1. Stay Calm: Keep your emotions in check to maintain control and prevent escalation. 2. Acknowledge the Issue: Address conflicts immediately to prevent them from growing. 3. Listen Actively: Ensure everyone’s concerns are heard to understand the root cause. 4. Clarify Miscommunication: Restate key points to confirm mutual understanding. 5. Focus on Solutions: Suggest practical fixes and avoid assigning blame. 6. Encourage Teamwork: Reinforce the collective goal of success. 7. Set Clear Expectations: Prevent future issues with clear communication and guidelines.

Short but EFFECTIVE meetings before the day starts is crucial. It’s not about what your team is doing but what can your team and other teams do for each other to operate more efficiently/effectively.

In reality most ‘kitchen events’ are based around a lack of empathy or understanding. The pressure is high both sides of the pass. Prevention is better than cure. The relationship between both sides of the pass needs to be deeper than FOH/BOH it’s about both teams knowing each other, and pushing for the common goal of a knockout event / service. Things to consider - Encourage and create moments both teams can spend time with each other outside of service (lunch together, post service beverage!) - Check egos quick. Yeah you can cook a chicken, can you carry 12 plates on a clear down? Everyone’s skills matters, no one’s ego does. - Brief the teams together, learn together, create a common purpose. Kitchen wins / FOH wins

Stress in the kitchen and, in fact, front of house is often triggered by a lack of leadership. Strong leaders hold a daily briefings before service this is crucial to prevent miscommunication and set clear expectations for the team. Responsibilities should be delegated to suitable individuals, with follow-ups to ensure tasks are completed. Identify strong members within the team and ensure they share their strengths and knowledge with others, fostering collaboration and support. Communication during service must be strict, precise, and focused to maintain order and efficiency. After service, a debrief is essential to review performance and address issues until the team consistently demonstrates the ability to work as a cohesive unit.