What is it with these Chefs!

What is it about these chefs that makes them such damn good teachers? First is was Charlie Trotter and now it is Gordon Ramsay. If you have not yet seen an episode of 'Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares', try and get to see one. But I must warn you - it is not for the feint of heart or the squeamish. If you hate swearing - then you will certainly not like the program; but it does contain wonderful lessons on execution and business management.

In a nutshell - world-renown chef Gordon Ramsay takes a week to transform a 'nightmare kitchen' that is on the brink of ruin into a successful business. But it does take a transformation and that is where the beauty of the program lies because nothing - and I mean nothing - is sacred to Gordon. He is single-mindedly focused on one thing and one thing only - how to make the business successful. He does not play politics, even going so far as to tell chefs/owners that 'they are the problem' (swear words deleted) and he is certainly not afraid to change the core offering if it isn't working regardless of the ego attached to it.

There are 3 things that I like about the show:

1. He simplifies the offering. One chef/owner felt that his pizza with its 22 different combinations was what made his restaurant different when in fact, it simply confused his customers.
2. He continuously looks for the compelling reason as to why people should eat at the restaurant - their point of difference and then, having determined what it is he promotes it passionately within the local community by getting people to sample the offering.
3. Finally, once a particular strategy is agreed, he executes it swiftly. There is no tip-toeing around people, owners or chefs. It's all action, action, action.

There are many other lessons on 'execution excellence' and the 'fundamentals of business management' that one can take out of each and every episode. So if you just happen to be sitting next to a television set and 'Ramsay's Nightmare Kitchens' comes on - get your pen and paper out and jot down the lessons that you will get from it - it will be worth it. And Oh, do turn down the volume.

ian