The Chef's Mindset

Chopping and Roasting by The Dysania Concept (2023)

Food is life. Without building a metaphor out of it, food genuinely provides us with the necessary elements to sustain life. And stating the obvious once again, kitchens are where food is made. However, kitchens are also the home of some of the most exciting minds: Chefs. Chefs are the builders of food; they can be anyone and come from anywhere. Your mom might be the Chef in your house, as Wolfgang Puck is in one of his restaurants. Yet, in this piece, we will focus on Chefs who exercise cooking as their profession. So, in this edition of The Mindsets, we’ll explore the qualities, virtues and skills required to be a Chef. As Thomas Keller explained, “A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe.”

1. Leadership

Chefs must be leaders to excel in their cooking. Chefs rarely cook alone in a restaurant, as they usually have a team behind them. This team ranges from a Sous-Chef to Station Chefs and Kitchen Porters. Between all these people, a Chef must lead with passion as they spread and excite energy levels. Additionally, they must lead in an organised way to maximise efficiency in the kitchen and pursue synergy as they build a well-oiled team. Similarly, we must understand the different qualities that a leader requires depending on their situation. Hence, whenever you are in a leadership position, focus on what the situation and the team demand. Once you’ve understood it, build from there. Remember, you are always leading your own path too!

2. Endurance

Chefs depend on their endurance to succeed. Being a Chef is a high-demanding job that demands a high level of physical and mental stamina. Thus, Chefs rely on their stress tolerance and ability to cope with criticism and face expectations to succeed in such a high-paced workplace. A Chef’s endurance allows them to focus on their end goal, being the delivery of a dish or prepared menu, and succeed against well-known enemies like stress and pressure. So, as a Chef does, trust your endurance and constantly work on it. That way, you’ll deal with the harshest scenarios and begin to find the best solutions to their problems.

3. Resourceful

Chefs rely on their resourcefulness to face and solve situations. While cooking, there are an uncountable number of things that can go wrong. Some examples are undercooked chicken, accidents in the kitchen, or even a lack of supplies to make a dish. Nevertheless, Chefs must be resourceful to fill these gaps and solve these problems. More specifically, a Chef relies on their ability to multitask to solve many of these unprecedented situations. Multitasking permits them to focus on several solutions and sometimes even execute them themselves. Therefore, whenever you are pursuing a goal or face a challenging situation, be resourceful to find a solution. Consider all knowledge, tools and people at your disposal, and fight through these obstacles.

Kitchens rank among the highest-paced and most stressful workplaces. Consequently, Chefs are some of the toughest and most versatile professionals. Therefore, we invite you to adopt The Chef’s Mindset. Remember toadapt your leadership style to the situation you are facing. Endure against harsh and challenging scenarios and rely on your resourcefulness to create efficient solutions. But beyond these skills, as Thomas Keller explained, remember all our crafts must be practised from the soul, being the distinguishing factor for the best Chefs in the world.

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