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.

Communication

Communication is one of the most important aspects of any work environment. If you cannot communicate what you want to your employees, you will have many problems getting things accomplished. I felt that there was a great level of communication at my externship at the Hotel DuPont. While working on the pastry side, everyday someone would go through the BEO’s and make a list of what we need to accomplish. Then through looking over the list we would all discuss what needed to be done first and who should do what. This was a great way to communicate as we all had an input and we were all aware of what we needed to accomplish. We also had safety meetings everyday where we would not only discuss the safety topic of the week but also talk about what events were coming up and how we needed to prepare for them. Finally, as there were many stations in the bakeshop, we would all need to communicate with each other. Every day we would get a phone call telling us the count for lunch and dinner, which affected each station. Therefore, whoever answered the phone, it was there responsibility to write down the numbers and go around the bakeshop informing everybody of the counts for the day. We would also need to let each other know when we were low on things. For example, if the front desk needed macaroon containers, we would need to tell the person in charge of baking off macaroons that we needed more, so the pastry side could put together the containers. The entire bakeshop worked together as a team and communicated with each other very well, which I feel made a great work environment.

Baptism by Fire

"The Magic Apron" as it is so affectionately called is really a euphemism for whomever is leading you. It really means, know it and do exactly what your told or good luck with everything. I'm not a fan of the magic apron, sometimes it works, sometimes it dosen't. I'm speaking of experience here as my first job at age 14 i was working at "Durty Nelly's Bar and Grille" for my friends dad as a dishwasher. He also happened to be the head chef/kitchen manager. I was hired as a dishwasher, and as a dishwasher i was expected to do just that, wash dishes, or so i thought. This one particular night though we were exceptionally busy and my chef called "Hey Jesse, come in here for a minute." That minute turned into the rest of the night as I was told, "You're going to be the new prep cook/line cook... Good Luck." Floundering and trying to find out procedures and what to do really, to be flat honest, sucked, but this baptism by fire really caused me to realize that i loved cooking and returned the next night perfectly ready to go. My other friends I worked with quit after those nights because they couldn't handle the "magic apron." I did so, but didn't enjoy it. I think the magic apron should never be employed. Train Train Train Train Train somebody. ALWAYS TRAIN FIRST.

What Did You Say?: The Five Principles of Good Listening

Often we forget to listen to what people are saying. It is the idea of being physically present but mentally gone. Good listening is essential to excellent communication. This should be important to us as potential managers. We often listen but do not process the information that is being communicated to us. So how to we become better listeners? Luckily, the book gives us five principles of good listening.

Managers often have trouble being active listeners. You have to focus solely on the person who is talking and you have to be genuinely concerned with what they are saying. This is especially hard in our industry. We do not have the time or the patience to fully listen to what others are saying. The communication is lost between the sender and receiver. We are supposed to be giving the person our “undivided attention” and “hearing the person out.” These are the first two principles of good listing and formulate active listening.

The three last principles of good listening are to “look for the real message,” “keep your emotions out of the communication” and “maintain you role as manager.” To look for the real message you need to look at body language, listen for the tone of voice and look at facial expressions. All of these verbal cues will lead you to the underlying message that the speaker is trying to relay. Being able to notice and feed off these cues will help the listener to understand the whole message. Keeping emotions out of the situation helps you make rational and level headed decisions that you won’t regret later. This also helps the other person vent their feelings and release the tension in the room. The ultimate goal is to maintain your role as manager. You can listen to everything they are saying but you also have to be able to keep your authority and make sure they respect that authority.

Listening is vital for true communication to happen. We forget how important communication is and how our industry thrives off this communication. I am glad that we had the chance to re-learn the value of good communication.

Forecasting!

Planning is crucial in any industry, for the restaurant business it’s everything. One thing that is important, once you have been established for a short time, is forecasting. Forecasting is when you look at your past sales; covers, menu mix etc., and predict what you are going to need in the future. Once you have taken a look at your past you will be able to make your schedules, order the proper amount of food needed etc. Basically you will be able to control your food, labor, beverage cost, to the best of your knowledge by forecasting from week to week. In the restaurants that I have worked in before they did not do it week to week because nothing really changed in that time, but they would look at the big holidays like Valentine’s Day and mother’s day. They would look at their sales from last year, what items sold the most and base their menu, staffing, and ordering on those facts. All in all it is very effective when done right.
In the forecasting aspect of things, you are making a rational decision, logically weighing all facts and alternatives. In the restaurant business I personally think that a lot of our decision making is intuitive. We make a lot of gut decisions, because it’s the fastest. What comes to your mind first is usually your gut instinct and that’s the decision you’re going to go with just because it’s the fastest and your time is very vital when working.

