How to Deal with Difficult Chefs

Do you like this post?

PS: Many sexy and smart people have realized that clicking the Facebook like button and/ or the twitter retweet button on this page gets them free promotion ;-)

If there are doctors who feel like they are gods, then there are also chefs who feel like they are godsend gifts to gourmands and food lovers. Of course, with feelings such as this, it is not surprising then to know that anger, irritability, mood swings, and pride are often a part of their nature. They may have the culinary talents to whet appetite and satisfy hunger, but they also have bad tempers to deal with.

Difficult Chefs and Their Reasons

Let us talk about the stereotype “mad chef.”

One person that naturally comes to your mind when you hear of mad chefs is Chef Gordon Ramsay. You saw how his famous temper flew in his hit reality TV show, Hell’s Kitchen, and you also saw how his chefs cowered in front of the great chef and his equally great temper.

Although it is too tempting to think that it was just an act, it actually was not. “Mad chefs” are, in fact, as real as “god doctors.” With this being said, what made chefs more temperamental than others then?

It cannot be denied that the restaurant kitchen is one of the busiest working areas in any profession. People are always running around, yelling to be heard above the clamor, and carrying things all over the place. On top of it all, the chefs also have to pace themselves properly so as to serve all customers the way they expect to be served and cook the dishes the way they expect their dishes to be cooked, lest the customers leave disappointed.

With this hectic atmosphere, it cannot be denied then that tempers will fly, and tempers do fly that many chefs look forward to the end of their shifts to escape the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. And the whole thing starts all over again the next day! The hustle and bustle of a restaurant kitchen is constant that it can really grate on anybody’s nerve. The busier the kitchen is, the more hellish the tempers become. Sadly, there are even some chefs who turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with the daily pressure of a busy restaurant kitchen. This definitely does not help in any way as it makes the situation all the more volatile.

Dealing with Mad Chefs

Short of quitting your job, there are ways on how you can deal with difficult chefs.

In dealing with difficult chefs, you should know that you alone can hurt yourself. If you let his negative comments affect you, then you are sure to feel the pain of his words. I know, this is easier said than done, but through practice and a lot of patience, you can take his negative comments and turn them into something positive.

You also have to remember that their temper is a part of themselves, not a part of you. So if a mad chef’s temper flew, the best way to shield yourself against it is to think that you just happen to be caught in the middle of his tirade.

It will also happen that sometimes your temper will clash with the mad chef’s. For this reason, it would be to your advantage to “count to ten” before opening your mouth and making the situation worse. If you already uttered some mean things yourself, breathe slowly and wait for your patience to return. It will not do the situation any good if both your tempers clash. Remember, negative response breeds negative response, so the more you respond in anger, the more heated the argument becomes. Responding this way is a total waste of energy, and let us face it, what you and the mad chef are doing is affecting other people in the kitchen as well. Negativity is infectious, never forget that.

If you have found the strength to control your own temper and fight back, then wait it out until the mad chef let off his steam. In the meantime, put yourself in the mad chef’s shoes and look for valid reasons behind his quick temper. It would also do you a lot of good if you saw some lessons about what happened and come up with ways on how to avoid future conflicts like that from happening again.

Lastly, if the situation is finally over, never talk about it and stop repeating it to anybody you meet. However juicy it may be to retell what happened, it will not do the situation any good. If you feel the need to “let off your own steam,” write them down on a piece of paper. Just make sure though that you burn it afterward or throw it away, lest somebody gets it and it sparks a whole new argument.

Image Credit: artistrising.com

Popularity: 2% [?]

Currently 4 comments - But what do you think?

Posted on Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 7:08 am
Filed under Chef Chef, ProChef360- General · Tagged with Chefs, difficult chefs, food lovers

Sign up here to ensure that you receive our regular ezine, blog updates and the entire chefs package for FREE! Learn more

Comments

4 Responses to “How to Deal with Difficult Chefs”

Ivan Maminta says:

May 23, 2011 at 5:29 am

‘Mad chefs’ are past their prime, and right now causing a tirade is a sign of weakness among great chefs. It shows how little control they have over the kitchen. Chef Ramsay is a great cook, and he wouldn’t be where he is if not for the signature temper, among other things.

But I admire Chef Eric Ripert for his calm in the kitchen, his mind numbing control. but I digress.

Dealing with a difficult chef should not be retaliated with like arrogance and aggressiveness. I agree it just makes the situation spiral down to oblivion. Take it in. In one ear, out the other. If one takes on a chef in his tirade, the chef would know he had him.

[Reply]
Chef Matthew J.G Reply:
May 23rd, 2011 at 9:50 am
Greetings Chef Ivan,

Thanks for passing by. You certainly have some valid points there.

Best regards,

Matthew

[Reply]
Quinnette says:

July 3, 2011 at 5:22 am

My concern is although I have been cooking for over 30 years, I am just working on a culinary certificate. I don’t take being yelled at or belittled very well. It took years to be who I am and while I am usually very calm and I usually deal with issues before they become heated, I believe that there is a proper way of behaving and speaking to people with respect.

I call all of it the “Rockstar” syndrome. Many doctors and lawyers could not be rockstars but those professions are the next best thing. With the popularity of shows celebrity chefs, they get the rockstar egos as well and in this climate of reality tv, everybody likes a bad boy.

Apparently Ivan, Eric Ripert used to be a maniac but through Buddhism he found calm and he brought that to his kitchen. The article said that before, he could never keep people, now they don’t want to leave.

[Reply]
Chef Matthew J.G Reply:
July 11th, 2011 at 5:29 am
Hello Quinnette,

Thanks for dropping by. I appreciate your in put.

Tastefully yours,

Matthew

[Reply]