Carrot Top

In reviewing what I've said here, I think something else needs to be said. My own posts were arrogant in their own way. In the time and place that I did what I did, that was almost what one had to develop as a persona in order to "survive". And while I hope that the doors of opportunity will always be open (they have been throughout most of history as far as I can discern) to those who do not have "the best" education one can buy. . .or indeed in my case, no education i.e. self-taught. . .it does seem easier if one can follow the traditional path, if that path is in any way open to them and if it feels right. If I could look back in time and wish a thing to be true, it would be that I could have entered upon my career in a way that would not have had me proving myself each and every day I did it. . .and justifying my success to others afterwards forevermore. A good school can provide this entry to those that this might happen to otherwise. We know who we are. . .I don't have to define our "categories". So I would say, buy the opportunity for the best education you can. Even moreso now that this business is becoming more academic-credential oriented. People who "go it alone" will always hold a special place in my heart. The stories are more dramatic, the hurdles different than the usual. More than anything, I love a good story. But the story is not always what it is about, in life, for everyone.

So this is no "one-off" thing with the tipping system and his restaurant(s). . .its been done before and obviously the system has worked well in whatever financial ways it needs to for both the business and the staff. If it didn't work well, surely he would not risk it again. The only difference here is California vs. NYC. Interesting.

Here are some questions that are vaguely running through my mind: Do you think that Per Se had a formal cost/benefit analysis done on this before implementing it? (By their accountant or by an outside consulting firm. . .) Who is Per Se owned by. . .a partnership? An individual? Do you think that any sort of formal or informal poll was taken on what the service staff reaction (or indeed, even all staff reaction) would be to implementing this policy. . .before implementing it? Do you think that this change was implemented purely for reasons of what they hoped would be good business management for their own place. . .or do you think that it included a portion of "wanting to change the world" in the implementation of it. . .a hope that what they did would affect others in the industry? If a cost/benefit analysis were to be done on this, could it even be done to show what some of the "softer" benefits might be long-term? (These "softer" benefits would be things like employee satisfaction and retention and level of customer service.) Just curious.

Oh. . .I am not arguing for whole-scale conversion. It would take a greater ability to focus on the many variants that are involved than I have. . . for this is no uncomplicated matter. But the more one talks about and talks up the idea that it is possible to redefine an industry in a way that the industry could be re-shaped in ways that would be better for everyone involved. . .then the more concepts emerge that could potentially be utilized in the industry. I am an eternal optimist in a quietly fighting sort of way. If one can't close their eyes and imagine that it would happen. . .and if one can not put blinders on and muddle through things that otherwise would really be cause for despair. . .then really there is nothing to do but despair. Other industries have been re-shaped in the past. . .and have provided both better quality of life for their employees and better overall performance. Should this happen in the restaurant industry? Only if enough people believe it should. . . As far as "employees demanding access to financial records". . .I did not envision the employees demanding. I envisioned the managers providing access, perhaps in meetings where they could also provide a clear understanding of the global picture of "how things work" in a global sense in the operation. This sort of thing often creates the bonds of a real team between management and employees. . . .and it does that really fantastic thing often, too. . .it helps the possibly reluctant or frightened employee to "buy in" to what is going on. If employees do not "buy in" to a way of doing things, things will never really run well no matter how many policies or procedures are put in place.

That was one of the questions that was raised in my mind about the Julie Powell piece. . .it seemed that there were some parts of that just did not hold together as well as they should, not to mention some facts that seemed to need a lot of back-up to be considered factual if they could be considered so. (Ouch. Trying to be nice can make for a bad sentence. . .) I wondered if the piece had been edited without her knowledge or involvement. . .but your experience shows otherwise. . .if your experience is standard procedure for the Times, and I would imagine that they do follow standard procedures as a pretty hard-and-fast rule. They would have to, wouldn't they. . .

