Too Much of a Good Thing

There's a lot going on, all worthy of separate posts which maybe I'll do. We'll see how things go. First, the food. Changing the menu this time of year is a week by week deal. Things go in and out of season quickly, often going before you've found a dish that really lets them shine. Usually around now I'm knee deep in cherries, but I'm a little reluctant this year with all the rain. Not only is the price high but they're water-logged. At least the ones I've tasted. In another two weeks they may well be over. Perhaps no cherries this year. We've got amazing local strawberries coming along but the farmer needs a solid month with no rain to have enough for commercial production. As it is he has just barely enough for farmer's market. If the weather keeps up the way it's been he may not have enough this year to supply us.

Salmon is a no go for me this year. The commercial season is closed here and though it may not be in my best interests financially I'm going to support our local fishermen by at least not putting out of state salmon on the menu this year. That doesn't exactly translate into support but at least it's not adding insult to injury. I know at least one of my colleagues here plans to do the same.

So, this week we've got olive oil poached halibut with preserved lemon couscous and romesco; albacore with tempura green beans, white bean salad and anchovy aioli; grilled asparagus with poached egg and red wine vinaigrette; sturgeon with fava bean spaetzle and horseradish creme fraiche; spring vegetable risotto cakes with shallot-rhubarb confit; and scallops with pineapple brulee and carrot-ginger sauce. That's at least the new things. About 1/2 of our menu remains constant so we can serve both customers who want a new experience and those who need the stability of knowing their favorite will be there the next time they come in.

We've got some staffing shifts also. Our two weakest waiters are going. One is the sister of a guy we had to fire years ago and I guess bad behavior runs in the family. Hers is a little different variety, she's greedy. She's always worried about being skipped in the seating rotation, didn't want to tip the hostess when we hired one to replace the GM on weekends, tips the bussers and the kitchen a a very meager amount, is always monitoring the schedule to make sure she is getting enough shifts, etc. At the same time she can't make too much money on paper because she has a medical condition that requires daily medication and if she passes a certain threshold Medi-Cal doesn't cover her. We are all here to make a living and I don't fault her for wanting to make sure she gets her needs met. We have found however, that the best way to make a living in the service industry is to provide good service. Everything else flows from that. Yes it's true that you can make a better living by working for places that are busy, have good food and where you are well-treated so if you are working in one those places (like our restaurant), focus on doing your job. The money will come believe me. No this isn't some New Age dictum, it's just a fact. If you provide good service you will, on the average, be rewarded. Will you get stiffed? Yes. Will you get skipped in seating? Yes. Will you have to give away some of that money to the people who make it possible for you to earn it? Yes, although that is not legally enforceable. Morally, however sharing is a good quality.

We were going to have to deal with this person for the entire summer, but she gave notice. Yes, we could have and perhaps should have, let her go but while her behavior was irritating, they weren't actually firing offenses. Also, we seem to have one of these kind of people on staff at any given time, so perhaps it's something we need organizationally. At the Zagat forum on hospitality a few years back one of the panel discussions talked about personality types and balancing your staff. If everyone is perky, talkative and cheery, maybe you need someone who's more grounded and serious to balance things. So, if most of our staff is helpful, supportive, ready to pitch in and happy, maybe we need someone who's miserable, worried about getting their share and selfish.

The other one who may be leaving has a management offer on the table from her other job. I wouldn't take it, but I understand why she might. She's not bad, she just has a hard time when things aren't perfect and while being a perfectionist can work to benefit in this business, it can also cripple you on a busy night when your section is full. Being able to let your anal tendencies go by the wayside until you've dealt with customer needs can be crucial.

We were already looking for people when the first mentioned gave notice. This solved a dilemma for us. We had interviewed 5 people and 4 were good candidates, 3 were really good candidates, all for different reasons. Usually when we're in need we have only 1, maybe 2 interviewees and the choice is relatively clear. This time though, we thought we'd be hiring 1 and the GM and I were split on who it would be. We could see the merits of the other's choice and the decision was going to be painful. We had then come to the idea of maybe hiring 2 of them and still the decision seemed split. We decided to let it sit until the next day when one of the waiters said she'd had this offer from her other job. We decided to hire all 3. The next morning the greedy waiter gave her notice. Dilemma solved.

Now comes training. We'll go over that in another post. Also suppliers, a topic for another day.