Recruitment in Deji

1976 was born in Aichi prefecture. After graduating from high school, I went to Lyon, France to study French with the goal of being a chef. After working in Ginza Hotel in the west, I went to France again and met my tutor Hou Buxiong. In 2003, he opened Hou Buxiong's French restaurant Roppongi Mountain and became the executive chef at the age of 26. At present, the focus has shifted to Tokyo to cooperate with Hou Buxiong.

At the age of 25, Joel Houbuxiong (Joe? L Robuchon), I believe everyone who is reading this book has heard of its name for a long time. Chef Yuji is Hou Buxiong's right-hand disciple. He is only in his thirties now, that is, coordinating and guiding all the dishes of Hou Buxiong Group and running away from new restaurants all over the world. From 20 12 to 20 13, he appeared as an iron chef of French cuisine on Fuji TV. I think this matter is still fresh in everyone's memory.

Xu He's hometown is a famous French restaurant in Nagoya. In high school, he thought about his future.

"I always feel that life should not advance by escalator. I vaguely want to do what others are not doing. At that time, I always had an idea in my heart that if I went abroad like this, I could do what my peers could not. 」

Because of his hometown, Xu He met some French people, and a relative married a French chef. Various factors made him decide to study French in a university in Lyon after graduating from high school.

After studying abroad, I returned to Japan and worked in the French restaurant of Ginza Hotel in the west and the French restaurant in Tokyo. Later, he returned to Nagoya because of a waist injury. 1998, he went to France again, met Joel Hou Buxiong, and worked in Hou Buxiong's research office in Paris.

The turning point came in 2002, when Xu He was 25 years old. Hou Buxiong wants to open "Hou Buxiong French Restaurant" (L'atelier de Jo? L Robuchon), and will open a shop in Xu He. At present, this restaurant has won two Michelin stars' evaluation, featuring an open kitchen where chefs cook and serve food in front of guests. It is said that this was inspired by Hou Buxiong from the bar of a Japanese sushi restaurant. The dining room is quite large, with 60 tables in total, and a 25-year-old boy is in charge. It's really amazing.

"Japan has always been seniority. Many of my colleagues are older than me. For them, this is tantamount to being bossed around by boys younger than them. Although everyone said they didn't care, and they all came to work in Hou Buxiong's restaurant, there were still many eyebrows. To hold them down, you can't say,' Can you help me?' ? "But to convince people with strength ..."

What outsiders don't know is that they are fighting each other every day. And leaving the job to this young man who has never been in charge, Hou Buxiong is still alive.

Every one of these famous chefs I interviewed had the courage to clap their chests and shout "I'll come". Here's your chance. If you flinch and say, "I'm only 25 years old, I can't do it!" " "The opportunity slipped away. Even if you are not sure, you should have the courage to shout "I'll do it, no problem".

"It has something to do with opening a restaurant in my hometown. My idea is very old-fashioned When I was working in a hotel and Hou Buxiong's research room, I took it for granted that I worked from early morning to midnight. Take the recipe for example, you don't have to wait for others to give it to you, you have to steal it yourself; If you want to do something, either come to work early or finish the work early before you do it. I always thought so. 」

Although it was honed from a harsh environment, I was still anxious to open the "Houbu Xiongfa Restaurant". For example, the menu was finalized the day before the opening ceremony, and it was translated into Japanese at about five o'clock that morning, without simulating the actual operation such as how to order food. There was a queue at seven o'clock in the morning. In other words, Xu He learned how to run a restaurant by opening Roppongi Mushan Store.

For most people, these things are very stressful, and it is conceivable that they will quit because they can't stand it. But he has a "almost" personality, which can overcome the chaos in a sense. In fact, in today's fast-changing era, everything has been decided, and it is almost impossible to open a shop after the simulation is proper and the preparation is sufficient.

In this case, whether overseas or in Japan, complaining under pressure or doing things well is an important key to success.

Change your mind and try not to try. After staying in Roppongi Store for three years, Xu He said that he "wanted to go abroad again", so he accepted Hou Buxiong's proposal and started the opening of new york Store. According to him, this job is much easier than Roppongi Store, but there are other problems, that is, the trade unions in the United States are very strict. If you fight every day like in Japan, you will be accused immediately, so people around you will sweat for him.

When training employees, even if you try your best to restrain yourself, you can't help getting angry. Although I could speak French then, I was not fluent in English.

"When a fire breaks out, no matter what, you will start cursing in English with confusing grammar. Fortunately, in America, they will listen to whatever you say. In this sense, I personally think it is much easier to work overseas than in Japan. 」

Working in different places requires mastering local habits and conditions and adopting different management modes. This soft-hearted idea is really amazing. Many people are "that's what I do" and don't want to accommodate. Of course, in Japan, everyone has different ideas. If you think that "the recent young people are all herbivores and useless", I don't think such people can display them everywhere.

Do you think "my English is not good, I can't bring people"? Or even though English is a mess, do you still think that "Americans are easier to bring"? Maybe the trick to finally get it is to change your mind a little.

"Paris is the same as new york and Taiwan Province. Even if the foreign language ability is poor, as long as the skills and personality are convincing, it will win the respect of employees, which Japan does not have. If the Japanese are scolded by foreign bosses in Japanese, "Well, if you don't do it, you won't do it!" "I should laugh at myself:" Please, practice Japanese better! In foreign countries, perhaps because people of all races have it, people don't care much about language problems. In short, it is a fact that it is easier to feel everyone's respect for skills in Europe and America. 」

Being an indispensable person can make you happy. "Maybe I can't meet the status quo. I always feel that going abroad is to change the environment. I don't know why. Maybe you will get tired of staying in one place for a long time (laughs). 」

I have been in Hawaii for half a year, Japan and other parts of the world for half a year, so I know the feeling of wanting to change the environment and challenge new things.

