Latest / Chef's PSA Podcast / Kitchen 48 Laws of Power: Part 2 | Chef's PSA Podcast

Transcript

Kitchen 48 Laws of Power: Part 2 | Chef's PSA Podcast · Chef's PSA Podcast

• 0:00
  Hello chefs. You're listening to chefs.
• 0:02
  PS a podcast. I'm your host on Jeanette era.
• 0:04
  On today's episode we're going to dive back into the 48 Laws of
• 0:07
  Power part to stay tuned. So first, let's start with an
• 0:23
  update last week. I had talked about the kitchen
• 0:26
  Art of War, and I wanted to get a physical copy in my hands
• 0:30
  before I told you all to buy it. So anyway, got a physical copy
• 0:32
  in. My hands looks good.
• 0:34
  I wish the paper was a little bit better quality, but anyway,
• 0:36
  nonetheless looks good. Its full color slightly bigger
• 0:39
  than the previous books that I've published.
• 0:42
  So if you have the, the chef's PSA kitchen Journal, which if
• 0:45
  you don't, you should get one because how you can remember
• 0:47
  shit, if you don't write it down and how you can keep track of
• 0:50
  your recipes and your notes and all these brilliant ideas, and
• 0:52
  And journal if you don't have a journal.
• 0:56
  Anyway, we digress 6 by 9 so it's the same size as the chef
• 1:01
  Journal but it's so it's slightly larger than the other
• 1:03
  books which are five by eight. Number one, number two, it's
• 1:06
  full color and because it's full color and it's slightly larger.
• 1:10
  The printing cost is much more. So, it is the most expensive of
• 1:13
  the books, even though it is not the longest book.
• 1:17
  So, anyway, it's out. Go get it.
• 1:19
  You can find the link if you're going to get the ebook version,
• 1:22
  I First, you get the one on gumroad versus the one on Amazon
• 1:26
  simply because the one on gumroad.
• 1:29
  The file is exactly how it was. Originally intended to be the
• 1:32
  one on Amazon does get distorted a little bit when you convert it
• 1:36
  to Kendall. So, not all the images are in
• 1:39
  the right place where they should be etc.
• 1:41
  Etc. Anyway, if you're going to get
• 1:43
  the pdf version or the ebook version, get it off gumroad.
• 1:46
  If you want the print copy and and the only reason I've made it
• 1:48
  a print copies because people were asking for it.
• 1:50
  So I wasn't intending on printing a tie.
• 1:52
  I just wanted to write it because I like the idea of
• 1:55
  writing these books. You know, I like shorter books
• 1:58
  quick because long books, I read a lot of books and I know how
• 2:01
  difficult it is to read all these books.
• 2:03
  So I know people's attention span is that they're especially
• 2:05
  in today's world of social media and constant distractions, and
• 2:08
  you all are most likely Chef. So, you're busy working.
• 2:10
  I don't know if you want to read books, but I am working on
• 2:14
  another book, and I'm working on two books, actually, and I'm not
• 2:18
  sure which one we should publish first.
• 2:20
  So, I have an idea to one is Titled bad Sue.
• 2:24
  And it's it's kind of like the first, the first two books, you
• 2:29
  know, the how not to be the biggest idiot in the kitchen and
• 2:31
  line. Cook survival manual, it would
• 2:33
  be like a manual for Sous chefs and I call it bad soup because I
• 2:37
  want to write it as examples of, you know, for example, a bad
• 2:41
  suit talks badly about their chef.
• 2:44
  So that's what a bad suit would do.
• 2:45
  And then underneath it give an example of what a good sous chef
• 2:48
  would do. So that's one book idea.
• 2:49
  The other book idea I have is to write one.
• 2:52
  Called The Chef's mindset and this would be mental practices
• 2:55
  and things that I do and things that I would advise people to do
• 2:58
  to sharpen their mental acuity to become better chefs.
• 3:02
  And I've said this before on the podcast, I've said it in many of
• 3:05
  my books I think the biggest differentiator someone could
• 3:08
  have because at a certain level everyone understands how to cook
• 3:11
  and really what separates the great, the great chefs from
• 3:15
  everyone else is that they're they're able to think
• 3:18
  differently their ability to think differently is what makes
• 3:22
  them who they Our it's the Rene redzepi is of the world or the
• 3:24
  fur on Audrey's anyway. You get the point.
• 3:27
  So that's what I'm up to. I know I've said previously that
• 3:30
  I don't plan on having guests on the podcast but I am working on
• 3:33
  something just so people know. I do get invited to a lot of
• 3:37
  events and I got a lot of food festivals or Awards or you know,
• 3:41
  whatever I am out there being a socially awkward butterfly at
• 3:45
  times. I'm thinking about doing a
• 3:49
  podcast at a food event where I get to talk to the different.
