Posted by Chef Dan on January 13, 1999 at 20:14:18:
Having been a workaholic chef myself I feel uniquely qualified to comment on this dilemma. I have worked 60, 70, 80 hour weeks, gone for weeks and months
without a day off, until I burn out and self destruct.
Unfortunately as long as chefs permit thenselves to
be exploited, they will. Although no one ever forced
me to work killer hours, I was often put in a situation
where if i was not there, the food would suffer, which
to any Professional, was not an option. There is a solution, I have used it, and it works:
1. Job Specialization and Training
Lets face it, most of what a typical chef does is various
levels of grunt work.Separate "mis en place" from service.
A good mis en place makes service easy.
Create job descriptions for all functions your menu requires according to
degrees of difficulty, starting with veg prep and knife work.
Lets say you're making a soup. Have the "grunt" set up a whole
mis en place for the soup,lay it out on a sheet pan
and have the chef assemble it.
Create other levels such as butchering, garde manger,assistant
pastry chef, stocks and sauces and so on. This also creates
a ladder, a series of tangible goals that can be easily achieved.
The Key is training and communication. The Chef must show exactly how he wants everything
to be and the crew must know what is needed.
2. Plan ahead.
Almost everything can be done well ahead of time
without any loss in quality or waste. Lets say you know
know you'll be needing creme brulee tomorrow. Why not
have a grunt separate the eggs, measure out the cream and sugar and
assemble the dishes? The chef should not be spending his time doing
tasks that anyone can do.
3. Utilize the kitchen during slow times.
Ever notice how production slows down during crunch
time, right before service? This is because everyone
is competing for pots, pans and utensils, stove space,
counter space, not to mention chatting with the waitstaff.
Why not have a small crew come in at 2am or 6am? Leave
em a list a things they better get done. This also
works great in the summer, when the kitchen is
excruciatingly hot.
4. Try the "tag team method".
I noticed this phenomenom many years ago and have been
able to utilize it for maximum efficiency. I noticed
it took one of my cooks a hour to bone a case of chicken
breasts. One day I needed them in a hurry, and assiged a
helper. They were done in a half hour, and were able to
to get it down to 20 minutes. I realized that I had created
a competition, and also prevented boredom. Try it next
time you need a few cases of potatoes peeled.
By using these methods, (and I have many more) A chef
can get his hours down to 40 or 50 tops. A chef or line cook
should able to come in an hour before service to be ready
for a busy night. You may think that this will cost a lot
money, but it ultimately will save thousands in overtime
and replacing burned out cooks and chefs. It will also enable
you to serve a consistantly excellent product, as well as a more
friendly working environment.
Consulting services available, your feedback welcomed.