Kitchens

>cook
>not a blue collar job
Pick one.

Also enjoy tge servers making twice as much as you.

Did it for 3 years, and quitting it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

A very good friend of mine who's been cooking since he was 17 told me on the phone the other day that even though he's working as sous chef at a Michelin star rated restaurant he doesn't think he can keep it up for much longer. The long hours are getting to him, he's developed a drinking problem, he never has any time to spend with his girlfriend, and it's overall lost the charm that it once had to him. He's 28 now btw. nearly recently staying with it right now is because it's putting a roof over his head and he's terrified at the prospect of changing careers, as even his college education would only guarantee him an entry-level position even in his field (geology). I feel it's very telling for me personally when one of the most talented chefs I've ever met is trying to get out.

this fag

*the only reason he's staying with it

turning 7 in November at your local Applebee's. I'm the only boh left since we've opened. Well, there is 2 other that worked FOH that are now asst managers. I only work part time though. They've asked me if I want to become a kitchen manager or some sort but turned it down. This keeps me out of the house whilst having fun. Yeah I'm 43 years old

You should probably get out of the kitchen then m8. As the man in your gif would attest to, you need the passion.

Also to answer OP, I worked in a kitchen for over two years. I loved every second of it. Including the pressure of rush. If this white collar shit doesn't work out, food service is where I'll go. I still miss it.

Can you share what some of the differences are as far as what's expected of you and the workload working in a Michelin starred place?

MODS ARE ASLEEP

POST STAFF MEALS

This guy gets it

Any waiters here that can give a newbie advice? About to apply for a position at some Jap restaurants and don't know the first thing about being a good waiter. Any advice?

holy shit, if this i real, I'd kill for your job just to eat this.

Watch UK Kitchen Nightmares, I can't recall the episode but from time to time Ramsay focuses on teaching waiters, since he had been working as one. Here is an example
youtube.com/watch?v=7MVE1KwfR4A

Been working the service industry since I was 15, started on dish and then moved to cook. At 19 I switched to working as a barback and became a bartender when I turned 21. Now at 27 I bartend and manage. In the middle of this there was a lot of moving around different bars and restaurants.

Just be confident and personable. It's really not hard if you just relax. Just be urgent yet calm.

Hours vary a lot, on easy days, where I have not a lot of mise-en-place to prepare, I'll work the usual 8~9 hours, depending on closing time. If I have a lot to do I'll work up to 11 hours, on a regular day. If we're having events and that sort of shit, it can go up to 16 hours, but it's pretty rare.

I'm not sure what you mean with what's expected of me. To show up everyday, and have my mise-en-place ready by the service's time, I guess.

Working 2 jobs as a host/bartender. I like the latter much better.

Don't try to be overly formal.

Do you like it?

I work in the kitchen of a cafe that serves food if that counts?

you sound like my current manager, although I have no idea how old he actually is

Develop an alcohol/drug habit to help you deal with the general public. Oh, and everybody BOH has some kind of retarded grudge because they're too stupid to get the job that pays more and doesn't have the risk of constantly being burned or getting their fingers chopped off.

Yeah I do, moving from back of house to front was the best decision I ever made (even though I like the actual job of cooking more). It's easier and I make a lot more money. Moving up to management was smart too because I can pretty much make own schedule (during the week I do both managing and bartending at the same time) plus it looks good on my resume. I'll be graduating with a business management degree next year so I'm not sure what I'll do then. I might try to move toward working for a liquor company or something (trying to get into a 9-5 schedule in a few years).

I made that saturday :P

I own a full service restaurant. I'm in the kitchen pretty much open to close. I love it and hate it at times

Been at it for 7 years now plus 1 year of dish ive been the chef of a pretty decent pub for 2 years now and im only 22. Its sad that the owner is selling it in two years though i was able to change the menu to everything house made and boosted the weekly food sales from around 12k avg to 33k average in just a year in a half

Been in it for about 10 years now, finally about to take over as Head Chef for the first time at the restaurant I've worked,for the last 3 years.

Shits getting serious now, 26 and I still have my health. I'll be the youngest Head Chef for 50 miles around my parts.

I just finished "chef school" and just started working in a restaurant in the middle of nowhere. Joachim Koerper is the consulting chef, but he's barely here. I guess it's still pretty cool that I landed my first job in a place like this, it might even pave the way to my career goals. The workload is bearable. once summer ends this turns into a snoozefest. Honestly, I dig this life because I am not the most social kind of guy. Bags under my eyes and a sore back were always traits I've had since I was 17. I'm still learning everyday and that's what I love about this. You have to be better and faster than you were yesterday and you can actually feel the change from time to time. I haven't developed any addictions besides smoking, at least for now. working 10 hours a day with one ay off will eventually take its toll but it'll be worth it. I guess I'm one of those people who like the violence and pressure of working in a kitchen. Call me a masochist but I don't see myself doing anything else in the future. Here's hoping I'll make it somewhere

Anybody else love this field?

