Pier 77’s Yalcin Kaya thinks the world of his master class.

By Diane Hudson

“I can’t believe you all have bachelor’s degrees in the culinary arts! Whatever did they teach you in those four years?” says Yalcin Kaya, owner of Pier 77 in Kennebunkport. “Executive chefs aren’t just cooks. They’re department-head managers who direct a whole range of things beyond how to make sauces or tasty dishes.”

When he bought Pier 77 in 2016, Kaya was surprised that his J-1 trainees craved essential management skills. They had just a year to launch their brilliant careers. (A J-1 is a non-immigrant visa issued by the U. S. State Department to individuals approved to participate in work- and study-based visitor programs that promote cultural exchange.) Inspired, Kaya designed Pier 77’s Culinary Arts Training Program, requiring all of his J-1 trainees to take the course. 

“My executive chef teaches what you need to know in the kitchen. But if you don’t know how to read a profit-and-loss statement, you won’t have success.” To astonish diners, financial management must be one of your secret ingredients. In matters of innovation and taste, “you have to learn how to analyze.”

COOKING OUTSIDE THE KITCHEN

Starting in December and continuing for ten weeks during the slower months, Kaya meets with trainees every two weeks, covering topics that include: how to hire, train, and manage kitchen staff; scheduling; planning menu prices; food cost control; labor cost control; waste and theft control; meeting industry-approved hygiene, sanitation, and safety standards; and monthly analysis of profit-and-loss statements. Kaya administers midterm and final exams, and successful participants receive a Certificate of Completion.

Kaya’s background, including ten years as a general manager for Marriott, eminently qualifies him to lead these his charges. “They’d send me to hotels in bad shape to fix them up. One I worked at in Savannah had ten managers in ten years. There were such bad practices in place, like all the management meeting at 9 o’clock for an hour or two during the busiest hours of the day. It took me six months, but the hotel became one of the best in Savannah.

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