My Word & Stars

Friends & Family
I'm sorry that it's been a while since my last post - I got a little busy at work, LOL!
So here's to a prosperous, productive, joyful and abundant 2010; it's empowering to know that we all have what it takes to make this year what we seek - staring with today!
Rock On!

551 Resumes

All the bad press, sour statistics and droning talking heads can best be summed up by the email I received the other day:

‘Dear Chef,

We met several years ago when you were working at X restaurant. Last year the company I worked for moved me to another restaurant. Things got very tough financially for the group and since I was last in, I was the first to go. I live in Boca, have a wife and two children and am a very hard worker. Can you help me find another job?

Lost in Boca’

You can talk statistics all you want; 14 million unemployed in the nation right now. But nothing brings it home quicker than a compelling story from someone you know in real need. The frightening thing is I get at least one email like this a week.

As my story has unfolded over the past year I’ve found myself in this very same scenario. Since my last full time position was eliminated a year ago July I’ve been right in the mix and discovered for myself how tough it is to land a job right now.

Someone told my ex wife of my predicament and she said, ‘Nothing to worry about, Adam is always working.’ It’s true, whenever I found myself out of work, for whatever reason, I was employed within three weeks – the ink on the Cobra plan hadn’t even dried. This time, it’s been a little different.

Emotionally these circumstances can take their toll, leading to questions about self worth, skills, abilities until one is left with a simmering doubt that will not be of any use in securing a job.

It’s imperative that one keeps they’re head up, shoulders squared and completely confident of their skills and the ability to execute at a high level or a prospective employer will sense the doubt, taste the bitterness or hear the frustration in the answers to their questions.

Get up in the morning, have a routine – any routine that gets you geared up, mentally clear and focused and grateful that another day has risen and opportunities exist out there, somewhere.. Be workman like, even if you’re working from home; dress appropriately, pack or plan a healthy lunch, take time for reflection and then get back out there!

During a recent interview I was asked, “So you’ve sent out 10 resumes a week for a year? Why do you think you haven’t been hired?”

A good question with many answers.

As with any recession and there have been at least 5 in recent memory, labor is always a lagging indicator. Business dries up first and then staff starts losing jobs. Once business comes back many operators will hold off hiring new staff until the last moment, hoping to recoup losses incurred on the way down; thus the lag in labor numbers.

In the news they’re quoting statistics now that the jobless rate went down last month – the first time that’s happened in over a year – but the real truth is that some of those folks have stopped looking; instead contracting their expenditures and relying on government programs to keep their lives together.

The Hospitality business is hurt more than most because we rely on the good fortune of others to fill our pockets; all across the board restaurants are suffering – special occasion, fine dining, resorts, fast casual – the only sector to hold their own is fast food because they have the resources to weather the storm and offer deeply discounted meals which appeal to the price conscious.

My best friend who is a chef at a 5 Diamond resort in the west has seen the organization lose 6 chefs in 12 outlets and none of have been replaced, none.

None of this however is news to any of us; for the most part we’ve witnessed it with our own eyes. In talking with Dave yesterday, the worry was clear on his face, ‘The street has really taken a pounding.’ He realizes that if he’s to survive he needs to aggressively alter his business model and offer a more competitive menu as well as tighten his staffing levels – ‘In the end, I still want to open.’

Some operators, sensing an opportunity, have drastically slashed salaries; having done so with a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude. Some have gone out of the box as far as their compensation plan offering wellness programs and housing in lieu of payment for a start up. To a professional who is at the beginning of their career with little or no financial obligations that may be a very rewarding way to go but with anyone with a car, house or child support payment it could prove to be a precarious place to start over.

Some have had such a huge response to their open position postings that they, quite rightly so, have decided to take their time during the hiring process – sorting through the candidates, interviewing up to four times, having mystery box cook offs, theoretical menu writing for a ‘sample’ restaurant, one has even asked that applicants send a YouTube type video so that they can get a sense of the candidates’ personalities as well as the ubiquitous Minnesota Multiphasic personality and IQ testing.

