Dallas National GC’s Executive Chef Paul Fisher has made a resolution to enrich the development of his culinary team and service staff.
Most of us start thinking about New Year’s resolutions a few days before New Year’s Eve. Most of the personal resolutions seem to follow the big three: getting in shape, saving more money, and eating healthier.
But what about professional resolutions?
When I think about how to I want to improve myself professionally, I think about what I can do to have a more profound impact on my club. The one thing I keep coming back to is finding new and useful ways to enrich the development of my culinary team and service staff.
As chefs, we all know how important it is to make vendor site visits. It’s important to do this with not just of your mainliners, but the farmers and artisans local to you. We have such a talented and dedicated group here at Dallas National. I want to watch their inspiration grow and see them talk with the bakers where our bread is made and some of the farms where our specialty produce is grown as well as with the family run business that blends all of our coffee and tea.
I have been fortunate to attend the annual cattle auction for the beef we serve here at the club. Every year, I take a short drive from Dallas to Cameron, Texas to visit 44 Farms Cattle Ranch for one of their annual auctions. It is a great opportunity to visit with the owners of 44 Farms and to understand their values and philosophies of raising cattle. It is also a great opportunity to visit with other local chefs that make the trip as well as see the entire auction process.
I am hopeful in the months ahead we can get back to making site visits and I can encourage my team to either join me or make some of these visits on their own. Of course, it has to be done safely with regards to both my team and the sites we visit, but the educational experience and exposure that our staff receives is hugely valuable.
It is personally and professionally rewarding for me to watch their inspiration and excitement as a result of these opportunities. These types of experiences only benefit their development and professional growth, as they continue down the path of their culinary journeys.
