(pic-me and Chef Sam racing to cut 600 pounds of pork loin for a party)
Timing is everything…
Whether you are restaurant owner, a chef, a catering manager, a waitress, or any position in any profession for that matter, we seem to often find ourselves creating systems to ascertain that our professional lives become a simpler version of what we face day to day.
Timing is everything…
I am a cook first and foremost, but more importantly, as a chef and culinary professional, I am a manager of time, people and money- bottom line….it’s not always about the food, but it is always about the systems that evolve around that food.
Orchestration is a good expression of who I am and what I do as a culinary professional…I am merely a director of a grand theatrical expression…dining is an expression of my craft, it is up to me to bring my craft into art, it is not art's responsibility to be a part of who I am as a craftsman.
After all, I am just a magician that dresses funny…
Timing is everything…
From that two top that just got sat in Suzy’s section, to that plated dinner party of 1200, it is all the same…time, organization, communication .
The time to think the whole process through, being organized so that you are producing a safe, sanitary and phenomenal product , communicating with the entire staff so that there is the least amount of stress created by allowing the left hand to know what the right hand is doing and last but not least by creating and expressing your craft as an art…
Timing…
For some, timing is an afterthought when it should always be THE forethought…
Building backwards
In order to build backwards we must be able to understand the entire thought process front to back and back to front…from the follow up with your client to the ordering that you did for the food on Wednesday, from the scheduling of staff that you turned in a week ago to your execution of break downs and clean up tonight.
If you don’t think, not only is your staff going to suffer from the stress you inadvertently created, but your food is going to suffer because you did not spend the time to think. Your craft will have no ability to prosper and grow into an art because organization is everything, and organization needs a timeline. Whether we like it or not…
In every stage of cooking, whether volume or not, systems must be created, if they are not, then you are setting yourself up to fail, or putting yourself in a psychotic frenzy with one eye on the clock while you just stuck your hand on a pan you just took out of the oven with the oven mitt that is on the other hand! Been there, done that, it sucks…trust me…
Although often dysfunctional, systems are developed for one reason, they work!!!!
It is up to the directors of this theatrical production to bring it into perspective and tweak the system so that it becomes efficient for all parties involved. Everything is dysfunctional if you analyze it long enough…
In general, the hospitality industry as a whole, is a stressful job, creating a system that is going to make life easier should always be your first and only option. It's all about taking a problem, attempting a solution and "making it happen” Without timing, this process is lost….and failure/near failure is never an option in our industry.
Building Backwards and Capitalizing on Timing
I remember when I was a kid and I would ask my Mother when dinner was gonna be ready, she would always tell me “When it’s done…” As Chefs and culinary professionals we do not have this option.
In the midst of pumping out a plate up for 2000 people I can hear Chef Mark hollering out “Veggies fired in 45 mins Ladies and Gentlemen, what temps are those roasts?? I need those hot boxes in the kitchen please…plating in one hour Ladies and Gentlemen!!! plating in one hour!!!” to Waitress Wendy giving a 10 minutes head up for a Chocolate Souffle that is going out to Table 39…timing, our profession evolves around timing...
The mistake that is often made is that in attempting to organize our time we say we have to do this first, and then we need to do this, all through the process until we reach our final goal. The most efficient way is to work from your goal first and work backwards to your starting point.
“I need to pull the roast out, let it rest before I can slice it to pan it up to get it in the hot box and we start plating at 5:30, so I have to have the roast out by 5:00. It takes 3 hours to cook so we need to have it in the oven by 2:00, I want a good rub on the roast and let it sit for at least 6 hours, so I need to have the rub on there no later that 8:00”
It is all a thought process…
Regardless if you have been in the industry for 5 months or have been here for 50 years, there is always something to learn and some of those lessons do not come easily. Quite a few years back I had two parties on the books for the day, the first was a couple thousand, the second one, later in the day was for 25-the one for a couple thousand went off perfect, no flaws, everything was awesome. But when I did the party of 25, it was the hardest party I think I have ever done, I dropped the ball…
Why?
Because I didn’t respect the event…I just pumped out an ungodly amount of food in a short period of time and had no respect for the small party, I took my time for granted “hell, it’s only a party of 25 people…” wrong answer…I know that now. I pulled it off and everyone was happy, but I have never been the same...
Timing...
Everything that we do we should consider an event, I don’t care if it’s pumping out a meal for 5000, that two top that just got sat in Suzy’s section or you kissing your daughter on her forehead when you crawl in in the middle of the night…everything is an event.
The Buddhist Monk Wu Wei says “Everything that we do is an event, the only difference is how we react to it…”
Timing, Organization, Communication, Justice, Judgement, Decisiveness, Dependablity, Integrity, Tact, Intuitiveness, Earnest, Bearing, Understanding, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty and last but by no means the least Endurance…
For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.
Timing is Everything!!!!
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