As the year comes to a close, TJ Garrish, Executive Chef of L’Hirondelle Club of Ruxton, offers sage advice for any club cook taking on their first Executive Chef role.
To all newly minted executive chefs:
Congratulations on your new role.
When I made the leap from sous to executive chef, I had millions of questions running through my mind: Was I ready to lead a team? Would I be able to see the forest for the trees? How would I accomplish all I had hoped? Would I fail? Would I succeed? Was I skilled enough to successfully make this transition?
Just as you will, I answered each of these questions one by one and with each answer, I felt increasingly excited and simultaneously scared. As Executive Chef, you’re at the top. It’s now your job to help the line cooks and the sous chefs. It’s your turn to establish the goals and vision of your operation and to persuade your team to subscribe to that vision.
Establishing a culture is a critical first step for any new leader. For me, at a previous club I was asked to read a book called “The Simple Truth” by Alex Brennan-Martin. This book changed the way I began to think about our industry.
In the book, the author describes how he was always searching for the next big thing to improve the business. In reality, everything he needed was already in place and the team was doing things they were good at while building a culture of service for the customers.
During my time with the club, I realized how important culture is to the success of a club’s culinary program. My former general manager built a culture of going above and beyond for the membership, regardless of the request. Nothing was ever too big or too small. That mentality was perpetuated throughout the club and the team and it has stayed with me in each role I’ve had since then.
I knew when I came to L’Hirondelle Club of Ruxton as Executive Chef that I wanted to build and maintain a culinary culture where going above and beyond for the membership and providing the best service and quality would be foundational. I also strive to apply that same mentality to my interactions with my team. I give them my best and I work hard to provide an environment where they can grow and become the best versions of themselves. I have an open-door policy. If there is anything they want to learn, I will find a way to teach them, no matter if that means bringing in the product in or helping them master the skill. I want my team to feel included in the club’s greater success. I often ask them to offer their opinions on various programs, dishes and decisions. This allows us to grow together as a team. I want them to know that I am here for them regardless of the request, without judgment. This has allowed a very important trust to build within the team.
Being new to the Executive Chef rank, it can be challenging to not control everything right away. When I first came into the kitchen here, I watched and listened. I wanted to see how the kitchen ran without any immediate influence or change. I observed with patience, not wanting to upset any balance they established. Instead, I made notes and wrote down questions to ask the staff. Slowly, I started to see things I would do differently.
I held off for what felt like an eternity before I pulled the staff together and explained my vision. I told them I believed that we could be better and that this team was talented enough to take the program to a whole new level. I began to lay out my vision. At first, they taught I was crazy. But by the end of the day, they were on board. We, as a team, began to build on what was already establish and chart a new way forward.
The membership will be your greatest asset as it has been mine. Be sure to get in touch with the members, to ask questions and to learn what they love and where they think improvements could be made. Take those answers you receive and translate them into change. Again, the culture and vision you are trying to establish will be reflected in your members’ perception of their club’s culinary program. The changes taking place in the back of the house will be seen by the members, whether that’s a change in a purveyor or a modification to a beloved recipe or signature club dish that will not be well received by membership (no matter how much it improves the dish).
These are all hurdles you will find yourself having to overcome.
Your general manager will also have goals that he or she would like to see come to life. These goals might be financial or they might revolve around improvement to quality. My advice here is to listen and try to walk the tight rope between members and management. Usually, these two go hand-in-hand, but not always. This is where you will have to make important choices and decisions. At the end of the day, the members and the general manager want you to succeed. They will help you along the way and they can offer you advice on a multitude of things. If you listen closely and pay attention to what is said, you will excel in your new role.
The mentor/mentee relationship will be at its peak during this new phase of your career. For me, I reach out to my mentors from other clubs to ask opinions and advice, especially during COVID-19. Seeing what other clubs or establishments were doing can help guide you in your decision-making process. Do not be afraid to reach out to other chefs or general managers. Club + Resort Chef and all of its platforms, including the Chef to Chef Conference and the Club + Resort Chef Association‚ are a great place to start.
I have reached out to other industry professionals that I’ve never meet or talked to in order to gain advice or to talk about a technique they used in their kitchen. This is not a time to be shy. Inspiration and direction can come from the unlikeliest of places. Also, if you have not already had a mentee relationship, this will begin to bloom and members of your staff will rise into that role.
This step takes me back to the cultural element I want to instill where I am here for others as my mentors were here for me.
Help guide your fellow cooks. Bring them up and show them new techniques. Prepare them to leave your kitchen and move on to a better position. The greatest thing for a chef is to see a sous chef or line cook they worked with helped achieve the executive chef title. To me that truly means I am doing my job and giving back to the next generation of cooks just as other did for me.