Making Your Move From the Back to the Front of the House

If you've succeeded as a chef or back-of-the-house manager, it is only natural that you want to take your show out front. Like the Wizard of Oz, you're the guy or gal who creates the magic. You're an athlete and a conductor. The back of the house is physically and mentally demanding work. And on those perfect days when the back of the house is humming like a Porsche's engine, you probably believe you can do anything, including stepping up to the general manager or owner role without a hitch.

And you very well might be able to do so. But if you're like a lot of fine chefs or kitchen managers, it might not be as easy a transition as you think. Consider the television show, "The Restaurant" as a cautionary tale. It gave us a glimpse into the trials and tribulations of a celebrity chef-turned-restaurant owner and manager. While Chef Rocco is a proven master in the kitchen, and a successful restaurateur, in the show he still struggled with many of the challenges of general management. The moral of the story is not that chef skills can't be transferred to the front of the house -- they can. Sure, some chefs are better off staying in the kitchen and letting seasoned servers and floor managers run the show at the top of the house; however, chefs and cooks can be great managers throughout the restaurant with a little discipline. Just don't let overconfidence or lack of self-awareness bring down your house, or forbid, your career.

As one cruise ship company used to say in its ads, "It's different out here." There are many differences in the front versus back of the house, but rest assured, if you are an effective chef there are many transferable skills on which you can rely to get you started on a general management or ownership career.