Lessons From Award-Winning Chef David Higgs on Life, Business & the Power of Resilience.
In the culinary world, agility and resilience is your ticket to play.
Of all the industries affected by the COVID-19 shutdown, the hospitality industry has had to deal with substantial headwinds.
According to Statista.com, social distancing and general caution in public places have meant that consumers have been dining out less. The year-over-year decline of seated diners in restaurants worldwide was a staggering 45.7 per cent on March 3, 2021.
I sat down with the award-winning chef and owner of the renowned restaurant, Marble, David Higgs, to get his perspective on the lockdown and the tools he has used to navigate this challenging period.
I wasn't sure what to expect from our conversation as this was not a comfortable period for any restauranteur. There was nothing predictable in this conversation, my expectations were surpassed and to my great relief, the word 'pivot' never came up once.
I came away feeling inspired, with new insights into the nature of resilience and the power of reflection. Here are my top six lessons I learnt on life and business from David Higgs, restauranteur, author and kitchen warrior that you can apply to your life:
Adopt the concept of Mise en place.
Mise en place is French for "everything has its place". The core principle is rooted in discipline and being prepared.
Although this system has been used in restaurant kitchens since 1928, never before has it been more powerful. It provides a sense of control and certainty in this volatile climate.
It involves arranging the cooking supplies in advance and ensuring all the ingredients are chopped, measured, and laid out ahead of cooking.
Adopting the Mise en place principle saves time and eliminates the chance of culinary disasters like realising halfway through the cooking process that a critical ingredient is missing.
How can you apply this principle in your life?
By doing a little preparation before you begin your work, you can save yourself a lot of time and seamlessly move through your tasks.
Do you have all the information you need to send the proposal to your client or prepare the sales presentation?
Do you have healthy snacks and water ready on the table and closed your social media apps to eliminate unnecessary distractions?
In Seth Godin’s brilliant book, The Practice, he points out that –
"Adopting the Mise en place system prevents last-minute urgencies, but even more than that, it gives us a chance to visualise what's to come. Seeing the tools and ingredients, ready to go, prepared with care, opens the door for intentional action."
A chef is deliberate about what his masterpiece will look like at the end of his process. Are you clear on your outcome? Do you know what done looks like?
The discipline of the Mise en place philosophy also eliminates multitasking. A chef doesn't begin his dessert, and then halfway through, start checking his inbox because he's worried he may have missed something urgent.
He is focused from start to finish and commits to the process.
We all need to adopt the same level of unwavering focus; as Seth says:
"Sit with your tools and your boundaries and your process and nothing else.
Focus on the possibilities, not the roadblock.
The life of a chef is never a cut and paste of the day before. An oven may break, a staff member doesn't pitch up for work, or a supplier lets you down last minute with a critical delivery.
In the culinary world, agility and resilience is your ticket to play. It comes built into the job description.
David points out that when it's time to open, you need to be ready for anything unexpected to happen. When it does, you have to solve problems quickly and think on your feet.
You do not have the luxury of waiting for the right time to take action.
David's solution is to concentrate on what you can control and accept the situation. He focuses on the possibilities, not the problem.
He utilises the Mise en Plus philosophy with these daily challenges that go beyond the kitchen; you need to become the kitchen warrior equivalent when life happens.
The more preparation you can do ahead of time, the more you can plan and anticipate possible glitches.
COVID-19 has taught you first-hand that obsessing on the external factors you can't control will frustrate you and lead to stress and overwhelm.
What can you do to best prepare yourself for challenging times?
You can't control how a supplier will react when you have to cut their budget, but you can think through the conversation ahead of time.
You can network daily to build trust with your clients and team. You can work on the business and evaluate processes that may need to be improved or build new skill sets.
Sometimes the only thing you can control in the moment is your breath, which is enough to move you into a calmer state and acceptance.
Conflict makes us stronger.
As the owner and chef, David's responsibility is to create a unique experience for the customer.
This means that any plate which is less than perfect must be sent back to the kitchen to be redone before serving it to the customer. Naturally, this ruffles some feathers and causes tension and heated arguments.
What David explains is that this is part of the dance between him and his team. He explains that:
"No one sees that after the service, we laugh, we go through the breakdown of service, and then we move on. Conflict is part of the process because there is no room for error in what we do."
Disagreements are not feared because it isn't personal, and there is no hierarchy. A head chef will be treated equally to someone who is washing the dishes.
The point is that David allows conflict to be a natural part of the role. The team improves by holding each other accountable and working together to exceed the guests' expectations.
Every lunch and dinner service are learning opportunities for the team. At their level, it is making tiny brush strokes onto a masterpiece to enhance it.
How do you manage conflict in this remote working environment?
Online meetings make everyone polite. There is a fear of confrontation or coming across as problematic to the rest of the team.
How can we find better solutions and innovate if we are too scared to have the tough conversations?
Create a culture of psychological safety where people are comfortable to challenge each other.
