How do you retain a talented cook?

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Tristan

Tristan

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Hi, as someone totally outside the industry, I have often wondered how you would actually retain the best cooks/chefs that you hired?

I ask because I imagine that some places would lose the ability to retain food quality if the chef left, or up and coming cooks need new opportunities but not everyone can be promoted etc. How do you prevent the talent drain? Why wouldn't he leave for a better paycheck, or to start his own restaurant with an investor if he managed to get a name for himself?

I'm sure there is a simple way to do it, but I could never figure it out.
 
Money, benefits, opportunity for advancement. Though you will have turnover regardless.
 
$$$ helps, but the best always leave eventually..
 
You have to talk to them. And you have to make sure that they can talk to you, about anything.
 
If they are a hardcore "real" cook they will work for you only to learn from you and leave once they've worked every station like a boss. This should take a good cook two years--I never expect a good line cook to stay for more than two years. If he does, he's not ambitious enough or he's waiting for you sous to leave and I would talk to him at that point.
 
The best always leave. I keep them around teaching and motivating but someone is always waving dollars in their face. You can't blame them. I learned a lot but kinda felt loyal and in the end I think it limited my career possibilities. I'm an executive chef but who knows if I would have moved around more.
 
Make them feel that they matter.
Build a "team-feeling" and focus on making your staff function together socially.
It is harder to leave your friends than your tasks, the good ones will always find other places to work.
So, make them part of the work-family.
 
Everything stated above is on the money. One day your best will leave, next man up.

But you most always know, '', ''a Chef is only as good as his weakest cook.''
 
This F&B industry has close to a 200% turnover rate nation wide, it is kind of expecting the expected.

The idea would be to have lots of great cooks, or some in the pipeline being trained to take over when the inevitable happens. Other than paying them what they are worth and treating them with respect there is not much you can do.

If opportunities come up for my guys that I can't compete with, and it is a better move for them and their family, I urge them to take it and help them do so. It is just the right thing to do.

I have more friends in now from all the places I have worked that respect me because of that so when I need someone all I have to do is make a phone call to any one of dozens of former employees and they always provide great candidates.
 
And youre only as good as your last service.

Everybody apart from the owner leaves eventually. If they dont, the flair is gone.
 
Pay them well, and make them feel important. Its how you keep any and every employee.
 
shoot them in the knee cap, take their papers and threaten to have their whole entire family deported if they ever try to leave, But do it with a smile. It is always more effective with a smile.
 
I get asked that a few times when I was in a couple places I liked. "Why are you still here?" I'm not here to take over, I'm here because I enjoy the place I work at. While I would like to have my own place when I settle down, right now I just watch and see how different Chef's do things and how places are run. As my first Chef Instructer always said, "Do not copy any one Chef, than you are just a copy cat with nothing of your own. Observe and learn from as many situations as you can and take a little from each experience, making that into your own style." Being married and having a child cut me off from being a nomad cook so I made the choice of getting jobs with the most diversity I could find and watch the interactions. My time in the military helped me easaly adjust to just about any situation so far and I have learned what to do and what NOT to do lol.

So far all my Chef's have had a few things in common, the ability to listen and respond, a willingness to try our ideas, and keeping a proffessional front at all times. Sure we would go out and get crazy after hours but they never let themselves gossup about work. I like that as it keeps everyone in a secure space.
 
I think everyone will leave eventually, unless it's your own restaurant. What you want to retain is not your staff per se, but rather the goodwill and respect of that particular person. That is how the network is built up. I think that Kaleb's point is the one that hits the mark.
 
kalaeb said:
This F&B industry has close to a 200% turnover rate nation wide, it is kind of expecting the expected.

The idea would be to have lots of great cooks, or some in the pipeline being trained to take over when the inevitable happens. Other than paying them what they are worth and treating them with respect there is not much you can do.

If opportunities come up for my guys that I can't compete with, and it is a better move for them and their family, I urge them to take it and help them do so. It is just the right thing to do.

