What Does the Future Hold?

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This is a pretty serious topic that has little to do with casual travel, and everything to do with the quality of your life on a full time basis. I’d like to highlight a few things that I have done wrong in my career in the hope of assisting you to gain knowledge from my many mistakes over the last 20 years, as well as pointing out others that I have done right. Travelling to gain experience is a valuable tool in the career arsenal, and in this very article along with the following article I would like to cover two important aspects of that. Choosing where to go and who to go with is this week’s topic, and the following we look at the actual job hunt.

The point is, you DO hold your future in your hands, no matter how distant, or ‘at the mercy of elements’ that it may seem right now. Whether I come across as a fool or a sage is irrelevant – the main point of this is to throw a couple of issues out there for some thought.

This week’s topic is probably more useful to the younger chefs in our network – those setting out with only a few years under their belt, and the future stretching out a long way in front. It will also be entertaining for the more experienced chefs who will understand EXACTLY what I am talking about, and will smile or shake their heads. Just for a bit of history, I have sort of screwed my CV from a “traditionalist” viewpoint. Having said that, I am more than happy with where it has led me in terms of skills, attitude, opportunities and experiences. This has ZERO bearing on employability.

I have worked in 5 star hotels, large convention centres, a variety of restaurants, and more. I am a bit of a freak, starting in hotels, having a sterling sprint from the starter gun in a couple of cracker properties. Then I left.

After 7 years in some awesome properties, and getting to CDP level, I then got a bit over all of the politics and posturing, and took the option of contracting. It was quite fashionable at that point, and scores of people were doing it. The good money! My salary leapt from AUD$550 a week to AUD$1300 a week. Interestingly, I learnt a hell of a lot as well. No more hotel structure to support me, so I had to be self reliant.

Thrown into different venues and situations on a regular basis, it taught me to be a more innovative chef with a more flexible approach than I had previously been prepared for. I did this for two years, and streaked ahead in terms of skills and breadth of experience. Bear in mind that my salary leapt from $550 a week to $1300 a week. The flipside is that not many people want to halve their salary. Neither did I. The RIGHT thing to do would have been to celebrate the 2 good years, smile at my bank balance, then bite the bullet and get back to a hotel as Sous Chef and work like a slave at half price, in order to get the CV back on track. Or at the very least, to have had a PLAN for my CV. Some STRUCTURE. Some steady understandable progression. My point is that it is very easy to get caught up in the moment.

To have a great quality of life, or free time, or weekends off for surfing, or loads of spare cash. Listening to your friends, wife, girlfriend, boy friend or family is often not the best way to plan a career. It is also easy to go from opportunity to opportunity without a master plan. I learned a bit later in life that having a set goal for every aspect of life is very desirable. It allows you to move forward in one direction, and stay on track no matter which bend the road may take. If this sounds a bit existentialist to you, let me hammer it home. After an awesome 12 years, you try and get an Executive Chef opportunity in a hotel, but they want to know why you moved out of International chains. You don’t fit the profile they want. You are no longer an “insider”.

You try restaurants, but you haven’t sold your soul for 7 years in a 3 Michelin star hellhole. Then you try catering, but they want some-one who has a SOLID history in that area. The issue is not actually your skills, capabilities, attitude or competencies. It is just that MOST places have a “hiring profile”. If your CV does not fit that profile, then you get binned before interview time. To speak plainly, if you intend to be a hotel Executive Chef – stay with the Chain hotels from Commis to Executive Sous Chef, and your future is assured. You probably won’t even need to look for work. Your chain will provide progression. If you want to be the next Neil Perry or Gordon Ramsay, then start in a restaurant with chef’s hats, Michelin stars, rosettes, or whatever floats the critics’ boat, and stay there. Being a big wig in a hotel will only get you laughed at in these places. Sure, there will be trade-offs, but it will ensure your employability in your chosen field. At the end of the day, the experience which is “highly regarded” will change from year to year. Ten years ago it was all the fashion to have “young Executive Chefs”

Executive Chefs were coming out of well known places, or from under prominent chefs, and at 24-26 years old they were perceived to be ambitious, aggressive and married to their trade. Asian experience is highly regarded, as is Middle Eastern experience. Now everybody wants Michelin star experience. I actually giggle whenever I see a restaurant in Pakistan or Indonesia looking for a “Michelin Chef” – especially as it is the restaurant that holds the stars and not the chef. But that is splitting hairs. I worked for 2 years under a 2 Michelin star chef AND a 3 Michelin star chef – and I learned a lot.

One of the main things I learned was to adapt your skills to your current environment, and work to a business plan, as over 2 years they failed to make a profit and never had a full restaurant. They were “too French” and only replicated what they had done before in France. They failed to understand their target market. But there you go The fashion of “what is hot” will change. But having a solid CV with good career progression doesn’t happen by accident. Think about each job you take, and how it will look on your CV, and how it will help you to move towards your goal.

THIS NETWORK is a great place to get involved – and in fact ANY NETWORKING is good for your career. I have gained a large percentage of good jobs from recommendations, or from people who know me. This includes my current position. Some mistakes I made include:

Trying to be a better chef. Instead of spending all my time focusing on competitions, I focused on being productive at work, and becoming good at my job. I had a great work ethic, and good productivity. My boss was very happy, and I was a very reliable employee. Not many people know this. As a result, no gold medals. Net result? The guys who do the competitions have a more impressive CV. Enter competitions, get involved! This helps you to NETWORK and gets your face in front of your peers and your mentors. As well as being known, you can also pick up some medals and certificates.
Working hard. Actually, this header is a bit ‘tongue-in-cheek’. But a major mistake I made was thinking that staying at work, head down, arse up working hard would get me some recognition as a hard worker and a benefit to the team. It did. My boss was happy. My peers were working hard, but also getting out and about having beers with other chefs, playing golf, and getting into social activities.Funnily enough, while I was applying for jobs through agents, newspapers and internet, my peers were getting job offers from people they had been having beers and playing golf with. Network, Network, Network. A balance between work and play is great, but make sure people know what you are doing, or it is really all in vain. Plus, you get to learn a lot from talking to other chefs about their experiences, and learning from them
Considering money as a key indicator A lot more on this next week, but as a rule you would be making a mistake to consider money as a primary motivator in choosing a role. I have done it a couple of times. Now I have learned. Look at how a position fits into your career plan. Can you afford to take this job? That is a fair question. Consider your financial commitments. Should the highest salary be the one to go for? NO! First consider your long term goal, secondly consider if the job meets your immediate NEEDS also – not your immediate WANTS. Both are different, and learning to distinguish between the two is of great benefit
Losing sight of the big picture. Woohoo. I am back on track! But on a few occasions I have made career decisions based on all sorts of bizarre criteria.Learn from my errors. Always look at where “What you are doing” fits into the big picture. How will it help you get the lifestyle and salary you want a few years from now?

That’s it folks, but more online lessons from this graduate of “The International School of Hard Knocks” next week. Have a productive 7 days, and here’s hoping you kick some personal goals as well as some culinary ones. We are human after all. Right, I’ve been looking at it for the last hour while I wrote this – now I’m going jump in the pool for sure. Chef Shane – The Culinary Globetrotter

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