Practice Introspection

To my students who are just beginning their journey it is all about introspection. Think about your day; the outcomes, the failures, the successes. Learn how to handle failure, otherwise you won't reach "success." Learn how to grow from your failures. And if you think you learn without failures, you're mistaken. You will strike out hundreds of times before hitting that home run. In this case, you'll burn allot of vegetables, proteins and starches before arriving at that perfect plating. The goal is to learn from those failures. You will learn the signs, be able to identify them and don't repeat the same mistakes. The best case scenario would be that you actually mentor and teach someone else from your mistakes. Get in touch with your thoughts, your feelings, your motives.  Chef Leake

Coaching Culinary Champions - Available now online.

Well it's official, "Coaching Culinary Champions" has been published and is now in print and available online from Amazon.com and from Barnes & Noble at barnesandnoble.com. The book sells for $23, new from both sites.

Happy reading! Frank Leake and Mareva Lynde

Coaching Culinary Champions: You, the Team and Competition---Book Availability

I have been advised that the book is still "in process" and "in the system." Since I have no control over the movement or actual printing of the book at this point I would plan on a mid to late July 2008 availability. I wish I had better news but that's my best guess. 

For my students who are scheduled to use the book in their classes, should it not be available prior to the beginning of classes, then the book will be removed from the required listing and a replacement will be assigned. 

Chef Leake, CCC, CCE, CIA 74'

Buy a digital camera and tripod

If you really want to be in charge of your professional destiny, purchase a camera and a tripod, providing you with hands free video recording and journaling of your practices and tasks. Learning how to journal through pictures, video and writing will project a clear path to your target. You will be able to clearly identify your goals and objectives. 

Chef as a Humanitarian

"Never underestimate the power of food. As a chef, you should not forget that it is not just about the restaurant. But as you are taught and learn to cook and eventually become a chef your whole world opens up and you are provided opportunities to see and change the world..." 

Chef Art Smith

Special Events Chef to Oprah Winfrey

National Best Selling Author

Restaurant Proprietor TABLE 52

James Beard Award Winner 

Chicago, Illinois

Read and learn more in our book about this subject from Chef Art Smith.

Consistency in The Professional Kitchen

"Consistency is by far the most important hallmark of any business: it defines to your customers who you are and what you stand for. The commitment to consistency is not limited to product or service, but is required in all aspects of one's business, and for that matter, one's personal life..."

Chef Roy Yamaguchi

Chef/Founder

Roy's Restaurants

Honolulu, Hawaii

Read and learn more in our book about this subject from Chef Roy Yamaguchi. 

Professionalism in the Professional Kitchen

"Being on time, and coming to work ready to work are the signs of a professional. It means not only doing your job, but also seeing what else needs to be done..."

Chef Andre Soltner

Chef/Owner of the famed Lutece Restaurant, NYC and

Dean of Classical Studies, The French Culinary Institute, NY, New York

Read and learn more in our book about this subject from Chef Andre Soltner.

Commitment to Excellence

"The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur." 

Vince Lombardi, NFL Coach

The Book - Update

Coaching Culinary Champions is with the graphic artist and in the final phase of edits. We are looking at a May, 2008 release. Best estimate would be mid to late May. Keep watching the blog for updates. 

Motivational Thought for Today

"If I compete and I think I gave it my best shot, it doesn't matter if I win."  

Mike Ditka

Peeling Vegetables: The Standard

Yes, believe it or not, there is a standard even when peeling vegetables. Learn how to peel an onion and a carrot properly, according to the "expected standard." Emphasis on the term "properly." Even in peeling vegetables, everyone has an opinion. But remember, when it comes to the classical standards, you have no opinion. Classical techniques and sticking to the accepted standard will always provide you with positive assessments and will always win the medal. Like it or not, the standard is the standard. 

Hands-on experiences are a priority.

Learning and practicing the foundations of culinary arts and processes are essential to your long-range success. Application of everything that you read and learn in the classroom must be practiced. Your learning will evolve and you will soon find yourself at a new level of learning. You will soon see the target. You will soon be in reach of the "Gold." Never underestimate your education, specifically the fundamentals of cookery, it is the foundation for everything that lies ahead of you. 

Do you have what it takes?

"The title and privilege of being a Chef is something that you must earn. Getting a certificate or diploma doesn't make you a chef. Hard work, sacrifice, and understanding  that there are no shortcuts, will eventually make you a Chef."

Read more from the book in the section "Being a Chef." by Mareva Lynde & Frank Leake

TEAMWORK (Hawaii's 2007 ACF Team in Training)

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision.

The ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organizational objectives.

It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.

Simply stated it is less me and more we.     ---Author Unknown

Shortcuts that culinary students and competitors try to use.

There are some shortcuts that are used by culinary students and competitors alike. These shortcuts include cutting back on practice time; spending less time than required in journaling and evaluating their own work (self-analysis); guessing at time and temperature requirements; poor planning when it comes to their own time management; questioning the coaches coaching, creating a diversion to hide their own weaknesses, alias="smoke and mirrors"; not following recipes and other technically specific directions...

The list of shortcuts goes on and on. Making it easy on yourself, well that's all that happens, you make it easy. You learn nothing except how to take the easy way out of everything that you do. This habit soon becomes a way of life, it becomes your signature and tells a story of who you really are. You determine your destiny, FOLLOWER or LEADER. You decide, you make it happen. 

A Most Valuable Lesson

John Erskine learned the most valuable lesson of his life when he was only fourteen years old. His piano teacher asked him, "How many times a week do you practice and how long do you practice each time?"

He told her that he tried to practice once daily for an hour or more.

