If you’re on time you’re already late

Photo by Pierre Bamin on Unsplash

I arrive at work 20 minutes before a shift. Whether it’s a production kitchen in the suburbs or an event on the 82 floor of a Columbus Circle high-rise, I need to transform my real persona into my work persona. Yes there is quite a bit of overlap there, but the professional in me knows that I need to be ready for anything. When you work with fire and knives, mental preparedness costs nothing and goes a long way.

I change the hiking boots for rubber non-slip ventilated chef shoes, which are just about as utilitarian of a footwear style as they sound. I remove my outer layers and slide the crisp white chef jacket out of its protective plastic sheeting fresh from the linen service. Buttoning up the jacket, first the right side, then the left, takes a precise amount of dexterity that I have become accustomed to. I corral my thick hair into a tight knot that fits through the open space in the back of my hat.

Now that I’m physically dressed, I run through an equipment check. My knife bag with all the essentials is ready to go. Chef’s knives, thermometer, microplane, and peeler are nestled happily in their respective slots. Various pens, markers, and highlighters are easily accessible in the pen pockets on my left jacket sleeve. My clipboard is there, smiling at me, with all of the pertinent paperwork for that day’s shift neatly clipped to the front.

I grab my water bottle and coffee, and the transformation is complete.

It’s true that not every single person who cooks professionally needs to operate this way. Many of my crew will drift into the kitchen at 2:59 for a 3:00 start. Or sometimes even 3:05. They will be fiddling with buttons as I give them the run down of that day’s assignments and plans. This is fine. But this is also why I’m leading and they are not.

Successful chefs need to be master multitaskers, not just food wizards. A great leader in the kitchen takes the time to set expectations for the team, demonstrate the quality they want produced, and delegate. Managing all of that plus problem solving on the fly takes a level of focus and mental acuity that I have found only comes with organization.

A mentor once said to me early on in my career “if your surroundings are a mess then your thoughts will be a mess.” She was talking about my cutting board and work station, but I’ve found that word nugget to be applicable in so many situations in the kitchen and beyond.

If you set yourself up for success, it’s more likely that you’ll be successful. Timeliness is inherently important, not just for others’ perception of your competence. Giving yourself the time to turn on your ready state actually saves you from the exhausting task of being ready all the time.