Loss aversion and being able to stop
Kay Stevense, Sheila Struyck, Lars van Galen
A lesson in winning from star chef, Lars van Galen - column
Sheila Struyck worked for years as an entrepreneur, investor and in senior marketing positions. At the age of 55, she changed course; she obtained her qualifications at the French Le Cordon Bleu gastronomy school and is now working as a chef in various restaurants. As a semi-outsider, she writes about the professional kitchen for Food Inspiration. On the last day of 2021, she learned from star chef Lars van Galen what makes a winners mentality.
"We're starting again, these aren't good enough." Lars van Galen, chef and owner of the restaurant 't Lansink* in Hengelo, pointed to one hundred and fifty 'culinary' oliebollen. It was New Years Eve. We just finished the work. 'Vuurzee' champagne beer in the batter, the balls filled with foie royale and on top, a crispy red 'beet chip dish', containing plum, cubes of beet and cress. We had worked hard. I have only experienced this concentration and cooperation, this 'in the zone feeling', in the professional kitchen. The culinary 'oliebollen' are sold in the oliebollen drive-in for charity. "Oui chef, we just keep going," says chef de partie Kay Stevens, and grabs a fresh doughnut. No moaning about wasting time or effort. The name of 't Lansink is on it, so they have to be perfect.
Virtually in the kitchen
Even though the restaurants are closed because of another lock-down, with a little imagination chefs can also work 'from home'. So, to avoid the grumpiness, I also went 'virtually' in December. I watched the BBC show MasterChef - The professionals and empathized with the ambitious chefs aspiring to be the best in England. Participant Liam Rogers – senior chef de partie – cooks the stars from heaven. He is called 'the iceman': he is not distracted by anything or anyone. But then the semi-finals arrive: he wobbles back and forth and looks pale. Afraid of not progressing to the next round. He promptly forgets to season and taste his celeriac puree. Tragedy in slow motion, this fear of losing. In George Orwell's book : 'Down and out in London and Paris': I imagined myself in the hustle and bustle of a large restaurant. And with a chef friend I went on the road, we drove to the Lindenhoff for Brussels sprouts on stump, Baambrugs piglet and bavette from the caveman. Delicious. Talking about wine and truffle heads and pretended the lockdown didn't exist. And presto, it helped not to pay attention to what was not possible, I was a happy person.
Culinary Judge
Spurred on by chefs Sidney Schutte and Mark Minkman, there was a 'frantic culinary oliebol challenge' for charity on social media in the last weeks of 2021. The eight finalists met just before Christmas at the Onky Donky house in the Ouwehands zoo in Rhenen. Of course 'your culinary columnist' was willing and able to join the jury! Concentration and conviviality go hand in hand today. Beautiful creations appear on the table. Sweet, savoury, French, Dutch. With local products such as eel, game and beet. With rendang and peanut foam. The jury took its task very seriously. Master pastry chef Robèrt van Beckhoven said you can tell whether the preparation is good by the shape of the air bubbles in the oliebol. They need to be round, not oval. Former professional soccer player Jan van Halst asked the participants what the role of the team was. Frank Visser – chairman of Les Patrons Cuisiniers – was looking for culinary delights and the somewhat belated illusionist Hans Klok made all the 'dutch doughnuts' taste good.
And me? I enjoyed the creations of the chefs who managed to capture their personality and style in an oliebol. Lars van Galen – with his 9-year-old son Stijn as commis – was crowned the winner. And when he was asked: "So, can you make a lot more of these for New Year's Eve?" I smelt my chance, even if it was only for a few hours, to stand in the kitchen again and enthusiastically offer my help.
Loss aversion
So I ended up in this 'production train' on New Year's Eve. And with this batch of oliebollen suddenly rejected by Lars van Galen. It fascinates me, because it says something about the craftsmanship of this acclaimed chef. Everyone has at one time or another – against their better judgement – ploughed on ahead with something that was actually not good enough. Just persevere and finish what you started, because it is a waste of the work and the time that has already been put in. We do this with a dish that we cook, but also with a painting job or a business project. Better to fix things and get away with a marginal result than to stop and start all over again.
What is the cause of this? Business and management book writer Ben Tiggelaar calls this loss aversion. If you have something that you are 'reasonably' satisfied with and you are in danger of losing it, you suddenly become extra motivated to keep it. The fear of losing something outweighs what we potentially have to gain. Cognitive control is how your brain corrects behaviour. This is necessary to be able to act flexibly in a changing situation, without losing sight of your goal. Our cognitive control diminishes when we think we are losing something. You can have less control over yourself and react impulsively.
Better than last time
But Lars van Galen doesn't seem to suffer from loss aversion. Lars is a winning champion. He has a Michelin star, is a Master Chef, winner of the Golden Chef's Hat, winner of the Prix Taittinger Benelux and Prix Taittinger Culinaire International. “I like professional competitions. But you also have to take a playful culinary challenge like this oliebollen challenge seriously.” Lars is the best because every time he wants to be better than his last time. Not by avoiding loss. On the contrary: it is precisely his ability to decide quickly to start over that makes Lars a winner. And his team learns that from him.
If only Liam kept doing that in his MasterChef kitchen: just doing your best, not thinking in terms of loss or what might be. Then you get a beautiful result. That is my New Year's wish for all my colleagues, not only the chefs, but also the managers!
Verschenen op www.foodinspiration.nl - Januari 10, 2022