casa

How long to get the bugs out? Thats a good question. I suppose it depends at least slightly on luck. Did the right people apply? Did you get the right read and hire the right people? or was that small warning flag in the back of your mind about a couple of your hires right? Getting the right chemistry amongst the staff in a restaurant (or any other venture with a large group of people) is pretty difficult. You need only watch one episode of "The Restaurant" to get a feel for this. I'm the chef in a restaurant in a resort town on Lake Michigan (in Michigan), so it's seasonal. Every year to a certain extent, we're working out the bugs, with a greatly expanded staff (theres some continunity, the staff you're able to keep through the winter, college students back for the summer ect...), and every year there's that shadow of a doubt whether you'll be able to reach the standards you've set. Anyway, if anyone has empathy for someone starting a new restaurant, it's a chef in a resort town, because we do it every year. The good news is we're not completely starting from scratch like the folks at Le Lan. The fact that they seem to be hitting on most if not all cylinders so soon is admirable. I hope to get down to Chicago in the fall, when things slow down around here, and Le Lan will definitley be on my list. Thanks for the post Tarka.

Thanks for all the information, I'll pass it along. Moby I'm not exactly sure about the time line, I belive he's in London on the 7th, not sure when he's getting in. As far as budget, I belive they'd like to get out for under 100 American. That will probably be somewhat limiting and I should have passed that info on in the first post, especially when using restaurants like Gordon Ramsay and Tom Aiken as examples. Thanks again, Scott

This kid is as talented or more so than any young cook that I've ever worked with. They'll be traveling pretty light, so I'm pretty sure there is no suit. Where could they go other than Gordon Ramsay or Tom Aiken and feel comfortable at a fairly high level? Thanks in advance. Scott

NeroW, I'm the chef at a place called Chaps in Saugatuck (Douglas actually). If you're possibly interested in a summeer job, let me know. If you're going to be living in Kalamazoo, it's probably too much of a commute for you.