Some of the points they make are worthy of thought. I've certainly known difficulties to arise with tip pooling. The thing is. . .if a restaurant is going to enter into a more formal method of compensating their service staff (which the 20% service charge would be) there has to be a more formal method of assuring that the staff knows what the sales are each day. An easy way to do this is to post them in a simplified form each morning.

Wow. . .very cool, FG. That certainly happened quickly, didn't it! That must have been a very nice surprise to wake up to today! Nice tidy summary of an op-ed, too, with some amusement in there to boot. (I particularly liked the line about opposing tipping maybe being a little "French" ). And I would say that you have challenged some of my assumptions about how and why I myself tip. Lazily, I was assuming some things about my own behavior that just plain were not true. When closely examined, they had to be re-thought, most particularly the fact that I held onto that there was inherent power over quality of service in the standard scheme of tipping as we have it here. I had to ask myself what power there was, really, in a system where I basically never exercised it! And of course pooling tips is becoming so much more common than it was. That changes the whole ball game. Finally, after thought, I've decided I like what they are trying on at Per Se. It gives a new respect to the professional service staff that work there, and should be a boon to teamwork if implemented in the right sort of way. . .i.e. in the managing of the change and of the personalities that might get flustered by such a move, particularly in the kitchen. When FOH and BOH can consider each other as equal working parts of the equation (which this concept is helping to approach in my opinion) everybody benefits, including the customer. Well okay then. I'll stop ranting on, myself. Congratulations, again. . .I am very pleased for you!

Your last sentence rather struck a nerve. I do leave 20% all the time unless service has been totally obnoxious or somehow totally outstanding (neither of these extremes has happened in my recent memory, though I do once remember leaving absolutely nothing to a totally obnoxious server many years ago and also remember another time leaving a $100. bill on the table once on Christmas Eve "just because". . .) Why 20 rather than 15? I am old enough to remember the 15. Yes, I think its a yuppie thing. Or something that has to do with culture, society and guilt. . .(misplaced guilt, for some servers likely have more money in their pocket than I do, especially if they work at Per Se. . . but nonetheless, something to do with that sort of feeling.) One feels like. . ."If I've got enough money to eat here, then I've got enough money to tip well, too". Not always TRUE, but definitely part of the experience. . . I am definitely edging towards the view that tipping has more to do with one's personality, background, and/or mood than the actual realities of the service experience.

