find they can do what they were afraid they couldn’t do.” – Henry Ford

What might a culture of learning look like? In a true learning organization, teaching and training is environmental and is not limited to ownership or leadership to provide. In a true culture of learning – every employee is provided with the opportunity and tools to train and learn. The mantra of a learning organization is:

“I will teach you what I know. We will collectively teach each other what we know.”

This would likely include on-going learning opportunities way beyond a typical orientation for new employees and week-long immersion into menu, systems, and upselling techniques. The scheduling of formal training would be as important as shift schedules for various positions and would run the gamut of cooking techniques and demonstrations, product tastings, wine knowledge, visits to local farms, to one-on-one sessions on specific skill development. It might also include background knowledge on each of these topics including some history and personal experiences. This need not be limited to in-house chefs and managers – it might include guest chefs, vendors, wine makers, farmers, etc. Post the class times and offer a brief description of each session and expected outcomes, pay employees to attend, and offer validation of attendance and completion of each session that the employee can add to their resume portfolio.

Even more importantly, the operation might identify key seasoned employees with an expertise in a particular skill, cuisine, plating, organization, etc. so that staff seeking to improve their skills might connect and learn from each other. In a learning organization everyone is a teacher and trainer. The restaurant offers an unbroken chain of connectivity and shared mission.

“Through learning we re-create ourselves. Through learning we become able to do something we were never able to do.”

-Peter Senge

In a learning organization there is a high level of transparency. If an employee wants to learn more about menu development, how to price a menu, vendor relationships, the legal parameters of running a business, inventories and profit/loss, or the skills necessary to function in other departments then why not provide that opportunity? Share much of your financial performance with your employees so they understand the challenges of running the business and how they might help to keep costs in line. Let them know what your China and glassware costs are so they pay close attention to breakage. Share your health inspection results with everyone so that they are aware of their role and seek and share comments from guests (good and not so good) so that they rally around improvement and celebrate success. Give everyone a chance to feel as if it were their restaurant.

Too often employees lack loyalty to a property because they feel a lack of engagement and see their work as a dead end. It is your opportunity to change that, it is your opportunity to become the type of restaurant that attracts those who want to excel, to constantly learn, and be part of something great. This is your most important job as an owner, manager, and chef.

Does this sound complicated? Not any more than any other task that chefs, managers, and operators commit to. We invest the time in marketing, budgeting and cost controls, and concept development but too often ignore investing in a restaurant’s most important asset – their employees. It’s time for that to change.

PHOTO: Chef’s Charles Carroll, CEC and Michael Beriau, CEC

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