• 3:52
  Participants Participating chefs, so that might happen.
• 3:55
  It's in the works. I'm not saying it's going to
• 3:57
  happen, but if it does happen most likely it'll happen you
• 4:00
  know very quickly and maybe I'll have video behind it.
• 4:03
  So I could create content for YouTube, Etc, Spotify, whatever.
• 4:07
  Anyway we digress. Let's get into the 48 Laws of
• 4:10
  Power. So if you listen to the last
• 4:12
  episode, you'll know that we were on law 10.
• 4:15
  Now, you don't have to listen to these in chronological order,
• 4:18
  but I am giving them to you in chronological order.
• 4:22
  So let's start with law number 11.
• 4:26
  Lot number 11 is learn to keep people dependent on you.
• 4:30
  Now, what does that mean as a chef?
• 4:33
  A lot of people say, I disagree with the statement, a lot of
• 4:36
  people say, well, don't make yourself Irreplaceable.
• 4:39
  I think you should be Irreplaceable.
• 4:41
  That's what creates value, right?
• 4:43
  I'm going to name some Irreplaceable.
• 4:45
  Chefs, Grant Achatz, Charlie Trotter.
• 4:48
  Daniel boulud. Massimo, Butera the Roca
• 4:52
  Brothers. D.
• 4:53
  Chefs are irreplaceable. Why wouldn't you want to be like
• 4:55
  them? They have something unique and
• 4:58
  because they've something unique about them.
• 5:01
  People pay lots of money for their food.
• 5:05
  People pay, lots of money to get them to do whatever they want.
• 5:07
  And these are some of the most successful chefs in the world.
• 5:10
  So, in my opinion, that's exactly what you need to be
• 5:13
  doing. Is you need to keep people
• 5:15
  dependent on you. You need to become the star of
• 5:17
  the show as a chef. I would also say as a cook,
• 5:20
  There's some strategy involved in this, and I'll tell you what,
• 5:22
  I mean, if your goal is to make more money and let's say you're
• 5:27
  the grill cook, for example, then you need to become the best
• 5:30
  grill cook that they need you because this is how it works in
• 5:33
  most kitchens. The person that works with the
• 5:35
  most expensive product, usually gets the most amount of money
• 5:38
  because there's a cost associated with it.
• 5:40
  So maybe if you're a seafood restaurant, the person that
• 5:43
  butchers all the fish might make more money than the person that
• 5:46
  cuts the herbs because the fish is the most important thing on
• 5:49
  their menu and it's the most expensive.
• 5:50
  Like that they're working with and a lot of restaurants in a
• 5:53
  majority of restaurants that's usually the person that works on
• 5:56
  the grill because they work with the proteins.
• 5:58
  So they have the highest amount of skill and because they have
• 6:01
  the highest amount of skill. And what I mean by skill is that
• 6:03
  the margin of error you know the fewest amount of steaks get sent
• 6:06
  back when this person is on the line and because of that they're
• 6:09
  able to command more money. They might be making
• 6:11
  significantly more than everyone else on the team.
• 6:14
  So having people dependent on you, I don't think is a bad
• 6:17
  thing. I actually think it's a good
• 6:18
  thing and it works to your advantage.
• 6:20
  It helps you get promoted if they depend on you, if the
• 6:23
  kitchen operates better, when you're there, then that means
• 6:27
  that they're going to want you there.
• 6:28
  They're going to want to fight to keep you there it what?
• 6:30
  It's what separates you from everyone else and gives you a
• 6:35
  competitive Advantage. Now, I'm not saying that you
• 6:37
  can't transfer that knowledge, but even that, even that ability
• 6:41
  to transfer knowledge, that's a valuable skill, not everyone
• 6:45
  could be a great teacher. So just because you might not be
• 6:48
  the best cook in the world but you might be an excellent
• 6:50
  teacher. Right?
• 6:51
  Or you might be an excellent marketer.
• 6:52
  Those things are what create value for you.
• 6:55
  So, keep people dependent on you.
• 6:57
  I think is an important one to keep law.
• 6:59
  Number 12, use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your
• 7:04
  victim. Now, as a chef, I could tell you
• 7:07
  that this goes a long way. This is everything from simple
• 7:10
  gifts that you give to your boss being likeable being honest.
• 7:15
  When the, when the time is when the time is right, when you're
• 7:18
  honest, in a big situation, people will think you're I stand
• 7:21
  every situation. This is just human nature.
• 7:25
  Also, with on the subject of generosity.
• 7:28
  Like, I used to work with this guy and I'll tell you the story,
• 7:30
  I won't say who but anyway, used to work with this guy and he was
• 7:33
  slick, you know, I as someone who practices The Art of War and
• 7:37
  understands the 48 Laws of Power.
• 7:40
  When you understand those tactics, you're able to
• 7:42
  recognize when other people are trying to use them against you.
