Opening a Restaurant. day five & six {for me}

Day One, Day Two, Day Three & Day Four.

Day Five & Six (MON & TUES):

It's all about Interviews. Person after person after person sits down, answers questions, is nervous, is bold, is strange, is late, is not dressed up enough, is overly confident, is overly formal, is bold, is humble, is eager, has never worked in a restaurant before, has graduated from one of the most culinary schools in the country and does not appear to need a job, is young, is queer, is questionable, is freckled, is flustered, is over-qualified, is all of these things.
    What they don't know is I'm a little nervous too. Excited, confused, bored, engaged, succinct, tough, quizzical. I'm learning as I go, too.

And I remember when I started. I remember who gave me my first big job. Fifteen years and I still remember that day.

A few days before I began my interviews I put out a call to some of my colleagues and friends:

"What questions do you like to ask during interviews? What questions do you wish you'd asked of the last person you hired? What's important to you in an interview? What questions have you appreciated hearing/answering?

And remember, I can't trail the person: the restaurant is not open yet."

And then, after the 3rd or so interview I got the hang of it.

This is what I learned on Monday:

    I am afraid of hiring someone who has never worked in a restaurant kitchen before at the beginning of this project. I don't want to scare someone who has no idea what to expect. Opening a restaurant is no joke. I won't have time to care for someone with no experience, not just yet at any rate. Maybe after the holidaze are over...

    I learned how to read between the lines on someones resume. I learned that few people know how to write a resume, know how to design a page for easy reading, know how to make a mark with design.

    I learned something I knew already but these days of interviewing have shown me live, in person:

    That there are few mentors left in my industry. People who take the newbies under their wing and show them the ropes. In queer communities we say that there should always be old butches who become Butch Daddy's to the young ones. The old guard French chefs still take in just turned teens as apprentices, as well most other trades still have a hierarchy so that younger craftsmen don't get hurt doing too much. I realize this is a simplification but

the things is this,

if professional cooks come out of culinary school, not one of them more than 2 years of training max., and consider themselves chefs or get turned into managers after only a few years in the field, pushing out those of us whose resumes demand a higher salary, no one will be around to teach.

In order to learn one must admit they don't know everything.

What I learned Tuesday:

If you want to open a restaurant right, hire a slick, kick-ass PR firm. If you want to learn how these people roll, sit in on a meeting with them. Do some homework and ask informed questions so that they take you seriously from the get go. {Especially if you are the only female on your management team.}

Take notes. All the time. During every meeting, every interview, and especially during the PR meeting. If you don't, you might not remember phrases like:

        marketing collateral      or      we will start positioning you for national coverage      or
                    leverage a third party endorsement     or             buzz building targets

hmmmm.

Interviews can be fun. Although if you have four in a row it can be hard to remember if you're repeating yourself. eek!
Sometimes you can know you want to hire someone even before they open their mouth.

Looking for your own equipment is exciting. Like edge-of-your-seat exciting. Like Christmas-is-tomorrow-morning-and-I-don't-want-to-miss-anything!!!!   

{MY TAYLOR ICE CREAM MACHINE ARRIVES FIRST THING TOMORROW MORNING!}

(MON) day five: 9 am - 7 pm
meals eaten: 1.5

highlights of day five:

one good interview.

1/2 a pastrami sandwich

figuring out the directions on the henna package

(TUES) day six: 7 am - 6 pm
meals eaten: 1.25

highlights of day six:

getting a ride to SF at 6:20 am with DB ---> taking a lot of really heavy stuff to the new kitchen home

being the first one in the restaurant {the pastry chef's violet hour}

  three excellent interviews*

watching new line cooks prep in the previously almost empty kitchen

poaching pretty pears

starting to make my station comfy/ organized the way I want it

a gorgeous staff meal of grilled fish, a lentil-Israeli couscous medley, summer squash and lemon-caper sauce

going to bed before 11 pm

            {*when my whole team is announced/ secured, I will say more.}

attitude on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best: 10

Comments

[puck]

this is another of those posts where i go "damn, shuna is pretty awesome." i'm sad to be moving away in two days because i won't be able to visit the world you've been letting us watch grow.

[Aaron]

This is a warning from the food police...If your meals eaten numbers drop any further, serious action will be taken.
This is going to be a tough time and you need your strength. Take care of yourself. I'm glad you're sleeping, but remember to eat!

[Sandy]

Hey Shuna,
Congrats on the new restaurant! What a fun series of posts - takes me back and honestly glad I'm not opening restaurants any more. Knowing what lies ahead, I second Aaron's advice to eat! eat! eat!
All the best,
Sandy

[Randi]

Love the butch reference!!