Kitchen Staff: Loss of Pride & Respect

submitted by /u/Happy_Tourist_558 [link] [comments]

“So I have about 15 years in kitchens. I started as a dishwasher and have worked my way up to some really nice places. Like fine dining in major US cities. Which I am not saying I'm an amazing chef, but it was very challenging but definitely something I was proud to be doing. Since then I have tried to change careers to do construction. I've been doing that for about 5 years now, but given the economy we have slowed down and I needed to get a part time job I recently started a new kitchen”

“I'm already looking for a new place to work. Then this, among other things I've taken pictures of, goes public. submitted by /u/ButtChowder666 [link] [comments]”

“Today was kind of a shitshow, less than halfway into the shift we ran out of prep and had to make basically everything on the fly. Projected covers of 60 turned into a bit over 150 only two hours after open. We also just completely changed our menu and plating, first day running it. Got way busier with walk-ins than anticipated and everyone got fucking hammered. I shockingly have this down pretty well despite the fact I never worked on a line that requires actual cooking and havent worked on any”

100%

“So for the last 16 months I’ve been shadowing my sous and training with my exec with the goal of becoming a sous chef within my company. There are dozens of internal transfer options. Well they both said with confidence that I was ready. I have experience with high volume food production, ordering, inventory management, food cost control, recipe costing, banquet operations, menu development and leading kitchen teams across multiple venues. I’m certified in nutrition, food and chemical safety and”

“I never wanted to be a cook. It just kind of chose me. I needed a job - there was an entry level job that paid well. The first kitchen was a nightmare. It broke me. I lost myself. I was verbally berated and thought I deserved it. The second was great but lots of OT and worked every holiday. So much fun though. The third was out of desperation. I had set a date to move and applied to 50+ jobs. After moving and not getting any responses I just went to another kitchen. Finally I'm done. It was”

“Hey guys, I was just curious for those working in restaurants, what does your kitchen tip out look like, if you have one? I’ve worked in a couple of places, usually with like a percent or 2 of food sales, my current one is 4 percent of food sales, and I wanted to compare. submitted by /u/tommyboyx595 [link] [comments]”

“I started working at this local pizza chain in my city when I was about 21, dropped out of college, moved back in with parents, and became content with staying here up until recently. I quickly rose through the ranks up to AGM and was content with that for a time. Sure I knew I’d probably have a store of my own in time, but that has not happened yet. Currently I work at one of them in town with a GM who has one foot out the door. They are older and ready to retire but they won’t step down. Talks”

“We're a chicken place, roti and fried. Last I checked, a tender is a specific part, and fried chicken is chicken that's been fried. But what do I know, I'm just some grunt submitted by /u/KatinHats [link] [comments]”

“We're a chicken place, roti and fried. Last I checked, a tender is a specific part, and fried chicken is chicken that's been fried. But what do I know, I'm just some grunt Edit for clarification, the fried chicken is boneless thighs and breasts and the bone in is all roti. We don't have any chicken tenders on the menu, and kids strips come from a torn up breast submitted by /u/KatinHats [link] [comments]”

“TLDR at the bottom. The OP is cross posted from another subreddit, by the way. I worked the opening shift in a restaurant with a chef that would come in hours late every day, so that the opening crew couldn't enter the building and clock in. This went on for months. Our time clocks were never adjusted to reflect out actual hours, and the chef told the owner that the reason we were unprepared for service every day was because WE were late...thus jeopardizing all of our jobs. He also complaine”

“Came down for some staff food today and was greeted with this putrid prawn and insect topped “pizza”. Thought I’d share this with you all submitted by /u/oilla- [link] [comments]”

“I started in restaurants at 14, moved from bus boy, to dishie, to salad, prep, bake, fry, window, grill, saute, smoker, assistant kitchen manager, etc over my 16-17 years in the industry. I never worked true fine dining, but we did the hollandaise, bearnaise, "country club/steakhouse" with different cuts of fresh fish, tomahawks, fresh bearnaise in a few restaurants. That being said, the one thing that drives me up a wall in a home kitchen is the towel on the oven handle. We would occa”

“A brisket I did just for a filler submitted by /u/Ok_Risk_8519 [link] [comments]”

“Still at this gastropub. When I first joined up a year ago, it was a total greasy shithole with no SOPs, no inventory tracking, no label system, no prep lists, nothing. Total cowboy shit. Flash forward and we have all these things, but ownership seems to just not want an actual manager on-site for whatever reason. I haven't pushed for a raise yet, but I feel like I have all the ammunition for one and a title. The question is, is it worth it? Tonight might have been my breaking point. The own”

“Chef and my coworkers were going back on fourth on cook temps today. I believe there could be a disconnect on what temp you pull it and what temp it should be when you cut into it. What are the temps you live by? submitted by /u/Informal-Ad-9344 [link] [comments]”

Thank you. I know I'll be okay, it's just a process.