• 7:46
  And I worked with this guy and he would always bring me gifts.
• 7:49
  He would say, oh, you know, I got you Sir, I got you that but
• 7:52
  he wasn't necessarily the best cook, he wasn't necessarily the
• 7:55
  best employee, but he was really good.
• 7:57
  At giving you gifts, he was really good at bringing you
• 7:59
  stuff. He was also really good at
• 8:00
  giving you information. So, the gossip that was going on
• 8:03
  out there he would be the little, the little spy in the
• 8:05
  kitchen. Now, I know why this person was
• 8:08
  doing that. They were doing that because
• 8:10
  they didn't want to get fired because they are not the best
• 8:12
  employee. So they make up for the fact
• 8:14
  that they're not a great employee by giving you gifts, or
• 8:17
  giving you information or being honest in situations where you
• 8:20
  need someone to be. Honest with you, but I recognize
• 8:22
  what they're doing. A lot of people don't recognize
• 8:24
  this. Now, if you're a chef, if you're
• 8:26
  an executive chef for a head chef and you've taken over
• 8:28
  multiple places, you'll notice something, whenever you take
• 8:31
  over a new place, there's always one person that wants to sit
• 8:35
  down with you and say, hey, Chef, can I meet with you really
• 8:37
  quick and they like spill the beans on everything that's going
• 8:42
  on in the kitchen? Who's good?
• 8:43
  Who's bad? Who's on ethical?
• 8:46
  Who's stealing who drinks on the job?
• 8:48
  You know, who's not a good cook all that.
• 8:50
  Like, there's one Person that comes to you on day one.
• 8:53
  When you're the new chef and gives you like all the dirt on
• 8:55
  everyone else unsolicited. I should say, it's happened to
• 8:59
  me in almost every single Chef job I've ever taken.
• 9:01
  There's always that one person that comes to you what I've
• 9:03
  discovered is that person is usually the one that I can't
• 9:06
  trust like when that person comes to Mary, I find out.
• 9:09
  Okay? Not everyone else is the
• 9:11
  problem, you're the problem. They're usually the ones that
• 9:15
  are stirring the pot like I said before because they're
• 9:18
  overcompensating for some other lack.
• 9:21
  That they have. And usually that lack is skills
• 9:23
  in the kitchen or there. They also like to call off or
• 9:26
  steel or whatever, but they just want you to focus on everyone
• 9:28
  else so they could get away with what they need to get away with.
• 9:30
  Now, if you've been in the kitchen long enough, you
• 9:32
  understand that all these things happen and you cannot stop it.
• 9:35
  The best thing you do is try and mitigate it and prevent it to a
• 9:39
  minimum. So anyway, let's move on Lot.
• 9:41
  Number 13 when asking for help appeal to people's
• 9:44
  self-interest, never to their Mercy or gratitude, here's
• 9:48
  something everyone should know. If you don't If you ever want
• 9:51
  someone's help, you need to understand that it has to be
• 9:55
  what's in it for me. Like that's the first thing that
• 9:57
  goes through. Everyone's mind if you're coming
• 9:58
  to me for help, what's in it for me?
• 10:01
  I'm not going to help you just because I'm kind.
• 10:04
  Now, that's not always the case. Sometimes I do help people just
• 10:07
  because I'm kind But the reality is most people.
• 10:10
  The first thing is like if you come to them and you say, help
• 10:14
  me out and there's nothing in it for them, if you come to them
• 10:17
  again, they don't really want to help you if anything to actually
• 10:21
  try and avoid you. It's like, okay, it's like the
• 10:23
  person that comes and says, hey can I borrow some money and then
• 10:28
  they come to you again and say, hey, can I borrow some money
• 10:29
  like second or third time you eventually want to keep your
• 10:32
  distance from this person? Because you know, there's
• 10:34
  nothing ever in it from for you, right?
• 10:37
  They just become a nuisance to you.
• 10:38
  You so the same thing applies in The Culinary world.
• 10:40
  If you're going up to someone saying, hey can I have some
• 10:43
  chives because I don't have any on my station.
• 10:46
  Okay, one time that's fine but then you become that person that
• 10:49
  habitually comes to them and says, hey I need this in.
• 10:51
  Hey need that and you're always asking but you're never
• 10:54
  returning the favor. So if you want people to do
• 10:56
  things for you you know it kind of ties into the last one, you
• 10:59
  need to go in and say this is what I'm going to do, but this
• 11:01
  is what I'll do for you. So hey can you cut my chives
• 11:04
  today and then I'll clean your station so you could get out
• 11:07
  early. So there has to be some sort.
• 11:08
  Of exchange of energy for the favor.
