|
Manuel Calavera posted:That sucks Tell him not to hire Goons, then.
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2013 04:55
|
|
.
|
|
| # ? May 9, 2024 21:08 |
|
|
So, corporate dining is really where it's at, huh?
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2013 05:55
|
|
|
The exhaust hoods in my kitchen are broken and have been for a week. They are getting completely replaced, but it's going to take till mid september for the parts to be shipped in from Toronto. At least the boss is nice enough to grab us slurpees when we get slammed 
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2013 05:56
|
|
|
Uh. Where do you live? That's very possibly A Bad And Not Legal Thing.
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2013 06:30
|
|
|
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. We have all our burners and everything else that runs off a gas line turned off, but the pizza ovens are making the ambient temperature skyrocket.
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2013 06:52
|
|
|
So this is more of a thing dealing with how you treat your clothes than it does food. But I have some white chef coats and skull caps that have some yellow/brownish stains on them and I would like some help with removing them. The coats and caps are No Bleach items. What are some products some of you personally use and will swear by to remove stains and such from your culinary outfits? I do know some of you chefs have laundry services and don't worry about this poo poo.
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2013 22:48
|
|
|
Sunlight. Not a joke. Nature's Miracle is also very good, along with Oxyclean and Citra-Solv.
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2013 22:55
|
|
|
Oxyclean. Billy Mays hit a goldmine there. So this is welcome week where I am, and we were told to expect volume today, because all the new freshmen were out on tours today. "900 kids are going to be touring around the city between time and time, and they'll ALL want cookies." Alright. Me and mine are rather cynical about anything the university tells us, but we don't make the decision, people above us do. We bring on extra hands, "prepare for volume," deal with an errant supply truck that was supposed to be here 12 hours later/earlier (I'm told they were supposed to be here last night, then tonight  ).And we get blueballed. The tour guides ("ambassadors" the uni calls them) aren't bringing their groups into the stores. They point things out, sure, and keep going. We got worked up and staffed up for what amounted to nothing. I'm hoping that the corporate folks are getting more bitter and jaded. I know at least the "operations" branch of the company is getting sick of marketing's BS... We wasted tons of money and stress on an oversold and underperforming event. My only consolation is that it isn't coming out of the store budget.
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2013 23:34
|
|
|
Anyone ever helped out an employee with getting a work visa? I've had two GREAT applicants this past week get to the interview stage only to have the awkward "oh, bring proof of eligibility to work in the US? uh..." conversation. Neither are in the US illegally- one is here on a student visa which doesn't allow her to work and the other is the son of a diplomat and is also attending college here. Both said that me writing a letter indicating I intended to employ them might help them get a work visa. 1. How do I do this? Just write "Dear State Department, I, Wrought, General Manager of Disaster Diner do hereby offer the position of underpaid food schlepper to one Jane Smith, so please give her a visa, kthxbye"? 2. Am I being scammed somehow?
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 00:07
|
|
|
SlayVus posted:So this is more of a thing dealing with how you treat your clothes than it does food. But I have some white chef coats and skull caps that have some yellow/brownish stains on them and I would like some help with removing them. The coats and caps are No Bleach items. Oxyclean and Cascade dishwashing detergent.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 00:08
|
|
|
So as I mentioned, my friend (ex) the GM and the exec of that restaurant have been.. well they might say dating, but really he just fucks her and then goes away. I, in a calm a rational manner, explained all the things that I thought were hosed up with the situation: 1) They work together, like quite closely -- if (when) poo poo goes down, it's going to be terrible for the restaurant. 2) This dude is still married, loving hello! There's nearly infinite wife and child drama there.. couldn't you wait until it's over? 3) While he is the exec, he acts like a loving line cook; childish and petulant in the kitchen, lots of drinking and drugs. 4) DID I MENTION THE DRINKING? He's been drunk during beer dinners and stuff, when he is supposed to be running things, and poo poo is going down. loving unprofessional. He's part owner, otherwise he'd be loving toast by now. 5) DID I MENTION THE DRUGS?? Smoking pot at work, growing pot in his house at home.. just a bad situation waiting to happen. 