I have more friends in now from all the places I have worked that respect me because of that so when I need someone all I have to do is make a phone call to any one of dozens of former employees and they always provide great candidates.
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Very well said. I think this is the attitude more people need to have. You'll never keep a whole staff no matter how tight or successful they are. So you do the right thing and teach and train and help people get the things they want and need. A prime example is Thomas Keller saw one of his sous chefs (Grant Achatz) losing some drive so he set up a stage for him at el bulli, a short while after Grant came back from the stage he left Keller and started his own places. Cooks come and go some will stay but I think if you work with that in mind and continue to train and prep the next guys it never really becomes an issue.
 
I am a professional cook and I will say from experience never EVER deny a cook the opportunity to advance if he/she is motivated enough. It does nothing but frustrate them and they'll constantly be on Craigslist looking for the next position.
 
Everything above is correct. One other thing that's really basic (and could even be inferred from a few statements above) is to let the really good cooks occasionally get something of their own on the menu. Obviously this isn't something you'd want to do with every cook you have - but if they're not skilled enough to come up with at least one excellent dish that would fit your restaurant well, then they're not really good enough to worry too much about holding onto.

Also, if they ask for a raise, don't laugh at them. The owner of the last restaurant did that to me because he thought it was intimidating, instead of just explaining to me that he couldn't afford it... 5 minutes later he was begging me to at least finish out the weekend.

Respect. Show them respect, give them a chance to feel like there's a part of them on the menu, and let them work to advance in the kitchen as other people fall away. But yeah, as it's been said before, any one cook who doesn't at least seriously entertain thoughts of leaving your place for a better deal/bigger role is at the very least unambitious. Turnover is just the nature of the beast.
 
ams said:
I am a professional cook and I will say from experience never EVER deny a cook the opportunity to advance if he/she is motivated enough. It does nothing but frustrate them and they'll constantly be on Craigslist looking for the next position.
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This is why I left where I was. I asked a million times to move and do other things but the reply was always I don't have anyone that can do those 3 stations by themselves, so you are the guy. I also left because I am now a pastry chef at a very popular local place and that is a goal I wanted to accomplish
 
Dont lift his ego, it will make him want to leave more. Keep an open line of communication, being firm direct...all the time. Establish respect, and be the boss. Cooking is a counter intuitive process, cooks need to please someone other than themselves to be happy.
 
Japanese people say that employees tend to stay in one place if he/she has two out of the three important things in a work environment. The three importance are: People, Motivation (Incentive), and $
 
ok... there was something wrong in my translation. I meant this:

People, Spence of Reward (Satisfaction or Incentive), and $
 
No. i can't type right. I meant this: Scene of Reward (Satisfaction or Incentive)
 
I work in a sorta mid-level place and have worked there for 8 years. I had trials at 2 of the best restaurants in the country where I live not long ago and got offered less than half the pay I get now and I'd have to work 20 more hours a week for it. So much for ambition.
 
Fulfilment. The trick is picking the ones who's needs you can fulfill.
 
stevenStefano said:
I work in a sorta mid-level place and have worked there for 8 years. I had trials at 2 of the best restaurants in the country where I live not long ago and got offered less than half the pay I get now and I'd have to work 20 more hours a week for it. So much for ambition.
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Ha! But you could argue that Britain has the strongest restaurant scene globally. Im not only talking London and any other city. You can find 3 rosette restaurants in total dumpholes.
Or Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, not a hole you could say, near Oxford, but still pretty small place to accomodate two star Inn.

You remember the story of Hibiscus few years ago[2007-8?], they moved the whole restaurant from, uhm, Shropshire? to London just to be able to get the second star?

But thanks for reminding me, when I started in London, after my room was paid, I earned 1 pound per hour!

So yeah, sense of reward:)
 
Or the Walnut Tree Inn, from total nowhere in Wales?
 
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