Two chefs one lemon

Scenario

Two chefs want the last lemon to complete their dishes. The problem is that only one lemon is left.

Question

Which chef gets the lemon?

Option Choices

Lets look at the options and outcomes

Option a: Chef 1. If chef 1 is able to negotiate for the lemon to finish the dish, chef 2 misses out and therefore is not be able to complete the dish.

Option b: Chef 2. Similarly to option a, if chef 2 is able to negotiate for the lemon to finish the dish, chef 1 misses out and therefore is not be able to complete the dish.

Option c: 50/50. Splitting the lemon 50/50 may seem like a good idea to please both chefs and half a lemon may seem to be better than none of the lemon. Is this a fair compromise? (maybe?)

Option d: Other/ something else. There is only one lemon, what are the other options I hear you ask? This is where you can get creative.

Two Chefs one lemon – who gets the lemon?

Typically the most common responses revolve around who is the senior chef? they should get the lemon. (Option a or b) or splitting the lemon 50/50. However, this means that potentially one chef or both chefs may not get their dish finished as intended.

So Which chef gets the lemon?

What if there was a way in which both chef 1 and chef 2 are able to finish their dishes?

Let’s say that chef 1 wanted the lemon for the juice and chef 2 wanted the lemon for the peel (AKA rind or zest). A little communication and understanding the interest behind why chef 1 and chef 2 want the last lemon helps create a solution in this situation where both chefs get what they want.

Take away:

1. Focus on the interest (chef 1 wanted the lemon for the juice and chef 2 wanted the lemon for the peel)
2. Steer the conversation away from position (Both Chef 1 and 2 want the lemon)

Critical thinking

Clearly both Chef’s might want the same one lemon for the juice and then the above solution won’t work. At this point the negotiation will look different. Learning to think on your feet on the fly and be able to analyze the situation combined with clear communication and empathy will help create a win-win situation. How exactly to resolve this situation and other negotiation tips will be shared in future issues.

SRA / SQE Updates

1. SRA has published their December 2024 SQE update
2. From Jan 2025, the SRA are introducing Scaled scoring for SQE 2
3. SRA has commissions IFF, a social and market research agency, to conduct the first independent evaluation of the SQE.