The Executive Chef

What I do as the Executive Chef

This industry has changed so much from when I started as a dishwasher back in the day. Celebrity chefs where not that common then as today and to tell you the truth I had no idea at that time I would someday become a chef. Working in commercial kitchens was, up until about 12 years ago, "just a job" that I was working until I found a respectful career that my father would be proud of....lol! I laugh now however it took many years of frustration to realize the one job I was always good at was the job I should turn into a career! I had the passion for food since I was a child just not the direction I needed. That was until an older Sous Chef pulled to the side after a particular crazy Saturday night at Mistrals in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and asked me if I ever thought of making this my career, a career...ha? I almost laughed at him but he insisted I just sit and listen too him..."I should take my culinary experience and career seriously or nobody else ever will" and with that I started my journey to where I am today.

Definition of the word "Chef”: A chief of head person. The head cook
of large establishment, as a club, restaurant, hotel or eating establishment etc.
Also the same as Chief.

Anyone who has been "lucky" enough to be involved in opening a restaurant understands that it takes plenty of skilled people, with specific roles and responsibilities to get the job done correctly and as the Executive Chef my roll is constantly changing. The to-do list is daunting, from accounting to interior design, key personnel hiring to menu placement, recipe testing, recipe cards....not to mention the HR paperwork just to start!
The Executive Chef's role in all this organized mess is as important as any one's in an executive management position in any type of company, maybe more so.
Every restaurant relies on good food but that's just the start of it....many restaurants fail with just wonderful food....first and foremost it's a BUSINESS! It makes its money & profit from selling great service, food & drink.
The profit-and-loss statement relies on consistent food/labor cost, and that same statement often shows how important the Chef is to the operation through correct product usage, daily inventory pars and the ability to adapt to a changing market with menu innovations & specials to name just a few!
The food-beverage ratio tells much of the story in a successful restaurant as well. It's not unusual for %60 to %70 of total sales to be made up of food, and the remainder in beverage. In non-liquor food establishments, the split is even more one-sided.
With so much volume coming from food, it's important that I be very involved with not only running the restaurant kitchen, but in opening as well.

As the chef I am the restaurant's boni-fide food expert. I do take advice from my guests, staff and cooks when it comes to my food because at the end of the day it does not matter what "I like" it's what the guest will purchase and thats what keeps the lights on.

It took many years to learn how to properly train, mentor, interview and especially learn proper hiring and firing practices. One of the best F&B people I ever met was Angela Todero and I owe a debt of gratitude to her for showing me the HR ropes and how to apply tact in the kitchen which until that time I did not possess much of!
As the chef I also need to be well versed in ordering, inventory, and storage of the restaurant's most important asset: perishable food. I am also in charge of recipes or at least making sure that they are correctly executed. This is where a Sous Chef comes into play! A Sous is the "Assistant Chef" and in order to run an efficient kitchen a good sous chef is always a first priority! The Sous is basically my eye's ears and hands when I am not on property and trusting them with the keys to my kitchen. Every restaurant is at its best when the management team works together to ensure decisions are made without ego getting in the way and by sharing the workload by including FOH managers in on BOH line checks as well as IE: the Sous Chef helping with liquor inventory are keys in my restaurant.

Equipment and kitchen layout decisions are made through me for a reason. This process is painstaking but well worth it! I remember once as executive chef of a steakhouse, I was able to get my opinion heard just in time to change a two-door, under-counter reach-in located in the pantry area to a freezer. We had plenty of cold storage space in garde manger, but nowhere to keep ice cream, or other "at hand" frozen items. Had I not gotten my two cents in, other equipment layout mistakes would have had to be worked around, and not by the people with the notepads who made them. I learned my lesson at that place and now I am present for every equipment decision that is made for the BOH and FOH. What is important to note is every person who is hired into a key position needs to be involved in decisions that will affect his/her job. It doesn't make much sense to order all the kitchen small wares, pots and pans and specialty equipment until I sign off on it because how would anyone else know how I cook? Each chef is a bit different and we tend to like or prefer certain brands based on experience, ease of use and even if I broke it once. I also bring into the decision FOH managers & bartenders for any glassware, plate and silverware decisions. I have a running theory that if I give 10 chefs a bag of the same groceries and turn them loose to cook, I would get 10 different menus. The same thought process applies to how chefs view prep and production. The same menu could be given to the same 10 chefs and each will create a different list of "equipment needed" to fulfill that task and for that reason alone I list equipment needed on my recipe cards to clear any argument on how it should be prepped.

I actually "shaped" my equipment and small wares "buy" around my menu...makes sense right...you'd be surprised how many chefs and managers don't do that. I worked within a budget the owner and I established to fill our kitchen(s) with the items I know are going to get the job done for the best price.
For example one item I always get is what we like to call a (burr mixer) or large hand immersion hand-blender for batching soups, sauces among other things without it my kitchen tends to bog down which drive me crazy. One would be amazed how one piece of equipment can transform long prep times.
So many decisions made in a preplanned a restaurant affect the kitchen and the chef's crew, from china choices to where the ice machine should be located, even walk-in's yet in my kitchen we have no walk-In's only several reach-ins that provide a "finite" amount of cold storage so ordering food daily will be a task! On the other hand the food will always be fresh.

One of my tasks is to implement "Family Meal" where the entire staff, BOH & FOH, sit down for a meal between shifts usually 3pm. This is primarily to foster teamwork and share any important information management needs to share with the staff and vice versa. This is also a great time to try family recipe's and product usage as well.

I consider myself extremely lucky to have become an integral part in myself and my owners dream and passion for this restaurant to be a successful business and that is such a great feeling however it does not mean it's easy. With this responsibility comes a ton of day to day pressure I have already mentioned. I wont go into the negative side of running a restaurant because if you have read this far you know all about them, just be aware this is not for the light hearted or thin skinned type of person!



As I write this I realize I have a Combi oven to test next week for our pastries, bagels and croissants in our coffee shop.... :-) Oh and the fun never stops does it!
This restaurant will be a success and I look forward to getting back where I belong...in the kitchen!

I, as always, welcome you're comments