LINE COOKS .COM

It may be difficult to predict what will happen tomorrow, but there are most certainly indicators that give us a clue. There is always a tendency to be hopeful that things will somehow be better along with a reluctance to change how we measure “better”. One thing is absolute – things will change.

The restaurant industry is positioned for radical change. Some might even view this change as a “burst of the bubble”₁ – demanding immediate action, while others simply shrug and feel that it is best to take things as they come. Those who prepare for the future are not surprised by what occurs. All we need to do is look to businesses that failed to accept and embrace the future to find examples of Future Perfect gone badly. Kodak, at one point, one of America’s great companies failed to totally embrace the digital revolution leading to their demise; as a result, photo chemists are no longer in demand. Amazon recently opened the first “check out free” grocery store model that will virtually eliminate the need for cashiers and lines in food markets and possibly even other retail stores. Their interest in “AirAmazon” – delivery of product by drone – could minimize the eventual need for as many delivery trucks, and driverless cars could be the next alternative to Uber – the company that shook up the taxi industry.

Restaurants are faced with a real dilemma that may only have one end game for far too many. The problem evolves around labor – in particular, kitchen labor. Here are the challenges:

• Quality menus that reflect the desire for fresh preparations require talented cooks with a definitive skill set.
• These quality cooks seem to be in real short supply today as has been pointed out in many articles of late.
• The restaurant business is labor intensive requiring many hands to accomplish the operations goals.
• A great level of need and a limited supply drive restaurants to either pay much more substantial salaries to quality cooks or change their business model to accommodate less qualified individuals.
• Higher pay rates and “many hands” equates to a financial burden that most restaurants are not able to handle.

So – here we are – an industry positioned at a fork in the road. Which way do we go: aggressively plan for future change or shrug and take it as it comes?

Read More and Find Original Print Here

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for cooks is expected to steadily increase as new restaurants continue to open and people continue eating out. Although the overall demand for cooks in schools, hospitals and cafeterias is expected to grow by 6 percent from 2016 to 2026, the growth for restaurant cooks is expected to grow by 12 percent. That means the U.S. restaurant industry will need a total of 1,377,200 cooks in 2026 compared to 1,231,900 cooks employed in 2016.

To fill this need, leaders in the food industry are taking a more active approach to staffing their kitchens. Instead of waiting for the cooks to come to them, they are recruiting people to complete low-cost or free training programs with a job opportunity as the end result.

Culinary Training Programs Across the U.S.

Programs in Boston, Cincinnati, Maryland, and most recently Chicago are tapping into a long-ignored labor pool to fill the city’s kitchens. Cincinnati COOKS! is a free culinary training program that has graduated more than 1,400 formerly under- and unemployed people, including recovering addicts, veterans, and chronically unemployed adults.

The curriculum, developed by the Freestone Food Bank, includes life skills training such as job interview techniques to help students succeed both in and out of the kitchen. War veteran and recovering addict Adam McKinney joined the program straight from rehab.

“The leadership that is around here, and the way they go about doing things, keeps all of us motivated,” he said.

Within a year of completing the program, 80 percent of the graduates find jobs in the food industry or start a continuing-education program such as Cincinnati State’s Culinary Management program.

Read More and Find Original Print Here