6) The GM cannot handle these things, even though I know she'll just loving go along with it. More than one cig and she practically loses her voice; she's on (of course) mental meds, so more than one drink and she is blackout bad-decision drunk. 7) He totally treated her like poo poo in the past in typical FOH/BOH fashion. Like, talked down to her, embarrassed her, wasted her time. Her coming home and crying kind of poo poo. How is all of that poo poo all of a sudden loving forgiven? I assume that they pretty much gently caress and that's it. He is living the dream: show up at 10pm, gently caress her a few times, leave by 10am. Not like, coming over making breakfast, going out places together -- seriously my fellow goons, if he was a cool guy, I would be totally happy (that she would stop bothering me). So I laid this all out to her, and the response was pretty much, "well thanks for the concern, but I wont talk about my relationship with you. I can take care of myself." Which pretty much means she's loving delusional. She's getting older and desperate to not be alone, and he is desperate to escape the shitstorm that is his marriage. Sorry if this is more e/n than gws, but it's been weighing heavily on me -- a loving cautionary tale of how the restaurant life makes you do hosed up things. I made my case, so now I'll just have to keep my head down when this time bomb explodes.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 00:08
|
|
|
Wroughtirony posted:Anyone ever helped out an employee with getting a work visa? I've had two GREAT applicants this past week get to the interview stage only to have the awkward "oh, bring proof of eligibility to work in the US? uh..." conversation. Neither are in the US illegally- one is here on a student visa which doesn't allow her to work and the other is the son of a diplomat and is also attending college here. Both said that me writing a letter indicating I intended to employ them might help them get a work visa. Uh, yes, I think you're being scammed. Having lived here on various visas (J-1, H1-B) before I got my green card, there is no way USCIS is going to accept a letter from you and go "oh, hey, yes, sure we'll authorize that." They're probably on F-1 visas - here's the FAQ about what they're allowed to do: https://www.ice.gov/sevis/employment/faq_f_off1.htm I can recommend a good immigration attorney in Bethesda if you're interested in getting a real answer or trying to pursue getting their status changed but it's not going to be cheap (to get them work authorization would probably be $1-3k?).
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 00:31
|
|
|
Turkeybone posted:So I laid this all out to her, and the response was pretty much, "well thanks for the concern, but I wont talk about my relationship with you. I can take care of myself." Which pretty much means she's loving delusional. She's getting older and desperate to not be alone, and he is desperate to escape the shitstorm that is his marriage. why would you even talk to a coworker about their relationships maybe I'm just stone cold entrenched in the business world, but work is work, and personal life is personal life. out side of mentioning sick days and vacations, the divide should never ever be glanced at sidelong - let alone attempted to be bridged.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 01:18
|
|
|
drgitlin posted:Uh, yes, I think you're being scammed. Having lived here on various visas (J-1, H1-B) before I got my green card, there is no way USCIS is going to accept a letter from you and go "oh, hey, yes, sure we'll authorize that." hahahaha gently caress no. The one dude whose mom was here as a diplomat said a letter of "de facto employment" might help grease the wheels, so to speak. The other girl was on an F-1. I'm quite happy to help anyone who wants to live and work here, but I can't afford to hire a lawyer to hire a waiter.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 01:18
|
|
|
mindphlux posted:why would you even talk to a coworker about their relationships Because it's his ex girlfriend and he's upset she can't handle having the kind of relationship she's having now, and he's inserting his nose where it has approximately 0 business being. I mean yeah, keep your head down and stuff, but seriously that's really not cool to go and do that to a woman you used to date.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 01:25
|
|
|
I mean we're still very good friends (or we were), even after I broke it off I still helped her put on her farmer's markets, helped her move, etc etc. We don't work together anymore, so it's been zero work and 100% friendship. It really came down to she wanted to settle down in this town, and I didn't. When it first began with the exec, I mean I was literally stunned because I'd only heard nothing but her complaining about the hell he made the job.. she asked me my opinion, and I just held my hands up and stayed silent, but it's been a rapidly declining situation. I realizing being the "ex" automatically clouds my judgement and taints my credibility, so there's that too. It will be a poo poo-show; I said my piece, and that's about all I can/will do.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 01:35
|
|
|
Just wondering how many of you guys work in open kitchens? That's all I've been seeing recently around here. And is it intimidating?