The magic of the magic apron

My first real job was when I was 15, I had extensive one week training before I even touched a knife. I was at a retirement community in my town and being a large corporation they need to make sure all of their employees get the same training. I really enjoyed the training, it made the transition into the work place much easier. My second job was at a boy scout summer camp, and was a much different experience. The kitchen staff, to cook three meals a day for 200-300 scouts, staff, and visitors, consisted of three people. The “Head Chef” who slept all day and did half of the ordering. The “Baker” who was a soon to be student at a local baking college who made all the desserts from box mixes and did a little prep work. And then there was me. I had to do everything else. Granted the food was pre cooked, frozen, throw it in the oven and its done type stuff, but for 300? Its not that easy. There was no training what so ever. I threw on an apron and went to work. However I personally believe I learned more from that work environment than anything else I had done. It forced me to be on my toes at all times and soak everything in. Its not a scenario for everyone but It can be beneficial.

Lights Out

It's a blistering hot July evening on Block Island. I'm working at my externship site in the kitchen – and the power goes out in the middle of service. Low boys and refrigerators were down, all the lights are out as the sun is setting so it's getting dark quickly, and most importantly the hoods were off which meant the kitchen quickly jumped up to about 140 – 150 degrees. This is the moment when a leader really shows their decision making. Our executive chef instantly starting gathering buckets of ice water and rags to have us apply to the back of our necks to keep us from passing out in the kitchen. He also grabbed flashlights and delegated for the dishwashers and bartender to keep the light on us so we could finish plating and also reminded us to drink water so we were hydrated. The situation instantly had become hectic and serious but our chef stayed calm while aiding to his staff and still getting dishes out of the kitchen. Whenever there was a slight lull in tickets he forced us to run outside and drink water. His problem solving was intuitive and rational in keeping his employees safe. In this line of business a supervisor always needs to be ready for the unexpected and has to be able to make decisions as soon as any problem arises.

Planning & Organizing

Over the past year I have learned how important plans and organization is to succeed in the kitchen and in life. I always thought I was an organized person until getting to college. B block was a challenge juggling all five classes and staying organized. After a couple weeks of developing a pattern I found I needed to plan my week out better. Staying organized isn't just planning, but following through with the plan and not procrastinating. Throughout L block I have found that I am much more prepared for classes, projects, and test. I have found in order to do well in college you must be organized. Make lists often, write post its if necessary, check lists daily and cross things off. In doing this it makes you feel as though you have accomplished something and pushes you to finish your list. These are a few things I have found to be effective in college. I feel the same way about working in kitchens. The more I have worked, I realize it is essential to being a good leader and running a kitchen. The few chefs I have had an oppurtunity to work under have all been fairly well organized. In observing this over and over I don't feel you can be a successful kitchen if plans are not in action. I have seen and heard many horror stories of kitchens failing. If you were to look at the reasons why, often it goes back to not having an effective plan. You always need a base or plan to start with or it makes it harder to be organized. I love to plan my days and weekends and organize events. This is a skill that my mom has instilled in me ever since I was little. I have carried this through with me into the kitchens and found it to be very helpful. When a station is well organized and a plan is in action you are less stressed and can execute well.

Magic Apron

I was sixteen, really immature, and had no idea what working in a kitchen really entailed. I got a job at a gourmet pizza restaurant named "Pizza by Elizabeths." Elizabeths had a really good reputation and my family new the owners. That was my in. I was the youngest in the kitchen, and was treated like it. Coming in on day one was quite intimidating, but it would only get worse when "training" started.

It was a Thursday night, one of the busiest for the restaurant, and I was put on salads and bread ovens. Granted it didnt sound that hard but this was the first time I had ever used a wood burning brick oven and the first time I had ever made the sauces or set up the station. I walked in early, was taught how to clock in, and given a list of my prep, and station set up. No tour of the kitchen, No examples of dishes, and No help understanding the Order, Fire, P/U system. I spent the whole night "en la mierda," to say the least. I didnt know the name for it back then but obviously the Elizabeths training regiment is that of the "Magic Apron."

From my first hand experience the Magic Apron is not a smart way to train your employees. I saw the plates I was sending out that night and if I was management, most of those would have never left the kitchen. The Magic Apron can be a good training style though if you have someone with an extensive amount of experience and the training methods would ultimately be pointless for the person.

Being Logical Takes Time

Making decisions seems to be one of the most analytical processes. It doesn’t matter how extreme the situation, our mind travels through a series of emotions that impacts our decision directly. I have experienced this pattern in nearly every aspect of my life whether the situation has been with a friend or a job.

Frustrating situations have definitely been the most difficult for me because I have such a strong impulse to act intuitively and impulsively. If someone or something angers me, I have an urge to snap back and make the other side mirror my hurt. I have found, however, that if I wait 20 minutes or so, I follow into that indecisive phase. I ask myself, “What should I do here? Is this response reasonable given what happened? Will I regret making this comment? Does this action really do anything for me or is it just satisfying temporarily?” I become doubtful of what I had originally planned and yet am still not in an emotional place where I can or want to consider any reasonable options. This is the toughest part because resolution can feel so distant. If I have not already responded to the situation by this time, I find that I gradually lose the passion that sparked this whole process and can finally move into the rational thought process. I am definitely one to make lists to help and fight my own argument. And doing this usually helps me to walk out of the situation feeling okay about how I handled things. For me, I always try to put a couple hours in between significant decisions as it gives me time to separate my emotions from what is logical.