Recently I went on an interview where the respondent had had 551 resumes sent in, in the first week – 1,000 after 10 days. This brings up a great question – how can anyone review accurately 1,000, 500, even 200 resumes? The answer is, they can’t, after a while the eyes start to glaze over and the words start running together – ultimately the brain locks down in information overload. Resumes are, after all, just a bunch of words on a page – nothing more.

So what happens if you sent your resume in on day 2 of the posting and you’re now number 321? Any chance at all that your qualifications will be seriously reviewed or does it now begin to look like an exercise where the manager is looking for key words, code phrases, or lack there of?

Would a gap in employment in this economy speak to anyone’s capability or skill set? Probably not, yet most managers would quickly give that resume a pass.

So how does one go about being noticed?

Well let’s first talk about a strategy for finding fulfilling employment.

First and foremost consider your resume. Does it speak to your talents, strengths, passions and the asset that you could be to an organization? If not change it, there are some employment sites on the inter net now that will do resume critiques – they’re trying to sell their services but you can still get good feedback without having to pay for an overhaul. Right now be very careful about over stating your past positions. I was told by a prospective employer that I might consider ‘dumbing down’ my resume. I was shocked – after 20 years of earning my laces I was being told to tone it down. I didn’t know if I should have been offended or just depressed but he was right. In this economy employers will first be concerned about one’s longevity – it costs money to hire and train staff and no one wants a staff member to jump ship 2 months down the road once they get a better offer, no matter how convincing they are during the interview.

‘Owner’, ‘Partner’, etc. are all red flags to some employers – it can be very intimidating to some if they think that their crew knows more than they do – we know that that’s dinosaur thinking but we’re about finding a job and putting food on the table, first.

www.simplyhired.com is a great site that polls listing from other sites into one place; you can even set up a ‘search agent’ to scan listing and have the results emailed to you.

www.hospitalitycrossing.com is similar but is a fee based program that, from what I’ve heard, has some impressive results

Still and all this is just detail – a resume will not get you a job nor will endlessly sending resumes out get you to an interview.

It’s about your network! We in the business make fast and hard friendships with the people we work with but we’re the worst at keeping those friendships fresh and up to date. After all we’ve got businesses to be run and money to make and very often it comes down to putting your attention and intention on your present circumstances. SOS, Taste of the Nation and other events like it are great because it gives professionals an opportunity and an excuse to network and find out what’s been going on over the past year. But in this day and age we cannot be that complacent if we are to be successful in this field – it takes constant networking and being in service to other.

Unlock your rolodex and fire up your Outlook; it’s time to reconnect with some of your compatriots and brother sisters in arms. Touching base with them is a great first step; let them know your situation and make sure they have a copy of your updated resume. Very often if they don’t know of anything within their organization they may know someone who’s looking for help.

Very often savvy recruiters will send an email extolling the virtues of a position that they’re working on. Sometimes they’re fishing to see if you’re in the market for a conversation but in order to be politically correct the email will state, ‘If you know of someone who may fit our profile…’ What they’re really asking is if you’re interested but if a friend or old co worker gets a similar email and they have your resume on file, the chances of them playing matchmaker are very good.

www.linkedin.com is a great place to start, a ‘FaceBook’ for professionals if you will; post a profile and then ask co workers to write recommendations for you – there are also some great on line associations and groups to join and network. I include my own for a reference: http://www.linkedin.com/in/adamlamb

One of the very cool facets of this website is that it links to other job seeking websites and on a particular posting will have an ‘IN’ icon next to it; this usually means that the company or one of it’s employees in listed on Linked In and you can follow up on your resume submittal making reaching out to a current employee.

Upon hearing of a job opening at a restaurant I immediately started searching my memory to see if I knew someone on the inside. It turned out that someone I knew worked as a manager there and was able to give me some valuable insight about the operation and the players involved.

Ultimately one needs to get past the ‘gatekeepers’ of the position posting to make contact and start to establish a viable relationship with the person with the final say so or else you become just another name on a piece of paper.