I still love cooking even though I've been doing it professionally for six years. It only gets more enjoyable as I get more and more creative input. I never had much of a social life anyway, and the camaraderie you get with your fellow cooks in a good kitchen is fucking awesome. I still keep in touch with people I worked with back when I started out. And the feeling of cranking out a busy service is great. The pay is shit, that's the only part I don't care for, but I feel like there's a general feeling in the industry that that should change, and hopefully it will.

great job!

Are all staff meals that good? Could a customer order whatever the staff is having?

Where is that? Portugal? I work under Joachim, right now, I'm , as well.

To be fair the drinking problem is likely because he went to school for geology; we're a rowdy, alcoholic bunch.

Nah the customers can go fuck themselves and order off the menu, thats a once a week treat for the staff.

I work at subway , but I doubt that counts

My station on brunch days.

the other side of my station

thats our saute station

pic related is our pasta side.

Thats a 6 basket pasta well, a double french top and a plantcha.

wups

is that an MDF chopping board?

Gotta admit I'm jelly. That's a pretty tight looking little set up.

How many cooks do you usually have in there? And what the fuck is that thing on the far end of the island (next to the fryer/plantcha?) with the two big wheel things?

this guy is a QT in this one picture. it's a shame that his tats are so awful.

Rubber

who is the girl

That's the grill/rotisserie. 2 breakfast chefs 2 lunches chefs 5 dinner chefs that rotate 4 sous plus banquet sous and then our exec.

>implying it isn't just some nameless he picked up at the club

That's literally on """"celebrity"""" big brother in the UK

So someone who is of similar fame as MPWJ

Yeah I'm a chef at McDonald's. Probably the toughest restaurant I've worked but hey its a living

Bump

It's pretty good. It seems like it's one of the only things I am really good at.

What did it take for you to land that job?

What kind of food do you serve? How many seats? What got you in to the business

gotta start somewhere right?

That's some good work ethic

yes, Portugal. Are you at Eleven?

>mfw im the dish bitch and steal your clean towels

Some luck and a good sales pitch to be honest. I don't have a ton of experience but I'm college educated and just sold him on my desire to become a chef which is totally true.I staged for 2 10 hour shifts and just did what I was told and kept my head down. I got hired specifically for breakfast/lunch and as far as I'm aware something like 30 people applied and I know for a fact they staged 15 of them and then hired 5 of us.

Started at 12.50, full 40 with full benefits and PTO. Super thankful every day I walk in there desu. I have absolutely no understanding of how I got the job over that many people.

by college educated I mean 60 hours as a poli sci major

>desu

wait what

Does inspecting them count?

Most common shit you pull restaurants up for?

Most disgusting thing you have ever seen?

>same restaurant almost 20 years
>every position FOH
>also desserts, salad, dish, and prep
>now managing
I'd much rather be the barista.

most common critical/foodborne risk factor would be cross contamination
most common priority-tier would be improperly mixing sanitizer too strong or too weak for dishwashing
most common dink and dunk item would be no certified food manager on site. In some establishments, you can tell where it makes a difference, in others, you can see where it doesn't do shit due to management, or the language barrier.

Most disgusting was a German roach infestation in a meat department of a supermarket. The food was provided from shitty cleaning of meat saws and other equipment, moisture from leaking wastewater lines from the display units, and harborage conditions all over the area. The worst were inside the large meat saws where you could tell they never opened it up to clean inside.

Aside from roaches running live on top of raw meat in the prep area in daylight, the dripping wastewater from inside the display unit was falling directly onto the meat being sold to consumers.

Altogether we destroyed 8600 lbs of meat, and forced closure due to the size of the infestation throughout the entire building. The State inspector from the meats group was there to witness the horror.

Ok, so if those are the real issues, why do you harass us about half and half dispensers?

Mechanical ones? I got no problem with them unless there's no one around to open it up for me so I can look at the guts of the unit. Same goes with ice machines. Easy upkeep unless you let it slip by, and then it gets nasty rather quickly.

We have kind of a cunt for a health inspector.
We never actually have major violations, but she loves to dick us around about little things.

