LEOGO, RICA PAULINE B.

2020-20785

Week 8

“Hire good chefs and leave it to them”

In the tourism and hospitality industry, Food and Beverage Services is a crucial part of the
sector. It can promote diversity by creating different types of food cuisines as well as concepts. In
this present era, for the maintenance of the effective hospitality sector, it is important to maintain
effective food and beverages services in that sector. It helps any hospitality-based organization
to provide a better set of services to the customers. It basically plays a vital role in tourists'
experience throughout the trip. Furthermore, the backbone of this sector heavily relies on the
talent of an individual that deals with the uniqueness of food–the Chef. Most of the successful
restaurants would not have an established name of company without the talent of this person.
The identity of the restaurant has been recognized throughout the food uniqueness made by the
chefs. “Hire good chefs and leave it to them” is proven by the prominent restaurants not only
locally but internationally. These restaurants are the examples of having a good chef around their
kitchen: New Toho Food Center (1888), Ambos Mundos (1888), Ma Mon Luk (1920), Ramon
Lee's Panciteria (1929), Aristocrat (1936), Max (1945), Little Quiapo (1949), Savory (1950), and
many more).

Chef is indeed the backbone of the kitchen. They are the origin of the tasty ideas of a food
and beverage establishment. However, not all chefs have the same approaches–there are good
and bad. Good chefs are behind the successful restaurants throughout the years. A Good chef
not only has a good sense of taste, skillful hands but also a wise mind that assesses the
customer’s needs and priorities. They manage the expectations of the customers very well–not
disappointing the standard of the customer. Discipline is a key factor to their strategic approaches
on the success of the food and beverage operation. "It gains the team’s attention and enables
you to teach and provide the education that you have learnt and pass it on to others" stated by
Will Meyrick, also known as the Streetfood Chef (Brennan, 2016). Discipline creates attention to
detail, which makes you strive for perfection in yourself. They keep everything running smoothly,
assuring that the restaurant management is well-organized. According to the Chef Academy,
there are some essential qualities of a chef for them to become successful in their profession.
These are passion, stamina, leadership skills, creativity, flexibility, organization, business sense,
multitasking, commitment to quality and being able to handle criticism. Possessing these qualities
guarantees their success in their sphere of work.
LEOGO, RICA PAULINE B.
2020-20785

Unilever Food Solutions also stated that there are effective habits that good chefs exhibit.
The first habit is Planning being Essential to Success. Great chefs think ahead and plot out
everything they are going to do from cooking to the financial responsibilities of running a kitchen.
The best chefs know exactly what and how much ingredients they need, where all of their utensils
are located, how they will pace themselves during crunch time, and what they can do to make the
day as efficient as possible. The second habit is Become the Master of Your Schedule and Your
Time. Time management is crucial, with proper planning a highly effective kitchen will be an
output. The third habit is Determine what is Most Important & Focus on the Task at Hand. A good
chef pays attention to the task at hand and focuses on what’s important at that moment in time.
The fourth habit is Organization is Key to Sustain Success, the best chefs know exactly how many
minutes it takes to prepare each dish in the menu, how to direct servers in and out of the kitchen,
and where every utensil and ingredient is located. The fifth habit is Innovators Never Stop
Learning. Nothing is constant in all industries, trends are past-pacing. Great chefs should be
updated to the trends that customers prefer. Studying new cooking methods and cuisines of other
culture and spending time experimenting with different dishes will hone a chef to be innovative on
his/her dishes. The sixth habit is Conscientiousness Pays off every Step of the Way. Top chefs
make it a priority to scrutinize everything that goes into their kitchen, from basic ingredients to the
final dish. Lastly, Keep Things Simple and let the Flavors Speak for Themselves. As the saying
goes, “Quality over quantity” – offer food that is of top-notch quality, rather than creating a huge
variety of dishes that are of mediocre standards. Top chefs have proven that these habits have
been essential to their careers.
LEOGO, RICA PAULINE B.
2020-20785

References:

Brennan, J. (2016 October 06). Will Meyrick: 'Discipline, the Backbone of the Kitchen'.
Finedining Lovers Website. https://www.finedininglovers.com/article/will-meyrick-
discipline-backbone-kitchen.

Chef Academy of London. (n.d.). Qualities of a Chef. Chef Academy London Website.
https://www.chefacademyoflondon.com/en/blog/661-qualities-of-a-chef.html.

Unilever Food Solutions. (n.d.). The Most Effective Habits of Successful Chefs. Unilever Food
Solutions Website. https://www.unileverfoodsolutions.us/chef-inspiration/trend-
watch/most-effective-chef-habits.html