I am going to do a little series of posts about Chefs at the YamDaisy Cafe.It is one of the ongoing tensions when I discuss the practicality of getting this structure to work
In this post the question is "Who would want to be a Chef at a YamDaisy Cafe"
"What a Great Start to a Career!"
This was my theory. I imagined a young chef just out of College and excited about putting his/her skills into practice. How better to do this than at the YamDaisy Cafe? A good position with the safety of the franchise structure to support! Maybe we could have a system of mentors? What a great start to a career!
"Joy, you have no idea!" said my chef friend Teri. She patiently explained about young chefs wanting to be where the bright lights are, The kitchens with kudos! The great chefs of the world, The fantastic locations.
So I was a bit nervous about it when I was speaking to someone who helped support Social Trading Initiatives. But he said:
"There is no end of burnt out chefs needing work"
Oops. (he didn't know I was going to quote him here!). And my reaction was: O dear! I think there are a few skills needed here that a burnt out chef might struggle with! The chef is not only cooking, she/he is the community interface. They have to be good with old people, young people, screaming babies, cope with people complaining about the meals, do a bit of teaching, make the place happy and successful. All the things that probably burns out cooks in the first place.
The next person I spoke to was a highly qualified and successful chef who was running a lovely little organic cafe. He had his own theory about what might be attractive at a YamDaisy Cafe:
"Good Hours!"
He had a young family and needed to be able to spend time with them. He knew there are other chefs who have done the long hours, the no-life-but-work, and needed to stop, and find a living that brought an income and time for his family.
And this shed light on the 'Burnt Out' chefs who probably had had enough of the long-hours-no-life too - and quite possibly had recovered and now might be ready to try the YamDaisy challenge!
I have honed the structure to make it workable for a chef who would like to work 10am - 6pm, or as close as possible. And if there are two chefs working together, or a chef and another worker, then surely it can all be covered in a fairly civilised way.
I would love to know what sort of person you think might be a chef at a YamDaisy Cafe!
Think its all about passion. Yes, the long hours are a killer but the sense of gratification should compensate for that!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ruth's comment. It's really all about passion and dedication and a little bit of psychology, as well.
ReplyDeleteHave a beautiful day :)
And thank you so much for all your lovely and so precious comments on my blog :)
I was wondering if you plan on designing the menu yourself, in cooperation with the chef, or having the chef design the menu. My mother worked for years managing the kitchen at a large meditation ashram, and one of the biggest conflicts with the cook was what they were cooking. Differences in opinion and taste, difference in ideas about what the food should cost and how much profit there should be, and sometimes even ego, can really cause tension between founder/manager and cook. So I think it's important that you either find a cook who is willing to bring your culinary vision to life, or whose food is so delicious and convincing that you can trust that they will create a wonderful and practical menu on their own.
ReplyDeleteHope all is well with you! Always love hearing from you Joy...
xoxo
Thanks for these comments. What you say is so true Dawn. The menus I put up here are to give an idea of the food that would be served, but each chef will be able to make their own menu - and it must be Wonderful and Practical!
ReplyDeleteRuth and Claudia you nailed it, passion is the key.
I can just cook for fun....it's a tough job being a chef.
ReplyDelete