>yfw my restaurant has a vacuum sealer hidden in the basement but we use it daily.
>we're part of a hotel so the part of the basement is housekeeping's shit so the health inspector never looks there

I supervise them, it really does depend on your inspector. Some folks key in on different things, others are dogmatic and everything is in black and white.

This is common too, very few are brave enough to go into cellars, tight closets, attics, etc. I don't care much for them myself unless I see things that indicate something's up. A horror I saw was a supermarket that had a large storage area in the back with clutter and old equipment that had other rooms and areas in the back- after making a 'path', I was able to get to the back and saw a collapsed roof with a bunch of pigeon skeletons and a nest of corn snakes. Fun times.

yeah, this is an upscale hotel so the basement is just where the service staff does its thing. Its super clean and we take care of it. I just know its an automatic fail in my city.

This woman seems like she would rather be a scientist.
She's always going on about the ph of the dishwasher, and telling us to put our half & half in fucking pitchers on ice (way more messy and unsanitary).
Her favorite thing to bitch about is the way we stack our paper cups.

where do you put your half and half?

In thermal containers/ dispensers.
We have 2, so they are cleaned every 2 hrs and refilled.

yeah but do you keep them refrigerated?

Like how?
The original and half containers are refrigerated: then it sits *cold* in the thermal container where it stays *cold* for up to 2 hours.

I have no issue with that on an inspection as long as it's staying cold, or it's being used within 4 hours. If you're using time as the health control, then all I would need to see is the procedure and how you're logging times.

If temp is off, and there's no time logs though, then I'd dock.

I do realize that health codes vary by jurisdiction though, but I try to be nosy and ask questions before turning an inspection report into a bloody red massacre with a pen.

Yeah you need to keep that shit in a lowboy or on ice. Shes right to bitch at you. That shits probably drifting into the danger zone a lot faster than you think.

Yeah, we use time as a control, but we don't really have time for logs. Even if we did, enforcing them would be a bitch.
Waddaya say you go check out that place down the road where they don't wash their hands and have roaches and shit?
We have never had any trouble in 20 years. She's just on a power trip.

whats so hard about ice/keeping it in a lowboy?

Dude, when no health inspector ever has given a shit for 20 years, we are not going to change our system for a bitch cunt.
We have no violations, ever, except very minor notations like put away the produce faster.

Youre just getting mad though for no reason. Just because the others didnt say anything doesnt make it an okay thing. She may totally be on a power trip but it doesnt change that shes totally right to be bothered by it.

Further you're not answering the question. Whats so hard about putting it on ice or down low in a lowboy? Whatre you using it for? Like why would you put your foot down on that specifically?

>ice
Messy, see above. Much less sanitary.

>lowboy
Restaurant is fucking small: no room for that shit.

ice isnt less sanitary at all if youre keeping whats being chilled under 40 degrees. Youre being retarded simply because shes being a bitch about it. Its a closed container. Just put it in ice just to make sure.

I work as a delivery driver for Panera bread I honestly wouldn't recommend this job to anyone. I have met the craziest characters on my deliveries that make the users of this site seem like rational human beings.

After reading this thread I'm glad I chose to follow through with my Network Certs and specialize in VOIP / Phone systems.

Goddamn you all have it tough.

I've worked as a cook in a variety of restaurants for 4 years. It was a lot of fun. At the beat place I worked at, a local farmer would show up with a truck full of shit and it was my job to come up with a special for the night using all of it. The thrill of a good dinner rush when your team is nailing everything and the waitresses are coming back with compliments is always a good feeling.

I got into the industry with zero background, I was a struggling liberal arts grad at the time trying to take whatever job I could get (though food/cooking was always something I was passionate about).

The problem was the pay and hours were shit. I finally put my liberal arts degree to use and got a nice office job in the city that pays a lot better, with none of the rush.

Yes.

Do I have to be a celebrity to get MPWJ to suck on my tits?

I worked in a restaurant for a month or so washing dishes. I would have given the job a better chance had the tip money been even half decent or if I was respected even partially. Didn't realize that most places pay you tips based on the tips earned during the day. The place I worked at did it for every hour you'd work you would get a constant tip amount of some sort. So I could work busiest Friday for 8 hours and get paid same tips as someone doing fuck all on a Monday for 8 hours. Not only that, front end staff straight up told me they pocketed a massive amount of tips and only reported a fraction of it.

As I quit, boss replied to me in a shitty manipulative way, so I just left them high and dry because of it.

saved from page 9

Any one use gel insoles? What are the best? my feet are in agony and my big toe has constant pins and needles even after my shift

some basic insoles and tylenol and not being a pussy.