The team must feel that they are in a safe space of personal trust, mutual respect, and one in which they are comfortable being themselves.
It is not about critiquing the person but the idea.
The focus is not about the individual but the team objective and collectively arriving at the best possible outcome.
The importance of recovery.
The first lockdown of 2020 meant David’s restaurants didn’t operate for six months. It was the first real break mentally and physically he had in a while. As devastating as the lockdown was, this forced time out allowed him to pause, reflect and reconnect to his love of food.
It provided an opportunity to step back and redefine his vision and focus for the period ahead.
The lesson is we cannot wait for challenge or external situations to force us into recovery and stillness.
Proactively schedule recovery time into your calendar and not just on the weekends.
David Higgs South Africa
This can be as simple as making time to have a lunch break, go for a run or meditation. Do not view recovery as mediocrity or stagnation but instead a dedicated space for ideas to flow.
Stillness is a means to ignite your internal fuel tank and reconnect with your passion for the work, especially on the days where the stress feels overwhelming and you're wondering why you are in this job and if it's worth it.
During these moments, pause and ask yourself, why did you get into your role in the first place? What attracted you to the industry, and what contribution do you want to make?
Adopt a role-model mindset.
A critical success factor for David is appointing the right people to the team.
There is one objective for David, which is to delight his customers. It is more than a meal; he is responsible for providing an exceptional experience.
Every person on the team has a responsibility to make this a reality.
David cultivates a role model mindset within the team. It is adopting the attitude that everything you do matters. Every action can either positively or negatively impact the desired objective.
It can take one person to destroy a brand's reputation by not thinking about the collective.
If the customer is not welcomed warmly by the front of house staff, this automatically affects the customer's mood and overall experience.
The food may be exceptional, but the waiter's poor attitude will taint even the best efforts.
David empowers his team to understand that they are making a massive contribution irrespective of their role. Whether someone is washing the dishes, preparing the ingredients or delivering the food, they are part of the experience of delighting the customer.
You also need to adopt the role model mindset irrespective of your job description.
Similarly, you are a brand ambassador for your team and your company. Not responding to the client on time or sending incorrect information will tarnish a relationship for everyone involved.
If you decide to send the email late to the customer, how will your action or lack thereof affect the team?
Every time you communicate, you are either positively or negatively impacting your brand and the entire company. Having this awareness will help you make better decisions throughout your day.
Love the process first.
David is a master of his craft and has the cookbook, social media followers and TV show to prove it.
When people see his success, they assume it was easy, and it's all about the glory. He shared a story where a culinary student told him it's the only reason he wants to get into the culinary industry.
David explained to this student that this only happened in his mid-forties; he worked for over 30 years to get to this point.
You cannot pursue the profession with the view to solely achieve fame and glamour. Those rewards are the result of a disciplined work ethic and a relentless commitment to the craft.
"To be lucky, you need to do the work to be in the right place at the right time."
Success is about enjoying the day-to-day activities along with the long hours and immense pressure. It is a one package deal.
Without loving the daily process, the outcome will never bring you fulfilment.
Similarly, are you purely working towards the outcome of a fancy title or financial rewards in your field?
If you don't get joy from the day-to-day activities, you need to rethink if you are in the right job.
Once you attaint the title, what's next? Is it enough to motivate you through the tough times?
I am reminded of the quote from the movie Cool Runnings:
"A Gold medal is a wonderful thing, but if you're not enough without it, you'll never be enough with it."
Final thoughts.
The intention of the interview was to learn time management and productivity tools that could be applied outside of the culinary world. I left the conversation with far more than that. These are tools for life management:
Adopt the concept of Mise en place – plan and prepare ahead of time so you can focus on the task at hand without distraction. Understand what done looks like before you sit down to the task.
Resilience and adaptability are your greatest assets – focus on what you control and let go of everything outside your influence. Resilience is developed when you look for possibilities instead of placing your awareness on the roadblocks.
Conflict makes us stronger - this is part of life. If you avoid it, perhaps you need to look a little deeper. Are you comfortable saying no when appropriate? Do you avoid conflict to the extent that you fill your work and life with activities that keep you from more important things?
When you are faced with a potential conflict, set your intention to treat the other person with respect and honour them when giving feedback or suggesting an alternative view, make it about the solution, not the person.
The importance of recovery – recovery should be built into your daily schedule. Do not wait for life to get less hectic before you press pause.
On the days you question yourself why you still do what you do, take time out to reflect. What got you excited in the first place, and how can you reconnect to that feeling?
Adopt the role-model mindset – you matter. What you do matters. Leadership is a choice; it is not about a title or position. Take accountability for your actions and remember everything you do and say will contribute to how the team shows up in other people's minds.
Love the process first – life is not about the rewards at the end of the rainbow. There's nothing wrong with fame, glamour or titles, but this is not enough to get you through the tough days.
Fall in love with the process to experience joy daily – don't place your happiness on external achievements to validate your self-worth.
Here's to being the kitchen warrior of your world,
Warm wishes
Lori