Notes on building teams that last
Fixed Column
A recurring column where three people from the same trade walk through one concrete problem. This time: the lights go out at 9:40 pm on a full Saturday service.
Published March 14, 2025 · Reading time about 11 minutes
The scenario was the same for all three. A grill cook in Palermo, a pastry chef in Santiago, and a line cook at a beach restaurant in Punta Cana each got the same brief: it is 9:40 pm, the room is full, and the power cuts. No warning, no generator. What happens in the first ten minutes, and what do you tell the tables while it is still dark?
The grill cook killed the gas at the main valve before anything else, then walked the floor with a flashlight counting heads. The pastry chef did the opposite: she stayed in the back, pulled the cold-room door shut, and refused to open it again until she had a plan for the walk-in. The line cook at the beach restaurant grabbed the hand-painted menu board and started writing what was still cookable on the wood fire outside.
None of them agreed on the order of operations. All three agreed that the first decision is not about food. It is about who is standing where and who is responsible for the cold chain.
The Palermo grill cook comped every table without asking the owner, and says he would do it again. The Santiago pastry chef offered a reduced dessert service and a coffee, no comps, and lost two tables who walked out. The Punta Cana line cook told the room the truth in one sentence and then kept serving from the outdoor grill, which turned into the best night of the month for tips.
Three answers, three different readings of the same room. The disagreement is not about generosity. It is about what each cook believed the guests actually came for.
After comparing notes, the three cooks agreed on one thing: the checklist above is boring, and that is the point. The rest of the night, they still argue about.