“One of my cooks will jack the flat top up to 500° whenever she comes over to work that station. It leaves the whole thing charcoal black in less than an hour. I'm just wondering what temp your guys have found to be the most efficient/best? submitted by /u/MowieWauii [link] [comments]”

Yeah I never said I'd like to be a chef but I have some kitchen experience

“I know this is a common question, but I’m having my first set of doubts at the moment. I’m 19yo and I’ve been working in kitchens for 4 years, and as a cook for 2. I’ve worked as a sous in a crap pub and I’m currently a commis. I’ve spent the last 6 months in restaurant work and I’m starting to think it isn’t right for me. How do I know if I’m not made for this line of work? What will I do if I’m not cooking? I have very few other qualifications and I’ve lost almost all friendships and family ti”

“Personally I wanna cry when I see beurre pommade and beurre manié. I had a chef who got extra pleasure from watching us try to work the butter fresh out of fridge with a marise. submitted by /u/bagmami [link] [comments]”

“I have about a decade of professional cooking experience and a few years of experience as an insurance agent. I loved working in kitchens but the pay and hours were terrible and it’s hard on the body. I now work in insurance which pays a bit better and has a better work-life balance but the job makes me absolutely miserable. I have a BA in Philosophy and Economics. I’m open to going back to school but don’t know what a financially responsible degree would be. For a long time I wanted to break in”

“I work at a sports bar and there's generally two people in the kitchen: someone cooking with fryers, flat top, and occasionally saute pans; and someone setting plates and pulling ingredients to hand to the person cooking. We just hired a new cook and they are just not getting it. They're stuck on fryers and keep dropping sides before proteins are even on the grill. It's ended up being the plate setter has to run the grill as well and it's way too much for one person and our ticke”

“For me, it would be the concept that more modifications = more chance for error. This is literally science and statistics people. I once had a lady modify an Asian chicken salad so diabolically it wasn’t even Asian anymore. She removed everything but the chicken. Then added avocado and changed the lettuce type. I just remember her yelling at me “I just wanted dry lettuce, chicken, and avocado. I don’t understand how that’s hard!” Like lady: - Both line cooks hate me tonight. - We have no food ru”

“Two casual dining spots in Dallas. The restroom situation is genuinely the worst part of my job. Staff won’t touch it beyond a paper towel check. so it’s me with a mop at 9pm. Staff avoids the restrooms like the plague during close, they’re all kitchen and dining room. Is there a cleaning company on-demand thing for this?Maybe a weekly deep clean on subscription for cheapish not Cintas they’re a scam artists? What do you guys actually do for restrooms. In-house? A service? Just deal with it? Bec”

“Yea not very clever... However you could move the gas fire over and bring the flat top to the center and it would be much more functional. I wonder though if that is the chef sink or th actual sink for cleaning... There is another sink next to it too.”

“This is from a food truck for sale in my area… You literally have to lean over the screaming hot flat top grill to wash your hands during service. Guess what anyone working in this food truck isn’t gonna do. What a terrible design. submitted by /u/SmashBrosFoodTruck [link] [comments]”

“I’ve been working my first full-time cook job for almost four months, and literally every single week we do a bunch of extra hours that are acknowledged and accounted for but go unpaid. Thursday through Saturday, our kitchen closes @ 11:30pm and we’re scheduled until 00:00 so there’s time for cleanup… the thing is it always takes more than half an hour. We even start clearing stuff at 11 but usually get out at around 12:30/01:00 (Today I was scheduled till 11:30 and got off at 01:15). Rest of we”

“Would any of you quit a job if your head Chef had a major anger issue problem. Slamming doors, yelling at the gm and on the verge of a breakdown every other day. Or if your place of work caters weekly 30k buyouts but you get zero tip outs. Or if even when you worked 6 days a week you werent getting full time hours? Which have now shrunk cause theyre closed two days out of the week. No benefits, no vacation pay. No holiday bonuses. Nothing. This place is to nice to not include at least one of the”

“Started going in a catering/freelance direction. Most restaurants I’d just show up w my chef knife and shoes and be good to go. Now, I’m starting to realize I look kinda… unserious? And underprepared. Whether you work in a restaurant or freelancing, what do you think is essential in a knife roll? And do you have anything not necessarily essential but surprisingly useful? So far I have a Chef knife Paring knife Offset spat Microplane (a good one) Diamond steel And a littttle rubber spat As well a”