I respectfully disagree. CIA has financial aid out the wazoo, and it appears to be 99% need-based. Even scholarships that should be completely based completely on merit, are not. If someone wants to go there, they will.I would agree that the CIA does offer financial assistance. That, however, was not what I meant in writing this. In the fifteen years that I spent "in" the business, in a fine-food dining environment in NYC, and in the fifteen years since, what I have noticed is (just as in many other occupations or fields) that there is clique (naturally) among those "popular" high-end fine dining purviews (just as there is a clique among the fashion models or designers on the Upper East Side, on and on and on. . .). As has been noted, one hires whom one knows, usually "from" certain schools or even "from" certain geographic places. There is a cachet attached to working at these purviews, and a cachet attached to going to the CIA. That is all well and fine. My point here was that it can be bought, this cachet. (Or one can attempt to buy it. . .afterwards it has to be shown that one is "up" to doing the work of course). Buy CIA, buy cachet. And in this world, there are lots of people who, based on "how the world works". . .would have a much easier time entering into these types of resturants (in any position where they might be considered "seriously" rather than not. . .) if they did buy CIA. It's a style thing as much as a substance thing. There is a mindset that favors one's alma mater. However, anyone hiring a cook or sous chef without seeing them cook and speaking to their former employer, Extern site, and chefs at their school, is not doing their due diligence. I worked for someone who tried so hard to hire from their alma mater and the people refused to clean at the end of the shift. !! Credentials and education are two completely different things. Lots of that is attitude, of course, and how you intend to learn. The CIA is full of people who've been cooking for years, who are not getting positions of more authority because they have no culinary education -- and I have yet to meet one who doesn't say it's worth it for their own knowledge, as well. You can't just buy a credential. Or a CIA education. Again I think we are more in agreement than not, although I speak from the other side of the fence on some things and will continue to do so just for the hell of it. I like the world to be full of all sorts of ways to do things. . .it seems that people get boxed up into planned agendas too often, with results that don't work for them. To see someone know all the possibilities and then make their decision, thinking through a world full of ideas rather than just the one that everyone considers "the best" seems to me to be a much nicer way. I like to see people write their own narratives. It is just too damn easy to say "Go to Harvard". As you say, you cannot "buy" a CIA education. Any education must be attained. . . whether it is passed from one teacher with the required textbooks in a classroom to another; or whether it is found in real life with the teachers being those working in the field along with either the same books that schools use or other books. Hopefully one never stops learning, even after they leave their "alma mater". The piece of paper that says "CIA" can be bought, though. And perhaps some cachet bought along with it. Granted, one must pass the exams and do the schooling. But then again, we have many high school grads that can not spell nor write. . .we have college grads that do not know the basics of many common things in the workplace. . .and I've seen CIA grads that came out with absolutely the worst honkers about food, total "mistakes". Naturally, we can all make mistakes. But again, I say, it is the person that will make the experience the marvel that it could be. . .it needs to be a fifty-fifty proposition. I've seen too many people enter upon the idea of the CIA or of any good college with the idea that it will "fix" things for them. Not to sound all zen-like or anything, but it is the process that counts, not the piece of paper. To my mind. The potential for the piece of paper to be not of the ultimate value that some people might hope for it I approached in another post. And again, the CIA or other good school diploma could definitely be of help to "the people who have been cooking for years that are not getting positions of authority because they have no 'culinary education" as you note. These people, to my mind, are different than the person who is entering into this thing as a "newbie" or close to one. And it is to be hoped that in the end, what they seek will be found, too. Most people reserve that attitude for CIA graduates, which really is saying something for the school's reputation -- some of it is earned (that it is The Best -- heck, Bocus and Vongerichten sent their sons there!). A lot of the CIA's reputation is from graduates from other schools feeling like second-best (and that's not at all true). Sure, lots of cocky-a**ed people graduate from there. And they are that way before they started, all during school, and will be like that until they decide to pull that nonsense on their chef during service. School doesn't do that to them! Oh, my dear. I don't reserve that attitude for CIA grads. I am perfectly willing to offer it up whenever something seems "bullshit" to me. I've been told that I have "low bullshit tolerance". It is just that in my memory, there were more arrogant guys trying to out me from the kitchen (as a female chef then executive chef) that hailed from the CIA than there were arrogant guys trying to out me from the kitchen that hailed from anywhere else . The CIA guys had that piece of paper with cachet to base their claims on. The other guys just had to find other ways to try to do it. Unfair to them, really. I must add that not all of the guys were inclined to wish me out of the kitchen, no matter where they hailed from. . .for fear of sounding like it was always like that. Certainly it wasn't. What is kind of amusing is the many, many cooks who call CIA graduates "arrogant a-holes," and who would give anything to work for the Bennos, Carmellinis, and Ogdens of the world. Yeah, probably. I never wanted to work for Benno, Carmellini, or Ogden though. But offer me a dinner made by them and I'll be there in a New York minute. . . Karen

Well okay. If you all are going this far, then I might as well tell you. It is possible to eat pepperoni, melted cheese AND marinara AND bread. . .with ranch dressing. Yes it is. My daughter has a friend at school who dips her pizza. . .in ranch.

Phew. When the thread uploaded onto the screen, this is what I saw. And what I read (being a bit scatterbrained) on the bottle was "Male Ploy". Followed by "The wife's meal". Seemed reasonable (though a bit funny!) to me.

