The Sound of Silence

Let me preface this with I used to be a screamer. I was one of the bad ones. I would scream at cooks, dishwashers , general managers( my favorites) and waitpeople like they were totally worthless. I rarely scream anymore. I lose my shit sometimes , but all in all I generally go about shit in a concentrating state of controlled frustration. Part of the growing process as a chef is realizing screaming does nothing to make people learn. All it does is make you look like an out of control asshole. I have no need anymore to give instruction with the hint of "look how much I know". I've already proven what I know by being where I am. I have nothing to prove to anyone. Thomas Keller is one of the most notorious screamers of all time and even he realized you get the point across more with quiet, obvious dissatisfaction. For some reason it's more insulting . Being a chef is being a HOPEFUL role model for a generation of cooks. All I ask is they show up on time with a good attitude. I don't expect them to do as much in as little time as me, if they could, they wouldn't be working FOR me. I've been in kitchens for 24 years. Longer than some have been alive. You can't make someone you. You can't make them think like you. You set a standard for yourself and the only person that has to live up to that IS you. Don't get me wrong, I still want to wring cooks necks when they move slow or work in clutter or don't multi-task in a logical and sensible order i.e. Don't put your braises off, do them first. If your mincing shallots, do you have the chocolate melting for the petit fours, the onions caramelizing and the pasta dough kneading at the same time? Are you prepping for today or is that a given and you're thinking about the next day? If not, you're behind. Chances are they are not. So what are you gonna do? Give them shit until they quit? Give yourself more headaches hoping the next guy shows up? No. Deal with it. Lighting a fire under someone's ass is waaay different than condescending to them and making them feel like shit. We have an unbelievable workload and my cooking staff consists of me, my sous chef and two cooks. that's 2. not twelve, not twenty. We cure our own meats. Make all our own chacrouterie. We buy nothing pre-portioned. Pastas, desserts, petit fours, even crackers for our cheese plates are made in house. Lunch, dinner a separate bar menu every day. On weekends, mind warpingly labor intensive specials are the norm. They even help produce small sub menus that occur when I need to satisfy the few and far between "foodie". Then they help the dishdog. The fact that we produce as much as we do is mind boggling, so that in itself is testament to their dedication to the restaurant, myself and the kitchen I run. My cooks get props because they don't have attitudes. We all do what needs to be done. They are individuals and need to be respected as such. I'll take them over any primadonas that think they're above doing anything that needs to be done. Sure, I'll still give them shit if they do something truly boneheaded, but I don't insult them. Usually anyway. They know me and they know I'm there also. They don't have the luxury of thinking they do all the work. If they are having a bad day, we all like to think.."leave that shit at home". Ask yourself, do you? Not always. It's not possible. You can't be pissed at them because everyone can't coordinate the bad personal days. All you can do is tell what to do, hope it gets done and if it doesn't, look at the big picture. Break it down to the upcoming service. Just get through it, make your customers happy( except the shitheads, send them straight to Hell) and do it all again tomorrow and tomorrow I'll have to tell show them how to clean the sea urchins again and tell them, make sure they bake of the creme brulees while they're cleaning up. Again. It's just not that big a deal as it will always get done.
I like a quiet , busy, on top of your shit service. Screaming means you're not on top of your shit. It puts people on edge and they can't do their best. Everyone loses.
Waiters are your salespeople and they do a job that we simply couldn't. If I had to put up with what they have to take, I would end up just beating the living shit out of a customer. I'm generally a little less lenient on the waiters because a) They're the face of the restaurant on a more constant level b) I buy them all the tools they need to do their job and they reward me by breaking all my shit c) They make lot's of money with my tools. But still, put yourself in their shoes for a minute. Just a minute though. As long as the customer likes them and they provide good service, fuck what you think of them personally. They are the ones that handsell a chefs work. Without them it's a broken machine.
Of course, there are employee exceptions to any rule, but either the problem or the people will naturally weed itself out. If not, don't scream , just SACK THEIR ASSES!