J.U.A.N. Not Won

Diversity: A New Perspective

Subject: Diversity, Hispanic, Asian, Success, Talent, Skill

By Victor Antonio

“Your waiter will be with you in a moment and the name of your cook tonight is Won.” said the young lady who seated us at our table. 

My mother-in-law was in town and my daughter thought it would be a good idea to take her to Benihana for her “last meal” (I kid of course) before flying back home.  Benihana is a Japanese restaurant chain founded in 1964 and is known for the cooking skills of its chefs.  Unlike other restaurants, at Benihana, the chef actually cooks right in front of you.  There’s a flat wide grill at the head of the table where the chef conducts his/her business.

These cooks are not only trained in the culinary arts, they are also trained in the performance aspect of cooking a meal.  You not only see the cook preparing the food, he or she will also give you quite a show while preparing it.  You’ll see anything from an erupting “onion ring volcano” to the chef flipping a rise bowl, full of rice, atop their tall cooking hat with one flick of the spatula.  The show they put on is spectacular which is why I keep going back even though the food is pricey.  But I remind myself that I'm not only getting a meal, I'm also getting a performance.

Once in a while you’ll get a ‘non-performer’ (a.k.a., A Dud); a person who does a few tricks but is basically untrained and is more interested in cooking the food than entertaining you in the process.   It's rare, but it happens.  But on this day I was hoping we would get someone with some excitement and pizzazz in their style.

I looked across the room and saw our cook making his way to our table with his cart.  As he got closer I began to realize that this cook didn’t look Asian.  As he got closer I knew he wasn’t Asian…he was Hispanic.  (Note: Takes a Hispanic to recognize a Hispanic at a 100 yards :-)

I’m thinking to myself, “Oh, hell no!  A Hispanic cook at Benihana.  Is nothing sacred!  I thought our cook was going to be a guy named Won.” 

As he approached the table to introduce himself I read his nametag, “JUAN” not Won. 

I glanced over at my wife who knew what I was thinking and feeling.  She returned a harsh glare as if to say, “Don’t you say anything sarcastic.”

I took a deep breath and told myself to relax and enjoy the food.  Suffice it to say Juan was not a Won, so my expectations were as low as they could get.  I prepared for a mediocre preparation of the food.

Juan started out by reminding everyone what we ordered and ask if there was anything he needed to know before starting.  No one answered.  We were still trying to get over the “Juan-thing”.

Juan then grabbed an egg and spun it in the center of the grill.  He kept smacking it clockwise making it go faster and faster until the egg itself seemed like a blur atop the grill.  He then scooped up the spinning egg with a flat metal spatula and balanced it while it was in full spin.  Then, with one flick of the wrist he flipped the spinning egg into the air; into “Benihana Orbit”.  When the spinning egg came down, he rotated the spatula and cracked the egg on the edge of the spatula.  The egg and yoke dripped onto the grill and began to sizzle while the split shells hung on the spatula.  With one quick motion he quickly dispatched the shells into the waste bag.  So began Juan’s cooking circus.  

As he cooked, his moves were amazing!  He moved across the grill with ease and flipped knives and spatulas through the air like a juggler.  His performance was unforgettable.  The food he prepared, perfectly wonderful.

I walked out of there fat, dumb and happy.  Fat because I ate too damn much.  Feeling dumb for prejudging Juan before he had a chance to prove himself.  And, happy because Juan had proven my theory of success:  Success favors talent, not race, religious orientation or economic status.  What matters in life is your ability to deliver excellence.   When you’re good at what you do, you could be pink with white polka-dots, people don’t care.  Benihana has figured out what some in business still can't grasp; that being good is all that matters when it comes to success. 

Great companies are built on the Diversity of Skills...that's what matters; race, gender, religion are inconsequential when it comes to success.  Success favors skill.  Kudos to Benihana for thinking outside the Japanese box and leading the way for potentially:

-Japanese people cooking Mexican food

-Italians cooking Indian foods

-Polish people cooking in the Australian outback....I know...I went too far again!

Nonetheless, Juan’s skill proved that being great at what you do overshadows any preconceived notions of what you ought to be doing.  Juan killed a stereotype that day (i.e., That Mexicans can’t prepare Japanese food).  In his own little way, Juan is teaching us the real essence of Diversity.

I hope I get Juan, not Won, when I go back! 

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Copyright © 2005 by Victor Antonio   All rights reserved.  This article MAY be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, as long as the author’s name, website and email address are included as part of the article’s body.  All inquiries, including information on electronic licensing, should be directed to Victor Antonio.