Think outside the circle – when Matchbox 20 wanted to get signed by a record company they posted themselves in the lobby of the building where the record company was located for a couple of days and handed out free slices of pizza with their debut CD.

Once, with the help of an insider at the company I catered a business lunch for the CEO and his team of bankers as a way of introducing myself and marketing my skills.

www.squidoo.com is another great professional networking site.

All these are meant as jumping off spaces in order to get the word out to your network that you’re looking for a new opportunity – to a certain extent you can also use your FaceBook account to do the same. Always be professional in your networking and ask permission first before you send any information out – nothing is more annoying that an email blast to no one in particular; this is about establishing, cultivating and honoring professional relationships.

In every case always end the conversation, as my dear friend Clive Solomon would coach, ‘Do you know of anyone else that I could contact and would it be okay if I used your name in the introduction?’; polite and professional –always.

Professional Organizations and Charities are also excellent venues in order to connect with people in the know when times are tough. Search for, and join a one or two professional organizations that speak to you and attend meetings regardless whether you’re working or not. If you have extra time on your hands volunteering for a charity that you can be passionate about can have a powerful effect on your community in times of need and can be a great boost to your self esteem and ground you in the fact that you may be better off than your circumstances may permit you to believe and find a new job or opportunity in the process.

Lastly I want to talk about the greatest resource you never knew you had – your vendors. Vendors appreciate loyalty and if you’ve been doing business with someone for a long time and that relationship is something that you can count on, ask the question.

What’s happening on the street?

Have you heard of anyone opening a new restaurant?

Have you heard of anyone who might need someone?

They are your secret police, your CIA, in the trenches and in the know. They’ll help for several reasons. First it makes good business sense; if it’s an account they service, they’ll want to see a friendly face in the new position – if it’s an account that they don’t service, they may just get some new business. They make it their business to know what’s happening in the street and if you haven’t asked them then you’re ignoring a great resource.

I recently went on an interview; I had submitted my resume and written a great cover letter. Then the manager received my resume from a vendor, he asked only one question – ‘Is this a guy I should be talking to?’ Brendan said, ‘Yes.’ When I asked the manager whether he would have called me without the vendor recommendation he shook his head slightly and said, ‘I, I don’t know’. But here I was and I had a shot.

Nuff said.

Thanks Brendan for your belief in me when I had little and your support when I needed it the most just because you care.

Cooking for Fun and Profit

Last week I was able to get past the gatekeeper at a local, high profile seafood restaurant for an interview. My long standing relationship with a vendor paid off when he gave me a call about an open chef position at the restaurant and agreed to forward my resume to the General Manager. As it turned out I had worked with one of the front of the house managers in a previous life and was taken aback when I called her expressing interest about the vacancy.
'It didn't even occur to me that you might be interested in the job' she exclaimed.
By the time I had gotten to the interview the GM had two glowing references before I had said a word. The interview progressed with a comfort level usually reserved for a long standing friendship rather than a potential employee and suddenly I watched the stars align as he asked me to come back on Friday and cook for the owner.
He confided to me that they had received 551 resumes and I hadn't even seen the posting. He had gone through about 125 before his eyes started to glaze over and he realized that words on a piece of paper do a poor job at representing someone, no matter how well it's written.
I heaved a sigh of relief. His experience showed me, all too clearly, how hard it is out there right now for anyone looking for work by just submitting resumes and going through the usual process, regardless of how diligent they are.
Gotta get past the gatekeeper somehow.
Friday morning I woke up, wrote in my gratitude journal and opened the book I have been reading, 'Change your Thoughts, Change your Life' by Dr Wayne Dyer based upon his interpretation of the Tao - the oldest book of wisdom ever written.
I read Verse Three:

'Putting a value on status
will create contentiousness
If you overvalue possessions
people begin to steal
By not displaying what is desirable, you will
cause the people's hearts to remain undisturbed

The sage governs
by emptying minds and hearts
by weakening ambitions and strengthening bones
Practice not doing....
When action is pure and selfless
everything settles into its own perfect place'

I laughed out loud, got dressed and focused on 'not doing'. When I got into the kitchen I took a deep breath, got centered and imagined 'everything settling into its own perfect place'. In an hour I had knocked out a couple of portions of Shrimp & Grits with a Watercress Salad and Chive Au Buerre, Sauteed Sea Bass with Grilled Asparagus and Garlic Mashed Potato with a Citrus Relish and finished the presentation with Yucca Crusted Grouper with Sweet Potato Hash and a Roasted Corn Sauce and laughed the whole time knowing that no matter how things played out after the tasting - for the moment, everything was perfect and in it's place.
And so was I.

