As many restaurants are owned by Chefs, it is no surprise that the culinary program is thoughtful, kitchen is state-of-the-art and the execution is with much care.
Before each service (hours of operation), an army of line cooks spend hours meticulously preparing every minute detail for self pride and to please their Chef. A kitchen is where they'll put in "practice time" to hone their skills in order to be prepared for "game time." To become a Red Seal Chef, you need to complete a minimum of five-thousand (5,000) hours in an apprenticeship program. In essence, these cooks make the sacrifice and commitment towards their ten-thousand (10,000) "Gladwell hours" to achieve mastery in a field. No wonder the media spotlight is always on Chefs and not on any General Managers.
Here is the imbalance; front of house staff do not go through the same rigorous training and constant practice in order to become qualified. They are not held to the same high standards as back-of-house. Yet, a General Manager would allow an unqualified waiter deliver food to paying guests. To add insult to injury, a waiter will routinely ask a guest, "How do you like the food?" Does this not seem ridiculous? Shouldn't the Chef come out to the dining room to ask the guest, "How do you like the service?"
Perhaps this is the reason for a surge of Quick Service Plus restaurants that are food focused (local, seasonal and sustainable) with counter-service (essentially self-serve) removing the need for waiters. There are several concepts that are popular in the United States including Tender Greens, Lemonade, Dig Inn Seasonal Market, Joan's on Third, Chipotle and La Boulange.
Perhaps this is the reason for a surge of Quick Service Plus restaurants that are food focused (local, seasonal and sustainable) with counter-service (essentially self-serve) removing the need for waiters. There are several concepts that are popular in the United States including Tender Greens, Lemonade, Dig Inn Seasonal Market, Joan's on Third, Chipotle and La Boulange.
One can argue that the difference is in their career choice, that is, most cooks are interested in becoming Chefs whereas most waiters are pursuing another career. But in the final analysis, it is about how much care you put into your work that matters, regardless if it is a temporary job or a career.
"So be sure when you step, step with great care and great tact, and remember that life's a great balancing act." - Dr. Seuss
HI Leslie,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with you here, however i think you are only talking about one side of this issue.
Do you agree that a significant part of the problem comes from the fact that a lot of people, including the industry itself often do not treat serving as a trade / profession? A minimum wage of 9.55/hour in Ontario, and even lower in other provinces and some States clearly indicates the priorities for both the servers and the business owners. By putting responsibility onto the customer to pay your staff wage’s you are also giving them an opportunity to “fire” your business, should they dislike food/service/.
Secondly, I have met so many chefs – amazingly talented mentors and presenters, but also quite a number of chefs that lacked people skills on some basic level – something that is sought after by restaurant guests just as well. I have met a number of true front of the house talents – they do exist, and there is a great place for them in the restaurant setting. The question is – will the industry change to include them as a valuable partner or not? If we keep treating this profession as a temporarily part-time job, with no security, no benefits, it should not come as a surprise that just about anybody thinks they know what it takes (“I catered to my family of four for the last 10 years – I think I can do it” – I hear this unfortunately too often during the interviews for FOH).
Eliminate tip from the variables – and you can see a completely different restaurant dynamics. Maybe I am overly optimistic in this scenario: raise the prices to include the service – pay honest money to both front and back of the house (I believe both will rather win) – small business owners and the customers will win just as well (the big restaurant corporations are not among winners here – no one wants increased payroll – let the customers do the “right thing”). Suddenly – you have a profession that requires more than just a smart serve and availability to work on the weekends, a trade that has its skills or lack of such evaluated on a completely different level.
The rise of the fast food restaurants will continue (but there will be probably more robots than people working there in the next 20-30 years though). And the demand for casual/upscale dining experience will still be there. The question is : will the restaurant industry do something and undergo a little makeover or stay still?