Heard from a retired chef in Portland that changed how I treat my line cooks

I was talking to an old school guy named Pete who ran kitchens for 30 years. He said the biggest mistake young chefs make is yelling to fix a problem, not coaching. That hit different because I realized I've been doing the same thing for 2 years. Anyone else have a talk like that that made you switch up your style?

3 comments

3 Comments

brooke_jones1d ago

Oh man, that Pete guy is exactly right. I had a sous chef who would scream at us for plating mistakes and it just made everyone nervous and sloppy, but when my next head chef pulled me aside and showed me the right way to fold an omelet that completely changed how I talk to my crew. Now I catch myself before raising my voice and just walk over and coach through the problem, it makes the whole line run smoother and people actually want to learn.

williamhenderson1d ago

You said "coach through the problem" and that's the key most people miss. Yelling at someone for a bad fold doesn't teach them how to do a good fold, it just teaches them to be scared of you. The best kitchens I've worked in had cooks who asked questions because they knew they'd get an answer, not a lecture.

charles7201d ago

That "coaching not yelling" line really applies to so much more than kitchens, like I've noticed the same thing with how people talk to each other in everyday life at the grocery store or even just dealing with customer service. @williamhenderson nailed it about teaching vs scaring, and maybe it's just me but walking someone through a mistake instead of getting loud just makes everything less tense for everyone involved. It's wild how one old chef's advice can change how you see the whole world around you idk.