These are the most significant words of advice I ever received. I have carried this mantra with me for more than 50 years, as a roadmap to not just success but a model that allows hard-working people to sleep at night. It’s a simple directive: no matter what you do, what task you are required to perform, how much you get paid to do it, or who you do it for – approach every task with the same level of commitment to doing it the best you can.

The mantra sets the stage for the drive to constantly improve. To a young student of the culinary arts, this might be the most important lesson that can be reinforced every day in the classroom and kitchen. This is what every instructor should deliver in every class, with every task, every project, every written assignment, every knife skills exercise, every poached egg, grilled steak, or sauteed piece of fish, every table setting, and each and every time a student ties on an apron.

If you are opening a hot dog stand then commit to being the very best, knock-your-socks-off, monumentally great, way-over-the-top hot dog stand that anyone has ever seen before. Why settle for okay when you can be world-class? If you are opening a full-service, high-end restaurant then make sure it is unbelievably great, a restaurant that becomes a destination, the type of operation that is a benchmark for everyone else, a place that gets people excited and leaves them scratching their head wondering, “How can any restaurant be that great?” Why would you want to strive for anything less?

Check out your competition, study the restaurants that surprise and thrill people, spend time there studying their methods, work there if you can, ask people why they like them so much and then get to work learning how to be even better. Competition is healthy if you use it as a reference to improve. Never settle for good or very good, never allow mediocre or good enough to slip into your vocabulary. Wake up every morning with one simple goal: be extraordinary!

As a cook, be the person everyone marvels at when you cut vegetables; be the person that other cooks turn to when they need their knives sharpened to razor perfection; make sure the chef always turns to you for a groundbreaking special or asks your advice on a plate design. As a chef, be the one others turn to for problem-solving and be the chef known in your area as the one who can dazzle guests with incredible flavors. Strive for perfection and find comfort in reaching for excellence and rally the next day to work toward perfection once again.

If you are just starting as a dishwasher, then seek to become a world-class dishwasher. Every plate is perfect, pots and pans glisten and are squeaky clean, floors are spotless and always dry, and the dish machine looks brand new when you finish your shift. People will notice and great opportunities will come your way if you always strive for greatness.

For that weekly performance report you submit to the owner, make sure it is spelled correctly, points well made, numbers accurate, and presented as if it were a thesis for a graduate degree. If you are making a cash deposit, take an extra few seconds to make sure the bills are facing in the same direction, and not bent, properly counted, and double-checked for accuracy. People will notice. It may not change anyone’s life, but it will be noted as your way of doing things.

Are you a member of the service staff? Approach your station as if it were your restaurant. Make sure the tables are level, the windows in that are station clean, tablecloths are even, silverware and glassware are spotless, menus are clean and pristine, backup supplies are in perfect order, your uniform is impeccable, and you know the menu and features inside and out including correct pronunciations and beverages that pair perfectly with food. People will notice, peers will begin to follow suit, and customers will ask for your station. Everyone will notice.

Excellence and world-class is not a destination, it is a mindset, the way you function with everything and how you interact with everyone. Once it becomes part of who you are then anything less will drive you crazy. Your commitment to excellence will become synonymous with who you are and an expectation that everyone has of you. Excellence will be your brand and people will notice.

Start today with the most incidental tasks and keep adding to it. Ask yourself before you approach each task, “Am I willing to be great at this?” Follow-up after the task is complete with, “Could I do this task better, next time?” Then go about finding out how to be a world-class dishwasher, breakfast cook, prep cook, grill person cooking hot dogs, server, bartender, chef, manager, or student of the culinary arts.

Start today – one step at a time to greatness.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Paul Sorgule, MS, AAC, president of Harvest America Ventures, a mobile restaurant incubator based in Saranac Lake, N.Y., is the former vice president of New England Culinary Institute and a former dean at Paul Smith’s College. Contact him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..