"Don't do that," she responded. "When you grow up, up time won't come in long stretches. Practice in minutes, whenever you can find them---five or ten before school, after lunch, between chores. Spread your practice throughout the day, and music will become a part of your life."

Her advise obviously worked. Erskine became a concert pianist who performed with the New York Philharmonic, and he later served as president of the Juilliard School of Music and director of the Metropolitan Opera Association. He also went on  to teach literature at Columbia University and wrote more than forty-five books. His most famous work, The Private Life of Helen of Troy, was written as he commuted to Columbia.

                                                                                        SUCCESS ONE DAY AT A TIME

- John C. Maxwell

Think about your day

Planning your day out before you arrive to the classroom, the practice session or the work site is imperative to your success. We call this "Psychological or Mental Mise en Place." There is no winning without this. What you formulate in your mind before arriving will pre-determine your outcome. Messy station = messy outcome. Cluttered mind = fewer accomplishments. before your attack a project or task physically, be sure to have it completely thought out in your own mind. Identify the target and stay focused. And above all else have a "Plan B, C, D, etc." Life has a way of getting in the way. Be able to jump to another plan in order to achieve a favorable outcome. "Psychological  or Mental Mise en Place" will help you nail your target.

Be Aware and Adapt

Be aware and learn how to adapt to your surroundings. One must first understand that things in our lives will change. Change is the one thing you can depend upon as a constant. You need to understand that there will be some things that you may be able to control, while others will just need to be let go. You learn that there are times when you will need to just move on. Knowing and understanding that you have choices when changes are encountered will help you to adapt. Adapting to new things and to new surroundings are life skills that must be practiced. Learning to become a cook and eventually a culinary competitor requires great flexibility in mind and body. Train yourself well and be up for the challenge. Never, never give up.

A Thought from a Colleague

"I like your blog and would like to contribute this motivational statement. I am not sure who wrote this but it certainly caught my attention." Chef Wagner

"Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence."

-Author Unknown

Practice introspection

Think about your day; the outcomes, the failures, the successes. Learn to handle failure, otherwise you won't reach "success." Learn how to grow from your failures. And if you think you learn without failures, you're mistaken. You will strike out hundreds of times before hitting that home run. In this case, you'll burn allot of vegetables, proteins and starches before arriving at that perfect plating. The goal is to learn from those failures. You will learn the signs, be able to identify them and don't repeat the same mistake. The best case scenario would be that you actually mentor and teach someone else from your mistakes. Get in touch with your thoughts, your feeling, your motives.

Begin a Journal

Hard copy or electronic, it doesn't matter. You need to begin developing a personal and professional history of who you are. You should set up an outline and begin tracking everything; attitude, responsibility, commitment, punctuality, practice and class sessions and your own contributions to the team and to your own learning. Identify your own personal and professional targets here.

Aspiration

"If you choose a career in the culinary or hospitality business, always remember that it is a celebration. If you are not hospitable, and you do not focus on this aspect, the career may not be for you. Culinary and Hospitality offer wonderful careers, but you must aspire to 100% dedication. Aspire to food as a celebration!!!"

Chef Joe Amendola, CEPC, CCE, AAC

Senior Vice President and Principal of FESSEL International

Ambassador to the Culinary Institute of America

                       1920-2008

      *    *    *  

"These were words that Joe Amendola taught and lived by. Joe was my friend, mentor and teacher of 35 years. Joe will continue being an inspiration. He will be missed by everyone he touched. His legacy will live on." Frank Leake

Motivational Thought for Today

"Remember that winners do what losers don't want to."

A Work in Progress

As you learn to become a cook, as you train and practice your technique, you will soon discover that you are a work in progress. None of this happens overnight. Practice patience along with the technical needs of your classroom learning experiences and/or the competition which you are about to embark upon.  

Motivational thought for the day

"It's not who we are that holds us back, it's who we think we're not."

Seek out a Mentor

A mentor is someone who can help you connect your classroom experiences with that of the real world. Mentors provide direction and guidance based upon their own professional experiences. What we desire of students is taught and learned by example, this is the job of the teacher, coach and mentor. A mentor can bring new opportunities to the table for you individually and for the team. It is the job of each student to pick the brain of his or her mentor. A mentor will help you assess your plans while learning how to set goals and objectives.

Find out what your mentor hasn’t told you. Is he leaving you wanting more?

Coaching Culinary Champions: You, the Team and Competition

Available at all book outlets mid February '08.
ISBN:978-0-9799608-0-2

Watch for next week's guideline --- "Seek out a mentor."

Why does taking shortcuts fail to get you to the target?

I’ve lived this one and I'm here to tell you that there really are no shortcuts. The reality is if you are looking for shortcuts and ways to cut corners you don't belong here. And yes competitors are always trying to use shortcuts. Surprising? No! Of course competitors do, or in my experiences, they try to. Competitors try using short cuts in order to save time. They believe this time savings will provide them with a more direct route to their target, “winning.” Wrong! Practicing shortcuts is just another means of cheating, You cheat yourself, your team, your school and yourself. Cheating in any light is unacceptable and you need to examine why you are cheating right now. Focusing on shortcuts means that you're not practicing the techniques and skills that is required of a winning team. It also means that you are not a team player, you believe it's only about you. What competitors lose sight of is the actual target. Suddenly saving personal time and finding an easy way out becomes the priority.

The target has now changed and can no longer be identified and one becomes a self proclaimed martyr. This is the first sign of “chef action.” Chef action is when you believe you have already arrived at a level of stardom and importance at a level higher than everyone else. Better than all of your team and better than your coach. Chef action means that you believe you are the chef and that you have arrived, you know it all.

Should you even be here? Is it time to get off the competition train and do something else like selling shoes? Who are you really to think that you have arrived? And best of all, where is it that you have actually arrived?