What you say in your post about the hopes that one pins on a CIA grad as opposed to a Big Jim's grad is all true, adegiulio. I'm not a Big Jim's grad nor a CIA grad. . .but I've been a chef hiring sous-chefs, and I've seen the Big Jim's guys do just as well as the CIA guys. Now. . .if one is looking for the opportunity to "be in a certain world" to "be in a certain circle" of golden opportunity with the Top Chefs of Today. . .then certainly the way to go is the CIA. In general, certain cliques stick to certain cliques. CIA is one way to buy a piece of the clique, if one's skills can follow through on it. Indeed I would say that, the world being what it is. . .there are certain "socio-economic" backgrounds that might not have as good a chance to enter the clique as others unless they do buy CIA. This is all yucky stuff. . .aside from the original point that I wanted to make before I got cranky. Do the thing because it feels right. Not because you expect something from it. Expectations are. . .tricky things.

Yes, I would agree to this, too. And it also seems that if a person enters into the idea of going to school with a definite idea of what the realities of the field are, and definite goals that they are aiming for at the end (rather than just "get a good job") then the entire experience can take a different shape. My own rather cranky posts have been from remembering too many arrogant pansywaist cooking-school grads that could not cook their way around a table in a real kitchen, mostly due to the fact that they thought they "knew it all" because they had gone to school and therefore they should be indulged in practices or ways of doing things that might have fit the textbook and the student class but that didn't fit the real life kitchen. And I remember not only my own frustration at them, but how their attitudes affected the other people in the kitchen that COULD and did and had been doing just fine. Plus I feel it my duty to remind people that it is, it really is, possible to do well without college if that is their path. It does happen. And when it does, one should not have to be hang-dog apologetic about it, as if one had "done it wrong" somehow. Yeah, I'm cranky today.

It seems to me that the problem with reliance on academic credentialism as a way to find One's Place in the World is that it is so often unreliable. It is unreliable for a number of reasons. The first is that if a person is depending on the name of a school to get them a certain type of position or job offer upon graduation, they may not be assured that this will happen. Why not? The marketplace can change in terms of what it needs or wants. This has happened often in the past. People enter into "going to college" with the idea, and often with high hopes, too. . .and a lot of emotional investment. . . that this will set them up for a job and for a certain life afterwards, and it has happened often enough that graduates end up looking around upon graduation and saying, "What happened? There aren't any jobs of the sorts that I was promised, available now!" This is so very disappointing for people. And it can set a tone that can continue through their lives if they continue to seek promises from institutions. . .for even academic institutions can not forsee the future. And then, styles in terms of "What's In" in education can change in terms of what real-world clients want (or can pay for). In any time-span, the economy can change enough so that companies that originally sought "high-end" type college graduates will change their direction and instead seek potential employees from "lower-end" colleges or even just plain people who show they can do the job, without the academic credentials. (Obviously there are some professions or fields where this would not work.) There is also the fact that the personality of the student/potential job seeker will affect whether or not they will be offered certain types of positions in the first place. There are some people that will succeed without academic credentials, because it has been proved that they can think, they can work, and they can perform at a high level. And there are some people that will not be sought for great positions no matter what college they obtain a degree from. Finally, as a side note, people themselves do change. How often does it happen that a person enters upon a scheme of spending a great deal of money, a great deal of time and effort, a great deal of trying to put oneself in place of being a certain thing that will "become" a certain thing AFTER graduation, after two or four years of focused attention. . .to find that at the end of it, they really do not like the "job" that they have found in it. To my mind, there is only one good reason to undertake any course of study on the level of higher education. Because you are enthralled by the very studies themselves. Because you feel that here and now, this is what you want to do. And that somehow you can afford to do it. This notion of "credentialism" is a mass of sloppy ambiguities in the real world. It can not be counted on.

Well you never know. Great inventions are often made by mistake. Have you thought to taste that stuff that flew onto the bottom of the oven? You may have unwittingly created the next New Thing. Fortunes untold may await you if you just package it up in a bit of shiny paper. . .

