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Ni hao!

3K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  jasimo 
#1 ·
Hi all, I'm a chef from Holland currently based in Hangzhou, China. I'm on a new adventure after working in a seafood restaurant for two years (in China) on to a head chef position at a small boutique hotel (22 rooms)

This is the first time I will have this function and hopefully you guys can help me out here and there. The biggest challenge for me is making the transition from being a sous-chef to a head chef position. As I am quite young for this position (26). I actually never really got in to forums but reading through the forum really made me want to get in touch with this community!

Hope to be able to help out as well of course!
 
#2 ·
The good thing is it's a 22 room hotel. You may need to really think out your steps in order to make sure everything you do is on point. This may take extra time at work and outside work to make menus. In other words "Fail Safe" the operation. I think this opportunity could be a great step in your career. Just make sure you give it your all. When hiring employees make sure they are what you want. Your employees are an extension of your vision. If they fail then you failed.

In every position I have had in my career and looking back I thought about how much better I was a few years later. This is the reason why we try not to rush through the kitchen positions to get to our goal of being a chef.
In your case this may be the right size operation to start with. Make sure you realize in the beginning the "Boutique" part of this position should be viewed as everything you and your crew do is special. Your job is to go above and beyond to make everything more than what the customer and the owner expected.......Good luck and knock their socks off!.......ChefBillyB
 
#5 ·
The good thing is it's a 22 room hotel. You may need to really think out your steps in order to make sure everything you do is on point. This may take extra time at work and outside work to make menus. In other words "Fail Safe" the operation. I think this opportunity could be a great step in your career. Just make sure you give it your all. When hiring employees make sure they are what you want. Your employees are an extension of your vision. If they fail then you failed.

In every position I have had in my career and looking back I thought about how much better I was a few years later. This is the reason why we try not to rush through the kitchen positions to get to our goal of being a chef.
In your case this may be the right size operation to start with. Make sure you realize in the beginning the "Boutique" part of this position should be viewed as everything you and your crew do is special. Your job is to go above and beyond to make everything more than what the customer and the owner expected.......Good luck and knock their socks off!.......ChefBillyB
Thank you Chef Billy! This is really helpful, I'll keep you posted about the progress!
 
#3 ·
Hi , tell your sous chef all you know as he is with you all the way, make him responsible for the daily running of the brigade and food standards, you are the patriarch, in order for your brigade to respect you is by delegation, make sure you compile your menu thoroughly and with feedback from your brigade, they will feel part of the menu with some small ideas, you can not function on your own, be positive, give feedback and congratulate on great services, punish when needed, its a huge step, but your arse is on the line, your as good as your brigade of chefs, treat them well and they will follow you like sheep. good luck
 
#7 ·
Thanks! I'm going to start interviews with some sous-chefs pretty soon. I need two solid guys who speak English to lead the kitchen through preparation and service (plus me of course). The rest of the staff won't speak so much English but I can figure that part out in Chinese myself. The biggest issue is finding people who really want to cook and are passionate about it. Most of them see it as a job but don't really think about their own career and future. This is what I think will be one of the biggest issues I'll be facing
 
#6 ·
Thank you! And I'm cooking mostly with local ingredients and the plating is also going to be mainly Chinese. The fun thing is I get to play with all the modern toys to give it a twist like a thermomix, sous-vide, smoke gun and so on. It's quite a challenge to cook to their (my bosses) taste pattern because Chinese people are very stubborn about what they do and don't like.
 
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