The Science of Hospitality

I've completed my first ebook called, The Science of Hospitality. For a month, I'm giving away a free copy to anyone who requests it simply be emailing me at cheflam@aol.com. Put the word 'Science' in the subject line and I'll get a copy to you right away with the request that, after reading, you send me your feedback so I can continue to make these ebooks something of real value for my readers.
Be A River!

Setbacks as Oppotunties

In my last post I waxed ecstatic about going to work at a small Italian restaurant in Boca. It was in the midst of a ownership change and I got involved through a friend of a friend. Because of the way I came to the job I didn't do my usual due diligence and it became a hand shake agreement. There was initially a little conflict in exactly who was going to be in charge of what but I figured everything would work itself out.
After the first week of working with the old chef cracks starting appearing in the organization; I took one person's word for how and how much I was getting paid even though someone else would be in charge of cutting the check and as the ownership change hadn't gone through yet I was left wondering how this was all going to get taken care of.
The next week the old chef started to balk at showing me all the recipes since the deal hadn't gone through; old school mentality - no money, no recipes.
I cleared all this with the money guy and he implored me to keep showing up and that he would 'take care of me'. Needless to say my check wasn't there on Friday as previously stated and I figured I would give it one more week.
The deal still hadn't gone through and the chef now wouldn't even let me suit up, so I cleared with the folks in charge and they told me to. 'take a job till the details get ironed out'; as if they're so easy to come by.
It's been a month and I still haven't been paid. I would make calls everyday and get more and more frustrated; my bank account now was upside down and the friend of a friend now pleaded ignorance.
How in the world could I have put myself in this position, I asked myself. The negativity of my situation was starting to color my outlook and even, heaven forbid, my self esteem.
My emotions scrambled, I decided to take the long view and wrote the following for ITB mangazine; I hope that this will serve anyone in this time of uncertainty to see that, even when things don't always go the way that we imagine there's still something to be gained:

Gratitude
Last month we went over the importance of energy as it relates to how our minds’ attitude affects our feelings which resonates with a particular pitch of energy – in many ways we don’t get what we deserve but rather we draw to ourselves what we most resonate with; what we resist persists.
We also went over how, given everything being equal between two operators, chefs or servers, the one that works at finding the best in the most daunting situations will be the one that will be successful regardless of money, talent or effort.
In his landmark book, ‘Power Versus Force’ Dr David Hawkins was able to calculate a hierarchy of emotions based on the science of kinesiology. Rage and Anger were towards the bottom of the list, he and his team were able to show scientifically how those types of emotions actually makes one weaker. Acceptance was the middle or neutral emotion with Gratitude being at the top of the list of emotions and the one that makes one emotionally and physically stronger; even above that of Love or Happiness.
It turns out that an ‘Attitude of Gratitude’ is the emotional state that resonates or vibrates the highest amongst all possible states. If what we resists, persists then we set up an energy field around us that continues to reinforce the way we feel and can only bring us more of the same; that’s why constantly stating and feeling like something is missing or incomplete will only result in more of the same.
On the recommendation of a friend I took a handshake deal to work in a small restaurant in Boca that was undergoing an ownership change. I went three weeks without getting paid before I thought that I should stand for myself, friend of a friend or not.
Turns out that I’ve been chasing the principal in the deal for a month to get paid; calling sometimes three times a day, cajoling, pleading, shaming – I was ready to try anything to get paid. First came the promise of the wire transfer, then the FEDEX package, then – well, you get the picture.
The worst part of it was that I was starting to lose myself in the chase, not only was my bank account upside down but emotionally I started to feel like a fool, a failure or at the least a dummy for having allowed myself to get in this position. Every day I would start fresh, feel confident and by mid afternoon I’d feel mad, sad, taken, used, abused and a total sap for being so trusting in the first place.
Emotionally this started to affect all my relationships and before long I sounded like a broken record; one I didn’t even want to listen to anymore.
I had forgotten one very important thing – how Grateful I was for this experience.
I was suddenly and irreversibly thankful for this man for all the things that I had learned because of him; things which I couldn’t have learned any other way in such a way as I’ll never forget, nor in some cases one’s I never had the stones to ask: Who’s in charge, really? Where’s the money coming from? How well are they funded? Always have a written agreement, always be clear on the terms and you only have one chance to make the deal so strike the best one you can; one can never, ever go back.
No matter how bad things are, there are always reasons to be grateful – our health, our integrity, our families, our reputations and our possibilities. Even though I haven’t seen any money, it no longer matters so much to me because I ended up getting something much more valuable – wisdom earned.
My Attitude of Gratitude will inevitably bring me my perfect job, which I see as clearly as day and all the abundance I can imagine because, in my heart, mind and soul, it’s already mine and for that, I’m grateful.
Next Month; The Success Paradigm

