Blog – Best Cook

The Beatles, McDonalds and Taj Mahal. Do these have anything in common? They are cultural symbols. All of them mean something. When we picture either one, we can visualize a meaning that is behind them. It is often quite clear and defined. Take Rolling Stones When you see them, they stand for rock and roll mentality that is only synonymous with them. It's hard to mistaken them for another band. To say is differently, culture is the the summary of our beliefs, deep and shallow. Our ways of thinking and behaving. Culture forms the base of our knowledge. It's passed on through generations and it continuously mixed in the process. Some ideas remain the same, whilst novel ones get noticed, tested and incorporated. Thus culture is malleable, ever changing shapes and features to best accommodate those who use it. We must recognize the importance of culture to the point that it almost predicts who one might react and see the world. We must also be able to realize that we are capable of shaping the culture. We are also able to borrow the pieces of it and install it into our professions. Why is it important in a restaurant? Well, what is a restaurant? Economically speaking, it is an establishment that sits somewhere between the farm and the dinner. Socially, It's a place for usually positive affair. Emotionally, It's a place of generosity of care and attention. It's an important place in our culture of leisure. Then it naturally follows that if the guest wants to feel the restaurants culture, it must be clear and pure. It must be unobstructed and unadulterated. Culture is something can be seen, read, but it can also be felt. As soon as you walk thru the doors of the restaurant, much like walking into your grandmas Sunday dinner, you feel the room. You recognize the small details and where the staff is paying the most attention to. Do they smile and greed you right away? Or are they gathered up by the kitchen, tasting food and bullshitting with coworkers? Those are windows that can show that restaurant's culture. Customers, of course know all this, they always know. Because we are all humans, we are quite sensitive to these seemingly "little" things. One might think that location, price and brand name are the big players in the success of the business and they are, but almost all of these are supported by the company's culture. How do we get it? If we realize that clear set of rules for the establishments culture is a must, how do we go about getting it? I believe that it all starts with the founder and is passed along to the operational managers. It is then distributed further along the floor staff. The most important part is that everybody has access to it. It is vitally important that every single worker gets the principles of this particular company culture. Access to it must be readily available. But is the founder job to come up with the operational rules. He or she must establish the set of rules, beliefs and give the staff a fair chance at implementing them into the real world. The founders job is to define the those principles that make up the culture. It is of major importance that the rules exist, because otherwise any rule will do. And that is a great recipe for inconsistency that will undo any goodwill that the founder might have hoped for. Company culture must be established and brought into everyday life by the founder and be constantly maintained by staff. How do we maintain it? How do we maintain our great company culture? Don't we want it to last? If my life has taught me anything, that would be that constant repetition will be necessary. It will have to be practiced daily in order to be remembered tomorrow and the following day. If the rules of engagement are clear, if your staff knows exactly how to treat a guest in any circumstance, then the other half is maintaining it. Be it classes, seminars or meetings, this ritual of contributing to the cause that the founder and the team stands for is daily chore that must be completed. At least at first, but my gut feeling is that the culture dies only after we stop helping to raise it. Thus I believe that it is a never ending game that must be played. It has to be, otherwise we are all take our own way. I say this with daily little management experience of the restaurant. But one thing I've learned from building and maintaining new and reasonably difficult habits into my life, is that a habit must be maintained daily to remain a strong part of your identity. Then if we imagine that culture just as that, a habit, then we can realize the importance of daily ritual of practice. The result. Let's dream for a while now. Say it is the month 14 of your new restaurant business. Congrats, you have made it thru the first year. Odds of survival are increasing. The best news of the day is not the final check average or the fact that you were busy on a Wednesday night, but the fact that you have witnessed one of your staff do the right thing. The company rules were followed while no one was watching that employee. Yes, they have done a great job. Perhaps they we raised in a certain way and their parents are part of that success as well. Maybe this particular employee deserves to run an establishment of their own one day. But what about the manager? He or she have done an amazing job as well! They have communicated the company values in the clearest and simplest way possible and left a positive mark. Now there is no need for correction or intervention or others time wasting activity. There is time for a praise and celebration. That must happen! The employee in question must be acknowledged and rewarded, at least verbally. Believe me then I say, the ower will sleep tighter then he knows that this is the case and the employee will be excited to come to work tomorrow and do it all over again. That is why the company culture is of the most importance. Merci, Andrey.