skills
I worked with a very bad cook today. He used to do dishes at the restaurant before moving over to cooking. I like the guy, his name's Mark. I've actually met him out for beers before. He's very funny, he's humble, and he has a very practical outlook on things. But he's not a good cook.
Before he "applied" (asked Ray) for the cooking position, he discussed his plan with me. Having never cooked before, he wanted to know if there was anything he should be aware of, in order to determine whether he was qualified. I explained that the training process in this kitchen is such that many inexperienced people have learned to be quite effective. Therefore, more important than any knowledge or experience are personality traits that would allow a person to catch on and keep up.
I asked him if he was a fast learner, and he said that he was. I asked him what he thought of his ability to hustle, and he told me about how the dishwashers also get "rushes", and that he keeps up well enough to please more experienced dishwashers. I explained the importance of the ability to quickly change your mindset, because in a big kitchen you can spend hours just standing around while it's completely dead, and then a huge rush can come and you have to go from zero to 60 immediately to avoid getting behind. I also asked him what he thought about his multitasking skills and his sense of timing, and he gave satisfactory answers. I told him that a good deal of common sense can do anything from making your job easier to preventing major disasters, and we also talked about the benefits of alertness and succinct communication in a chaotic and stressful environment. Finally I got around to "keeping your cool", but I already knew that wouldn't be a problem for Mark.
The conversation went on long enough until I was sure Mark understood each point and why it was relevant. We smoked two cigarettes. It concluded with me encouraging him to go for the position.
It's okay for someone to suck for a week or more, but after a month on the same station they should really be getting the hang of it. And four months later Mark still hasn't.
I work with him like twice a week, and he's so bad that he isn't just making his own job hard, he makes it harder for everyone else on the line. Because I thought I conducted a satisfactory enough interview to encourage him to jump on the line, I feel responsible. Note that I haven't mentioned that conversation to any of the cooks.
So I've found myself going back to it, trying to figure out what I missed. I'm fucking awesome on that line, at least on par with guys who've been there 15 and 20 years, and drawing far more compliments. Because I examine every damn little thing, I thought I would have a good understanding of the skills necessary to excel. I felt secure in the idea that Mark had come to the right guy with that question, but it turns out I failed him and all my fellow cooks. What did I miss?
Today I figured it out! In addition to all the skills listed above, a good cook must constantly and comfortably be able to think an arbitrarily large number of steps ahead. I know when I'm sailing on a busy Saturday night (my station's busiest shift) I know the precise order of at least the next 40 minitasks I'll be performing. "...And before I take the Plaki sauce out of the microwave I'll have to grab the kotopoula from the broiler so the skin doesn't get too crispy..." to give an example of something I might think about events 10 minutes away. Most of Mark's problems seem to stem from a limited ability to plan ahead. He might see an omelette on the screen, make and finish the omelette, and then realize he doesn't have enough home fries. He's a one-thing-at-a-time kinda guy, and that doesn't get you far in a high-volume kitchen.
So at first, figuring it out was a relief; an answer to a purely intellectual question and in a sense a bit of a self-improvement. But while writing this, I realized I can take this answer of mine to him. Some people would be offended by someone walking up to them and telling them how to do their job, but like I said, Mark's humble and practical. In fact, about six weeks ago Mark asked me why, after so much time, the job wasn't getting any easier and he wasn't getting any better. I didn't have an answer for him. Yet.
I'm quite optimistic at this point. I hope thinking ahead is a skill that can be learned and not an intrinsic mindset, otherwise what I'll be giving Mark will be an answer rather than advice. I'm confident my comments to him will be well-received, but I'll still be (maybe too) gentle.
And score two points for Women; sometimes talking about something does help you figure it out!
Before he "applied" (asked Ray) for the cooking position, he discussed his plan with me. Having never cooked before, he wanted to know if there was anything he should be aware of, in order to determine whether he was qualified. I explained that the training process in this kitchen is such that many inexperienced people have learned to be quite effective. Therefore, more important than any knowledge or experience are personality traits that would allow a person to catch on and keep up.
I asked him if he was a fast learner, and he said that he was. I asked him what he thought of his ability to hustle, and he told me about how the dishwashers also get "rushes", and that he keeps up well enough to please more experienced dishwashers. I explained the importance of the ability to quickly change your mindset, because in a big kitchen you can spend hours just standing around while it's completely dead, and then a huge rush can come and you have to go from zero to 60 immediately to avoid getting behind. I also asked him what he thought about his multitasking skills and his sense of timing, and he gave satisfactory answers. I told him that a good deal of common sense can do anything from making your job easier to preventing major disasters, and we also talked about the benefits of alertness and succinct communication in a chaotic and stressful environment. Finally I got around to "keeping your cool", but I already knew that wouldn't be a problem for Mark.
The conversation went on long enough until I was sure Mark understood each point and why it was relevant. We smoked two cigarettes. It concluded with me encouraging him to go for the position.
It's okay for someone to suck for a week or more, but after a month on the same station they should really be getting the hang of it. And four months later Mark still hasn't.
I work with him like twice a week, and he's so bad that he isn't just making his own job hard, he makes it harder for everyone else on the line. Because I thought I conducted a satisfactory enough interview to encourage him to jump on the line, I feel responsible. Note that I haven't mentioned that conversation to any of the cooks.
So I've found myself going back to it, trying to figure out what I missed. I'm fucking awesome on that line, at least on par with guys who've been there 15 and 20 years, and drawing far more compliments. Because I examine every damn little thing, I thought I would have a good understanding of the skills necessary to excel. I felt secure in the idea that Mark had come to the right guy with that question, but it turns out I failed him and all my fellow cooks. What did I miss?
Today I figured it out! In addition to all the skills listed above, a good cook must constantly and comfortably be able to think an arbitrarily large number of steps ahead. I know when I'm sailing on a busy Saturday night (my station's busiest shift) I know the precise order of at least the next 40 minitasks I'll be performing. "...And before I take the Plaki sauce out of the microwave I'll have to grab the kotopoula from the broiler so the skin doesn't get too crispy..." to give an example of something I might think about events 10 minutes away. Most of Mark's problems seem to stem from a limited ability to plan ahead. He might see an omelette on the screen, make and finish the omelette, and then realize he doesn't have enough home fries. He's a one-thing-at-a-time kinda guy, and that doesn't get you far in a high-volume kitchen.
So at first, figuring it out was a relief; an answer to a purely intellectual question and in a sense a bit of a self-improvement. But while writing this, I realized I can take this answer of mine to him. Some people would be offended by someone walking up to them and telling them how to do their job, but like I said, Mark's humble and practical. In fact, about six weeks ago Mark asked me why, after so much time, the job wasn't getting any easier and he wasn't getting any better. I didn't have an answer for him. Yet.
I'm quite optimistic at this point. I hope thinking ahead is a skill that can be learned and not an intrinsic mindset, otherwise what I'll be giving Mark will be an answer rather than advice. I'm confident my comments to him will be well-received, but I'll still be (maybe too) gentle.
And score two points for Women; sometimes talking about something does help you figure it out!