Dear Young Cook—one day you’ll be a chef and you’ll manage the kitchen for a restaurant, a hotel, and more…so it’s a good idea to internalize the idea already that one of the best things for a chef is to connect with or work alongside a professional restaurateur, whether you’re at a restaurant or in a hotel and do not let your ego interfere.

Why? A chef sees and dreams of dishes , creations and who knows what else … the restaurateur sees the practical side of things and understands the public and restaurants needs.

Here is an excellent example of the restaurateur’s thought process (I’m sharing with you here a real event that I love to use):

In this case, the restaurateur is Ron Biala, with whom I worked alongside for a number of months while he managed Trattoria Haba and over all know very well for many years.

our place is a modern brasserie were along side great meals we sell also over the counter great bread made by our very own baker , Inon Haba.

The thought of the restaurateur: “I have an excellent baguette (and the public loves bread), and I have many different types of good cheese that are in my kitchen and that are used for cooking , garnishing etc,,. My goal: to promote the baguette, to create a constant movement of raw material and…to create an additional dish of great value that requires very little work and uses ingredients that are ready to use .

” The result is an impressive tray composed of items that accompany the baguette, which is easy to sell, looks amazing, and for which there is real profit.

for the chef: another item on is menu that makes it attractive, and no extra work or effort to deliver it.

For the observer looking on from the side, there is a plate of great cheeses, a wonderful warm baguette and in other words a great comforting treat.

And For the professional restaurateur, there is a dish that is easy to prepare and that the public connects with, pays for happily; along the way, the baguette is promoted, and raw material is properly utilized—and that is the correct way of thinking.

Thanks for reading,

Michael