It’s very easy to recognize someone who carries themselves with self-confidence; they are usually quiet and observant, taking everything in and their mind is always working.
I got along well utilizing this skill. Especially in the highly competitive fine French dining arena where precision was every bit as important as the creative process. And I learned from every single person I ever met in every kitchen I ever worked in, a habit I carried with me all the way through the end of my culinary career.
Sometime self-confidence isn’t enough.
I was working at a northern Arizona family dining restaurant that would do next to nothing in business for eight months out of the year, but once summer hit, it was busload after busload of tourists headed to or from the Grand Canyon and it got so busy that the only thing you could do is put your head down and work as hard as you can for as long as there were tickets hanging to be cooked.
I never met or worked for a chef that didn’t overestimate his abilities. I met a lot of cooks that believed they were ready for the next step; to lead their own staff into battle on a busy night of fine dining.
But the thing about moving an Executive Sous Chef up that final rung to the promised land of Executive Chef was the recognition of others, including the ownership and staff, that they were indeed ready to lead.
Apprenticing a cook is a very exhausting process because it happens while you are still performing all tasks related to operating a starred French restaurant. I taught using the same principles, recipes, and techniques from Escoffier, Bocuse, and Ducasse.
I took great joy in making my pupils suffer through ice carving just as I did as I assigned tasks and then went to the warmth of my office to enjoy a nice Irish coffee as they shivered their asses off.
I was already a CEC (certified executive chef) before I took a huge step down to work in Chef Renaud Defond’s kitchen in a resort hotel in Santa Barbara.
The chef questioned me right away. I was making more money than he was at my previous chef job in total control of the highest volume restaurant from San Diego to San Francisco and here I was, agreeing to start as Breakfast Chef just to get the opportunity to work in his kitchen. Once Chef found out, he started to like me and started noticing my work ethic and production. Soon, he had me at his side by the gray marble slab as we worked spun sugar into amazing shapes and masterpieces.
He also made sure I spent more time in the pastry chef’s kingdom to sharpen up those skills in case I didn’t have a pastry chef on my staff.
Now I was already a confident chef when I started working under Chef Defond, but man I was hell on wheels once he finished with me.
Stay well.
