Burning out

[Solon]

I need help guys and girls....

This is the start of my fourth year as the Sous Chef at a major university for campus dining.

We do nearly 3000 meals daily, push over 1 mil in catering a year, send all baked goods for campus, sauces for our retail units out of my kitchen.

Many of you are restaurant chefs, and may look down on campus dining, however if noting else we can agree that it is a VERY VERY different world.

We recently hired a new Exec. and I am at a loss as to what I am able to do about the situation. He comes from restaurants, and instead of trying to gather information from me...it seems he's just going to let me do the job for him. I am covering him like a blanket trying to make sure nothing slips through the cracks...and getting VERY sick of the situation.

I did not apply for the Exec job for a reason...yet it seems that I am doing the job anyway and letting someone else take the compliments for the work.

We have been serving sub-par food, and our sanitation and prep have gone to hell....I just don't know what to do. I am trying to stand back and let him take the reins, but in doing so am I taking the place down with him?

Any advice would be appreciated...and details can be given if needed, just ask.

Soli

[bohica]

Welcome to C2C Solon. You will learn a lot here.

There may be a few things here that you need to reconsider.

Firstly, what do you think the Sous chef does? Is not the sous job to actually run the kitchen? Aren't you the person who takes what the chef wants, and make it happen in the kitchen?


QUOTE "I am covering him like a blanket trying to make sure nothing slips through the cracks....."

That's just what you are supposed to do.

Think about this for a moment Solon....You are the chef's partner, more closer to him then his own spouse. You are there to make him look good.

Sounds like you are suffering from the same malady that many of us do when we are faced with having to work for a new chef after having been with another for sometime. We can not help but contrast the new with the old. The old had rules that you were used to and you think they are written in stone. Here comes this new chef, with new ways of doing things, and you are still clinging to the old ways.


QUOTE "We have been serving sub-par food, and our sanitation and prep have gone to hell....I just don't know what to do. I am trying to stand back and let him take the reins, but in doing so am I taking the place down with him?"

If this is happening...it's because you are too busy denying him and fighting him instead of working with him to make the place happen.

The same thing happened to me when I was in a college foodservice. Same issues. 3,000 meals per day plus banquets and VIP faculty room. And my chef was a CIA grad, and I could work rings around him.

Welcome to the real world Solon. Sorry about the harsh comments, but this is the way the world works. If you want to continue to be blinded by anger, frustration, and petty emotions, you will burn out quick.

Realize that it is up to you. Remember you are an employee just like the chef. If you do your work to the best of your ability, you will be recognized for it, while the Chef will be seen through in time.

You do have an alternative, but I'm afraid that where ever you go, it will be the same scenario if you refuse to change.

The hardest thing for man to do is un-learn and re-learn.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

[cheztom]

Bohica pretty much covered the issue for me. I can only emphasize that last part about dealing positively with the angry feelings, and frustration. To be flexible in these situations is the hardest thing you'll learn to do.

BTW, I'm a university chef and I've always (well, nearly so) felt welcome and supported here at C2C. Sure there have been creative differences and opposing viewpoints, but I've almost never been made to feel inferior as a cook around here. I've been chastised a little and have been called out for some bone-headed things I've done and just plain mocked for my ignorance, but that's how my friends show the love 'round here.

But seriously - we all realize that this biz is pretty diverse and that everyone's particular niche is pretty much just as valid as another's when it comes down to it. Cooking is a universal language and kitchen life's the same all over. So stick around - you'll meet lots of great people here and learn a lot.

[Chele422]

Trust me, I totally understand the feeling! I'm a station lead for a campus dining outfit at a smaller state university, your output and setup sound like ours.

Unfortunately, I've got to agree with the other posts a bit. Since you're the sous (or do they call you chef manager?), yeah, it's your job to run the place and bridge the gaps in service. While it's not your job to physically do all the prep and sani, you DO have to stay on top of the crew to make sure THEY get it done. Just be sure that when the new guy tries to take the reins, he's keeping the horses moving in the same direction....

I know they've done some shifting in our management, so now our Exec is literally running everything, along with the retail managers, chef manager, purchasing director, catering and kitchen supervisors, floor managers and supervisors. Most of us in the trenches just try to stay out of the way and crank out about 3000 meals all over campus.

Out of curiosity: (1) How many people do you have on prep crew and utility crew? (2) Why not take the exec job? Sounds like you'd be a natural choice for the spot.

chele

[lobstergun1]

It's sometimes a double edged sword being a Sous Chef. I understand your frustration very well. The advice given already is very good, particularly Bohica's.

I was a Sous for years, and watched as dishes I created were written about with credit given to a Chef who hadn't stepped into my kitchen for a month or more. Making the Chef look good is indeed your job. The best advice a chef gave me in regards to this issue was this "Cheer up. It gets worse." Best of luck to you.

[Fincher]

I bet Tom will be looking for me to comment on this thread... but I ain't gonna do it!

[garball]

If your chef is a hack; leave. You can make him look good, you can make you look good, you can make you look bad, he can make you look bad, he can make the kitchen look bad. It's kinda like being the president; it takes the entire government to make the country look good, but only one jackass to make it look bad.
However, don't stand back. It is still your responsibility that the food that leaves the kitchen is good and wholesome. Yes, a sous is there to assist and help the chef achieve this common goal. If both parties aren't striving for this goal, you're not really helping.

