A kinder, gentler kitchen: chefs set the tone for professionalism

Nation's Restaurant News, May 8, 1995 by Rick Van Warner

Anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant kitchen can attest to the frenetic pace and intense demands a lunch or dinner rush precipitates. It's not surprising that the most common American saying about coping with pressure is "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

Few work environments are harsher, not to mention hotter and stickier, than a foodservice kitchen during crunch time. But reducing pressure and making the back-of-the-house a more hospitable setting is rarely counted among issues discussed by chefs and restaurateurs.

Particularly in upscale restaurants the all-too-traditional role of the chef as a dictatorial czar persists in many establishments. Some of the most renowned chefs in the country are infamous for berating their employees or throwing periodic temper tantrums.

But some chefs are committed to changing that image. One, Charles Saunders, goes as far as a strict on-the-job policy that prohibits yelling and swearing.

The chef-owner of East Side Oyster Bar & Grill and two other Sonoma, Calif., area restaurants suspends employees who yell at a co-worker or curse, after first receiving a warning. Saunders believes his rules help to create a more professional environment based on mutual respect among employees.

Where else but California, some of you will sneer, would you find a profanity-free kitchen? Is this just the beginning of our heading toward the utopian environment featured in the movie "Demolition Man," where each curse word uttered was greeted by a printed fine?

Actually, Saunders' culture at his restaurants, partly in response to conditions he endured while working for others, should be saluted. In explaining his philosophy, he recalled working for one chef who routinely shouted and threw plates of food at line cooks when dishes were deemed not plated perfectly.

But the policy does far more than simply create a quieter kitchen place; it sends a signal to all employees that respect and professionalism are the standard, behind the scenes as well as in front of customers. It also recognizes the changing role of today's chef

The kitchens of today can no longer afford the tyrant chefs of yesteryear. For attracting, keeping and developing strong employees are just as crucial as serving up the perfect foie gras.

"As a chef today, you need to be a leader, a motivator, a nurturer and a father confessor," Saunders said, "not to mention an accountant, a plumber, and a purchasing agent."

As American Culinary Federation head John Folse put it recently: "Technical skills are only the price of admission, the ticket to the kitchen. Chefs must have leadership skills and management skills today."

The evolving nature of the chef's job description should include taking steps toward making the restaurant kitchen a kinder and gentler place.

This is not to suggest the objective should be to create a serene environment devoid of high energy and emotion. The lifeblood of most good restaurants is the excitement and vitality of its kitchen, something employees feed on in accomplishing a common goal.

But screaming and swearing when the heat is on add nothing to the equation, serving only to heighten tension and cause unnecessary friction among kitchen mates.