What Do I Do!!!!????

In the kitchen there can be lots of miscommunication especially on what to do and when to do it. On my externship everything was pretty much straight forward but sometimes I got lost on what I needed to do and when to do it or how to do it. In times like these I just wished that we had better communication on how and why things needed to be done in the kitchen. It was never fun when you were told to do one thing and as soon as your about to be done the executive chef comes by and sees that it is not the way he or she wants it and you have to restart from lack of communication. This happened quite a few times on my externship and each time that it happened I wished that they would learn from their mistakes and not let there be any more miscommunication through the ladder. For this reason communication is one of the most important things a kitchen can have. With wasted time and product poor, communication can really add up in the long run so you have to nip it in the bud and fix the problem immediately.

Communication and Training

Communication is the key success to a restaurant. When I was on my externship there was a lack of communication and training. When I first started my station on hot app/ room service they didn’t train me at all. I watched the girl do the station for one night and the next night she got fired throwing me on the station. There idea of training was lets have Kevin watch a girl do her job the way she does it and fire her the next day. So as my chef is watching me struggle with my prep work during my second week he comes up to me and says: “Hey, if you ever need anything done for you write it down on this piece of paper”. I was furious. I was stuck in the weed for two weeks before they decided to help me out. This was a lack of communication and training.

Does Training Matter?

“Hey do this.”

“You’ve been here two weeks and don’t know how.”

“Nobody trained me I just came here and started going.”

We see this every day especially in our industry. People come in and because of their resume everybody expects the new employee to be able to do the job day one. This isn’t to be mistaken for lack of knowledge. If a person doesn’t know how to do the job, training won’t help. If you don’t train a new employee on how your line works, plating, and how the station runs and give the employee a magic apron it’s doomed to fail.

This can lead to many things other than a bad production night and unhappy customers. My last job I went to there was a real lack of training. Two weeks into the job I was still asking what or how to do things. I studied and watched how everything worked but I couldn’t get everything down. This left me feeling like the company didn’t care. The employee turnover rate was high and still is high. Training an employee doesn’t just help an employee to know what he is doing. It also gives him the sense that he matters. When an employer invests his time in the employee, the employee will give his best to the employer.

Decisions...Decisions...

“There’s enough” or “I don’t know what do you want to do?” are probably the two phrases that I quite often hear that makes me want to curl up in the fetal position. They are phrases that you wish you never heard because they tend to lead to more questioning and ultimately no productivity. The two phrases are examples of people with a major inclination that they do not know how to make a decision. Decisions and controlling people is found everywhere whether it is the food industry or Apple trying to sell you an item. Everywhere you turn someone is trying to make a decision or trying to control someone…that is just how our world turns.

Decisions and controlling are part of our daily lives. We wake up each morning and decide whether or not we are up early enough to get breakfast or are we going to be late for class. As I read through the chapter I always thought that it would be better to be either a logical thinker or intuitive, but over the course of reading the chapter and writing this blog I have to say that having traits of both are perfectly fine. I believe that there are times where logic is easier to use in cases such as firing someone who is always late. You do not have to rely on a gut feeling, you can look at the productivity of that person and compare it to how much you would have been paying them and pretty easily decide that they need to go. Then there are the times where logic is thrown out the window. The intuitive decision always seem to take longer because unless you have made many intuitive decisions people often tend to not trust their gut instinct. It is also important that either path you take, whether logic or intuitive, that you possess decisiveness. It is portraying to the receiver(s) that you are confident and firm in your decision that way people believe you and listen.

Controlling is also important in the workplace. In layman terms it is assessing the situation and making changes to a correct course of action. It is throughout controlling that a manager’s leadership qualities will stand out. If the manager enjoys partaking in a brainstorming sessions with the whole group you know that person runs a democratic style because they value the input of the other workers. Controlling is not just about brainstorming and telling people what to do. It is a scientific method of questions and assessing scenarios that need to be done to make a ‘decision’. One has to ask themselves does this decision produce a greater risk, how will this benefit the economy, is it feasible, does it seem to be an accepted idea or is it going to fail? All of these questions must be asked by the person assessing the situation in order to make a correct decision. Lastly people tend to believe that when a decision is made that one person is going to profit more from the decision than the other. This is not always true. Within the chapter a term ‘win-win problem solving’ is used. This term simply means that the manager and the employer, or whoever it may be, have made a mutually accepted collaboration in which both leave the scenario with equal parts. It is the decision making and the controlling that are so important and cannot go without one another. If you separated controlling and decision, it would be like separating peanut butter and jelly…you just don’t do that!