Introduction
For my interview, I have chosen the owner of the Persian ‘Royal Vanak’ restaurant Maziar Rahimi. He has started working in the food industry when he was 17 as a simple waiter. Nowadays, he can proudly say that he had worked in every part of his restaurant before getting to the top. Mr. Rahimi obtained his skills working as a manager of the cafe, in food marketing, as a chef of Mediterranean cuisine; moreover, he even had worked as an employee of several outstanding chefs that are well-known in Los Angeles, which Maziar preferred to leave anonymous. The road towards becoming an owner of the restaurant was long, challenging, and laborious; nonetheless, according to the words of Mr. Rahimi, it was worth it without any doubts.
The interview
As an owner of the whole restaurant, Maziar has lots of daily responsibilities, and without him, the performance of the food establishment would significantly reduce and even cease to exist as it is. Some duties could be classified as weekly, not daily, such as making orders for products, fresh fish, and meat. Other business of Mr. Rahimi requires his full attention and often takes a full day, which determines his working hours. The owner is obliged to make sure that his employees are happy and comfortable with their workplaces. Moreover, the owner has to monitor the work of his staff to maintain the high-performance level of the restaurant.
The checking of the cleanliness of the food establishment also lies on the owner: Mr. Rahimi does not hesitate to direct the cleaners and show them where their help is needed. The owner also is responsible for issues related to food, such as checking the availability of wine, beer, and necessary food. And the last but not the least duty of the owner is to talk to the customers and just be there when he is needed. As Maziar said, the customers and employees have to know that he is within listening distance.
Mr. Rahimi told us that what he likes the most about the career of the restaurant is a challenge that he meets every day: to make his food establishment better. Every day the job challenges him to be better, more creative, use different approaches, and re-evaluate the used methods.
One of the most frustrating features of the owner’s job is the ability to get the whole team to work together as a whole. Usually, a restaurant consists of introverts and extroverts, who work in the kitchen and on the front of the restaurant respectively. And every worker is dependable on another, even if they are completely different people; moreover, they need to know how to respect other workers’ positions.
To be a successful restaurant manager, a person needs to possess certain qualities. Needless to say, that an owner has to be a good and efficient leader; Maziar claims that most personal qualities are irrelevant if a person is not passionate about his job and is not ready for it to become his life. Of course, the monetary component also plays a huge role: a good owner needs to attract investors to his business to develop it. So, by the passion for the business, a good owner has to be able to attract investors, be open-minded and sociable.
Mr. Rahimi shared that he never works alone, as the whole restaurant is his team. He maintains strong and healthy, but professional relations with every worker in his food establishment, where the business is done only as a result of efficient teamwork. The career Maziar has chosen for himself became his lifestyle, he says that this position changed not only his life but his personality as well.
Personal impression
I have learned that being a restaurant owner is not only extremely difficult and challenging but also engaging. It provides lots of opportunities for personal development, obtaining experience in management, and other fields. The more a person discovers about the restaurant business, the more invaluable he is, not only for himself and his workers but as a contribution to his establishment.
I became interested in the occupation of the restaurant manager when I saw Maziar Rahimi at work in ‘Royal Vanak Restaurant’. He seemed to fit quite naturally into the workflow; nonetheless, it was understandable that the business holds on him. I think that I will be successful because of my colossal aspiration and impulse. Moreover, I am a highly motivated and capable individual who will not stop until his goals are achieved.
There are a lot of opportunities that I can explore when look into developing my skills as a manager. While conducting the interview, I have only ensured that I have chosen the right occupation for myself. I will surely learn more from Mr. Rahimi about the job of the restaurant manager in the future.