• 11:11
  If there is no exchange than what that leads to is resentment
• 11:15
  and distrust later on. So the first thing that you have
• 11:20
  to ask yourself whenever you're going to ask someone for a favor
• 11:23
  is is there anything in it for them and if there's not, you
• 11:26
  might need a reframe what you're going to ask them for that favor
• 11:30
  because they bite to it. But to then that might be the
• 11:33
  last favor you'll ever get from them.
• 11:35
  And it might cause a little bit of resentment.
• 11:38
  In the relationship between the two of you so little off-topic
• 11:42
  rant. When I recorded the last one, I
• 11:44
  was a little harsh on myself because I thought, I don't know
• 11:46
  if I was being if I was giving you guys like the real, the real
• 11:50
  real. Sometimes I was holding back a
• 11:52
  little bit because, you know, the audience that listen to this
• 11:54
  podcast range from entry-level Cooks to seasoned executive
• 11:57
  chefs. And so sometimes I want to just
• 12:00
  say, look, this is, this is the way it is.
• 12:02
  Like, this is some ugly things that I've seen in the kitchen
• 12:04
  and these are some dirty tactics.
• 12:05
  So, I held back a little bit. So I'm going to, I'm going to
• 12:09
  try not to hold back as much because there needs to be a good
• 12:14
  understanding of reality. So now we get into law 14.
• 12:17
  Which this is going to apply to pose as a friend but work as a
• 12:21
  spy This is everything from networking with other chefs
• 12:27
  learning from other people in different kitchens.
• 12:29
  This is the line cook next to you is you need to be nice to
• 12:33
  get information. Sometimes this posing as a
• 12:36
  friend, but working as a spy helps, you get into information
• 12:40
  that you may need to help you out, with whatever it is that
• 12:44
  you may potentially be working on.
• 12:45
  Now, I'll tell you this. Again, I mentioned earlier,
• 12:49
  people do this, like you might not think that this happens, if
• 12:52
  you don't think. It's happening.
• 12:54
  It's because you're not doing it but someone's doing it to you.
• 12:56
  So, you need to keep your keep your antenna up.
• 13:00
  Keep your spider senses sharp because I know I have Chef
• 13:04
  friends that, you know, they think I'm not aware that they,
• 13:08
  that they use me as a spy, or that they're a spy and that they
• 13:12
  use me for information. I'm aware.
• 13:14
  But I play the game, right? Because, you know, I'm, I'm Keen
• 13:19
  to what's happening. So like, you guys, Mess with me.
• 13:23
  Like I'm the I'm the kitchen Art of War guy.
• 13:26
  You guys aren't going to get past me with your tricks.
• 13:28
  Like I wrote the damn book. Literally I wrote the book
• 13:30
  anyway. Law number 15, crush your
• 13:33
  enemies. Totally.
• 13:35
  This is one is it's a bit brutal.
• 13:37
  If another restaurant to spreading - rumors about you,
• 13:40
  people are saying things about you.
• 13:42
  If you have a cook in the kitchen, that is saying things
• 13:45
  that they shouldn't say. If someone's done something in
• 13:48
  your kitchen, you have to. When I say crush your enemies
• 13:50
  that might mean firing someone for insubordination.
• 13:53
  In in the moment, it's a show of power as the chef, when someone
• 13:56
  gets away with something, what's happening in the kitchen,
• 13:58
  there's a social Dynamic. When someone misbehaves in the
• 14:01
  kitchen and does something inappropriately, it's all eyes
• 14:04
  on you if you're the chef because now, everyone's watching
• 14:06
  you and saying, what is what are they going to do?
• 14:09
  How are they going to handle this situation?
• 14:10
  If you handled it poorly, right? And you've done nothing about
• 14:14
  it. So let's say someone's done
• 14:15
  something bad and you did nothing about it.
• 14:16
  Now, what you have to do is you're going to have to correct
• 14:20
  every single person that does it now because they just Just all
• 14:23
  said, well, it's acceptable because that person didn't got
• 14:26
  away with it, we could all get away with it.
• 14:28
  The idea of it's not a rule unless it's enforced, you have
• 14:32
  to keep that in mind. So when you see someone break
• 14:35
  one of the deadly sins in your particular workplace, if the
• 14:38
  rule is fire them for that, you have to fire them period because
• 14:41
  if not, then you're going to create dissension amongst the
• 14:44
  ranks. Everyone's going to say, oh,
• 14:46
  it's okay for them but it's not okay for me.
• 14:47
  So if the rule is, the rule is, the rule is the rule for
• 14:49
  everybody. Right.
• 14:51
  You have to crush them as difficult as it may be, because
• 14:55
  I know it's difficult, you build relationships with people, you
• 14:57
  care about them and sometimes they do something totally
• 15:00
  stupid. It's like you can't do anything
• 15:01
  about it, but if someone is out there, another restaurant doing
• 15:06
  your food and they're like, let's say your sous.
