How to find a quality chef

Q: For the last 8-12 months, we’ve had real problems finding and keeping a high-quality chef. The ones we’ve appointed have really let us down and although we didn’t keep them long, high staff turnover, sub-standard food and unpredictable experiences have all meant that our reputation for food is no longer great. Not only is this the case locally, but it is also affecting our hotel bookings, thanks to bad ratings online.

A: Unfortunately, bad reviews always spread faster than good reviews and it is harder to get people back to the restaurant / hotel once they’ve stopped coming. You’ll see many struggling restaurants change hands and they at least have the advantage of a ‘under new management’ story, but this isn’t something you can claim when it simply isn’t true.

My suggestion is to make the most of what you are already doing, then introduce some additional promotion, specifically designed to draw people in. This includes:

• Profile the chef and highlight some of his ‘USPs’. Perhaps he’s spent time working for a famous chef or in a Michelin star restaurant, maybe he has a signature style or speciality, maybe he has previously cooked at a well-established local hostelery. It doesn’t matter what it is; big or small, make the most of it.
• Unless you know the journalists locally, approach a PR company and ask for a one-off project to help get you some exposure locally, and if the profile is big enough, nationally too. They can use the chef’s profile as a basis, securing interviews, perhaps a ‘favourite recipe’ feature in a local magazine, a radio interview about the changes you have made and what’s good about it, and importantly, they can organise review features with the press. What this will do is ensure that your new chef gets put in the limelight and will hopefully help diminish past reputations, replacing it with bubbly, positive write-ups.
• Mine your own database too. Email your past hotel and restaurant guests, offering them a restaurant ‘relaunch’ offer or incentive to get them back. For the hotel guests, this should of course relate to a multi-night booking, whereas for locals, perhaps it could be a mid-week offer. As long as you tell the story of your chef and highlight what’s new, they’ll probably be curious enough to come back and visit and a discount/perk will help swing it too!
• Organise an open evening / taster event. Pull together a database of local businesses (I appreciate this will take time to do), and get in touch with the owners and directors of SMEs and the managers in larger firms. Offer them the chance to come along, try things out, enjoy a free drink and a chance to network. You may need to offer more than one date as you’ll probably have more potential guests than space, and it’s a case of ‘the more, the merrier’. Ensure that they have a ‘thank you’ voucher or special offer to encourage them to come back and which importantly promotes your quiet times for example a ‘business lunch’ offering or a coffee and meeting room added value.
• A similar model can be used for local groups; approach your local churches, sports groups, Women’s Institute, PTAs,  Rotary, or whoever else you have locally and invite them to come and try. Again, they are well-connected and will talk, so this is another great way to spread the news.

Having a negative reputation is always hard and it can seem like things will never improve, but that really isn’t the case. In the short-term, you do need to invest and drive awareness of your new chef, but the good news is that it will pay off in the long-term. I remember in my own days of running a hotel, finding chefs was one of the hardest things I had to do and it’s amazing just how important they are, but on a positive note you’ve found one – now you just need to let everyone e