Sigh. Schools are wonderful things. Particularly schools with money and good teachers. But finally, what school one goes to (or does not go to) does not guarantee success or failure in the workplace. Success in the real world is up to the real person. And it can happen with a bunch of letters after your name and a T-shirt to wear with an alma mater emblazoned proudly upon it. . .or it can happen without it.

Darn it all. Just when I was thinking to offer you a fine sum to come ghost-write a week of food-blog for me! But adding a cleanup person to the entourage would surely bring me right over my budget. . . sigh.

I never would have imagined that two simple sentences would have been able to pose such a really good question to my own thinking on tipping (which takes its own peculiar and passionate form as everyone else's does ). Good right jibe there, FG. You might find, though, that the people who would fight the most for the situation to remain basically as it has been for years (tipping based on perceived quality of service and check amount, with the bussers being tipped out by the server) would be the very best servers on the block. For they can make out like bandits.

And to continue in a serious manner for a moment, my own answer to this, (not phrased in the elegance of scientific language). . .is yes, "knowing" how a cut of meat cooks can help in knowing how another will react, without empirical testing. . .in an broad-based sort of way. As long as you know the basic similarities and differences in the meats, as you obviously do. But problems can and do arise sometimes when one depends on this method to be sure-fire. Because the oxtail (for example) (although oxtail is probably less subject to general differences than perhaps other cuts might be) that comes from one vendor, or from one steer, can actually be different than the one from another vendor or another steer. Differences in feed, in breed, in age at butchering time, in handling along the way to the consumer. . .all these things can sometimes make a difference. We don't see that too often for standardization is so across-the-board in general. But it does happen once in a while, to the consternation of the cook. And then of course, the "empirical testing" has to come into play right at the moment in the form of adjustments. You are not "cack-handed" (whatever that means ) in the kitchen at all. Betcha there is not a professional chef in the world that has not had the same thing happen at one time or another. . . Food can be mysterious occasionally, much as one would like to be able to pin it down. Well. . .at least it is to me. . .but I adore the concept of mystery.

Your food has been astonishingly lovely and amazingly tasty-looking, Adam. Quite impressive it is. . .whether the road to it comes from mathematics and biology or "wherever". Quite impressive indeed (said without the least hint of silliness).

The yellow pea soup that I know is quite similar, but the pork is pickled, the quantity of onions greater (adds sweetness), and includes a bit of chopped celery, a generous grind of black pepper, with an good handful of freshly chopped dill added in at the end. Of course my family hails from Gottland. Which I hear is rather the "black sheep" island of Sweden. That could account for the difference. Thinly sliced buttered dark rye bread works great as an accompaniment. A topping of some freshly made croutons works well, too.

Oh, sorry. You, too, Jack. Please, do, the two of you, write a book on How to Cook an Oxtail. Please. "Mathematics and Uncertainty In Meats". Oh! I would not understand a word of it but it would be lovely. . .

Funny you should mention that book, Alex. I just saw it yesterday at the book store. . .it was absolutely adorable (and somewhat shocking, too! ). What photos! There is not much to tell about the avatar, really, dear. But if I can think up a good story for a lark about the whole thing, I'll post it. . .

Why of course it is me, Marlena! Thank you for the compliment. I must admit that I am particularly happy with my new hairstyle! No fuss, no muss, no flyaway hair. . .and whenever I get stressed out I can run my fingernail across it and be covered with a lovely, soothing lime scent. Guys like it, too. . .says it makes them hungry! And it doesn't "remind them of Mom" at all! Your story. . .yes, you should have felt triumphant! Good job! Perfect for an Italian environment, too, your actions. I am sure that you "made their days", both the melon-sellers. . .the Good Guy and the Bad Melon Man! Drama.. . so important.

Ah! But you did not finish the story, Marlena. What happened next?! Did you buy a melon?