• 15:09
  Chef has left and gone somewhere else and they're doing your food
• 15:11
  like you need a Burnham. I hate to say that, but if
• 15:16
  they're hurting your business or they're calling people up and
• 15:18
  stealing your Cooks because they used to work there, And then now
• 15:21
  they've gone to another place down the street and now they're
• 15:23
  calling all your employees. Like I've been with people that
• 15:26
  said, you know, get the lawyers involved cease-and-desist like
• 15:29
  the second that you allow people to do that as the second that it
• 15:32
  becomes. Okay?
• 15:34
  You have to, you have to prevent people from doing that, and I'll
• 15:37
  give one more example of, you know, crushing your enemy
• 15:42
  totally and, you know, Charlie Trotter, when you think about
• 15:45
  this, there was a documentary on them, it's a great documentary.
• 15:48
  Everyone should go watch. I did a podcast on it, but he
• 15:51
  was known. And I think Grant Achatz talks
• 15:53
  about this in his book that if you didn't work there for a
• 15:56
  certain amount of time, don't ever put them on your resume and
• 15:59
  a lot of chefs are like that, a lot of a lot of great chefs
• 16:02
  stick to this Rule and that is If you don't work for me for a
• 16:05
  minimum of one year, don't even say you worked here.
• 16:09
  And the reason they do that is because it usually takes someone
• 16:12
  approximately six months to get good at their job.
• 16:15
  And then the next six months is usually the return on the
• 16:17
  investment for the person that hired you.
• 16:19
  So if you're not even going to make it a year, then it was a
• 16:23
  lot of effort, put in, on the time of the person that hired
• 16:27
  you, but they never got to their full return on the second that
• 16:30
  you were proficient at your job. And so what ends up happening in
• 16:34
  a lot of great kitchens. And I'm, and I'm making this
• 16:36
  example up, let's say you're working at the best restaurant
• 16:40
  in Copenhagen and you went there and you were, you know, you were
• 16:43
  doing a stash and you worked there for three months and then
• 16:47
  you leave there. But all you really did at that
• 16:49
  stage was, you know, pick herbs or whatever.
• 16:51
  And then you leave there and then you get a sous chef job or
• 16:55
  you get a head, chef job at a restaurant in a smaller City.
• 16:59
  You used that place as a stepping stone just to get the
• 17:02
  name on your resume. Um, and three months later, now,
• 17:05
  you're, you're a hot commodity, a hot commodity and, you know, a
• 17:10
  non-primary market. Let's not fair to the people
• 17:14
  that are still there that have been there that have been
• 17:16
  earning it, right? So that's why it rubs a lot of
• 17:18
  people, the wrong way and a lot of people say, if you don't do a
• 17:21
  year here they're going to crush you for it.
• 17:23
  So don't even don't even list them because they'll, they'll
• 17:25
  say oh yeah that person didn't really work.
• 17:27
  Here they did this down the other or they'll say no we
• 17:29
  don't, we never heard of him. So anyway, be aware that there
• 17:32
  are people out there that will crush you for That number 16,
• 17:35
  use absence to increase respect and honor.
• 17:39
  I'm not sure if everyone's heard the expression familiarity
• 17:42
  breeds contempt and that is when you get too familiar with
• 17:44
  people, that's usually when they start pushing the line a little
• 17:49
  bit further and further with you.
• 17:50
  So if you're a sous chef like you go out drinking with people.
• 17:55
  You go out drinking with your Cooks.
• 17:56
  The next day, it's very difficult to hold them
• 17:58
  accountable when they're like, hey, last night, I saw you
• 18:01
  shit-faced. I had to pick you up off the
• 18:02
  floor. And today, you're yelling at me
• 18:04
  because my chives aren't, right? What about last night.
• 18:06
  That idea of familiarity, sometimes can work to your
• 18:10
  detriment, it's good to be around your people and it's good
• 18:13
  to be friendly with them, but the second that you get too
• 18:16
  close as the second that it starts to work to your
• 18:19
  disadvantage, right? How are you going to hold
• 18:22
  someone accountable for something.
• 18:24
  Very You very difficult when they're your best friend.
• 18:27
  This is something that a lot of people struggle with when they
• 18:30
  get into into leadership positions, especially when
• 18:33
  they're new Sous chefs, as you get too comfortable with the
• 18:35
  people around you and then you have a hard time when they talk
• 18:38
  back to you, right? And those people can't sometimes
• 18:41
  disassociate you with a friend outside of work in the boss
• 18:44
  inside of work, using absence to increase respect and honor as a
• 18:48
  good thing. So sometimes step away
• 18:50
  disappear, go on vacation, don't go out with them all the time.
• 18:54
  I'm make the relationship between you and everyone else
• 18:57
  sometimes a little bit more professional and less familiar
• 19:00
  and sometimes that can work to your advantage, there has to be
• 19:03
  a little bit of a line between leadership and and people that
• 19:09
  aren't in the leadership positions because it makes it
• 19:12
  easier when times come to give orders or hold people
• 19:16
  accountable. Now, I'm not saying like this is
• 19:18
  a gray area and that line is different for everybody.
