On the way into work this morning I was surprised and happy to hear a piece on how the practice of Mis en Place can help us all in the time management of our daily lives. I’m sure the recognition of the work required in the kitchen was appreciated by anybody who has spent time there. Mis en Place has been an established term in kitchens since the time of Auguste Escoffier. The great chef and father of the grand cuisine who still influences us today saw much in the military that could be applied to kitchens. Our classic uniforms where based on those of the soldier in the hot climate of North Africa. The Brigade system, the underlying structure on which the organization of the kitchen staff was based is very much a product of the military. From our first day of training, Mis en Place or “put things in place” was the basic tenet of our profession. Organization of the station; the food we prep and place in ninth pans, the sauté pans and side towels, the salt and pepper all have to be where they can be grabbed exactly when needed. As important but less often acknowledged is the need to remain clear and unencumbered as we work. You may know that everything in the kitchen is where you want it, but what happens after that pan or product is used? If you are truly going to be on top of your game, cleaning as you go is imperative. The kitchen must not be cluttered with all of the equipment and utensils that you used thirty minutes ago. The kitchen, not just the dinning room, is part of the Ballet of Service we perform during an event. During events you may have a staff member to help accomplish this work but for the day to day it is your responsibility to see it gets done. Often times Mrs. Starkey will offer guests a peek at the kitchen upon the completion of an event. They are curious where, hopefully, such a fine meal came from. How would you like yourself to be seen? What would you like the last impression of your Principals’ guest to be?
As a Private Service Chef or Cook there is much we can do in managing ourselves within the kitchen. Our self-directed motivation requires us to have a clean uniform, a clean appearance, and timeliness in our arrival and meal presentation. Mis en Place requires us to have an organized mind. We accomplish our “to do” lists, and then rewrite them and write them again until the task is completed to the high standards of the household.
All our planning and organization however can be undermined if the execution is not professional. We teach the established wisdom here at Starkey International that we a judged first by how we look, then by how we speak, how we act and last by what we say. If the kitchen appears clean and organized, stress can be eliminated and you can focus your mind on the task at hand and still be able to direct the other activities around you during service. In order for this to happen, cleanliness throughout the day, not just at the end of it, is essential.
Your Principal will notice and appreciate the impression of professionalism you have given their guests. It will give them confidence in you when you fulfill these standards on a daily basis. These are the values that elevate a Private Service Chef above the ordinary. Now let’s cook (and keep it clean !).
Chef Dale Eiden C.E.C.,
Private Service Instructor,
Starkey International Institute
Here at Starkey, we strive to teach the most important lessons of Service Management. We know that two of the most essential abilities of a Household Manager are:
- The Pattern Factor: Seek out and identify procedures and patterns that are regular “ways” of doing things within a home. Follow them until you find out whether they are the real requests or preferences of the family or are “ways” of default established by a prior staff person. Once defined as a preference, make them a written procedure; if they are not, then seek out the preferred way and only then change the pattern by communication and example until it sticks.
- Creating Quality of Life: Task Sheets defined are the list of tasks performed or completed daily or weekly, or even seasonally by staff member within a home. While following established Tasks is essential, it is the role of the Household Manager to be sure the task is appropriate for that day. For instance, if the weather is unseasonably warm, and the stated Task is to “turn on the space heater every morning in the sun porch” you must remember to come back after an hour or so and turn off the space heater as the added heat is no longer needed. Always be in the moment, as your ultimate goal is creating creating Quality of Life!
Would you enjoy managing others to serve the wealthy? Consider a career in Private Service Management through Starkey International Institute.
The Starkey International Institute is celebrating its 35th year in certifying and placing qualified individuals from all walks of life as a second or third career in the profession of Household and Estate Management to manage the homes and estates of the wealthy in the United States and worldwide. These can be personally and financially gratifying positions of which most professionals are unaware or don’t have access to. Salaries in general, not including housing or benefits, range from a low of $50,000 to well over $100,000 annually depending on one’s education and experience.
Furthermore we have financial assistance if needed to help each qualified person desiring to attend our world class, comprehensive certification programs designed to prepare him or her for his or her new career. We also have an experienced placement department dedicated to assisting each Starkey Certified Private Service Management Professional in acquiring full time employment thereafter.
If you are interested in learning more about this rewarding, yet little known, vocation please contact us!
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Household Management Class 120 completed their entertaining curriculum of wine and formal entertaining last night. We often donate our dinners to a non-profit and are purchased by a patron, and this was no exception. The guests, a lovely group of 12, mostly Denver physicians were mesmerized by not only the finally choreographed ballet of service directed by Debra Bullock, but the culinary artistry created by Chef Althoff was absolutely over the top this time. In my world travels, I have developed a pallet, and Chef’s creamy artichoke soup was indeed a masterpiece. Thanks to all, students and staff both at the front of the house and the back. Dr. Lloyd Lewan and I agreed, it was a first class experience!
I am frustrated today with the level of knowledge a few of my current students have exhibited. Now in week four and having completed approximately 150 hours of Starkey education, they have not taken on the conscientiousness or service savvy one would hope for. While they are indeed serious students, how hard can it be to just bring in my daily lunch without someone holding their hand? Sound familiar? “How hard can it be to perform simple tasks?”
In the world of education we all want to be shown exactly how things are done in order to be successful. However, in private service, each Principal may give these students unique directions on how to accomplish a specific task. Now, this is week four, as I stated, and I have held the hand of the first three students who have carried out this somewhat simplified task. They each request that they be individually instructed, as opposed to learning from each other. On the other side of the coin, these are not beginners to service we are educating; these are bright Household Management students expecting to take over the overall management of sophisticated homes. Are we ever in trouble! In reading other industry newsletters over the years, one reads about how to polish silver, wash a fine piece of china, and of course iron a shirt. On the NBC Today Show, Ms. Martha Stewart said a white shirt could be ironed in 10 minutes but Matt Lauer was still stumbling after 20 minutes.
But we are speaking of just bringing in lunch here, not a highly technical, product proven skill! So I began to consider the number of factors associated with bringing in lunch. They have to include: intrusion into someone’s space, privacy of the activities being performed within the space, is the person hungry, what is the lunch, how do you interrupt to ask if I am interested in eating, knowing what the culinary offering of the Chef is, how the food was prepared, what is in the recipe, what beverage would go with the food, where to position the tray, how to put the tray in front of me without disturbing me as I am on the phone, taking just the plate off the tray, and placing it before me as to accommodate a small amount of available desk space, where to stand when doing so, and if one should speak to me or not — to just name a few of the factors. This is a great exercise in service delivery.
In the end, Service Management is 60% psychologically understanding who you are serving and their specific expectations. The balance is technical and you really have to know your Principal.
