Ken Hanson, CPM, CDM, CFPP

Des Moines, IA
ANFP Member since: 2004

Ken Hanson, CPM, CDM, CFPP has over 35 years of foodservice experience in fast food and full-service restaurants, cafeterias, long-term care, and corrections. He currently oversees the foodservice and warehouse operation of a 1,100-bed county jail facility. Hanson is a past ANFP Chair of the Board, and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Nutrition & Foodservice Education Foundation (NFEF). He is also the current Chair of the Certifying Board for Dietary Managers (CBDM).

Ken's Recipe for Success 

1. Empower your staff to make decisions in your absence. Don’t punish them if they make a mistake. Use it as a learning opportunity. Explain why you would have made a different decision.
2. Stand up for your staff. Be their advocate. Don’t let others in the building mistreat them.
3. Train your staff your way, but allow them to do the job a little differently than you as long as the results are good.
4. Present problems/issues/challenges to your staff and ask them for input on how they would solve them. They can be your best resource and their ideas may be the optimal ones.
5. Stay up-to-date on the industry. Go to meetings. Attend seminars. Read trade publications. Network with others.
6. Volunteer, personally as well as professionally. It makes your skills more marketable to employers and you meet wonderful friends and colleagues.
7. Delegate as much as you can. The best bosses are those whose absence is not noticed by the rest of the building.
8. Mentor your replacements. Do this, not only for long-term succession, but also so you don’t get bothered on your time off away from work.
9. Work alongside your team occasionally. It shows them that you understand the demands of the job, even if you’re just doing dishes. No job is unimportant to your operation.
10. Humor is always welcome in my kitchens. The team that laughs together (not at each other), supports one another.

View the archive of My Recipe for Success articles at www.ANFPonline.org/myrecipeforsuccess. 

Nominate Yourself or a Fellow ANFP Member

Have you spent a career in foodservice? Share your wisdom and advice in a new feature from ANFP. My Recipe for Success is aimed at retired members or those who have spent a long career in foodservice. Share the biggest lessons you’ve learned to a lengthy, fruitful, and successful career in the non-commercial foodservice industry. 

Nomination Form

My Recipe for Success Archive

January 2021 - Dorothy Radermacher, CDM, CFPP
March 2021 - Wanda Dickson, CDM, CFPP
May 2021 - Tom Thaman, CDM, CFPP
July 2021 - Chef Richard "Nick" Nickless, CEC, CCA, AAC, CDM, CFPP
September 2021 - Karen Swift, CDM, CFPP
November 2021 - Paula Bradley, CDM, CFPP
January 2022 - Deborah McDonald, CDM, CFPP
March 2022 - Trish De Leo, CDM, CFPP
May 2022 - Deb Dawson, CDM, CFPP
July 2022 - Rosalind Davis, CDM, CFPP
September 2022 - Ken Owens, CDM, CFPP
November 2022 - Janice Hemel, CDM, CFPP
January 2023 - Bonna Brown, CDM, CFPP
March 2023 - Becky Massey, CDM, CFPP
May 2023 -  Colleen Zenk, CDM, CFPP
July 2023 - Joey Rost, CDM, CFPP
September 2023 - Milton McGowian, DBA, FMP, CDM, CFPP
November 2023 - Robert McKeon, CDM, CFPP
January 2024 - Hunter Hying, CDM, CFPP
March 2024 - Kim Kyle, CDM, CFPP
May 2024 - Sharon Vermeer, CDM, CFPP