April 2012 Presidents Message

As I travel around Atlanta, the USA and abroad, I am constantly asked, how have I maintained a high level of commitment to the kitchen and my peers for over 40 years? Very simply, Professionalism! It doesn’t matter what someone does for a living as long as they are professional about their approach. If you hire a painter, plumber or electrician to do work on your house, you want a professional. So why do many Food & Beverage employees think its ok to act non-professional in the work place. Is it because of the hectic pace, long hours on your feet, intense hot kitchens, busy bars and dining rooms or just too many accounts to call on today?  I could go on and on, but it doesn’t change the fact that not acting professional gets you nowhere but unemployed eventually. I talk to many F&B people constantly and the unsuccessful ones all have the same sad story about it being someone else’s fault. Every one of us has been in a position, more than once, where we had to make tough choices and basically suck it up. As you all know, that’s not easy! But if you look at the big picture instead of just focusing on that one bad moment, you will begin to see all of your hard work really does pay off.

Reading this philosophy sounds easy, but looking at the big picture of your career, life, friends and most importantly family is anything but easy. It takes real commitment which comes from within. Professionalism is a result of commitment, commitment is a result of being professional and staying the course. We all need things to help us stay the course, especially on those tough days. For me, it was constantly working toward my ACF Certifications, it kept me focused and on track to become the best professional chef I could be. I have found that associating yourself with professionals in and out of the kitchen becomes highly addictive and it raises your game to the highest level possible. You become more open to suggestions, constantly wanting to learn and asking questions becomes part of your everyday life. We all know that chefs are supposed to know everything about food, yea right. With the globalization of food and the best airport in the world in our backyard, wehave food coming in to Atlanta daily from every corner of the world. How the heck is a chef supposed to keep up with that. I’ll tell you, ASK QUESTIONS and let your staffs, fellow managers and sales people know that if you don’t know the answer, you will find it. This holds true not just for chefs but for any other position in the F&B world. Associating with professionals, true professionals, will be the biggest asset of resource and knowledge you will ever find in your career. The internet is a great tool, but it doesn’t hold a candle to a friend or college that actually has done what new thing you are attempting to do.

Very simply put, Professionalism is the key to succeeding in our profession!

I hope to see you all at Monday’s ACF Meeting on May 7^th at Fresh Point Atlanta, 6PM!

Cook and Live with Passion!

Michael Deihl, CEC^® CCA^® ACE AAC
Executive Chef
East Lake Golf Club

President
American Culinary Federation
Greater Atlanta Chapter

ACF SE Regional Assistant VP
ACF SE Regional Ethics Chair
ACF State of Georgia Coordinator
2008 ACF Chapter of the Year