Staffing a well-run kitchen — and keeping it staffed — is hard. “The labor market struggle is real,” says Dean Wendel, vice president of F&B at Concord Hospitality. “There is a war on talent, and that’s what it is. That’s what everyone in the business refers to it so when you get someone (on board who is talented), you have to take care of them. You can’t just say ‘We’ve got them, let’s move on.’”
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Which brings Wendel to his first principle for keeping everyone happy — or happy-ish, given the high intensity and fast pace of even the most organized and efficient kitchens: “You have to continue the dialogue,” he says. “You have to visit your hotel, see what you can do to help them make it better.” At Concord, corporate directors do monthly phone calls with every chef and bar manager.
Contributed by Jeanette Hurt
Another way to keep staff happy is to make sure they have educational opportunities that help them advance. Fernando Salazar, senior vice president of food and beverage for Interstate Hotels & Resorts, says his company is testing an online culinary training program created by the Culinary Institute of America. “We are also working on a service education module in wine training that goes beyond the basics for our managers and line staff,” he says.
At Hotel Deco in Omaha, Nebraska, cooks work with senior chefs on monthly mentoring projects. One chef, says Drew Statz, executive chef of the hotel (part of Aparium Hotels), was interested in vinaigrettes, so she and her mentor developed an almond oil emulsified with almond milk dressing that was drizzled over steak tartare. Another sous chef wanted to learn about butchering. “After the month was over, he still does, I would say, half our butchering,” Statz says.
Giving people ownership — pieces of the menu — has been helpful, but Statz is taking it a step further by putting every staff member’s name onto the menu itself. “My baker gets here as soon as the sun goes up, and my dishwasher is here at midnight when we leave. It is too big of an operation for one person to get all the credit for.”
Dane Blom, executive chef for the Citizen Hotel, Sacramento, California, says having the right tools and the right ingredients goes a long way to keeping his staff happy. “I’ve worked really hard to get my cooks all the necessary tools to do their jobs,” he says.
Blom also says chefs have to take the time to get to know their staff. “The first thing I do in the morning is say hello and shake everyone’s hand in the kitchen,” he says. “I’m in my street clothes, saying hi to everyone and making them feel appreciated and wanted before I put on my chef’s coat.”
Conflicts do happen, and “recognizing conflict when it happens and working to resolve the situation immediately goes a long way” to keeping people?happy, says Marianna Alfa, vice president of concept development for Hospitality House. “Chefs and managers are more successful when they show they care by getting their hands dirty and working alongside their team,” she says. “Employees stay longer and are inclined to perform better because someone showed them they matter.”