
As of the time of this publishing, I will have just served my last day as the Executive Pastry Chef at the Langham, Chicago. I spent five years at the property, beginning as part of the opening team in 2013. Initially I thought I’d be able to write this post pretty quickly, summing up my thoughts and feelings handily. It was naïve of me to assume that, and I was really touched by the goodbyes of my work family, which made writing this harder than I thought. As the impact of leaving the Langham hit me, I realized I’d need a bit more time to process my experience. I’ve had a few days to reflect, and I wanted to share with anyone interested some of what I learned during my time as the hotel’s Executive Pastry Chef.
1. You’re not paid to make friends.
Boy did I say this a lot over the years at the hotel, and I know more than a few of my colleagues didn’t understand what I really meant. I’m not saying what it sounds like on the surface: that it’s ever ok to be mean or rude to someone at work, or that you should go into the kitchen every day with a callous attitude about those you work with, a chip on your shoulder, and looking to isolate yourself or pick a fight. Quite the opposite, I always meant that at the end of the day, the job of managing is filled with difficult decisions, many of which can personally impact others, but your ultimate responsibility is to the success of the company, and so sometimes those decisions are the ones that need to be made.
I never reveled in disciplining someone (unless they were a total ass and deserved it. You know exactly what I mean), or letting someone go, or calling out a fellow manager for dropping the ball, but it’s what the job demanded so that’s what I was going to do. And I damn well expected others to do the same to me. I was quick to call someone on a mistake to get it fixed (and quick to apologize when the mistake was mine), and I was always straightforward in what I said because passive aggressive communication is disrespectful and inefficient. That mentality won’t always make you popular, but it makes you effective, and you’re not paid to make friends.
2. It’s a chef’s responsibility to take the blame in failure and give the credit in success.
This attitude isn’t the kind of thing you can do for long if you’re faking it. You really have to believe you’re at fault when something goes wrong in your kitchen, not just go through the motions of taking the blame. And it doesn’t matter if you we’re directly involved in the error, or were even there when it happened. Mistakes were made in my department when I was in another zip code, but they were still my fault because ultimately the pastry kitchen is my responsibility. If a cook ruined a product, it was my fault for not doing a better job in coaching and training them. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like that kind of mentality doesn’t get frustrating sometimes, but living the attitude that you’re responsible for failure in your kitchen helps you to focus on solutions rather than problems.
On the other side of the coin, I think it’s just good practice in humility and leadership not to take credit for the good work of your department, even if you’re directly responsible for it. If you were able to succeed, it was only because your team was behind you in support and out of the limelight. The life of a cook is too often thankless, and every team deserves the accolades for their sacrifice.
3. A good leader looks for ways to help their weakest link thrive, not ways to let them go (no matter how bad they may be).
Here’s the truth: all managers have, at some point in their career, some truly shitty employees (just like all employees have had some truly shitty managers). I absolutely have. And if you’ve had one, then you know how hard it is to put in the work to help that employee out.
Your best employees are part of what makes the job so rewarding, and they’re the easy part of coaching. They aren’t the ones we’re concerned about here. No, I’m talking about that one person that just doesn’t get it. It doesn’t matter what you say or how you say it, or how many times you give them feedback, they’re seemingly hopeless, and they’ll blame everyone but themselves for their failures. It’s easy to write that kind of person off, to give up on them and let them hang themselves until they have a thick enough file in HR to get the boot. But that’s not what being a leader is about.
No matter how inept a cook might have been, or how much I may have disliked someone personally (although I always did my best to be objective, I’m only human), my role was to help my team succeed. To give up on anyone under your direction is a failure in leadership and a betrayal of the non-verbal contract between a Chef and his/her cooks. You are always there to coach and mentor your team, and that doesn’t include setting them up to fall down. The best part is once in a while that someone you thought could never make it proves you wrong.
4. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
This isn’t just advice for chefs or managers, it’s advice for everyone. A career spans a lifetime, and that means going at it like a sprint is only going to lead to bad things. For the first decade of my life in the pastry world I went at a full sprint. There’s no denying that in many ways it accelerated my career, but I burned out once, nearly burned out a second time, and stood at the end of it all without feeling nearly as fulfilled as I thought I’d be. Something had to change.
There’s a mentality in the food and beverage industry – and I’m sure it’s pervasive over most of the working world – that you should spend as much time as possible slaving at your job, and anything other than that level of sacrifice is a lack of drive, or a lack of teamwork, or whatever. I lost count of how many times I would work something less than a 10 or 12 hour day, and when I got ready to leave, my tasks for the day complete, colleagues would make the obligatory joke about “working a half day.”
