“I Need a Chef.” What Do You Need That Chef to Do?

When an owner tells me, “Petros, I need a chef,” I usually ask a few questions before we discuss candidates.

Who is going to organise the kitchen? Who knows what each dish costs? Who checks the orders against what is already in the fridge? Who will train the team? And who will notice when the restaurant is busy but the money is disappearing?

Quite often, the owner expects one person to do all of this while also cooking through every service. I understand why. You employ a chef, you pay a salary, and you expect the kitchen to work.

But we need to be clear about the job we are asking that person to do.

A Good Cook Has an Important Job Already

A cook prepares the food. That sounds simple until you have to do it properly, repeatedly, under pressure, with several orders arriving together.

I have worked with excellent cooks. I have also worked with people who arrived with limited experience and developed into very good cooks because they listened, cared and wanted to learn.

Cooking ability deserves respect. Managing people, controlling costs and planning an operation require further experience. We cannot assume somebody has all those abilities because their food tastes good.

The Head Chef Has to Get Through Today

The Head Chef needs to know what is happening in the kitchen now. Is the preparation ready? Who is working tonight? Have we received the fish? Is somebody using the stock that needs using? Why has that dish come back?

During a busy service, there is plenty to think about.

In a small restaurant, the Head Chef may also carry much of the wider responsibility. I have done it myself. But there are only so many hours in a day, and service always demands your attention first.

The costing gets left until tomorrow. Training waits for a quieter day. The freezer will be sorted when there is time.

We all know how easily that quieter day disappears.

The Executive Chef Needs to See Further Ahead

As an Executive Chef, I need to understand what the food operation is doing to the business.

A dish can look beautiful and sell well while earning very little. A supplier can offer a good price on a quantity you will never use. A menu can be so demanding that you need an extra person just to keep up with the preparation.

These decisions affect the owner’s money every day.

My responsibility is to look at the menus, recipes, purchasing, production, people and costs together. I need to give the team clear standards, help them achieve those standards and check that the work continues after the first conversation.

Sometimes that means developing a menu. Sometimes it means opening the freezer and counting what is inside. Sometimes it means spending time beside a cook until a preparation makes sense to them.

The title on my jacket does not make those things happen. The work does.

So How Can I Do This on a Fractional Basis?

Your kitchen needs somebody capable in charge whenever it operates. That daily responsibility stays with your Head Chef or designated kitchen leader.

My involvement is planned around the leadership and support the operation needs. I visit, observe the work, speak with the team, taste the food and review the information. We agree on what needs doing and follow it through.

Some work happens in the kitchen. Some happens over recipes, supplier prices, sales figures or production plans. Between visits, we stay in contact and review progress.

I do not need to stand beside someone every day to know whether an agreed recipe is being followed. I do need a clear recipe, someone responsible for using it, and a way of checking the result. If there is a problem, I need to understand it and act on it.

That is what makes the arrangement possible.

For an owner who needs experienced direction but cannot justify a full-time Executive Chef, it can be a sensible way to give the business that support.

And Then There Are the People

I hear “There are no skilled staff” very often.

Yes, finding good people is difficult. But I think we sometimes give too much weight to the skills somebody arrives with and too little to their attitude and ability to learn.

I want to know whether a person listens, takes responsibility and works with the people around them. Do they care when something goes wrong? Will they ask when they do not understand?

I can teach a willing person a great deal. Years of experience become much less useful when the person refuses to cooperate.

The owner has a responsibility here too. You cannot ask for consistency from the team while changing the rules yourself. People need clear expectations, fair treatment, proper equipment and management that supports the work.

What I Want the Owner to Gain

I want you to understand your food operation well enough to make decisions with confidence.

You should know what the food costs, why you are buying something, who is responsible and what progress is being made. You should be able to walk into your kitchen and understand what you are looking at.

You have invested your money in this business. Your team is putting its time and effort into it. My job is to help that effort produce good food, satisfied customers and a result that makes the business worth running.