“So I [20] worked 2 years at wendys, and ive been at firehouse subs for almost a year. I wanna move into being a line cook but im worried about weather or not people will actually consider me. I have horrible eyesight and I wear hearing aids but I dont see myself working anything other than food. submitted by /u/waffle_killer123 [link] [comments]”

“I recently started working at a bar wich also sells food. I am the only person with kitchen experience who works here. I have told a million times for everyone to mind the dates, check the freshness and keep everything clean… I was sick for three days and come back to a shitty kitchen (like every day) and at least two preps that are out of date that they have definitely used yesterday. Also prepa without any indication of when they were made… What the fuck? Are people actually this goddamn stupi”

“Me and 4 other cooks had to call it quits and resigned together this morning. Our restaurant is a super busy a la carte buffet Japanese restaurant, we were moving to a new location the boss got a hold of. The new kitchen looks much better, a lot more space and better equipment to work with. Then we realised the boss, according to his words, hired a team of professional movers before cancelling because my head chef allegedly told him that we'd only have to lug a total of 9 chillers and freeze”

submitted by /u/Denleborkis [link] [comments]

“They saw us tomorrow, chefs (or I guess today). submitted by /u/SlightDish31 [link] [comments]”

“Just got called in for an emergency dishie shift after being gone a year. Place has had issues with keeping night dishies this summer, and I (half-joking/half-serious) said I was kinda insulted they hadn't called me up because I live so close by and I genuinely do miss working there (though my day job pays way more) That conversation was 5h ago. Their dishie called out tonight. I got a text. Time to go from electrical engineer to dishie, and I feel like a kid going to Disney World. (heh... D”

“I've been working as a line cook for several years, but my life started to unravel when my restaurant closed down after covid started. I saw it coming and quit with a notice in 2021, my manager cried on my last day. I had an unhealthy relationship with that place and we were all overly attached to each other. I've job hopped ever since. Got sober this year and took a few months away from cooking, ultimately decided its what I'm good at and its whats going to get me through school at”

“Good for them. It sounds like the city owns the building and the process of replacing the AC unit is taking a long time. Gotta look out for the health of your crew. submitted by /u/SessileRaptor [link] [comments]”

“Hey Chefs, i started at a new place as a CDP recently. It's going great aside from one thing, i cannot for the life of me clean the plancha properly. I spray oven cleaner, apply water, grill brick it, white wine vinegar it, grill brick, water, white wine vin again and then sanertise it. In the morning there is still oven cleaner residue on it. What the fuck do I do. submitted by /u/Old_Operation_9278 [link] [comments]”

“Hello, I'm 35 and I've been working in all forms of restaurants for about 10 years. I just recently had my birthday, and had the realization that I don't want to be in food anymore. Initially, my dad and I shared the interest in it from way back when I was in high school. Then, he took my college money so he could go to culinary school. I've been trying hard to please him in a way and prove to myself I'm strong, but I don't have the drive anymore. Currently, I've been”

“You get to just work your hardest your entire shift and not deal with customers? You get to do your passion? All you have to deal with is whats right in front of you? I'm now filtering the fryers daily (minus my days off) and changing them entirely multiple times a week and im baffled how anyone thinks this is terrible. Get to listen to music occasionally? My shift is dealing with <20 people not >200 Whats the catch, fam? submitted by /u/RazzmatazzFun2558 [link] [comm”

“Small update on the trial shift I had. I feel it went really well, I'm happy with my performance and based on what was said to my face they were too. During it they had me: Chop chives and parsley Slice some beef Dice onions for their tartare sauce Sweat the onions and add vinegar Segment some grapefruit Chop their salad stuff Make the egg mayo Make their dill creme fraiche And make the tartare sauce As well as help out on the cold line with sandwiches and desserts. Hopefully I'll know b”

Great food too

“ig now I know that my current restaurant has it set so that a “deleted” employee gets their shit automatically released as house. will make future gossip juicer i’m FOH btw 😭😭 should not be seeing this shit this is not normal… right? submitted by /u/dazedconfusedev [link] [comments]”

“I’ve been working at a locally owned restaurant for nearly a decade, and have decided to move on because the work culture has become unbearably toxic. We’re talking cliques, favoritism, lack of accountability, extreme unprofessionalism like being called “retarded” and “mother fuckers” by our manager to our face and behind our backs to other subordinates. The icing on the cake was when a coworker who barely meets the requirements of the job got promoted because they’re the manager’s favorite. Thi”

