Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Are You a QA Chef? (Or Do You Use Recipes?)

QA Chef
This type of person has done this work for so long, they 'just know' what is right. They take pride in being able to make adjustments to their souffle based on weather conditions. They know how much of any one ingredient to add using a combination of sight, smell and a bit of how they are feeling that day.

Taken to an extreme, they would be hard-pressed to provide an accurate recipe for someone else to follow. They also may be completely unable to cook anything outside their own kitchen.

Recipe Follower
This type of person is rule-bound. The recipe may have been used many times before, but the act of following it makes the outcome predictable.  There may be favorite recipes, but recipes are always used, even if they have to make one.

Taken to an extreme, they cannot deal with changes to context. If a new oven cooks differently, they have trouble adapting. If some ingredient is no longer available, they cannot find a suitable replacement.

So What?
How often are you the Chef? or the Recipe Follower? What are the benefits you see? And what pains do you experience? Could you change your approach and get a better outcome?


No comments: