Qualities of an Executive Chef
Leadership Qualities of an Executive Chef
Frankie Miranda
Georgia Northwestern Technical College
An Executive Chef is one who is in charge of the entire function of the kitchen which includes; menu creation, staff management, scheduling, payroll, ordering, and plate design. From this definition it is clear that to be a successful Executive Chef, one cannot rely on their abilities in Culinary Arts alone; they must also possess exceptional leadership qualities. A successful leader is one that able to lead a team of chefs and cooks from average to excellent. It is my belief that for anyone to be a successful leader, specifically in this discussion - an Executive Chef, they should have positive characteristics in the following leadership styles: Personal, management, communication and accountability. 1. Personal Style: The Executive Chef should be excited about their work. Their team members should be inspired by them. The Executive Chef should be kind, nurturing, caring, patient, encouraging, efficient, and organized. They should be an individual that team members are not afraid of. 2. Management Style: The Executive Chef should always lead by example and always have a positive attitude. They should always be on time, meet deadlines, pay attention to detail, be persistent, and never lose track of the basics of the Culinary Arts: Quality, service, sanitation and safety. The Executive Chef should challenge their team to display their skills and talents; challenging them to continuously improve their skills and talents. 3. Communication Style: I believe that communication is the most important leadership quality. Without communication the team is not a team; and to be a successful team, there must be communication. The Executive Chef’s communication style should begin with always informing team members of
anything new or any changes. A good tool to use would be a log book that would be used to inform the team of all situations
Frankie Miranda
Georgia Northwestern Technical College
An Executive Chef is one who is in charge of the entire function of the kitchen which includes; menu creation, staff management, scheduling, payroll, ordering, and plate design. From this definition it is clear that to be a successful Executive Chef, one cannot rely on their abilities in Culinary Arts alone; they must also possess exceptional leadership qualities. A successful leader is one that able to lead a team of chefs and cooks from average to excellent. It is my belief that for anyone to be a successful leader, specifically in this discussion - an Executive Chef, they should have positive characteristics in the following leadership styles: Personal, management, communication and accountability. 1. Personal Style: The Executive Chef should be excited about their work. Their team members should be inspired by them. The Executive Chef should be kind, nurturing, caring, patient, encouraging, efficient, and organized. They should be an individual that team members are not afraid of. 2. Management Style: The Executive Chef should always lead by example and always have a positive attitude. They should always be on time, meet deadlines, pay attention to detail, be persistent, and never lose track of the basics of the Culinary Arts: Quality, service, sanitation and safety. The Executive Chef should challenge their team to display their skills and talents; challenging them to continuously improve their skills and talents. 3. Communication Style: I believe that communication is the most important leadership quality. Without communication the team is not a team; and to be a successful team, there must be communication. The Executive Chef’s communication style should begin with always informing team members of
anything new or any changes. A good tool to use would be a log book that would be used to inform the team of all situations