At present, Joel Hou Buxiong opens several restaurants in countries all over the world every year, and the scale is getting bigger and bigger. Naturally, employees also travel around the world with Paris as the center. Hou Buxiong's own job is not so much cooking as opening a restaurant. Surprisingly, however, Xu He started to open a shop with Hou Buxiong, and also worked as a chef in Hou Buxiong's French restaurant.

"I know more about the necessary homework for opening a shop than anyone else, and I know how to recruit employees. I can speak French and have been to new york, so I can also speak English. For Hou Buxiong, I should be a very useful card. 」

Although Xu He modestly calls himself a "card", he also said, "It will be very nerve-racking for him without me now." Visible for Hou Buxiong, Xu He is an indispensable right-hand man. If you want to achieve something overseas, you can't get ahead and have fun without the ambition of "becoming an indispensable person".

"When you see Hou Buxiong, you will think he is too strong. No matter whether the other party is China, Japanese or American, no matter in which country, it is he who finally holds the leading position. In a word, he is very good at management and I can learn a lot from him. I am very happy. 」

At such a high position, you can still enjoy learning and be grateful. This is the driving force for Xu He's progress.

Although I am in a high position, I will still think of those who are said to work in Joel Hobson Group when I go up a storey still higher. "Many people come here to get Hobuxiong's approval." Because Hou Buxiong's position is like the god of cooking, he can gain his affirmation, just as baseball is included in the starting list of new york Yankees and football is included in the starting list of Real Madrid. From the chef's point of view, it is natural to get a job in Houbuxiong Group.

One interesting thing about the Hou Buxiong group is that the top five people, including Xu He, have to travel around the world together. Among the five high-level, Hou Buxiong is the highest level, followed by Eric, who is like Brother Xu He and Hou Buxiong's right-hand man, and the high-level of West Point Military Academy and Service Department. These five people formed the core group of Hou Buxiong. Except Xu He, everyone else is a veteran in his fifties, who has worked for twenty or thirty years. They are still in the first army, fighting in the front line, which is a rare example.

I'm already in the first army, but I'm thinking, "Are you going to continue like this?" This is another great thing about Xu He.

It is said that one day he proposed to Hou Buxiong, "I want to stay in Japan and work freely for half a year, and then travel around the world with you for the rest of the year." One reason is that I am worried about the restaurants in my hometown, and the other is that I want to start something myself. So Hou Buxiong said, "Well, as you wish. It's not bad to have a try. The two even talked about the salary.

Two months later, "You are in Japan, I really don't know what you are doing, if you can't stay in Paris most of the time …" Hou Buxiong's attitude began to change.

Hou Buxiong, who is unwilling to release people, is wise, but I am surprised that Xu He can make such a request. If you are a semi-soldier, I'm afraid it will be considered as "I don't need you anymore. If you want to quit, quit." Hou buxiong must have some reason to keep him.

"Hou not male top person, already dare not take risks. This group is large and can live a stable life, but I really want to have more freedom, and I really want to go where I want to go and live and work locally. 」

It has reached a high position where most people want to stay forever and don't want to resign at all, but they still want to take risks. It is this spirit of challenge and the attempt to take it to the next level that makes Xu He so valued by Hou Buxiong.

"Enhance self-brand value" and Hou Buxiong went to various countries in the world, and then moved to the next place a week later. I actually like this working mode, but it will also become a normal business, so I want to start a new job before my enthusiasm disappears. 」

Seeing that Xu He seemed bored, he sent him to Tokyo, New York, Taiwan Province Province ... so he moved to the next place every few years. Hou Buxiong maintained Xu He's enthusiasm in this way; In this way, he stayed for ten years and was an expert in employing people.

None of the famous chefs interviewed in this book has worked in the same place for more than ten years. The longest is chef Kobayashi's seven years in Beige Tokyo, Alain Ducasse, and chef Deji Yosi's eight years in Ostria Piero Della Francesca Na. Almost everyone left the place where they worked for several years because they wanted to open a shop.

Therefore, I also think that Xu He is no exception. He will want to open his own shop and become the king of his own cooking kingdom. It turned out that I was wrong.

"I'm not thinking from the perspective of a chef, I'm thinking from the perspective of an operator. From my point of view, I should be regarded as an operator. Anyway, what I often think about as a businessman. When I was eating in a restaurant in Paris, all I thought was whether such things would be popular in Japan. 」

Perhaps influenced by Hou Buxiong, he has producer cells. Although Xu He grew up in a chef's family, he doesn't think he will always open a shop in the future. He thinks that cooking is a skill, and if you add something to this skill, you may create a better job for yourself.

"I want to open a shop under the name of Sukoya Yosuke and create my own brand; But I don't want to stay in the store every day, so I have to give it to others and then go overseas to develop other careers. I am very interested in such things. Anyway, I don't want to be Su and Yang Jie, but I still want to leave something in my personal capacity. 」

After hearing this, I think Xu He really wants to enhance his brand value. Although he is a chef at present, he doesn't think this is the only way out. He knows his own way well, and he knows that it will be strange to continue to do things by himself. In a sense, he wants to use the chef's performance to exert leverage. I think this idea is quite interesting.

Photo excerpt: The Times published/Honda Naoki's "34 successful philosophies that Michelin masters never said"

Thirty-four successful philosophies never mentioned by Michelin.