The idea is to make anyone that isn’t working as long as you are feel guilty as hell for leaving work when others can’t. Any of you out there who’ve worked hospitality know exactly what I’m talking about. Let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart: F*ck. That. It is time to move beyond this antiquated idea that a life in the kitchen has no room for anything else. First of all, yes, sometimes you have to work a marathon shift to get out of the weeds. Sometimes. But those chefs or managers that can’t seem to work less than 80+ hours in a week no matter the business level, it seems pretty clear to me that they haven’t learned how to delegate properly or organize their day and tasks well. Second of all, and most importantly – life is short, it’s reasonable to assume it’s the only one we get, and working incessantly doesn’t seem to be the pinnacle of living it fully.
After so much time chasing my career as I’d always assumed I was supposed to, I made a “radical” decision. I would be at work when I needed to be, and I’d go home when I didn’t. Crazy, right? The best part is I got just as much done – if not more – following this very rational plan of balance. I was more refreshed when I was at work, physically and creatively. I didn’t feel guilty when I was spending time away from my job which made that time all the more valuable. Overall I was, and am, just happier.
Anyone who tells you that working in food and beverage means completely sacrificing your personal life is flat out wrong. Yes, it’s a career that requires sacrifice, and it means adapting to a different type of schedule, but that doesn’t mean it should consume you. Demand balance, allow yourself rest, don’t let anyone tell you what is or isn’t the right way for you to follow your career. Life is a marathon, give yourself every opportunity to enjoy each step.
Cheers – Chef Scott
Congratulations, Chef Scott, on whatever new adventure you’re planning. I think of you every day as I work in my kitchen and grow my business. Details count, turn the sheet pan around, choux pastry and work smarter, not harder. Just yesterday I hired my first employee so this week’s commentary is timely. I am just a humble baker on the coast of Maine and will never work as an executive pastry chef, but I value what you taught me and am grateful to have met you.
Best of luck to you! My husband and I stopped by Chicago for part of our honeymoon 2 years ago and while we didn’t have time for high tea, I still wanted to try some of your pastries. I was able to order a few items to go and they were delicious. ❤️
As a fellow workaholic, this post really resonated with me. I’m still working on finding the right balance. I’m really glad you found yours.
Leaving can be so bittersweet! Looking forward to reading about what’s next for you Chef! This post has some serious truth bombs that need to be peppered into modern kitchens. It’s time people realize that employees who also have personal lives through a proper work/ life balance are happier employees that have more to lose and gain by working hard at a job that facilitates that kind of life. Keep it coming Chef! Cheers!
Favorite Langham Pastry Memory: Slipping past a mass of protesters and the assembled media, secret agent style, to get to a Travelle dessert reservation.
Seriously though, I can’t commend Scott enough for sticking to his guns and producing so much pastry awesomeness. I observed that most Langham guests expected excellence 100% of the time (myself included, unfortunately). That extremely high bar produces a pressure packed environment. I often wondered how Scott was able to stay for so long and produce at such a high level amid the constant customer pressure and staff turnover.
Appreciate the insight on your success. Best of luck in the future!
Hi Andrew,
Wow, what can I say? Thanks so much for that comment, and for the support!!
Cheers – Chef Scott
good luck on your next adventure! i loved going to the langham for tea while i lived in chicago, and truly look forward to your weekly blog posts! thank you for your solid recipes (fancy or not), explanations in your ingredients and methods and overall insight. i appreciate your dedication (and sense of humor) 🙂
Hi Debbie,
Thank you!! There will be lots more of all of the above to come (except for the tea part, I’m done with the tea).
Cheers – Chef Scott
Best wishes to you on your next adventure. As someone who looks forward to staying at the Langham simply to get to try yet another one of your delicious creations, I am so sad to hear this news. I hope you continue this blog so I can continue to make your recipes at home! Thanks for sharing your wonderful talent, you will be greatly missed!
Hi Kari,
I’m sorry for replying so late! Thank you, both for the kind words and continued support! I won’t be heading too far away, and I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop of what’s next.
Cheers – Chef Scott
Thanks for writing this; it’s truly a gift. Congratulations on your next phase; I hope we get to hear more about it!
Hi Donna,
Thank you! I’ll definitely keep you up to date 🙂
Cheers – Chef Scott
As a humble pastry cook, I alway look at your post and videos for inspiration, and I am alway inspired! Thank you for sharing your advice, I hope to one day have the pleasure of meeting you and working with you!
Thank you for sharing this post. cheers
As a career changer starting baking/pastry school, this really put things in perspective
Hi Jason,
Excellent! I have another post giving some advice to new pastry cooks. Hope you give it a look and can get something useful out of it. Best of luck on your new career path!
Cheers – Chef Scott