Of course, this is just one view. The chef may still be observing and making plans on flaws he sees right now. Maybe you are being a know-it-all and need to keep your mouth shut and let him do his job. Maybe he sucks and shouldn't have the job. Be sure to dissect every angle before making a rash decision.

[cheztom]

Tom will be looking for me to comment

Aw, c'mon Mike - you know you wanna.

[cookmikey]

Bo good point

You are an employee like your chef, work ethics dude

[Solon]

Hey guys,

First off: To Chele... My staff, not including breakfast / lunch full time cooks (2) is a grand total of 6 cooks (who I trained, and are all college students save one) AND The reason I did not take the job was simply because all of the people under me are my friends...and it would not have worked...though it seems the knowledge of the place that I have surpassed our candidates.

Moving on,

Currently we have digressed even more...even after me trying to take control again and do things w/out trying to let the chef take the reins completely.


We have run out of food on two events in the last week with 40 and 20 people left to eat. The events were not thousands in count...merely 300 and 250 respectively. On these two occasions; I was told to go home and get some rest, and he would handle it.

Is it okay to tell the boss that his decisions are wrong, and are going to create problems?

When we are steaming root vegetables that are clearly on the menu as "roasted fall vegetables" .... but it is his call to steam them...what do I do?

When he is baking tenderloin skewers, rather than grilling or flat-topping them...so that they turn into nothing more than tender roast beef....is it okay to speak up?



I agree that the Sous is simply the wife to the Exec...and more than anything..that is the relationship I want. I just don't feel like it's happening..and I am not sure how to get us to that point.

Refusing catering orders, when we can clearly pull it off...and being un-approachable when stressed are the two biggest problems I am having with the new boss.

I have tried to tell the new chef to ask if he doesn't know, and even to do so behind closed doors...where no one else will know it wasn't him making decisions...but it doesn't happen.

Everything that you have said *all of you*, I agree with...I just don't know how to "overstep" my bounds and fix things when he makes poor decisions.

Please, Advice is taken gladly...I really am trying to make the place run...

[lebelage]

Solon,

Welcome to C2C. I will be the friendly neighborhood "BadCop".

Some, not all you sensitive guys, SOME resto chefs turn to institutional cooking to "get a break". Your chef is leaning on you waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too hard if what you post is accurate and not just a jaundiced side o' coin.

A Sous is supposed to be a support, not a permanent "rascal" (you know- those "mobility devices") for the chef.

Have you attempted in ANY way to find out what is going on in this guys head? I suggest you try to do so in a firm but non confrontational way.

Many sous actually back themselves into a corner because they really don't know how to speak openly, frankly but respectfully to the Chef. This guy could be a freeloading hack... or this could be a guy who stepped into a new position, got a little lost, then started sensing animosity from his right hand man and freeaked.

NOW! I am NOT saying that I think it is ok for the head guy to freak. I am just saying, take a little walk in the fella's clogs and then have a talk with him.

If that makes you uncomfortable a place like you're at surely has an HR. If he is truly terrible you should start documenting now because I can tell you he may SEEM like a moron but he can sense your hostility.

People who are floundering and sense hostility look for someone else to throw overboard first. You dig?

Lay on the line respectfully what is happening that is negative. After that you document with HR.

You say the guys on the line are your friends. Is it possible that maybe you bitch to them about your chef behind his back? Stop.

Just stop. It isn't appropriate and it isn't helpful and I guarantee you he knows.

If he really is just a lazy dirtbag I feel for ya. But as much as it goes against human nature I suggest always looking for the fault within before looking for the fault without.

[bohica]

Well said Janice. I want to add something else here as well.

Solon, you mentioned that the Exec steams instead of roasts, and bakes instead of grills. That should be a "red flag" in and of itself. It wreaks of laziness and inexperience. I am sure we have all been there with respect to other chefs we have worked with.

If he is this way, you must document these things, and at the same time, play the devil's advocate and not allow your feelings toward the situation to garner the attention of the chef. Even a cockeyed look will do you in. Janice is right, you will probably be the man out on the street while the Exec stays put.

If what you say is true, then the other cooks must see it as well. You have in place your evidence and multiple witnesses to back up what you say. You have a choice. Be careful.

[Chamo]

This is one of the things that I hate from our carreer here in US; that along the way, you will find a lot of this type of guys that call themseves chefs when they have no clue about the real kitchen work and ethics ( I mean the artistic and technical part of it), just have experience as a manager with some cooking background and that makes it all for the employers, who are just looking for a manager that can be helpfull with the paperwork, not a real chef....

[Chamo]

I'm not saying that this is the case...but, be alert!

Try to get closer to him, open yourself a little more, lose that unethical cook's attitude that everyone who's new at your kitchen is just an enemy...he is probably just lost in the space because he is new and finding resistance. Give the guy a chance to prove himself that he is what he says he is, a chef but, you have to be with him in the process

[vegetable]

weve all been in a postion of a new chef walkin in &
a; not doing what we expect him or her to do like the last boss whos been a mentor & friend but doing it their way & testing their staff to see whos the A players & the B players
or
b; the raging bull approch changeing everything at once & shaking up everything & finding out whos who & whos worth a damn
the best approch is keep doing your job the way youve always done it & show him you got his back
go out grab a beer or 2 get to know him then I bet things probly well start to get better
every kitchen Ive ever taken over is always a challenge you got an entire staff compareing you to the last chef weither they were a hack or not it was thier chef & I wasnt so be there as a good partner & help ,not add to the problem after all its been your kitchen first & if you been ther 4 years im sure you dont wanna look for another job cause then youll be the new chef