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 01:38
|
|
|
Mu Zeta posted:Just wondering how many of you guys work in open kitchens? That's all I've been seeing recently around here. And is it intimidating? I have in my last few kitchens, my current kitchen is not. I prefer open kitchens, it means I'm less reliant on servers telling me how busy it is out in the dining room, and I've found it's easier to keep people on task because they can't be as loud or gently caress around as much. My question of the day is a two-parter. First is, has anyone here had any success doing large-batch (talking like filling orders for multiple high volume restaurants) gluten free burger buns? Would you be willing to share your recipe? I've got a couple GF bread loaf recipes that work well, but they don't translate to buns at all. Second, on the same topic, has anyone here used Cup4Cup in large quantities successfully? I have a couple friends who have used it in smaller batches, but felt like it wouldn't translate up very well.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 02:42
|
|
|
Naelyan posted:I have in my last few kitchens, my current kitchen is not. I prefer open kitchens, it means I'm less reliant on servers telling me how busy it is out in the dining room, and I've found it's easier to keep people on task because they can't be as loud or gently caress around as much. I can't really help you out with those specific questions, but wanted to point out that if cost was a concern (idk where in the power level you fall) that Ideas in Food's What Iif Flour might be an option. It's basically them reverse engineering cup4cup.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 02:51
|
|
|
Mu Zeta posted:Just wondering how many of you guys work in open kitchens? That's all I've been seeing recently around here. And is it intimidating? It was no problem with a previous gig. Although after I left I kept the instinct to grab a sample of something on a tasting spoon, squat down to the ground, taste the thing and then ditch the spoon as I bounced back up. People look at you strangely when you do that in a production kitchen.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 03:10
|
|
|
Mu Zeta posted:Just wondering how many of you guys work in open kitchens? That's all I've been seeing recently around here. And is it intimidating? I work in the restaurant part of a grocery store (think like a big Whole Foods if that helps) so it's mostly open kitchen. Never been a huge issue, except when I had a line of like, 6 people waiting for omelettes and only two little propane burners to work with, and sorta poo poo pans. Speaking of omelettes! I forget if I mentioned it, but the formerly Crepes & Rostis, then Crepes & Sandwiches, then Crepes, Sandwiches, and poo poo Breakfast Stuff station is closed permanently! It was mostly my home these past few years, in addition to everything else. I worked the first day of it, and the very last day, kinda fitting I guess. It's shut down for a month or so for remodeling, and becoming Burgers & Fries, and our Sub Shop will be moving over to be with it. I...really don't like the idea, even if it makes money, it seems so dull.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 03:35
|
|
|
mediaphage posted:Because it's his ex girlfriend ohhh whoops, I missed that key detail. alles klar.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 05:56
|
|
|
Turkeybone posted:I mean we're still very good friends (or we were), even after I broke it off I still helped her put on her farmer's markets, helped her move, etc etc. We don't work together anymore, so it's been zero work and 100% friendship. It really came down to she wanted to settle down in this town, and I didn't. When it first began with the exec, I mean I was literally stunned because I'd only heard nothing but her complaining about the hell he made the job.. she asked me my opinion, and I just held my hands up and stayed silent, but it's been a rapidly declining situation. I realizing being the "ex" automatically clouds my judgement and taints my credibility, so there's that too.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 06:03
|
|
|
Wroughtirony posted:It was no problem with a previous gig. Although after I left I kept the instinct to grab a sample of something on a tasting spoon, squat down to the ground, taste the thing and then ditch the spoon as I bounced back up. i can imagine that being a problem. Our cold section is open to the dining room and the guy currently manning it does that all the time.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 13:57
|
|
|
So my boss and I had a bit of a throwdown on scheduling and the number of errors (what do you mean we don't have a driver?) that have been trickling down this morning. He sent me a text afterword apologizing for snapping at me and saying he was just hoping for a "drama free day." It's like he forgot what industry we work in.  Also one of our boxes of dough was made with WAY too much brown sugar. Enough that you can reasonably make a Gordon Ramsey image macro about there being so much brown sugar in these cookies. They don't taste too bad though. Just look a bit odd. Of course, that doesn't change the utter disaster that is the inventory freezer. I'd love to ignore it, but I'm pretty sure I'll need things from it before the 8 hours of my shift are up and I can foist that job on the much larger night crew. 6 people can do the job of 1 person a lot faster. Especially when that involves unpacking some 2 tons of inventory and putting it back in a way that not only makes sense but is easy to get to.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 18:19
