Day 4 of "The 10 Days and Nights Until New Year!" — celebrating the amazing skills of independent restaurant AND bar teams during the busiest time of the year.
What You'll Learn
After reading this, you'll:
- Know the five parts of being super-adaptable: quick thinking, clear communication, focusing on systems, staying calm, and making small adjustments
- Be able to use the "What If" Drill to prepare your team for unexpected situations
- See how these skills can help you in your career, with your kids, in your relationships, and even with your health
The Call: 9:03 AM, Christmas Day
Alex was already at The Crown & Anchor when the phone rang. Dread hung in the air.
"I'm so sorry." It was Marcus, the head chef. His voice sounded like he was calling from the bottom of a well. "Food poisoning. Been up all night. Can't make it in."
Alex glanced around the prep station. Everything was perfect. Turkeys roasting. Veg prepped. Sauces ready to go. All thanks to Marcus's hard work the night before.
Two sittings today. Noon and 4 PM. Eighty hungry people in total. Families who'd shelled out £125 a head for Christmas lunch. People who'd chosen this over the chaos of cooking at home, over family squabbles, and the inevitable burnt roasties.
"I'll handle it," Alex said, trying to sound more confident than they felt.
Three hours until the first guests arrived.
The Talent: Being Seriously Adaptable
Being seriously adaptable isn't about having a Plan B. It's about being Plan B.
It's about stepping up, even when you're not ready, because you have no other choice.
Christmas Day bookings at UK gastropubs are way up – 54% higher than last year. This isn't just a blip; it's a real change. For many families, this is Christmas now. No mountains of dishes. No arguments about who's hosting. Nobody collapsing on the sofa by 3 PM, utterly exhausted.
Which means the pressure is on. Big time.
The 3-Hour Countdown
9:03 AM: The call. Shock. A moment of pure panic.
9:07 AM: Alex gathered the team. "Marcus is out. I'm running the kitchen today. Here's what we're going to do."
9:15 AM: Went through every dish, every step. "What do you usually need from Marcus? How can I help?"
9:45 AM: First problem. A key ingredient was missing from a supplier delivery. Alex tweaked the sauce. Crisis averted.
10:30 AM: Dry run of the starters. Checked the timing. Confirmed everyone's jobs.
11:45 AM: Final pep talk. "We've got this. Same food, same quality. No one will know the difference."
12:00 PM: First guests arrive.
By 12:47 PM, starters were hitting the tables. By 1:15 PM, mains were flying out. By 2:30 PM, the first sitting was done. Guests were happily lingering over coffee, completely unaware of the morning's drama.
Second sitting started at 4 PM. Same precision. Same calm.
By 7 PM, eighty meals served. No complaints. Marcus's name was even mentioned in some of the glowing reviews that popped up online in the following days.
Alex had just run a Christmas Day service for the first time. And nailed it.
From Kitchen to Life
The cool thing about being seriously adaptable is that it helps you deal with any unexpected situation life throws at you.
Career changes: Maybe you get laid off. Or the industry you're in vanishes. Being adaptable means finding a new path, even if it's something you've never considered before.
Parenting nightmares: Childcare falls through. The school calls in the middle of an important meeting. Holiday plans go up in smoke. You have to think on your feet, and keep the kids from seeing you sweat.
Relationship wobbles: Your partner gets a job in another city. A family member needs help. Your carefully laid plans change overnight. You adapt.
Health stuff: Your body can't do what it used to. The hobby that defined you is no longer possible. You find new ways to be you.
What Makes Someone Adaptable?
What Alex did that morning wasn't just luck. It was a set of skills they'd developed:
1. Quick Thinking: Knowing what's important and what can be changed.
2. Clear Communication: Telling the team what's happening, clearly and calmly. No panic.
3. Systems Focus: Realising that Marcus had created systems, not just relied on his own presence. The prep was done. The recipes were written down. The team knew what to do.
4. Staying Calm: Looking confident, even when you're not. The team needed to believe in Alex, even if Alex wasn't sure they believed in themselves.
5. Small Tweaks: Making little changes as problems came up, without making a big deal out of everything.
The Science Behind Stepping Up
Research on crisis leadership shows that acting confident can actually help.
When leaders stay calm, the team doesn't freak out. When teams are calm, they make better choices. Better choices lead to better results. So, pretending to be confident can actually create the conditions for real success.
Alex wasn't faking it. They were creating the right environment by acting as if everything was going to be okay.
And this is something you can learn. Every time a sous chef runs a section for an hour, they're practicing for this kind of moment. Every time a junior team member handles a shift without backup, they're building the skills to lead under pressure.
How to Help Your Team Adapt
The "What If" Drill
Once a month, try this:
"What if I'm not here tomorrow? Walk me through how you'd run service."
This isn't about scaring people. It's about getting them ready for anything. So that when something does go wrong, they've already imagined how to handle it.
Documentation is Key
Marcus's real gift to Alex wasn't just the prep work. It was the systems he'd built over the years:
- Recipes written down, not just in his head
- Clear job assignments, not just based on his say-so
- Timing plans written down, not just memorized
- Supplier contacts easy to find, not just in his phone
A kitchen that relies on one person is a weak kitchen.
Delegate, Delegate, Delegate
Every head chef should regularly:
- Let the sous chef run the entire service while they watch
- Be totally unavailable for questions (not just out of sight, but actually unreachable)
- Talk about it afterward: what worked, what could be clearer
The goal isn't to make yourself replaceable. It's to build a team that can handle anything.
The Payoff
Three days later, Marcus was back. Still a bit green, but back.
"How did it go?" he asked Alex.
"Fine," Alex said. "We followed your systems."
Marcus nodded. "Reckon you're ready to be a head chef?"
It wasn't really a question. They both knew the answer had changed.
Six months later, Alex took the head chef job at another pub in the group. Marcus's recommendation letter mentioned one day in particular: "December 25th, 2025 – the day I realised my sous chef was ready."
Christmas Day is when hospitality teams discover what they're really made of. When there's no backup, you become the backup. When you have no choice, you find a way.
Being adaptable isn't just a personality trait. It's something you practice.
And sometimes, it's Christmas.
Take Action
This Week
Do the "What If" Drill with your team: "What if I'm not here tomorrow? How would you handle service?" It's not about causing stress—it's about building confidence.This Month
Check your Documentation: Are your recipes written down? Are job assignments clear? Are timing plans written down? Are supplier contacts easy to find? A kitchen that depends on one person is a weak point.Keep Doing It
Delegate Regularly: Let your second-in-command run the whole service while you observe (but stay completely out of reach). Talk about it afterward. Build a team that can handle anything.Think About This
Before you move on, ask yourself:
- Your Experience: Think about a time when things went wrong and you had to step up. What did you learn about yourself?
- Your Life: Where in your life—work, family, health—are you relying too much on one plan?
- Your Next Steps: What's one thing at work that depends too much on one person? What will you do this month to fix that?
Tomorrow in "The 10 Days and Nights Until New Year!": Silent Leadership — when a junior team member steps up on Boxing Day.
About this series: The 10 Days and Nights Until New Year! celebrates the skills that make independent restaurant AND bar teams so special, and how those skills help in life. From December 22nd to December 31st, we're looking at one essential hospitality skill each day.
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