Mistakes

It's your first night on the pasta station, 60 + on the books (good, a slow night you think) you have thirteen dishes to remember, not only the ingredients and steps of each dish but how long each dish takes, how to organize yourself and all the little details so that each dish comes out perfect (or as close as you can come this time around). The night starts out slow, you taste each pasta and sauce making sure that everything is okay. You have your expo taste and look to make sure you have the right sauce consistency, portion size and that everything is just so. You've been working well; dishes are going out on time, looking and tasting good. Then an order comes in and you realize you miscounted how many spags you have. You've just made a rookie mistake. First you didn't keep a running count, second you didn't put it on count so now two customers are unhappy, your restaurant may have to comp a meal or drink, costing them money and the rest of the table is waiting for their food while your mistake is fixed. This can ruin a night. Of course you will beat yourself and get mad or frustrated, then you'll probably go through and double check all you placè making sure the mistake doesn't happen again, and to be sure, the next time around your going to double or triple check your counts, maybe write them down, you won't let this happen again, never again (at least until the next time). Mistakes happen; it is the only thing I know for sure. It is inevitable with as much going on in a kitchen, each cook not only trying to keep track of him or herself but also of each other, something can and often does go wrong. It is what happens during and after that really matters. Do you work the problem then let it go, coming back to it after service or does it take you and the rest of the line down like into a truly gruesome and hard fight. Often times when a server says they need something on the fly the first thing cooks or the chef may do is try to find out what went wrong. For me I first want to fix the problem, get the food out, and then find out what went wrong. Learning from these mistakes is what makes us better, it helps us to see and get ahead of potential problems. Once you've cost your restaurant money, your guest’s happiness and your fellow cook’s time you'll make sure it doesn't happen again. Some chefs will yell and scream until the problem is fixed, some will just push through, working the problem then talk about it after, finding out what went wrong and what steps can be taken to ensure it goes smoother next time. Neither is truly right or wrong, it really is a matter a personal style. Some chefs are yellers, and some cooks don't work well unless being pushed, and pushed hard. Other chefs are quiet, won't yell but will let you learn and help guide you. I've worked for both and when I get yelled I made sure to fix the problem and work to never let it happen again. I did become very fast and learn how to work the line when I was being yelled at, I didn't learn how to work the problem, how to push past it and recover so that the rest of the night went smoothly. Yelling made a bad problem worse for me, made it harder to recover and move through. I don't like to yell, I have yelled and it is hard not to when it seems everything is falling apart and you are doing everything you can to just hold it together but generally I don't like yelling it adds stress and confusion to an already stressful situation. It also causes communication confusion. My new home communicates and shares info on a level I haven't seen yet. The sous chef told me what he will tell the exec about my first night on pasta, this is helpful. It allows me to focus not only on what I need to improve, but also lets me know if my perspective is in line with everyone else’s. This is all part of the learning process, and isn't that what mistakes are all about?