|
|
|
mediaphage posted:I can't really help you out with those specific questions, but wanted to point out that if cost was a concern (idk where in the power level you fall) that Ideas in Food's What Iif Flour might be an option. It's basically them reverse engineering cup4cup. Awesome, thanks. Gonna try this out when I get some time.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2013 20:57
|
|
|
Mu Zeta posted:Just wondering how many of you guys work in open kitchens? That's all I've been seeing recently around here. And is it intimidating? A lot of the kitchens I've worked in have been open or semi-open and it's fine. Usually all I'm looking at is the ticket rail/my station/the food so it's pretty easy to forget the dining room even exists. It'll probably reinforce Good Habits like spending every free second wiping your poo poo down, not pretending stuff that looks like a dick is your dick, and not cursing or really saying anything loudly except "heard" or whatever. What's most awkward IMO is doing banquet events for hotels, especially when they make you wear the big stupid hat. quote:Of course, that doesn't change the utter disaster that is the inventory freezer. I'd love to ignore it, but I'm pretty sure I'll need things from it before the 8 hours of my shift are up and I can foist that job on the much larger night crew. 6 people can do the job of 1 person a lot faster. Especially when that involves unpacking some 2 tons of inventory and putting it back in a way that not only makes sense but is easy to get to. Now, I'm not saying that your situation is anything like this, but it was really loving cute when this would happen to me as the night crew. In my case, it never really worked out like that because 2/6 people on the night crew are volume shifts and leave at 9pm, the other 2 people have kids or church or are faking having kids or church, and the last guy and me get stuck opening boxes of poo poo that have been in the freezer for 6 hours already and organizing/rotating for an extra hour and a half. So (in my case) my already stressful busy dinner shift turns into a shift + 1.5 hours in a freezer putting away poo poo that the morning shift should have done but didn't because the AM lead cook wanted to shoot the poo poo with the servers or gently caress around on his phone. Not that your situation is even remotely similar, of course. In my opinion, regardless of circumstances, it's just unnecessarily sloppy to put boxes of anything in the freezer/cooler and just let them sit there. You should have staff on hand for receiving shipments and you should organize and rotate as you're putting it away. There's already a law, food has to be kept at least 6 inches off the floor, that law still applies when it's in the box so get that poo poo off the loving freezer floor and put it on the shelf. While you're doing that, open up all the boxes, organize and rotate the food, break all the boxes down you lazy shithead, and put them in the cardboard recycling. I'll handle all 6 of the lunch tickets we're about to get while you do it. I briefly worked at a Romano's Macaroni Grill after moving here and it wasn't uncommon to have the truck arrive at like, 7am, the AM Manager not show up until 9 or 9:30, and then they would schedule 1 person to open up the entire line, clean the restrooms (why the gently caress the closing servers/hosts weren't doing this, I have no idea), put a 60-80 item truck away which has been sitting at room temperature for about 3 hours now and is mostly dairy and meat, and then do his daily prep like pastas, lemon buerre blanc (which by the way, sat in a steam well that they never loving fixed, so enjoy your lemon butter that's been a tepid ~93 degrees since 9:30 am). So it's no loving surprise that half of the heavy cream in the cooler went bad last month and the freezer is a series of bare shelves with a mountain of wet, frozen boxes in the middle. I honestly can't decide if having your lone morning prep cook also be the same dude who cleans last night's dirty shitters is more or less disgusting than just having an open toilet right next to the ice machine. e: A few months after quitting Macaroni Grill I interviewed with a huge international foodservice corporation at a local college campus cafeteria. Apparently one of the hiring managers or food/beverage managers I "interviewed" with (there were like 4 of them, so) was a high up at Macaroni Grill corporate. She was interested in my experience at Macaroni Grill before we had really talked, so I gave her a shorter version of What Went Wrong and she dropped that she was test kitchen/regional/whatever the gently caress and I was just like "Well, it was pretty much a sick joke". I did not end up getting a callback, unfortunately. 12 rats tied together fucked around with this message at 09:17 on Aug 29, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2013 09:09
|
|
|
Freeezer inventory -- gently caress man I liked doing that at my job. Yes, it sucked, but as the sous it helped me know EXACTLY what we had (and didn't have), so I could plan out prep for a whole week or two. Also.. nobody else wanted to do it (I worked in an ice cream factory  one summer, so I'm cool with the freezer  ), so I could always say "I'm doing the freezer," and I could get out of anything, and make people feel sympathetic.