In Defense of Chefs

~from dinnerreviews.com~
A couple of weeks ago I took a sabbatical of sorts from my consulting work and writing to get back in touch with something I had lost; my love for cooking – my passion to be in service to others.
As such things go, a friend of a friend makes a phone call and I find myself in a small, intimate Italian restaurant in Boca. The names have been changed but it’s something like, ‘Alfredo’s Tuscan Grill’; the kind of restaurant that we’re all familiar with, white table clothes, informed waiters, an expressive wine list and a sound, grounded Southern Italian menu. It turns out that the owner, the chef, after being in the same location for 25 years had decided to retire to his importing business and to spend more time with his family. The only person he felt comfortable selling to was his nephew.
I was brought in to learn from Chef Alfredo; mimic his techniques, taste profile and cooking methodology – the thought being that the established and loyal clientele would crave Chef’s food even when he’s gone – it’s ‘Alfredo’s Tuscan Grill’ after all.
I spent a few weeks shadowing him while the details of the sale worked it’s way through the legal and financial morass that’s killed many a deal. I silently took mental notes on a spoon full of spice here a dash of aromatics there – no recipes written down of course. I strained past chef’s shoulders to watch him make Tiramisu and Ricotta Cheesecake; Filleto Pomodoro, Sauce Ragu and how he built a sauce Sorrentina in a pan at the last minute.
All these things I memorized till I felt I was ready to take control and run a shift on my own.
I had everything down except for one thing, I was not Chef Alfredo and that’s who the guests were coming to see.
I had recognized the European business model early on in my training; it’s something that we American’s have either forgotten or overlooked.
In my own experience in restaurants in Paris, Bern and Locarno Switzerland, The Black Forest in Germany and throughout England I saw first hand how the Chef ran the show. The Chef was there at the front door to welcome his guests, to cajole and joke amicably with his friends, to suggest new menu preparations or to hint at hidden gems in the kitchen not available to all. If there were front of the house managers or General Managers, they all deferred to the Chef as being the resident expert and the true reason that guests came.
Chef Alfredo worked in the same manner, showering his guests with attention, shouting into the kitchen to his assistant, with a knowing wink, to use the freshest mussels for table 5; hurriedly running into the kitchen, with a flash of hands over a pan personally perfecting a dish for table 8 - all the while choreographing the movement of the staff, the tempo of the dining experience, the lighting, the music and the final rounds of Lemoncello.
That’s the European way; something that we in America have held at bay, preferring consistent chains, cookie cutter food, systems, efficiency and profit over passion, daring, family, closing for a month in the summer to give everyone the same holiday off and the feeling of inclusion.
Somehow I think we could use a little more of later and a little less of the former; for guests and for staff.
The thing that Chef Alfredo, I and the legions of our brothers and sisters in arms who are connected to the sanctity of our chosen craft offer is not food nor ambiance but relationship; a connection to something bigger than us, a family, a home away from home.