• 19:21
  It depending on the restaurant. But what I am saying is, if you
• 19:24
  are Too comfortable, it will work to your detriment law.
• 19:28
  Number 17, keep others in suspended Terror, cultivate an
• 19:31
  air of unpredictability. This is like classic old school
• 19:34
  kitchens, you know, where the chef was a walking temper,
• 19:38
  tantrum, the air of unpredictability.
• 19:41
  So obviously this is I don't condone that explosive
• 19:44
  environment. I am an intense Chef.
• 19:47
  When I, when I used to be a chef, I was intense.
• 19:49
  But I wasn't like a yelling Chef.
• 19:52
  I was just intense. Like, I was focused.
• 19:53
  I was disciplined to know. I was Was 00 negotiation on the
• 19:59
  standard. The standard is the standard is
• 20:00
  the standard, but one thing that I used to have this Chef that
• 20:03
  would come up to me and they were a big guy and he put his
• 20:08
  hand on my shoulder and you know, it's like I think it was
• 20:12
  10 feet tall, they need whisper in my ear.
• 20:16
  What are you doing? And I'd say I'm cutting the
• 20:19
  Tomato, chef. And he would stay silent and he
• 20:22
  would say they look good and my heart would be beating.
• 20:26
  I like what is he going to? Is he going to beat me up for
• 20:28
  the tomatoes? Like are they not right?
• 20:30
  But it was like, he had this, like, you never knew like, is he
• 20:34
  going to tell me that I'm Incorrect and throw it in the
• 20:38
  trash and start over? Or was it?
• 20:40
  They're good and I never knew his like in here, always have
• 20:42
  this dramatic, pause of Silence. So one thing that I used to do
• 20:47
  in kitchens is you know we'd have like health inspection
• 20:50
  drills. Drills like would be printed out
• 20:52
  on the wall. So if a fire is not a fire drill
• 20:54
  that health inspector showed up. Everyone know do this Step 1
• 20:58
  Step 2, Step 3, step 4, and everyone had a role.
• 21:00
  So, this person does this, this person does that.
• 21:02
  So you go get the sanitation, buckets.
• 21:04
  You go do this that the other make it, or make sure that
• 21:07
  everything's labeled and dated now, inevitably, yes, I had high
• 21:09
  standard kitchens but we're also dealing with human beings and
• 21:12
  not everything was perfect all the time, but sometimes I would
• 21:15
  fake these fire drills. Like, I'd say the Health
• 21:16
  Inspectors here, and I'd see everyone scramble and decide the
• 21:19
  other, because I just wanted to keep them on their toes.
• 21:21
  They Ever knew when it was real or we'd say the food critic is
• 21:24
  in. We think.
• 21:25
  Oh, that's the that's the food critic right there.
• 21:28
  Just to keep people. Keep everyone sharp just to see
• 21:31
  how they're going to perform under stress, right?
• 21:33
  So the The more stress and and unpredictability that you could
• 21:40
  that you could Implement in your operation, the better people
• 21:43
  were perform in those situation. If you're never in a stressful
• 21:47
  situation, it's going to be chaotic.
• 21:49
  When that stressful situation comes at, if you've worked in
• 21:51
  kitchens, You understand almost every day is stressful and
• 21:53
  chaotic but it it's a it's a predictable stress and chaos
• 21:57
  every now and again, there's the the unpredictability that's
• 22:01
  introduced through a food critic or a health inspector or, you
• 22:06
  know, the power going out or the micros going down, whatever the
• 22:08
  case may be, when those things happen, it's like okay.
• 22:10
  Now we've introduced a new element of chaos and this
• 22:13
  unpredictability keeps people on their toes and it helps people
• 22:18
  get better. So introducing Unpredictability
• 22:22
  in your kitchen. I think is something that will
• 22:25
  help sharpen your team and keep them keep them engaged.
• 22:29
  And also, you know, adrenaline sometimes is a good thing, like,
• 22:33
  especially for Cooks, right? We're all Adrenaline Junkies.
• 22:36
  And, you know, the mundane can seem born.
• 22:38
  But you remember those days that were like, like, in the moment,
• 22:41
  they suck. Like everyone's like, oh, that
• 22:42
  day was terrible at the end of the day, like, you know, but the
• 22:45
  next day you're like, oh, you got stories and you want to
• 22:47
  share with your buddies, like, oh this happened and man, I was
• 22:50
  sweating, but you love it. It right in retrospect all those
• 22:54
  crazy moments, most of them, you love number 18.
• 22:58
  Do not build fortresses to protect yourself.
