Restaurant Management Leadership 101

4 expert tips from #FairKitchens Chefs on restaurant leadership. Seasoned Chefs share their experience:

“The wellbeing of your team is the wellbeing of your business.”

Oron Franco,
Chef & Entrepreneur

When you’re working with few Staff and within tight margins, saving cost and reducing waste will only happen if everyone in the team sees the value to go above and beyond the cooking.

1. Good teamwork starts with good restaurant leadership

Chef Greg Stockdale and five other chefs of the #FairKitchens movement who use leadership in restaurant management share the small things they do that make a big difference to their team:

Stay grounded
Encourage open communication
Establish clear boundaries
Take the time to really get to know your staff beyond their kitchen skills
Give clear and constructive feedback
Investing in your team is investing in your business

Take our free Hospitality Leadership Training Course and earn a certificate of completion

2. Make the team feel valued

In this industry, we spend many, many hours at work: it makes a big difference when you work somewhere that makes you feel valued and respected. Showing your staff that they’re important to you will pay off, in their loyalty and the length of time they work for you. Here are some tips on how to be a good restaurant manager:

Provide time to enjoy life outside of work
Develop skills for life
Offer opportunities to learn
Try something unconventional, like profit sharing

Read more about making staff feel valued

3. Provide Opportunities to Develop

By nurturing the talent and skills of their staff, employers can show good hospitality leadership by helping them build sustainable, long-term careers - and combat the increasing shortage of quality hospitality workers. Chef Jodi-Ann Palmer and other #FairKitchens Chefs share how they encourage development:

Hire for attitude, train for skill
Take a hands-on approach to learning
Encourage staff to ask questions
View mentorship as a two-way process
Take time to reflect on achievements
Focus on your personal growth too

4. Feeding shows caring

Chris Galvin, Chef Patron of Galvin Restaurants in London talks about the value of Staff meals:

“We share lunch together and we share dinner together. We get to chat about everything, we learn about each other.

Giving your Staff a tasty nutritious meal will go a long way to showing you care. A nutritious meal doesn’t have to be costly. Many of our products, like world cuisines, ready to use soups [LOCALIZE: Jess], offer taste and nutrition at affordable cost. Giving Staff the chance to cook dishes for each other from their culture or childhood is also a great way for restaurant team building to connect over Staff meals.

“We have a daily culinary training calendar, so every day the team is learning something new. We throw a ‘battle of the chefs’ in it, which is really fun and gets everyone involved, from dishwasher to cook. Each person receives a mystery basket to create a meal from, and half way through we throw in a surprise ingredient to use. It fosters creativity and teamwork - and keeps everyone on their toes!”

Joe Tripodi, Director of Food and Beverage, Buck Hill Falls

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