A Johnson & Wales MBA leads a hotel kitchen by example.
It's no secret that chefs are an ambitious lot. Many of them get extensive training, travel the world to learn, and constantly work to enhance their skills.
But executive chef Megan Barnes-Reichman takes ambition to a whole new level. After getting a bachelor's degree from prestigious culinary school Johnson & Wales University, she went on to receive a master of business administration in hospitality from the university.
She held several posts before recently landing at Paradise Point Resort & Spa, in San Diego, where she's synthesizing everything she's learned.
Perhaps, then, it's no accident that Barnes-Reichman is only the second woman profiled for this column. She is elevating the "fairer sex" by leaps and bounds, and proved it in a recent chat with MeetingNews.
Q: We have done chef profiles for 16 months now, and you are the first woman we've found running a hotel kitchen. Why is that, do you think?
A: It doesn't surprise me, though it would 10 years from now. When I graduated in the early 1990s, there were far more men than women. Now, with all the television shows about chefs and the hype over the industry, there are more women. But will they stay? I think many women get to a certain age and want to focus on family.
Here in San Diego, a lot more women are taking control of kitchens. Hopefully that will continue.
Q: How does your education impact how you manage the kitchen and, by extension, the guest experience?
A: It reminds me of the importance of employees having the right education and training. One way we ensure that is by bringing in outside professionals to give lessons. For example, we might have a local seafood purveyor demonstrate knife skills, or a sommelier teach the staff how guests can get the most for their money. We do role-play on how to resolve guest issues, and we have weekly meetings on knife skills, cost control, and butchering.
We train our staff with the idea that we all need to be creative and pay attention to details; we want to empower the staff to resolve guest issues. It's important for our team to determine what guests want—that's how I want to challenge them, all the time.
Education, training, communication, and teamwork are the tools we instill. That can only enhance the guest experience.
Q: You went for the MBA in case you wound up with a briefcase instead of knives. How would it have helped, and how do you use it now?
A: I would either be a corporate food and beverage director or own a catering company. The extra two years expanded my contacts and afforded me hands-on experience in front- and back-of-the-house positions and in management.
Q: How does your experience as a chef on a luxury yacht, and then at a catering company, inform what you do today?
A: Traveling around the world and experiencing different cultures influenced how I thought about food and running a business.
For example, while we were anchored off the Amalfi Coast, I met a local fish purveyor while buying swordfish. She invited my husband and I over for dinner. Her husband prepared a most memorable swordfish crudo and plantain dish with arugula and olive oil. Today, in Paradise Point's restaurant Baleen, I serve grilled longline swordfish with a smoked tuna and plantain hash, long beans, and cilantro Chimichurri. I didn't try to recreate the meal, but it inspired me to use plantains and swordfish together.
And, working on a boat made me resourceful. We had demanding guests with unlimited wants and needs, but the yacht could only fit so much aboard—whether it was food, beverages, linens, or flowers—so I had to be creative. I often had to jump on a Jet Ski, in my chef outfit, to "outsource" from another boat.
Much is the same when working with groups. You meet the client and listen to the needs and wants, paying special attention to the details. You plan, and then you plan for the unplanned things that could happen. The hotel has far more resources available than a yacht, but I miss the Jet Ski.
Q: You cook a wide variety of cuisines. Do you recommend certain types for certain kinds of groups, like, say, the budget-conscious?
A: Food shouldn't suffer because of budget, as long as you don't bring in expensive exports. We have a lot around us; we can get good products. You have to look at what's frivolous, and at changes that don't hurt the quality of your food or event.
For example, instead of cutting a table full of hors d'oeuvres due to budget, how about having them passed? Then, we can control what's served.
Q: What's your favorite food?
A: The style of cooking that makes me happy is anything that's fresh for the region, with a lot of bold flavor.
Originally published April 20, 2009