It is no secret that restaurant kitchens will hire just about anyone. Don’t feel like you fit in with the rest of society? Neither do we. Welcome!
It doesn’t matter where you came from, the color of your skin, whether or not you went to college, if you’re an ex-con, on drugs, sell drugs or are Mother freikin’ Theresa, we’ll take you.
There is one caveat though.
You have to consistently show that you are making an effort.
You can’t not care. That doesn’t work. That will make you feel like an outsider and eventually get you fired.
I’ve worked with highly skilled cooks and I’ve worked with cooks who can barely dress themselves in the morning. It really doesn’t matter what your level of competence is, we’ll make it work as long as I see you are trying your best.
There are a couple of cooks I’ve worked with in particular that come to mind right away.
I’d look over at them during service and see them struggling and just before I would walk over to bail them out I would shake my head and laugh internally thinking, “Goddamn you’re a terrible cook, but I love you to death, so as painful as this is we’re going to get through this together.”
It’s your job as a chef to see what those cooks bring to the table. The ones who are really trying. You need to find a way to help them get better.
Everyone’s got something they’re good at. Even if (and especially if) they just make you laugh. Everyone has something they can build on.
Find out what those strengths are. Think about where they will fit best in your kitchen.
No matter how good you are, everyone’s got a weak spot.
Maybe you’ve had thoughts like this about some of your cooks…
“She gets in the weeds if there are more than two tickets on the board, but, damn, she plates that dish sexier then anyone else in the kitchen including me.”
Or, “That kid is late every damn day, but miraculously he’s always set up on time.”
Or, “He can’t temp a steak to save his life, but he’s a beast on pizza station. Look at him over there spinning two skins at once, one in each hand!”
Recognize your cook’s strengths. Empower them. Eventually they will flourish.
Look at personality first when you are interviewing.
You can teach skills, you can’t teach heart.