What's the deal with New York trained chefs?

[chiffonade]

1. All cooks are expendable.

Not just in NY. This is a philosophy that is widespread throughout the culinary field ESPECIALLY in a sh!tty economy (like the one we're in now) because replacement staff are easy to come by. This is the "interchangeable part" mentality - implying that no one brings anything "special" to the party. I think it's sad, no matter what industry is practicing it. (It's not just relegated to the food industry - finance is a big offender here, too.)


2. I will not train anyone.

If not the reality, the fantasy is that EVERY cook has the same degree of training as the chef. Again, not exclusive to NY. That's an individual characteristic of each chef. Again, an unfortunate one. No chef can blame a cook for not doing something to his/her satisfaction if the cook was never shown how he/she wanted it done.


3. I will not bother to learn any Spanish.

Before I comment on this - I'm a firm believer that if you choose to leave your native country to live where they don't speak your language - you should learn the language of the land you chose to make your home. If I moved to France, I could lobby my head off for having street signs in English and I wouldn't get very far. Having said that, it's definitely wise to learn enough Spanish (or at least some important phrases) to run the kitchen. Contrary to what a chef might believe, his/her ignorance of the native tongue of the kitchen staff will not miraculously enable them to speak English. Again, not relegated to a NY attitude. DH worked at a respected resort here in FL and the new head chef was French. You guessed it - he knew not a syllable of Spanish. This in a state that is surrounded by Hispanic lands! P.S. Lots of NY Chefs already know Spanish because NY has its share of hispanic immigrants.


4. I will yell at the cooks, if they don't seem to understand it's either because they're lazy, or the classic "they understand me they just don't want to follow my orders".

That's everywhere. That's just the restaurant business. No Chef's resume lists "patience" in his/her toolbox. I've worked in plenty of kitchens in the US where chefs barked and swore liberally. None of them were from NY or ever worked in NY.


5. I have a million stories from back in the day which usually involve 45-150 days straight without a day off, working 3 stations at once. (believable?)

Possibly embellished but certainly fathomable. If a restaurant in Pig's Knuckle, Arkansas is down two stations, that third guy is going to work his butt off. DH has a couple of those stories and he's never worked in NY. (Happens when other line cooks get drunk or call in ...ahem...sick.) Work in the restaurant industry long enough and those stories will pile up...no matter the geographic location.


6. I make GREAT food, but no one else seems to be able to replicate it.
and
7. I will never write down a recipe for the staff to follow.

True of any chef (from anywhere) who may have learned at their grandmother's elbow (like Marcus Samuelsson) or learned from a chef who cooked in a similar fashion. Some people would rather have root canal than write down a recipe. HOWEVER, he/she has no one but him/herself to blame when a kitchen crew can't replicate the food. DH and I have noticed that restaurants seem to have a revolving door policy on kitchen staff. The successful ones, the ones to which diners return time and time again, use recipes. No matter how much kitchen turnover there is, to the diner it's seamless. The diner may believe the same three guys could be cooking at the restaurant for the last 20 years - at least that's what it should taste like. In reality, no one lasts more than two months. This was true of one of our favorite places in s.w. Colorado. We could not believe the kitchen turnover (we were friends with some of the cooks) but the food remained consistently excellent.

When DH and I had a restaurant, we wrote down recipes - especially helpful in newly formulated recipes. This ensures a predictable, reliable outcome every time a dish is prepared. It also helped in case the originator of the recipe (he or I) could not prepare the recipe any particular day.

And by the way, I'm from NY.

[tomculb]

Well, I guess I would like to broaden my question a little bit. Why does this industry have such a poor record of training quality people? Clearly the jerk chefs that I portrayed are getting ahead - because their style mirrors the kitchens of 19th century France. Here we are in the 21st century. When will our industry move to at least 20th century notions of good management principles.

High turnover? I guess owners think the chef is being active and taking charge, but I have never seen an article in a trade magazine that says "High turnover - your key to higher profits".

Also, not learing Spanish? Gimme a break. If you employ illegal immigrants, and take advantage of the artificially low wages that they demand, you need to make some allowances. I know some of you will not like this word, but exploitation comes to mind. Being cruel to someone who has no real choice, can't understand the language and is here to make an honest buck? That's exploitation.

I welcome you all to help me make some sense of this industry mired in the 19th century.

[kuan]

Originally posted by shroomgirl
Funny i thought the midwest had the best produce.....at least in the past few years it rivals most. And I'm a Cal girl.

Yes it does! We have wonderful produce here. The new wave of immigrant farmers has introduced us to different types of produce and even livestock!

Kuan

[W.DeBord]

Well you sound like the old me, ps. I'm a pastry chef too. Well perhaps you need to do as I did (and that took along time), get out and about. There's places that are in the current century.

You know, sometimes it's the sqeakie wheel that gets the oil. Perhaps there's a little cross over to how chefs are hired. Acting like a great chef seems to fool some people........owners and managers can be some of the easiest to fool. They are often seeking a quick fix or a life saver to rescue a situation that they themselves aren't fixing or have created.

Also, it's not the chefs that are hiring the illegal workers, it starts and ends with the name signing the pay check.

As long as there are people willing to work for less money or to fill the empty positions, nothing will change. Thank-god for foodtv, they are getting more legal workers interested in the business and glamorizing culinary educations. Alot of kids will get burned out of tution but in the long run I think it's really going to greatly help our profession.

And........one more ignorant post from me......frankly alot of the illegal workers that work strickly for a pay check and don't have any emotional ties to being a cook (like you mentioned earilier) are heading for the construction field....alot better pay and hours.

[chefboy2160]

Hey shroomgirl , I was not dissing the midwests produce . I am only saying that the best of the produce which I see grown out here is generally shipped east . I myself buy my produce from the locals farmers market every thursday . I love the banter , the discussions , and just the plain old love we have for real food !
But shroomgirl , as you know , the best part is those California girls . You know how they dress ( or do not ) during the heat of summer . I wish they all could be California girls ( Beachboys ).
And you are from where my friend ?