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The Three Questions Every Chef and Every Restaurant Owner Should Ask By: Holly Powers-Verbeck
Chef Josh turned in his application and within 24-hours got a call back from David, the restaurant owner. The two sat across from one another in the unlit, hollow dining room as the morning sun flooded the windows. In a few hours everything could be different, if this interview works out, thought Josh. The owner glanced at the cook’s resume and began asking the predictable questions Josh was accustomed to being asked over the years and had already practiced answers to. He knew what the owner wanted to hear and focused on appearing enthusiastic. Yes,I would consider myself a team player; yes, you can count on me to show up on time; and the three words I’d use to describe myself are reliable, talented, hardworking. Across the table David diverted his attention from the other tasks competing for his time. The ice machine was on the fritz, payroll was due, and he just got a text from a server who wouldn’t show for tonight’s shift. You need this chef or you’re cooking and working another 20-hour day. In a few hours everything could be different, if this interview works out, he thought. In fifteen minutes, chef Josh got the job and started immediately. Owner David got the chef he needed to cover the previous chef who walked out, and both breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, both tacitly suspected this moment wouldn’t last. In fact, statistics show these honeymoons usually last only a few months, often only a few weeks. Rarely does such an interview yield a lasting relationship which serves both parties for more than two years. The scenario repeats itself in restaurants across the country with alarming frequency: Cook needs work, Owner needs a body with a pulse in the kitchen. They both agree to give it a shot. Their relationship lasted fewer than six weeks. It would be wildly refreshing and honest if the situation were transparent and realistic. Imagine the owner-operator asking ‘Are you willing to work every waking hour in my kitchen, for little more than a living wage? Can you take over and make me money without my giving you clear direction and then take the blame when it doesn’t work out? Will you navigate chronic conflict amongst a revolving door of crew until one day, mentally and physically exhausted you’ve had it ‘up to here’ and quit without giving any notice?’ Imagine the chef asking ‘Will you give me a paycheck for every hour I work and get out of the way while I take control of the kitchen and run it the best I can? Can I have creative control without being held accountable for business-y things like controlling food costs, waste, labor, or budgets? When one day, mentally and physically exhausted I’ve had it ‘up to here’ and you blame me for being the root of your financial problems, will you fire me and leave me searching for another kitchen to work in?’ Sadly, both deeply want it to work out, and neither of them knows how to go about it. That’s why it’s so important to ditch the tired, routine, valueless questions so chefs and restaurant owners can consider what they mean to one another and how they can each get what they really want. In this column, The Business of Chefs, we examine the relationship between a chef and restaurant owner. Like it or not, one can’t succeed without the other. The great news is each gets the chance to elect a healthy or unhealthy version of this codependent relationship. It is possible to create a relationship together that lasts (and is profitable and rewarding for both parties). Creating it requires the cook and the owner to examine a few questions from the very start.
“..it’s so important to ditch the tired, routine, valueless questions so chefs and restaurant owners can consider what they mean to one another and how they can each get what they really want.” Page 55 | Food & Beverage Magazine v November Issue 2021
www.fbmagazine.com