“Alright chefs, what do we think? Am I utterly fucked? From what I gathered, Chipotle is in the process of making some management changes so I might be walking in on a disaster. submitted by /u/EventSmooth4467 [link] [comments]”

“This turned into a long vent. Sorry in advance. Almost 7 years to the day since I got my first kitchen job. I started as a line cook, realized I prefer prep. I was at the same restaurant for 4 years. I left because the owner was a cheap asshole with 2 houses who hated trans people, replacing broken equipment, and paying his cooks a living wage. For the last 2ish years I have been the salad bar prep guy in a Popular Grocery Store Chain™️ that caters mostly to people of a certain tax bracket that”

I work in a pizza kitchen smaller than the average bedroom and the heat has got me fucked up. Our walk in isn’t located inside the actual store, it’s a few doors…

“I got to work today for a prep shift @7am after not sleeping the entire night (2 world cup games in the middle of the night, I know it’s irresponsible, but once every 4 years cmon) After mentioning it to the crew at the kitchen briefing this morning, my sous told me I should go home and sleep and come back for the second half of the shift (2-9pm), even though i told him I can handle the entire shift. I ended up going home and not thinking much of it, but my co workers insist that he’s cutting my”

“some community guidance for home from like-brained cooks/chefs my partner said the kitchen at home doesnt need to be an fda test kitchen. do yall unintentionally take kitchen food safety/cleaning standards home? i am pretty literal with time/temps and cleanliness, but i dont hold others in our house to that standard. for context we just moved in with her parents to help caretake their last fewish years. 24 hour leftovers on the counter mean nothing to these folks. milk got hot from being left ou”

“Im a sushi chef in a town thats way too small to have this many people flooding a sushu restaurant at all times of day. When I got hired it was slow with rushes at lunch and dinner, like a normal sushi restaurant or really any small town eatery, but in the past year or so it's gotten so fucking busy at all times, I hate it. We work full operational hour shifts here, meaning I clock in an hour before we open and clock out an hour after we close. I do 11-12hr days, 5 days a week. My pays not r”

“You wrote in your post history that you are an employee? And that the store where you work only implemented them 2 months ago?”

“I need the hours and am afraid to report this, but look at the construction we have going on out back while the kitchen stays open. They make soups and prep all of our baked goods and sandwich ingredients right inside this door. The second Pic is under the dishwasher the hole to outside letting the sunshine (and god knows what else) inside submitted by /u/Trees4Gs [link] [comments]”

“8 years in the industry. I worked my way up from know-nothing dishie; awestruck by the food, the passion, the care, to head chef. I loved the good things - nailing a service, building someone from nothing, a tidy walk-in, people asking me to make their shiftie, seeing people love my work and feel cared for, employing people who otherwise would not be able to get jobs. And suffered the owner who believed they knew all, absurd work hours, seeing my family on the off chance I was available for a ge”

“Currently a lead line cook at a Michelin recommended ranch, previous pastry sous. Is the Michelin life worth it? I plan to work at least one or two more. The discipline and technique you learn is super cool but the life and environment is so shit and the food is depressing exact and feels dead. If you been at the crossroads I'm is it worth it, am I just in a bad place. Should I use my Michelin resume to get back into management and will they pay more for that resume. Lots of questions having”

“Long fucking paragraphs incoming I recently got a new job in a kitchen with a chef, no sous chef and every cook there except me has a hard time to manage the kitchen. I’ve been there for 2 weeks and we have a HUGE festival right next to our restaurant so we usually have a huge service from 3pm to 8pm ( once the festival shows starts) and then a second service from 10pm till 2 am ( after the shows end). I don’t know much about how to run the kitchen since im newish, but I was RUNNING the pass and”

“Started my first fine dinning job about 3 months ago and its going well. First time back in the kitchen after managing for the last 10 years. Im learning a wealth of knowledge from an awesome chef however one issue that has plagued me for a long time now is I struggle to push myself and prep quickly. When it comes to dinner rush I can fly food out and throw down just fine but without that dinner rush there to push me I feel like I am moving too slow. I know I am past the point of being new and t”

“Am I wildly over-estimating the average consumer here? Am I biased because I'm in a populated area where there are better options? Is it just that the two I've been to sucked more than usual? I'd really love to be checked here. I've been to "da Roadhouse" multiple times, unfortunately. Usually when it's my in-law's turn to pay for dinner and choose the place. (This topic isn't about them ordering well-done filet, I swear.) Ambiance is a total loss. It's”