Finding the Right People for F&B

We had another round of interviews for Restaurant Managers today.  It was good to see some candidates that had potential, within the salary range we were looking at.  Jo's question challenged me, are these the people I expected?

I had pictured people that were more upbeat, a bit more willing to learn and understand what we are trying to do with the company.  The people I am meeting seem more clinical, detached.  No doubt some of them have the technical ability, I'm just not sure of their emotional capacity.  How "can do" are these people?  Would they take the right initiative when given the opportunity?  Would they go the extra mile to provide that level of hospitality that we are aiming for? It's so hard to tell this from just 45 min with one person.

Are we essentially dealing with a different culture of people?  I'm thinking back to when I prepared for an interview, I would have approached it with a lot more engagement, striving to understand how I can add value to the company.  People don't seem to care as much.  The cynic in me would equate that to the failure rate of the F&B industry!

We have to be able to adapt to the situation, to recognise that even with this difference in culture we can still get those people to achieve the goals we set for them.  It is still early days for this round of interviews, perhaps we will get more quality as we go along.  I want to find someone where providing hospitality gives them energy.