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Andrew Talks to Chefs kicks off the first in a series of touring discussions covering the subject of mentorship, sponsored by S.Pellegrino, in the hospitality industry.
Great chefs make great mentors and there has always been that teacher and disciple dynamic in restaurant kitchens, but as so much is changing in the industry, is that relationship too about to undergo a transformation? Andrew Friedman, the voice of Andrew Talks to Chefs, hosted a discussion on the subject with Erick Williams and Damarr Brown of Chicago’s Virtue restaurant, at the Philly Chef Conference recently.
Williams and Brown discussed their longstanding mentor-mentee relationship, how it’s endured across two restaurants and more than a decade, and also how it reflects this essential and unique industry tradition.
“For me, the mentor was Michael Kornick,” said Williams. “I didn’t imagine being in the space that I was in, but it was very intentional on the side of my chef which made it intentional for me in regards to Demarr’s development. Two things stood out in my head that were a bit unorthodox in a restaurant. The Sous Chef got arrested, and it was an extremely busy night. I was watching my chef in this place of turmoil, as he was negotiating, expediting the line, making sure the quality of the food was leaving the kitchen in a manner in which it should, and how he was going to get this dude out of jail, before morning. It was a rough service, because he was distracted. But he was there the next morning. I said, ‘if this guy is this committed, to his team, then this is the gym I want to work with’. I had no idea that would be 18 years, but that restaurant allowed be to borrow money to buy my first house, that restaurant supported me through my own struggles."
Left to right: Damarr Brown and Erick Williams
“I’ve been working with Chef for 13 years which is pretty much my whole career,” said Brown, about how the mentor-mentee relationship developed between him and Williams. “At the beginning, I started noticing that I was doing work outside of my job description like painting walls or carrying furniture to apartments, things like that. And at the same time, I noticed that Chef was helping me with things like how to negotiate a better price on a phone bill, or more personal things. So over the years it bloomed, he became more than a boss or a chef, but a friend, family even.”
There are, of course, many different kinds of restaurants and many different kinds of chefs. But is mentorship part of a chef’s role in the kitchen? It would be easy for any chef to wash their hands of any mentorship responsibility with the ready-made excuse of having enough on their plate already, and yet, it is something that is so common it could be considered a pillar of the industry.
“If we were in a space where our only ambition was winning awards, then there’s less space for family,” said Williams. “There’s a lot more space for a more definitive kind of rigour that allows for a different kind of attention to detail. I work in a space that, upon applying to it, it was said to me by the owner that he didn’t want to create a restaurant for the community, but part of the community. You can’t make a statement like that and then think I’m not going to hold you to it. So the team that was created in that restaurant became the core of that community.
“Restaurants are there to bridge the gaps in awkward social situations… so I have to look at how I can do that in my own relationships. How do I begin to create a platform that allows people who look like me, people who talk like me, who cook like me, to feel comfortable in their own space? When you look at that as the standard, then it has to be community. Because I’m not equipped to do that by myself.
“Do I think that’s the role of a chef? Well if we equate the word ‘chef’ with ‘chief’ then yes. We should expect that from our leaders. If you think a chef is someone who runs a three-star restaurant and works every day to be more innovative and create the next wave or trend in food, then maybe that’s a different standard.
There may be young chefs starting out in the industry and looking for someone they can call a mentor. Is it a done thing, to simply ask a chef to mentor you?
“People have asked me to mentor them and I have always said no. Generally, for me it has to happen organically, I work with someone, there’s a certain situation, and we manage it on the spot. I don’t usually have in-depth conversations with people I don’t trust. Mentorship is just advisory by someone who is trusted. I’ve got enough going on under my roof."
If young cooks are looking for someone to mentor them, Williams has a very simple way to go about making it happen.
“Find someone you admire and work under their tutelage,” he says. “And you won’t have to ask for the mentorship. It happens naturally. Any chef or leader worth their salt is going to pour into you, because, as much as they give you a cheque, they also are teaching you every single day.”
“For me, when I talk about mentorship,” says Brown. “It’s a committed relationship. On the mentee’s part, there’s a lot of trust. Trusting that even if you don’t get it, he must know what he’s talking about. There are moments in life where I just didn’t see the big picture, but he did. So it worked out.”
The Philly Chef Conference is hosted at Drexel University's Food and Hospitality Management Department. The annual two-day symposium invites some of the world’s best chefs as well as food producers and other personalities from the restaurant and hospitality industry and the food system, writers and journalists, to discuss the most important topics facing the sector.
This year's lineup saw chefs Andrew Zimmern, Dan Giusti, Tyler Akin, Tomasz Skowronski, Rasheeda Purdie and Gregory Gourdet, as well as sommelier Yannick Benjamin, and journalists Brett Anderson, Dawn Davis and many many more, all give talks and lectures on their areas of expertise to an engaged audience.
Listen to the full discussion, Mentorship Panel 1: Erick Williams & Damarr Brown live from the Philly Chef Conference (presented by S.Pellegrino) on Andrew Talks to Chefs, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you find your podcasts.
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