Knives out: Meet the chefs working at boiling point
If making Friday night dinner stresses you out, imagine doing it for a paying clientele
The film Boiling Point explores the intense working conditions of a professional kitchen. Stephen Graham plays head chef Andy Jones, who runs the kitchen with an aggressive, alpha male approach. Tomer Vanunu, owner of both El Vaquero and Numa restaurants in Mill Hill believes that this kind of behaviour is changing as a new generation of chefs comes through.
“There is less shouting and swearing and things are a little more zen in the kitchen,” he says. “Many of the older members of the team, including me, have changed the way we interact with staff to make for a better
working environment.”
Although tensions can be heightened when working under so much stress, developing a thick skin is essential, and catering chef Jonny Mervish knows that things said during service should not be taken personally.
“You should never take those stresses home with you. As soon as last orders are done, the slate is wiped clean and it is all forgotten.”
Rob Laub believes respect is essential in the business. As the owner of restaurants The Bull, in Highgate, and The Plough, in St Albans, he instils this in all his staff, operating a zero-tolerance policy towards negative behaviour.
“People need to know where to draw the line. Whether it’s between each other, with guests, or between front of house and back of house – there has to be respect.”
The long hours and late nights can make it difficult to achieve a work-life balance and personal sacrifices are often made along the way. Jonny found early on in his career how much it affected his social life and he lost touch with many friends because of it.
“I would work from 7.30am until 11.30pm, which meant that seeing friends was difficult. Over the years, my job has also meant I have had to miss other family occasions, but no matter what, I have always made sure that I take off Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Pesach.”
While having the chance to eat delicious food from their own menus is an obvious perk, it is also a way to ensure that standards are kept high for customers.
Natalie Allen of Sweet Things Café and Bakery in Primrose Hill checks for consistency in her products by trying everything so the customer gets the best product possible. Product development is also a big part of her role and she applies the same exacting standards to this.
“Nothing gets sold without my say so; if I don’t like it, I won’t put it on the menu. I will often take lots of different recipes and mix them together to make my own creation that I know my customers will like.”
Having won Good Taste awards for many of her products, including chocolate brownies and cinnamon buns, it’s an approach that obviously works and she has many loyal customers, many of whom described being ‘devastated’ recently when the café had to close for refurbishment.
While ensuring customers have good experiences is key, being able to deal with disgruntled clientele and feedback is essential. With the prospect of customers posting negative reviews online, resolving things before they leave is essential. Tomer remembers his first bad review and what he learnt from it.
“I didn’t sleep for days worrying about it, but after working in this industry for 20 years, I have developed a tougher skin. Now I make sure that we speak to every customer in the restaurant so any issues can be addressed, This way they feel they have been listened to, and so are less likely to post something negative.”
When it comes to keeping the customer happy, Jewish customers are often seen to be more difficult to please.
As the owner of Kasa, Hampstead Garden Suburb’s newest kosher restaurant, Eric Elbaz knows that negative comments can spread fast in the community and, while he tries to deal with issues customers might have, sometimes they can be tricky to resolve.
“A customer who ordered a takeaway called when he got home to tell me there was something missing from his order. I asked him to bring it back so I could sort it and he informed me he had already eaten it!” he recalls.
Outside of the kosher world, Jewish customers can sometimes give themselves away without realising. Rob Laub thinks that his ‘Jewdar’ is pretty strong and will often make jokes with Jewish customers.
“As a 6ft 2in big guy who owns a pub, it is often a surprise when I say something, as they don’t realise I am Jewish!”
Jonny found it was sometimes what they ordered that gave them away. When he worked at Smith’s in Wapping, Jewish customers would order fried fish in matzah meal, and he had to show the other chefs how to do it.
He has also taken opportunities to share other Jewish specialities in the kitchen and once made chicken soup for the rest of the team.
They liked it so much they put it on the menu.
He now runs his own private dining business, Served by Merv. With a mainly Jewish clientele, he has found that customers know exactly what they want and how they like things, despite his professional recommendations.
“Ultimately it is up to them – if they want me to cook beef Wellington well done, then that’s what I have to do!”
Tomer sees many Jewish customers at his restaurants, but recently went a step further by employing Jewish staff too – mainly from JFS.
“Sometimes Jewish kids can be seen as spoiled or entitled, but the ones who work for me are all lovely and work hard. Their parents often come into the restaurant and are impressed to see how much they do at work, when they struggle to get them to tidy their rooms at home!”
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