Communication

While working at my externship site in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, I further realized how important communication is in this industry. Communication is the key component in any work situation. If there is no communication, there is no progress or productivity. The big aspect of communication that I witnessed while on externship was the communication between departments. Since I worked at a Hyatt Resort, there were many outlets that worked directly with the resort bakery. Each outlet had different needs from the bakery and it was up to us to make sure we satisfied those needs. For instance, when working with the wedding coordinator, communication was the key ingredient. The bakery really had no communication between the soon to be married couples. It was up to the wedding coordinator and the couples to communicate clearly and specifically what they wanted and what needed to be done. As for our communication with the coordinator, it was up to the coordinator to clearly specify what kind of cake the couple wanted, the color, amount and type of flowers that would be on the cake and so on. Oral communication however, was not the main type of communication. We did have forms that were filled out to have a hard copy of what the couples wanted for their cakes. I did notice that many brides brought in pictures of other wedding cakes to further explain and communicate their expectations. Each type of communication helped us further understand the couples wishes which by effect, enabled us to make the wedding cakes of their dreams.

Responsiblity given by the Chef

One afternoon one of the normal cooks who goes over to the president’s cottage could not attend. I was told to step in and help with preparation. The head Chef had been working on the work by himself for awhile and realized he was not going to get it all done and still have time to take it over to the cottage and set up. I was told to crisp the skin on the black se bass that was to be served that night. I had thirty seven pieces of fish and there where going to be thirty six guests that night so messing up was not an option no matter what. I was a little nervous with all the pressure but it worked out well and the fish came out great. The next thing I knew I was on my way to the president’s cottage with Chef Jeff Bennett in a golf cart. Golf carts are the main means of transportation within the Chautauqua institution. We arrived with time to set up and get everything in order before starting assembly of the first course. We had a small table to plate every course on the cottages white plates. The dinner went out well, all the food looked great and the guests were very happy. Once we were all cleaned up we walked out the back door and drove away on our golf cart in the rain. Yes, the rain is an understatement to just how bad it was raining. We walked in to kitchen of the hotel dripping head to toe. Nevertheless the evening was a success. I was so thrilled to have had the chance to take part in just a unique experience. I find that cooking these small events in private homes is my kind of cooking. I am really passionate about cooking great food for smaller groups of people. I feel since you have to little to make there is not reason it cannot be perfect. I hope in the future I can take part in more of these private events and get the opportunity to enjoy this experience again.

The Apron Did Not Fit

Luckily while at my externship “The Magic Apron’ did not fit, so we had to leave it tucked away. I cannot stress enough the importance of being trained when you first start a job. When you first start a new job you are new to the environment and they should not assume that you know how to do the job already. Every body is different and everybody thinks differently, one person might think that their way of doing things is better than some one else’s. So as future leaders in the industry we must learn now the importance of training your employees

Chef Inigo did a great job at teaching me the best ways to be organized and making sure that I understood the importance of it. Since we had the kitchen equipment downstairs I had to make sure that I did the least trips possible. The reason being that I would not spend time on running up and down the restaurant. Chef made sure that I had a list of equipment every morning, so that way I knew what was needed for the days prep. Doing so I was able to save myself many trips. If I had not been properly trained I would have struggled through out my extern.

Delegate.

Being able to delegate jobs has never been a strong point of mine. For example, during junior high and high school all of the “group” projects that were worth half of my grade I took upon myself and wrote my group member’s name on it. I don’t like giving other people control over things that will directly affect me. I feel that if I am in charge of something important that I need to get it done the best I can. The thought of handing off power to someone I don’t feel will take it seriously is upsetting when the grade or product is given back with something wrong I could have prevented. I learned fast over extern that in order to get everything done on time you needed to have trust in other people to get everything done on time. Someone needed to fill the macaroons, someone else had to pack them, someone needed to make more cookies and another more filling. It was impossible to do all of the steps on your own at the rate they sold out. All of the steps were equally important because even if the cookie was perfect, if the filling is messy, no one will buy it. Everyone needed to chip in to get everything done and each job was important.

The Benefits of Good Communication

There are so many things that people do everyday without putting much thought into it because it may be something that just seems to occur "naturally" to them. Just like the classic reference to learning how to ride a bike at a young age, then not having to think about it again, communication is one of those things that we've adapted to as adults. Unfortunately, it isn't as easy as learning how to ride a bike, even though we learn how to talk at a very young age. But communication skills are developed progressively over time from interactions between other people dealing with different situations.

In the hospitality industry, good communication between co-workers and supervisors or managers is a critical factor in order to being successful. Without it, the kitchen will become chaotic and stressful, which obviously doesn't benefit anyone. I'm sure that there are many people who over look the importance of good communication, especially in a work environment, but something as little as making eye contact when talking to someone, having the right body language, and giving feedback make all that much of a difference.

As discussed in class the other day, effective communication between people is not only a matter of what you say and how you say it, it's also a matter of being a good listener by letting the other person know you are really listening to them.

I think that the more socially active a person is with other people definitely benefits in expanding on their skills with communication in a positive way. It is very rewarding to any person to be successful and build good relationships with others. Communicating effectively is so important in our everyday life, and it helps people accomplish everyday tasks, as well as life time goals.

Delegation

Delegation. The definition of delegation is “sharing some of your responsibilities with people who work for you”. In my experiences, delegating is much easier said than done. Ever since I was a young girl, I have always been a leader; even in my grammar school days, I was the one who was reading to the rest of the class, volunteering to be line leader, etc. Volunteering to be line leader or to be chalk board-eraser evolved into volunteering to be editor of the school newspaper and running for class president, which then evolved into micromanaging everyone and everything I was involved in. Although I am fully aware of my micromanaging habits, I have a difficult time addressing them and overcoming my urge to have a say in or to take part in every little thing that I am involved in. With age, I have become more aware of this issue and am slowly learning how to delegate. More specifically, since beginning my time at CIA, I have had to ‘let things go’ and ask others for assistance in group projects or let someone else have final say in what our team wiki looks like. Some of my acceptance of others help is voluntary, while other times it is because I know I would be too overwhelmed if I tried to do everything by myself. Learning about delegating in class and the importance of being a good delegator has helped me pay more attention to my actions and be more aware of when I should delegate. Hopefully, I will be able to observe my chef instructors delegate duties to classmates and myself and will be able to copy-cat the things I observe.

Communication

Communication is a huge part in success, anything can be communicated verbally, or non verbally. I know that when I’m talking to someone I always try to look at their facial expressions and listen to the tone of their voice rather than really believing what they are saying. When you concentrate on how someone is really saying something you quickly can figure out if something is wrong with them or not. If there are not good communication skills then it could cause big problems in the work place. Especially in the hospitality industry communication is very important. We communicate everyday in the kitchens and bakeshops, whether it’s to say that were coming through or we have something hot in our hands. Not communicating could mean failure at work or people getting hurt.
George Bernard Shaw once said, “The problem with communication is the illusion that it has occurred.” We constantly go around thinking that just because we told somebody to do something that the communication actually had occurred. You always should tell them exactly what to do and check up on them, that way you know exactly that everything was communicated well.