My Recipe for Success
Teresa Trostel, CDM, CFPP
Springfield, MO
ANFP Member Since: 2022
Teresa Trostel, CDM, CFPP serves as Kitchen Manager for a preschool program. Trostel completed her CDM, CFPP in 2004, and has served as a Certified Dietary Manager for over 22 years. She has a career background in nutrition management in long-term care, hospitals, catering, and schools. Trostel is also a Certified ServSafe Instructor, Registered Exam Proctor through the National Restaurant Association, and is passionate about food safety. She is a proud mom of three, and a soon-to-be grandma.
Teresa's Recipe for Success
- Explain not just What, but Why. I've always found it easier to get staff to 'buy in' to an idea if they know why we want it done that way. As managers, we sometimes make assumptions that our staff will understand why we make certain decisions, but explaining this and educating your staff can help them feel more confident in their actions, and less likely to cut corners.
- Take Responsibility. We all make mistakes. No one is perfect all the time. But often people immediately resort to blaming others. While others actions can impact our work, I think the first thing we can do is to apologize if applicable, and look into ways to learn from the mistake. Being humble and admitting when you're wrong can also make us more relatable as managers, when interacting with staff and clients.
- Don't fear change. Change can be intimidating. When we are asked to change the way we do something, we often feel defensive; like the current way is 'wrong', and therefore we are not doing a good job. As nutrition managers, we must keep up with trends and customer demands. This means, we may not be able to do something the same way we did it 30 years ago, and that's okay! The more we educate ourselves, the more we can adapt and learn to work smarter, not harder. Sometimes staff just need a better understanding of Why we are making changes (see #1). If we admit we can always do better, (see #2), we will be more willing to try new ways of doing things that may benefit us and our clients.
- Take Pride in your Work Space. Whether we work as a server, dishwasher, cook, chef, manager, cashier or menu assistant, we all have a certain area that is our responsibility to keep neat and clean. When you arrive at your workstation, having a clean, organized area can help you feel good about the work you are doing. When we face clutter and mess, it brings down morale and causes us to feel ashamed of the work we are doing. No matter how big or small your area, take pride in it!
- Walk in Someone Else's Shoes. As food service staff, customer service is a big part of our job. Whether we are greeting kids in a lunch line, serving patients in long term care, or cooking in an upscale restaurant, chances are that we will be addressing comments and complaints. When I am dealing with a challenging customer, I try to do my best to put myself in their shoes. We never know what someone may be going through.
Especially in the healthcare field, we are dealing with patients and their families during a very difficult and stressful time in their lives. Try to take into consideration how you would feel if you or your family member were in their shoes. - Make Customer Service a Culture. As managers, our staff are always looking to us for guidance and direction. The way we carry ourselves, speak with others, address problems, and complete our daily tasks, all set the tone for how our staff will perform. Try to avoid gossiping, complaining, blaming others, and other behaviors that you would not want to see from your staff. Lead with kindness and confidence.
- Make Food Safety a Priority. Anyone who has worked with me can tell you that I am passionate about food safety. But even if you don't teach food safety or work in a quality management position, it is so important that we all follow food safety guidelines in our day-to-day lives. Even basic things like poor hand-washing practices, poor personal hygiene and working while sick can put someone at risk. And not just someone, but multiple people. We serve a broad range of clients, and they count on us to prepare and serve food that is safe. It only takes one employee to skip handwashing one time and come into contact with one food on a buffet, to potentially cause a foodborne illness outbreak. While we cannot prevent all foodborne illness, we have learned so much over the years about how to help prevent foodborne illness, and it is our responsibility to oversee staff and make sure these precautions are taken.
- Take Care of Your Crew. Food service employees in general are often under-appreciated, underpaid and overworked. Even if we have no control over salary decisions and benefits within our workplace, we can control the amount of appreciation we show to our crew. Get to know your crew, and what makes them feel appreciated. We are all different, and you may find that different crew members like different forms of appreciation. I like to hang a stocking for my crew members during the holidays, and place little treats and goodies in them. While I can't afford extravagant gifts, I try to show them that they matter to me, and their hard work is appreciated, that I was thinking of them, and listening to them when they talked about their hobbies or favorite treats. Even if gifts are not a possibility, it is always free to say thank you!
- Celebrate Wins. Speaking of staff feeling underpaid and underappreciated... We often ask a lot of them. Not only do they complete their work tasks every day, we may ask them to participate in meetings and groups to work on customer service, safety or other projects. When you work together as a group and make positive changes, make sure you circle back to tell your groups they are appreciated. Tell them what has gone well, and what is still a work in progress. When we celebrate wins, it makes us feel proud of the work we do, and makes all that extra work seem worthwhile.
- Take Care of You and Strive for a Healthy Family/Work Balance. When our needs are not being met, we cannot focus on the needs of others. Some jobs can be very demanding. They may make us feel like the work never stops, and is on our minds even when we are not on the clock. It's so important that you keep a healthy balance and have time to yourself and time with your family.
View the archive of My Recipe for Success articles at www.ANFPonline.org/myrecipeforsuccess.
Nominate Yourself or a Fellow ANFP Member
Have you spent a career in foodservice? Share your wisdom and advice in a new feature from ANFP. My Recipe for Success is aimed at retired members or those who have spent a long career in foodservice. Share the biggest lessons you’ve learned to a lengthy, fruitful, and successful career in the non-commercial foodservice industry.
My Recipe for Success Archive
January 2021 - Dorothy Radermacher, CDM, CFPP
March 2021 - Wanda Dickson, CDM, CFPP
May 2021 - Tom Thaman, CDM, CFPP
July 2021 - Chef Richard "Nick" Nickless, CEC, CCA, AAC, CDM, CFPP
September 2021 - Karen Swift, CDM, CFPP
November 2021 - Paula Bradley, CDM, CFPP
January 2022 - Deborah McDonald, CDM, CFPP
March 2022 - Trish De Leo, CDM, CFPP
May 2022 - Deb Dawson, CDM, CFPP
July 2022 - Rosalind Davis, CDM, CFPP
September 2022 - Ken Owens, CDM, CFPP
November 2022 - Janice Hemel, CDM, CFPP
January 2023 - Bonna Brown, CDM, CFPP
March 2023 - Becky Massey, CDM, CFPP
May 2023 - Colleen Zenk, CDM, CFPP
July 2023 - Joey Rost, CDM, CFPP
September 2023 - Milton McGowian, DBA, FMP, CDM, CFPP
November 2023 - Robert McKeon, CDM, CFPP
January 2024 - Hunter Hying, CDM, CFPP
March 2024 - Kim Kyle, CDM, CFPP
May 2024 - Sharon Vermeer, CDM, CFPP
July 2024 - Regina St. Clair, CDM, CFPP
September 2024 - Ken Hanson, CPM, CDM, CFPP
November 2024 - Barbara Thomsen, CDM, CFPP, RAC, QCP
January 2025 - Michael Kopec, CDM, CFPP
March 2025 - Preeti Padmanabhan, CDM, CFPP
May 2025 - Chef Louie Prantil
July 2025 - Rosemary Aho, CDM, CFPP
September 2025 - Mark Budd, CDM, CFPP
November 2025 - Steve Owen, CDM, CFPP
January 2026 - Felix Jones, CDM, CFPP
March 2026 - Jose Brito, CDM, CFPP
May 2026 - Stacey Sheerin, CDM, CFPP, MBA