• 23:00
  Isolation is dangerous. So, this is almost a counter to
• 23:04
  what we talked about earlier about using absence to increase
• 23:07
  respect and honor here. This this is may be pointing out
• 23:11
  the opposite. Is that You need to engage with
• 23:15
  your team but let's let's take it a step further, you need to
• 23:17
  engage with the culinary Community.
• 23:19
  You need to be involved in food events.
• 23:22
  Food festivals. You need to go to people's
• 23:24
  restaurants. You need to be involved with
• 23:27
  your vendors, and people need to know.
• 23:31
  You need to be on social media. You can't, you can't be isolated
• 23:34
  from the world especially as a chef if people don't know who
• 23:38
  you are. That's going to be very
• 23:39
  difficult to attract customers to your restaurant.
• 23:42
  But moreover, it's going to be difficult to attract people to
• 23:44
  come work for you. It's also going to be difficult.
• 23:47
  When that time comes that you want to go to the next job.
• 23:49
  If no knows who you are, then who's going to vouch for you,
• 23:53
  right? Because that's what ends up
• 23:55
  happening. Is they call someone say, hey,
• 23:56
  did you work with? So and so, yeah, they're great
• 23:58
  or they're not, so great. But the worst thing is like,
• 24:01
  hey, have you ever heard of so-and-so?
• 24:03
  And I was like, nah, never heard of them.
• 24:05
  There are ghosts like, that's, that's the worst.
• 24:07
  And sometimes I would have those conversations with people when
• 24:10
  you be hiring this person, like a do, you know?
• 24:11
  They're, like, no, there are ghosts, they have no social
• 24:13
  media. While no one's ever heard of
• 24:15
  them, they don't know any vendors, they don't go to any
• 24:19
  events like why should we can't hire them?
• 24:21
  So let's say you're doing a cooking interview and you have a
• 24:24
  reputation, everyone knows you, you have some awards, you're in
• 24:27
  the Press. You go to all the food events,
• 24:28
  you have a good social media page and let's say you bomb on
• 24:31
  the cooking interview and you don't do well.
• 24:33
  People are going to be like, yeah, but I've had their food
• 24:36
  before. This might have just been an off
• 24:38
  day and they're in, you're going to get the job, right?
• 24:41
  So you get a little bit of they cut you a little bit of slack.
• 24:45
  Now let's say no one's ever heard of you and you're a ghost
• 24:47
  and you bomb on the cooking interview?
• 24:49
  Well, they have nothing to go off of there because they will
• 24:50
  that must be how they perform all the time.
• 24:53
  So, having a presence and not isolating yourself in The
• 24:57
  Culinary world is a good thing, have some sort of presence.
• 25:01
  And let people know who you are. Number 19 know who you're
• 25:04
  dealing with. Do not offend the wrong person.
• 25:08
  I think this goes without saying, like be mindful of who's
• 25:12
  in the dining room. I might be a food critic like
• 25:14
  they might, they might be a major influence or with millions
• 25:18
  of followers that are going to hurt your business, right?
• 25:23
  I know people that have pissed off a food critic and then their
• 25:26
  restaurants are closed shortly afterwards, right?
• 25:28
  It happens. I mean, I hate to say that I've
• 25:31
  been In a situation like that, but when my dining experience
• 25:34
  with the food critic didn't go. Well, my restaurants ended up
• 25:37
  closing, not too long, after that, I know that from
• 25:38
  experience food critics might not have as much power as they
• 25:41
  used to, but influencers do or certain people on open table or
• 25:46
  whatever. The case may be also be
• 25:47
  respectful of your boss, you don't want to offend them,
• 25:51
  right? You never you never know how
• 25:53
  someone's going to react to being offended.
• 25:56
  Maybe you don't know but in a lot of cases you don't and
• 26:00
  sometimes you could offend someone and you might have just
• 26:03
  pushed the wrong button on the wrong day and boom.
• 26:05
  Now you're out of a job you offended.
• 26:07
  The bosses friend or you said something you made an
• 26:09
  inappropriate joke or whatever the case may be like you need to
• 26:11
  be careful about knowing who you're working with because you
• 26:16
  burn one bridge and you might be burning 10, other one's right?
• 26:20
  Because that person may be a powerful person and you get
• 26:22
  blacklisted and say, okay you know that don't ever hire that
• 26:25
  person. They group text all their
• 26:27
  friends with the photograph and say don't hire that person.
• 26:30
  Now that happens that does happen.
• 26:32
  Like people think that doesn't have, it does happen.
• 26:34
  I've interviewed people from restaurants and then I'll text
• 26:37
  my buddy and say, hey do you know?
• 26:40
  So and so that worked at this restaurant and they'll say
• 26:42
  absolutely don't hire them that that does happen.
