Commis Chef – entry level
Note – some companies like Ritz-Carlton use their own titles , like Cook 1 etc . Again , beware the titles !
2 . A P6.35icture is Worth a 1000 Words
Today ’ s chefs all have phones capable of taking great photos . If they are on trend , they should be taking shots of their dishes that are being posted to Instagram , Facebook etc , or at least they should have someone in their kitchen doing it for them . Ask them for at least 10 photos of their favorite dishes from the last few years . If they don ’ t have or give you a story about their laptop blowing up , be wary . These photos will give you an idea of their presentation skills and creativity . Chefs I work with usually send me links to Instagram or dropbox with hundreds , but at minimum they should come up with at least 10 . If you think a chef has sent you photos that are not theirs you can use googles image search feature to upload and check to see if it appears elsewhere on the web . If it does , make sure that it came from a website that belongs to a place the chef has worked at .
3 . Push , Pull or Compose ?
When I first graduated from Johnson & Wales in the early 90 ’ s cooking was only just becoming professional in the US . Chefs were still a wild bunch with very few having a degree in culinary arts , unless you came up through the traditional European kitchen trade . Times have changed and most good chefs today are trained and understand kitchen management . But how they motivate their teams still varies wildly and I find they typically fall into three styles .
Pushers – Drive a hard kitchen and often use the phrase its my way or the highway if you ask them their management style . They will tend to come across as pushy , demanding and opinionated in the interview . Avoid these .
Pullers - They quietly do their work , often very talented but have difficulty getting everyone on the team to play . Often quiet or give short answers in the interview . I find they try to run their kitchen by example only . Their references will often state they are great cooks but not that strong on administration or people skills . Good for a number 2 but not so much for a number 1 .
Composers – these are the ones you want ! Composers will talk about how they identify and develop talent on their team . They measure their success by those that follow them from kitchen to kitchen . Composers will be able to give examples of people they helped in their career .
4 . Use Caution with Trials
So now you have interviewed the chef and want to bring them in for a food tasting . Anyone that has spent time running a top kitchen knows that dishes and menus take months of research and study to develop . A great chef takes into account the local ingredients , strengths of the team , the market etc before coming up with dishes on a menu . Putting a chef in a strange kitchen , without knowledge of the team or suppliers can produce dishes that don ’ t always reflect the full ability of the chef . I recommend visiting the chefs restaurant ( confidentially of course ) or try their food or if for a more junior role , invite them to work a shift . If you want to go ahead with a food trial make sure you give them enough time to prepare , help in the kitchen and ask them to send a list of ingredients ahead of time they are they are ready .
5 . Are your Goals Aligned ?
The last thing you want to happen is your newly hired chef is disappointed after a few months and leaves . Tell the chef the 3 most important things you expect from them during the interview . Then ask them what are the 3 most important things for them . It doesn ’ t have to be related to work , they may need time off each week on a Sunday to spend with family . If you can both agree on the three most important things each party needs before you hire them .
About the author Barak Hirschowitz is Managing Partner and co-founder of HOSPITALIO Recruitment , a global hospitality recruitment company that has recruited hoteliers and chefs from the world ’ s leading hotels , resorts , restaurants & cruise lines . He is also current President of the International Luxury Hotel Association .
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