Cooking Up CamaraderieThe Goal: The Chevy Chase (Md.) Club wanted to improve training effectiveness and at the same time foster better teamwork— and understanding of what the “other side” is up against—between its culinary and service staffs. The Plan: A “Front of the House” Meets “Back of the House” Competition was created, using teams mixed according to both operational roles and experience/skill levels. The Payoff: A newfound sense of common appreciation among all members of the F&B staff created lasting bonds. Members benefitted from the competition, too, after the winning dish was put on the menu and participants enthusiastically reported about their experiences. |
Club chefs and dining room or banquet managers—and the cooks and wait staffs they direct—routinely meet as a group to go over preparation plans before a service period or big event, and then again after the smoke has cleared, to review what went well, what didn’t, and make appropriate adjustments.
A friendly but intensive culinary competition among members of the “front and back of the house” at Chevy Chase Club (above) has improved training and teamwork, and even yielded new menu items. |
But during the heat of battle, the sense of teamwork between the two sides of the operation sometimes gets badly frayed—or breaks down altogether. “For many years, private clubs have struggled with ways to enhance the camaraderie between the back-of-the-house and the front-of-the-house,” notes Barry Fritz, Executive Clubhouse Manager of the Chevy Chase (Md.) Club.
To try to give everyone a better understanding of the challenges that each important role in the operation faces when the pressure’s on, Fritz and his F&B team decided to create a new training exercise, designed as a culinary competition, that would not only help to develop more widespread mutual respect for everyone’s roles and expertise, but also promote new friendships and camaraderie throughout, and between, all members of the F&B staff.
The teams for the Chevy Chase competition were created using a diverse blend of not only managers, interns, wait staff, cooks and chefs, but also representing a wide range of skill, experience and age.
“Culinary competitions are not new to our industry,” Fritz notes. “But teaming our most experienced individuals with those who are younger or newer on the staff allowed those with less knowledge to gain a new appreciation for their peers; in fact, they were astonished [by what the veterans showed that they knew]. And at the same time, the longer-tenured members of the staff found the skill sets, enthusiasm and potential of their younger teammates very impressive.”
The competition, which offered a prize of fine wines to the winning team, gave each team a list of required ingredients compiled in a “Mystery Basket” to use while designing a minimum of three courses. Teams were brought in at staggered times, allowing the cold and hot areas of the kitchen to be rotated. Using standard culinary competition curriculum, the dishes were then served to a judging panel comprised of the club’s General Manager, Assistant GM, Executive Clubhouse Manager, Executive Chef, and Pastry Chef.
Each team was given specific time restrictions and once all items were judged, all of the teams were brought into the judging room, to explain why different items were given different ratings.
Beyond building teamwork, Fritz reports, the competition triggered useful conversations as dishes were prepared and plated among the staff—not only surrounding creative issues, but also practical ones involving presentation and service considerations that, if not also handled properly, could spell doom for how a dish was received “on the other side of the line.”
The competition’s top-rated dish (a new take on a bouillabaisse) earned a spot on the club menu, with a special note to tell diners it was the winner of the Staff Culinary Competition. “Our members responded very positively not only to the idea that the [two sides of the operation] came together to learn from each other, but that [the competition] created a wonderful new dish for them to enjoy,” Fritz reports. Individual staff members, he adds, have also enthusiastically described their experiences as part of their interaction with members.
But clearly the best and most permanent result of the exercise, Fritz says, was how it “resulted in a common appreciation [among all members of the F&B team], which has created a lasting bond.”
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