• 26:45
  And I don't know the backstory and it's just a simple, don't
• 26:48
  hire them. I know my friend and I trust
• 26:50
  them, I don't know this person and if they say don't hire them,
• 26:53
  there must be there must be a reason that they said that.
• 26:55
  But maybe there No reason, maybe the reason is they just made a
• 26:58
  joke that they didn't like or maybe they just didn't, maybe
• 27:01
  they just didn't like them. I don't know that.
• 27:03
  But I'm going to take the word of the person.
• 27:04
  So point being is you must be careful who you're being
• 27:08
  offensive to number 20 do not commit to anyone.
• 27:12
  This is something that I'm learning more and more right
• 27:16
  now. As I do chefs, PSA is, I get a
• 27:19
  lot of people that want to work with me.
• 27:21
  I get asked to do a lot of things and when I was a chef,
• 27:24
  you would say yes to most things if they I kind of fell in line
• 27:27
  with what you were doing, but now I get asked to do things
• 27:30
  that I like, this is a new world.
• 27:32
  I might get asked to go to a public speaking somewhere or,
• 27:34
  you know, do a presentation somewhere.
• 27:36
  And now, I'm realizing, like, I can't say, yes to everything.
• 27:40
  I need to be selective to certain things because a lot of
• 27:43
  people just want you for their gang, but don't necessarily care
• 27:48
  about what you're doing right. A lot of people want to use you
• 27:52
  because of the audience that you have or they want to use you.
• 27:56
  To help build their name. But like we said earlier like if
• 27:59
  there's nothing in it for me it's a something-for-nothing
• 28:01
  deal. And you have to understand that
• 28:03
  you cannot commit to every single thing.
• 28:06
  Just practice saying, no. And I think that's a useful
• 28:09
  skill. Something that I'm learning
• 28:11
  more. As I'm like, I said, I'm going
• 28:13
  down this path, but it's something that I've learned
• 28:15
  lately, as I say no to a lot more things now than I say yes,
• 28:18
  too. So, anyway, keep that in mind.
• 28:21
  Number 21, play a sucker to catch a sucker seem dumber than
• 28:25
  your mark, and I touched on this a little bit earlier that
• 28:29
  sometimes. I'll play naive in the situation
• 28:32
  just so I could set a trap or so I could get more information or
• 28:35
  sometimes I'll just plain. I even give them bad
• 28:37
  information. I think everyone usually assumes
• 28:42
  that they're smarter than you in general.
• 28:43
  Like in general like get five of your friends around you and ask
• 28:47
  them. Do you think you're smarter than
• 28:48
  me? And I guarantee you like, four
• 28:51
  out of five are going to think that they're smarter than you
• 28:53
  and I guarantee you you're thinking you're smarter than all
• 28:55
  five most of the time right. You have to use that to your
• 28:58
  advantage. Sometimes I'll act dumb.
• 29:00
  Like I remember, I remember I was having a conversation with a
• 29:03
  good friend of mine and they had to introduce someone new to the
• 29:06
  conversation. They brought up a subject that
• 29:07
  was like my wheelhouse and I could speak about it at length
• 29:11
  like they weren't On My Level to even have this conversation and
• 29:14
  they brought the subject up and my friend was like, oh don't
• 29:17
  don't bring this subject up around, Andre.
• 29:19
  Why would you ask him? Like he knows everything about
• 29:21
  the subject, but I didn't I play dumb and we had a good
• 29:25
  conversations sometimes I will disarm people by Being a little
• 29:31
  less knowledgeable on subjects than I really am just because I
• 29:36
  get to understand the person a little bit more and see their
• 29:39
  true character, their true intention.
• 29:41
  So anyway, I'm always playing chess 3D chess, or 40 chest,
• 29:46
  which everyone's better anyway. That's all we're going to get to
• 29:49
  today. So I'm going to continue on with
• 29:52
  the series. Let me know if you like it.
• 29:55
  Thank you very much for listening if you want to support
• 29:57
  the show. Make sure you leave 5 Stars.
• 30:00
  I'll tell you what I found interesting.
• 30:01
  Is that the best chefs and Cooks in the world, leave five stars,
• 30:04
  the worst ones. They don't they don't do
• 30:06
  anything but so if you're a good Chef the best, you'd leave five
• 30:12
  stars anyway. If you want to support the show,
• 30:15
  go to chefs PS a.com you get the books kitchen are do Or culinary
• 30:19
  leadership fundamentals, you could also get the video course
• 30:21
  on culinary leadership. Fundamentals, get yourself a
• 30:23
  journal. Write shit down.
• 30:25
  Thank you very much. See you next week, hit the porno
• 30:28
  music. Or culinary leadership
• 30:19
  fundamentals, you could also get the video course on culinary
• 30:21
  leadership. Fundamentals, get yourself a
• 30:23
  journal. Write shit down.
• 30:25
  Thank you very much. See you next week, hit the porno
• 30:28
  music.