{"id":7005,"date":"2018-03-22T12:57:32","date_gmt":"2018-03-22T12:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/posbistro-blog-wordpress-new.posbistro.com\/?p=7005"},"modified":"2018-03-22T15:25:47","modified_gmt":"2018-03-22T15:25:47","slug":"find-a-chef-and-a-cook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/posbistro.com\/blog\/find-a-chef-and-a-cook\/","title":{"rendered":"Step-by-step recruitment process to finding the ideal chef and cook"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chef Kurt Scheller admits <\/span>restaurants are only as successful as the cooks behind the scenes. <\/b>According to him, the ideal cook has to have a lot of knowledge and creativity, be tough and strict, but, at the same time, fair towards his colleagues.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to statistics from the Bureau of Labor<\/a>, the workforce consisting of chefs and head cooks is expected to see a growth of 8.9% over the next ten years, which is above the national average of 6.5% for other types of employment. This is not surprising considering that, according to statista.com, the USA leads in the consumer restaurant spending category with a whopping 22% of the market shares<\/a> (second on the list is China with 8%). Do you even remember the last time you packed a lunch to work? Me either.<\/span><\/p>\n

What responsibilities belong to the cook?<\/h5>\n

Before you hire a cook who will help you build a successful business, make sure you understand what kind of daily responsibilities belong to him. Below we list the most important ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. P<\/span>roduct prep <\/span> (cooks need to prepare all products that will be used when making client\u2019s dishes beforehand).\n

    <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

  2. Proper handling and storage of products.\n

    <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

  3. Clean-up, including dishwashing.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    What responsibilities belong to the chef?<\/h5>\n

    Chefs have the same responsibilities as cooks, plus a few additional ones. They:<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Oversee the operation of a kitchen<\/span> – give orders, supervises cooks, and deal with any crisis.\n

      <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

    2. Keep track of supplies and food inventory.\n

      <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

    3. Create menus.\n

      <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

    4. Train staff (cooks and waiters).\n

      <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

    5. Develop and record recipes, along with photos of how the dish should be plated, this way dishes can be replicated by anyone.\n

      <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

    6. Keep the backroom running smoothly.\n

      <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

    7. Prepare cost estimates for dishes.\n

      <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

    8. Monitor the stockroom.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      What characteristics should good cooks and chefs have?<\/h5>\n

      \"\"
      \nMichel Labarre, a master of French cuisine, thinks that a\u00a0<\/span>good chef should be modest, humble, cultured and have a refined palate. <\/b>According to him, it\u2019s also important to have experience, the yearning to keep learning and sharing your knowledge with others.<\/span><\/p>\n

      We\u2019ve added a few more characteristics to Michel\u2019s list. Good chefs should have:<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. A systematic approach to work.\n

        <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

      2. Good organization of work.\n

        <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

      3. Passion for cooking.\n

        <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

      4. A vivid imagination as well as natural, culinary talent.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Additionally, they should know about:<\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Different culinary cultures.\n

          <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

        2. The right way to mix and match ingredients and dishes.\n

          <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

        3. How to take full advantage of various food products.\n

          <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

        4. The art of presenting dishes.\n

          <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

        5. How to decorate a restaurant.\n

          <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

        6. Conservation of kitchen equipment.\n

          <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

        7. Sanitary practices and safety standards.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          What should you ask a cook and a chef during the job interview?<\/h5>\n

          Most importantly, you should ask for a trade or master diploma. What about other courses or training? A good cook <\/span>learns all his life<\/b>, so the more diplomas he has, the more valuable he will be as an employee. Diplomas are not only a sign of knowledge but also the desire to continuously gain more qualifications and grow as a cook.<\/span><\/p>\n

          Here\u2019s a list of questions you can use during the recruitment process:<\/span><\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Shopping for products \u2013 what should you pay attention to (origin of food, <\/span> cultivation and breeding practices).\n

            <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

          2. Various cooking methods.\n

            <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

          3. Effective use of products in the kitchen.\n

            <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

          4. Proper product storage.\n

            <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

          5. Local traditions (recipes and products).\n

            <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

          6. Replication of tastes and portion sizes.\n

            <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

          7. A proportion of frozen to fresh products \u2013 which situations allow you to use frozen products?\n

            <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

          8. Cleanliness in the kitchen and stockroom.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Finally, you can ask the candidate to prepare a dish for you that\u2019s within their specialization. This is the best way to check cooking techniques, efficiency, the organization of work, creativity, knowledge of ingredients and performance under stressful conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n

            The contract<\/h5>\n

            You found your ideal chef, now what? You need to prepare his contract. Don\u2019t forget to include:<\/span><\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Salary – net and gross.\n

              <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

            2. Place of employment.\n

              <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

            3. Payday date (weekly, monthly, etc).\n

              <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

            4. Bonuses and how to get them.\n

              <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

            5. Length of contract.\n

              <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

            6. Type of contract.\n

              <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

            7. Responsibility for employer\u2019s trusted assets.\n

              <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

            8. A written agreement that assigns intellectual property rights to your company.\n

              <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

            9. Consequences resulting in failure to adhere to the intellectual property agreement.\n

              <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

            10. Non- disclosure agreement.\n

              <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n

            11. Non-compete clause for the duration of the contract and a specified period afterward.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              We hope the article was useful for you. Good luck with your recruitment process!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Chef Kurt Scheller admits restaurants are only as successful as the cooks behind the scenes. According to him, the ideal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,23,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-restaurant-management","category-pizzeria","category-restaurant"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/posbistro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/posbistro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/posbistro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/posbistro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/posbistro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7005"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/posbistro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7025,"href":"https:\/\/posbistro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7005\/revisions\/7025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/posbistro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/posbistro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/posbistro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/posbistro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}