Harvest America CUES BLOG

The media is in love with the drama, as confessions of abused cooks find ample press time, and despondent cooks who leave the business trash talk their previous employers. It’s all so overdone and not true of the majority. After absorbing all the negative press and glamorized abusive behavior it’s no wonder restaurants are having a tough time recruiting employees. Of course, there are examples of terrible behavior and autocratic chefs, but they are not rampant throughout the industry – they are the exception, not the rule.

There is always a need for standards in kitchens just like in any other business and it is the responsibility of the chef to set the example and ensure that these standards are met. Abusive behavior rarely centers on the standards but on how those standards are messaged to staff. Without standards restaurants will have miscommunication, inconsistency, slips in quality, and disappointed guests. Those chefs who deliver the message of standards through yelling, condescending behavior, demeaning employees, for exerting some type of punishment approach have no business in a leadership role and should find another line of work. Period!

I am tired of the media focusing on the stories of exception, drooling about zealous articles that point to unacceptable kitchen environments, glamorizing the negative through their “reality” shows and movies, and then following up with dramatic writing about how hard it is for restaurants to find help and survive in such a fragile marketplace. When the bad seeds are given press time and abusive scenarios are painted in terms of “entertainment”, then the world believes this is the norm and accepted by an industry that employs more people than most other fields and feeds the nutritional and entertainment needs of a population.

Let us not forget that the restaurant business is one that provides first jobs for a large percentage of the population. This is a creative field that is an exciting avenue for artistic people looking for an outlet and an industry that rewards its patrons for the work they do with great food and an environment where they can celebrate with friends, family, and co-workers – break bread, raise a glass, smile, and laugh with reckless abandon.

I worked more than 50 years in the restaurant business and never with an abusive chef or in a toxic environment. Sure, I have worked for chefs and managers with whom I disagreed, and I am sure some have worked for me and disagreed with my approach, but never have I experienced or created an environment of abuse or demeaning behavior. We all have good and bad days at work but typically find that the good outweighs the not so good. The same is true in restaurants. If I had found myself in a toxic environment, then I would have quickly moved on to another house or my staff would have done the same with me.

This is not to proclaim that the restaurant business is pure and free of problems that frustrate employees and drive them away. There are ample challenges that we face that need our immediate attention. The work is different from others because if its unpredictability. Guest needs change, the business environment filled with competition pushes restaurants to change even when they would prefer not to, and start and finish times, as a result need to be flexible. The highest quality work requires attention to detail, multitasking, and well-defined skills; this takes time, commitment, and effort. A shift will oftentimes exceed the excepted norm of an eight-hour day, but then again, there are many other careers that require the same. We can address the impact of this by working towards a four-day workweek, ensuring that employees are given normal breaks and time to consume a meal, and provided the tools that will allow them to be efficient.

We (the restaurant industry) are faced with a multifaceted challenge as this important business looks to the future. We must fix the issues surrounding equitable compensation and work much harder to improve work/life balance. At the same time, it is imperative, from the operator’s perspective, that we seek ways to make the business reasonably profitable and a bit more predictable in this way – all of this is a given. But, even more importantly, we must put tremendous effort into rebuilding our image and creating scenarios that attract enthusiastic, dependable, focused employees. This, to me, is the greater challenge and one that will impact those other challenges in a profound way. The interesting partnership that we enjoyed with the media back in the 80’s and 90’s may have been over-hyped, but it was important to our growth and success. Working in restaurants is exciting, creative, dynamic, team focused, and rewarding in many ways so it is essential that we work to bring this message to the public. We must work collectively to push those operators who perpetuate an environment of abuse to either change or step aside. They are the bad apples in a bushel that attract the attention of the media with too much ease. We must speak to the wonderful, generous nature of so many restaurateurs and chefs who truly represent the best of our industry. There are so many great stories worth telling of Chef Jose Andres and his World Central Kitchen; chefs and restaurateurs like John Folse, Dominique Crenn, Danny Meyer, Daniel Boulud, Gavin Kaysen, Keith Taylor, and Ann Cooper to name a few, who give back to humanity, their communities, and their employees in support of the right way to conduct business.

Let’s help put a stop to the misrepresentation of chefs and restaurants and point to the positive work that happens every day in restaurants from coast to coast. Call out those chefs who choose to violate this positive connection and the media when they fail to see and talk about the “other side” that chooses to do things right.

Stand up if you are happy with your career choice and if you respect those who do things right. Be a voice for the positive and help young people see how great this business can be and how they can continue the mission to make restaurants even better in the future.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

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