The position of chef is not so much power but responsibility. Too many restaurants fail, tripping over ... food.
The main reason why they exist is sometimes the worst in them.
Imagine all the times you have entered a restaurant, the atmosphere is great, the staff is hospitable, the decoration is perfect and the menu is readable. But you find, once the first plate reaches your table, that the kitchen is, to put it mildly, mediocre.
This happens too often in the industry and is something that has caught the attention of one of the prominent culinary bloggers - Paul Sorgul.
Sorgul is a chef with years of experience in the industry and a person who willingly shares sensible advice for anyone who is willing to hear them. In his latest post, "The Chef is Responsible," he talks about the problem of restaurants failing, and explains why he thinks it's because of the chefs. It is also good to explain how the chef can build the right skills to ensure he is at the highest level.

Competence
The chef must be exceptional in what he does: an excellent chef, a balanced manager, an inspiring leader and a complete communicator. One cannot hold the position of chef (a title that is deserved!) Without possessing these skills and attributes.

The palate
After all, food is entirely a matter of taste. The chef must have a well-developed, extremely experienced palate and have the ability to build taste profiles that distinguish the restaurant from others.

Experience
By the time he reaches the level of chef, he must be a mature, competent professional, and have already made most of the youthful mistakes that are expected of ordinary regular chefs and deputy chefs.
The position of chef is quite unforgivable compared to the previously held positions in the kitchen.

Knowledge of food
The cook must have encyclopedic knowledge of the food, the products available and their seasonality; the cooking methods that are most suitable for these products and how to compensate by stable cooking for any potential disadvantages present in these products.

Respect
This is a versatile attribute that requires the chef to respect the products, the staff, the time-proven cooking methods, the customers and the business as a whole.

Menu planning
The menu, like an excellent novel, should be designed to tell a story with a strong beginning, excellent character development, a little intrigue and surprises, a message that will be remembered for a long time, and a conclusion or finale that makes people think. and talk about their experience. When the menu is simply treated as a list of random things that do not fit into the overall plot, there is little reason for people to invest in a new visit to the restaurant, much less for existing customers to become "ambassadors" of your brand.

Knowledge of "entering" the menu
The kitchen cannot be separated from the rest of the experience. When creating the menu, the chef must work with the location, decoration, "atmosphere" of the restaurant, and most of all understand the profile of the guests who are most likely to pay willingly and maintain the restaurant in business.

Training
Once the chef has built a supporting menu that tells an interesting story, he must work diligently and try recipes and ways of presenting and serving food until he hits the right formula. Then it is mandatory for him to teach and train both the staff in the kitchen and the dining room what the dishes and products are, how they are prepared, why exactly these ingredients are used, what they should look like and what the dish should taste like, and then constantly to monitor everything to ensure that everyone meets their expectations.

Team focus

Ideally, a well-trained team eventually becomes part of the process of inventing and creating the menu, and communicates with suppliers, vendors, and farmers so as to keep in touch with the source, and learns to work together for common goals.

High expectations
The days of the temperamental, screaming chef are passing quickly, but the expectations for exclusivity that these former chefs had for the work of the kitchen must still be maintained.
Create an environment in which each chef and waiter works harder than he or she expects to prepare and serve food to the restaurant. You will soon find that it will be very difficult for them to give up this commitment.

Screening the weakest links in the chain
Recruiting for the restaurant is not always as it should be. Even with enough effort, the best possible training and the support provided by competent chefs, sometimes a team member cannot or simply does not want to maintain the required level. Sift out such people before they have "infected" the rest of the team.

Presence - and setting an example
Respect is deserved, and staff will be more willing to realize the chef's vision if he is present. 

all the time and invests in people, products and results.

Finishing the details
Everything in the restaurant is important. With regard to food, it is mandatory for the chef to insist that each employee refine the details.
Whether it's the precision of slicing vegetables, the exact time to reduce the sauce, the grill marks on the steak, the attention paid to the proper filleting of fish, or the methodical approach to arranging food on plates - the guest experience is influenced by the small details.

Leaving a "signature" on each plate
When the chef knows that every dish leaving the kitchen carries with him his "signature", his reputation, and clearly states to the world that his team is passionate and capable, the significance of the details is really felt.

The position of chef is not so much power but responsibility! Yes, if something goes wrong, it's the chef's fault. On the other hand, what happens properly is the result of setting the tone in the kitchen by the chef, selecting and training the right staff, and setting an example of exclusivity that others respect and want to follow.

Source: https://goodlife.bg/