4 Ways to bring pride and joy to the kitchen
For Pride month, we looked not only at how we celebrate and support our LGBTQIA+ team members, but also how we create kitchen environments that are meaningful and bring joy to all who work in them.
5 Experts and chefs shared their experiences and insight on how we can collaborate to find a healthy work-life balance, how we can prioritise and support our staff, and how implementing small changes can have huge positive effects.
1. Celebrate your staff and their contributions
“You have to make sure that everyone feels like they matter, because they do!
Having open communication allows me to learn more about them and get to know them on a personal level. I encourage celebrating different religious holidays by celebrating the food! As a team, we rotate between who makes the staff meal to showcase everyone’s national cuisines.
By allowing everyone to have a creative input, you get higher employee engagement which instils pride in the team. This ultimately impacts any business’s bottom line in a positive way.”
Bri Campbell,
Chef
2. Open dialogue can cultivate strong, happy team relationships
“We have very fun, open conversations, we have meetings in a circle, everyone can talk, they absolutely know they can text us or call, or come in and talk to us.
Openness, feeling like you can really approach your managers or your leader is a really wonderful thing, it creates warmth and it creates intimacy and it helps to cultivate the feeling of a family and a team that works together.”
Naama Tamir ,
Co-owner of Lighthouse
3. Be kind and say ‘thank you.’
“I saw the example in my parents. They were very compassionate and very empathetic with their employees, always thanking them for doing whatever it was they were doing. I know a lot of people don't like to say thanks for everything, but I do, I feel like that is important. I learnt what I don’t like and how I don't like to be treated, so I try not to repeat that pattern. I try to be kind with my people, I try to smile a lot with them, make jokes and have a good, open relationship.”
Iliana de la Vega,
Chef & Owner, El Naranjo
4. Work together to address and remove unconscious bias
“I have found one of the best things to do with the team is for us all as a team to take an implicit bias test and then to bring the results back and as a team to sit and talk about it and say, what did we learn, what challenged us and for us all to be open. I think it's really important for a leader to show vulnerability and put their hand up and say, well you know I didn't understand this about myself, here is something I've learned.”
Margot Slattery,
Chef and Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion, ISS
Creating a working environment where staff feel happy, included, supported and understood, is a win-win situation for all involved. Staff who feel fulfilled and valued at work, will be more engaged and committed, and this will have a positive effect on business revenue.
If you would like to learn more on how to create an inclusive and happier kitchen culture, sign up to our free online leadership programme today.
You can also follow us on the journey, through our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages, as we discover more about what it means to cultivate a #Fairkitchen.
