The success of each restaurant is made up of different components. And it is not always the cuisine that is decisive. Still, people come to the restaurant to eat - this is its original purpose. Therefore, a lot depends on the correct choice of the chef. And since team spirit is important in any business, perfect mutual understanding between the restaurateur and the chef is necessary. Therefore, every restaurateur should choose not just an employee, but an ideological and creative partner.
What is a chef's responsibilities
At the initial stage of the development of a restaurant, some of the responsibilities may be performed by the manager or owner. Conversely, if the enterprise grows, additional positions can be created to relieve the head chef. The main responsibilities include:
organizational arrangements for the coordinated work of the kitchen; drawing up a menu; cooking some dishes with your own hands; control of technological processes of preparation and quality of dishes; purchase of products; accounting and calculation; selection, training and quality control of kitchen workers; supervision over compliance with sanitary standards; inventory of residues of products and equipment; reporting; introduction of progressive measures (development of new recipes and technologies).
Requirements for a candidate
The more responsibilities your chef has, the higher the requirements should be. But at the same time, it is necessary to take into account the possibilities of payment, since the higher the qualifications of the applicant, the more remuneration they will deserve. The list of requirements may include: availability of specialized education in the specialty; work experience in the position; knowledge of recipes from different cuisines; professionalism; understanding of pricing mechanisms; knowledge of all sanitary standards; high level of responsibility.
Chef: Creator or Administrator
Often, the restaurateur is faced with a problem: which is more important - the administrative or culinary talents of the prospective employee. As a rule, a high level of both is extremely rare in one specialist. If the problem of choice arises, then the second direction is preferable. Since administrative duties can be delegated to another employee or trained in the process, but a cook who cooks badly and tastelessly will certainly not correspond to the position held.
Effective administrative separation
Some restaurateurs use division of chef duties among several chefs. More precisely, they introduce additional positions of sous-chef and brand-chef for more effective work. This approach is relevant for large restaurants and chains with a large number of visitors and a large staff of kitchen workers.
The sous chef is an assistant and deputy chef, who completely duplicates his duties and can replace him in any direction if necessary. The brand chef is involved in management work, product supply and quality control, participates in conceptual development and their implementation.
Where to find a chef
A good chef will be expensive and you can hire a head-hunting specialist to find one. Since all excellent chefs are usually employed in other restaurants, you can only get such a specialist by offering him more favorable working conditions. For the mid-range restaurant segment, chefs are searched for by advertisements on the Internet or by organizing a competition among applicants. For novice restaurateurs, the best option is to conduct a selection among successful graduates of vocational schools. In this way, you can educate your own specialist.
Is it worth inviting a chef from abroad
Today, the most fashionable restaurants are restaurants of national cuisine. It is fashionable and prestigious to invite foreign specialists. However, before looking for a chef abroad, think about whether you can pay him an appropriate salary and still tolerate his individual characteristics. These chefs are usually capricious and conceited. It is often difficult to find a common language with them, because they are used to doing everything in their own way. Perhaps you should just look for a good domestic chef, full of enthusiasm and creative ideas, and entrust him with developing a menu based on recipes for a specific national cuisine.
Promotion
One way to get a good chef in an existing restaurant is to promote one of the chefs. This is relevant in the case when your working chef suddenly decides to change his place of work and an urgent replacement is required. In order not to find yourself in a difficult situation, it is recommended to monitor the professional growth of kitchen employees. Perhaps among them there is already an excellent chef with great ambitions, who is developing the necessary qualities for the position of a chef. If there is such a person, he can become a godsend for your institution, and after promotion, actively contribute to its development and prosperity.
