A Report into Organisational Culture and the Professional Ki
A Report into Organisational Culture and the Professional Kitchen
Name: Marie Martin
Course: FT408/1F
Date: 09/01/06
Lecturer: Mark Gallagher
Abstract
It is common knowledge that the role a head chef plays in a professional kitchen is a vital one and that the culture of a kitchen is a unique one. The common person views a kitchen as a manic, hectic place where the head chef shouts and roars in order to assert authority and get the job done. The likes of Gordon Ramsey have gone a long way to fuel this image. But just how accurate is this? Surely no one would become a chef if this was so, why put oneself through such an ordeal to cook others their dinner? This paper sets out to establish the culture of the professional kitchen, identify the role the head chef plays within this culture and establish who wants to be a chef and why?
Table of Contents
1. Introduction 4
2. Culture is: 5
3. Organizational culture 5
4. The Kitchen 7
4.1. The Head Chef. 8
5. Levels of Culture 9
5.1. Artifacts 9
5.2. Espoused Values 10
5.3. Underlying Basic Assumptions 10
6. Change in the Kitchen 12
7. Conclusion 13
8. Bibliography: 14
1. Introduction
The role of the head chef has changed over the years being a leader in the kitchen is no longer enough. The Head Chef is among those professions that people dream about, leading a platoon of sous chefs in a glamorous, stainless steel kitchen and presenting fabulous meals to hundreds of people. Parts of this description are true, and those who become chefs have very high levels of satisfaction with their professions. One chef said his career “is only for the very crazy. It is hard work, it is gruelling work, it is important work, and still, I would do nothing else.” The long hours, the painstaking attention to detail, and being constantly surrounded by food are part of a job they love. The profession rewards the talented and the daring, which can see opportunity and grab it. The first few years are an education. Few chefs survive cooking school who don’t understand the physical and mental requirements of the profession: Lifting heavy pots, being on your feet for eight hours, stirring vats of sauces, rolling pounds of dough, having to deal with the stress of working in a confined space, and having to obey the head chef. The organisational culture of the kitchen is that of teamwork and balance, (Carberry, 2004). The head chef is the leader and it is his job to guide his cooks to daily success. And so...