In these days of contracting economies and declining checkbook balances there’s something to be said for a place where the chef knows your name, where he greets you at the door and whisks you off to your table; where you feel doted on and included in the mystery of food, libation and good friends.
There’s a large, affluent family of contractors from Philadelphia that come into Chef Alfredo’s once a week; one side of the family one week, the other side the next week. As they walk in the door, depending on which side of the family it is, the staff starts to buzz and orders are being fired because, without fail, they order the same appetizers every time to start. It’s as if coming to this restaurant, sitting around their table is a ritual of welcoming, of coming together, of embracing once another after a hard week out in the world. Chef Alfredo provides this family with the opportunity to come together, once again, to savor something familiar in a world of constant change and to let them get back to what’s truly important – each other.

If you only could only afford to go out once a month wouldn’t you choose a place, and an experience that goes beyond eating and epitomizes the best attributes of dining?

I’m not Chef Alfredo, nor will I ever pretend to be, but what I’ll be there, at the front door, welcoming you in, grateful for your presence and quietly telling you about all wonderful dishes I have in mind, only for you. There’s nothing finer than taking a group of your friends to a little out of the way place just because, ‘The chef is a personal friend of mine’.

Contrast as Clarity

Everyone needs to make a living, not everyone needs to ‘work’. I believe that too many of us have allowed the fear of financial security, or the lack of it, to swallow us up whole and allow our circumstance to completely consume us; forgetting that work, or the pursuit of it, is a poor substitute for actually living our lives, connected to our families, our creative spirit and our communities.
At least I was.
Last month I wrote about the strange way life seems to work and the possibilities we find ourselves in if we allow them in to our lives. It looked like I had found a job that would challenge me intellectually and stimulate my passion. It would mean that I would be slightly outside my comfort zone and precipitate a steep learning curve. I believed in all of it.
Alas things didn’t work out the way I imagined. It wasn’t for a lack of trying; I put forth a mountain of effort everyday. The concept was solid, brilliant minds were in play, the future looked limitless. Yet something was nagging me in the pit of my stomach and I chose to ignore it; everyone needs to earn after all.
But in the last couple of months I had forgotten something fundamental, lost something quite important and it eluded me for many nights until one morning I went down to the beach, sat and watched the waves come in.
Then I remembered.
Twenty five years ago, as a hopelessly romantic teenager and half hearted dish washer, I watched two women work the kitchen in a restaurant. A local 24 hour joint called ‘The Big Wheel’ on Indianapolis Blvd in Hammond Ind. It was a Saturday night and the ticket wheel was full and spinning, guests jawing with one another about the days events; the stalwart gals behind the counter cracking jokes with the regulars and making them feel right at home.
Back in the kitchen, Artellia White and her compatriot moved together, assembling orders, wide grins on their faces; silently engaged in what I would come to call, ‘The Dream of the Dance’ – a perfectly orchestrated symphony of movement, smells and action.
It was at that very spot in time, in that very place where I said to myself, ‘I don’t know what that is, but I want me some!’ and set out on my course to become a great chef.
In the intervening years I was reminded of what Lori Walker, a sous chef of mine once told me, ‘Adam you weren’t a very good cook when I first met you but you have become an excellent chef.’ If you know Lori and have had the profound blessing to work with her, you’d know what tall praise that is.
I came to realize during this last work experience that I like being called ‘Chef’, I like the preparation, I like the music of the ticket machine during service and I love bangin pans.
It’s what I got into this business for and I owe a debt of thanks to Artellia White, Lori Walker and the legions of co workers, artisans and professionals who have helped to hone me into who I am today.
I had forgotten all about that, but I remembered.
As soon as I did, a position was offered, accepted and I am now joyfully back to cooking – back to my joy; all else in irrelevant.
Find out what gives you joy, celebrate it, do it – every day, stay with it – be consistent; all else follows, money, position, respect.
Coming from your heart is the only way to earn a living, everything else is just work.