Being a Head Chef Isn’t What You Think

Costings, GP, and why admin is the backbone of a healthy kitchen.

The admin side of running a restaurant is not my strong suit. I don’t enjoy it, I don’t feel naturally drawn to it, but I do it because I have to. And the truth is, if you don’t stay on top of it, it’ll come back and bite you later. I’ve seen it happen, and I’ve felt it myself.

There are loads of different areas this covers, but I want to focus on the kitchen- partly because it’s where I’ve spent most of my time, and partly because it’s the bit that often gets left behind when things get busy.

We’ve brought in a head chef to work alongside Mattie to help set up all the systems from scratch. It’s a big job- starting from the ground up always is. We knew it was especially important to bring in early support, because Mattie’s initial focus would be stretched far beyond just the food and day-to-day kitchen management. Things like paperwork and systems risk falling through the cracks- not because he isn’t capable, but because that kind of work needs a different approach. Once everything’s in place, he’s flying. But getting there takes scaffolding, and ideally someone who’s done it before.

Enter Mattie’s friend Tony. He’s one of those people who’s been through a bunch of openings and knows exactly where to begin. He’s only with us for a short time, Gina is his last job in London before he moves on and we’re honestly so happy to have him in the building.

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Through all the openings I’ve worked on, one thing is crystal clear: you can tell very quickly who’s on top of their admin and who’s just winging it. The chefs who don’t have solid systems in place either crumble from the stress or get replaced within six months. No exaggeration.

Being a head chef during an opening is a beast. It's not just about making nice food and training a few people. You’re holding up the whole operation- food quality, systems, staff, service, standards, everything. And in smaller kitchens especially (where there’s no exec chef or kitchen manager), it all falls on the head chef’s shoulders.

Some restaurants have layers of support; admin people, kitchen managers, maybe even a dedicated ops person, but most of us aren’t working in those kinds of places. Most of us are just trying to get through the week without forgetting to order gloves, losing a KP, or running out of bin bags.