Chef Henry: a tale about menus and commitment

“We will use this menu for the entire season”, Chef Henry said to his wife with a glass of wine in his hand and a smirk in his face.

He had just received a box with his printed menus.

Next day he got to work.

He now knows what ingredients to buy, how much of each, and when to buy them across the entire season. He knows he will set up contracts with key suppliers. This is his procurement plan.

He knows exactly who to hire too. He needs five Line Cooks, two Kitchen Porters, a Sommelier, a Prep Cook, a Sous Chef, and a Pastry Chef. This is his hiring plan.

Chef Henry knows at what time of the day to start slow-cooking some side dishes and when to turn the kitchen fully on. He has clear directions on how to cook each plate. He’s also very clear on which plates he will prepare personally. This is his operating plan.

He know what his clients like, but also what they don’t know they like (“yet”, he thinks). He also knows that the best advertising for his restaurant is word of mouth. These are his product plan and his advertising plan.

Chef Henry knows how to price each plate: consistent with the experience of the food, not through benchmarks. He also knows how to cost them. This is his pricing plan.

He knows what the service should be like, feel like, look like. This is his service plan.

Chef Henry’s operation fell into place the minute the menus were printed: they became a commitment.

Write your mission and goals on the wall. Show your menu. Commit. Get to work.

Chef means “boss” in French.

Be a chef.