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2013 12:54
|
|
|
I'm already doing a great job running the restaurant line, just get this promotion going already.  I spent last night reworking all of the line's sauce recipes, because our previous sous decided that the only good sauces were demi reduced so far down that it was black and would probably set into jello before someone even finished their plate. Apple demi is gone, now it's carm apple bourbon glace. Pepper gravy now actually has cream in it! I swear, it's like our previous restaurant sous literally never looked at the dinner menu.
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2013 15:21
|
|
|
Has anyone ever filled up their fryer with duck fat? Am I going to have to strain and throw it in the fridge every night? Can it last a full week?
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2013 17:49
|
|
|
Aye-Aye posted:Has anyone ever filled up their fryer with duck fat? Am I going to have to strain and throw it in the fridge every night? Can it last a full week? Yes, Yes, HA. Don't fill up your fryer with duck fat. Just don't.
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2013 17:51
|
|
|
Chef De Cuisinart posted:Yes, Yes, HA. What's the best way to do duck fat fries to order without setting of my anasul system? Should I just get a induction burner and do it in a pot?
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2013 19:35
|
|
|
Aye-Aye posted:What's the best way to do duck fat fries to order without setting of my anasul system? Blanch in duck fat, finish in whatever your standard oil is. Frying in duck fat can get stupid expensive. A jug of Mazola soy select is like 35bux. An equivalent amount of duck fat is around 120. We do duck fat hollandaise and bicuits, but that's about it. e: If you're totally set on doing duck fries, a tabletop fryer that is literally only for fries could last a week. Or if you have 4 fryers like I do, you could wing it, but there's still the cost issue. Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 19:43 on Aug 29, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2013 19:41
|
|
|
Yeah I mean n theory you can poach fries in water, so you could perhaps do that with the bare minimum of fat, and keep it at a lower temp to preserve it. Perhaps you could also blend stuck fat and something else.. Would all sick fat be too... Ducky?
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2013 19:47
|
|
|
I can get a gallon of duck fat for about 51 bucks from Hudson valley off amazon. While that's very expensive I think I'm going to sell a lot of those fries. I think the smoking point on it is 370 if I aim for 330 I should be alright. Aye-Aye fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Aug 29, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2013 19:52
|
|
|
Turkeybone posted:Freeezer inventory -- gently caress man I liked doing that at my job. Yes, it sucked, but as the sous it helped me know EXACTLY what we had (and didn't have), so I could plan out prep for a whole week or two. Also.. nobody else wanted to do it (I worked in an ice cream factory In any kind of hands-on middle management, doing a task that the peons perceive as poo poo duty works wonders for getting respect.
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2013 19:58
|
|
|
Aye-Aye posted:I can get a gallon of duck fat for about 51 bucks from Hudson valley off amazon. While that's very expensive I think I'm going to sell a lot of those fries. A Wolf brand fryer takes 7 gallons of oil to fill. That's 350 bux, a week, if you have a duck fat fries only fryer. The second anything with flour or corn meal goes in there, your fat is going to degrade quickly. Better find a way to charge ~10-12bux for an order of fries. e2: Don't buy duck fat through amazon, don't you have access to a commercial supplier? I can get it through Ben E. Keith for 30/gal.
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2013 20:51
|
|
|
Especially because duck fat fries are passe. Goose fat fries are where it's at apparently. (Gastroville likes horse fat fries, I have not yet had the pleasure!) Also I'd take any fry finished at 375+ over any fry finished at 330. Realistically you could try duck fat fried brussels sprouts? Then you could actually charge real money for it.
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2013 20:59
|
|
|
I was helping out a buddy of mine with a catering event a few weeks ago, he owns and is the chef at a little tapas place that does pretty awesome food. I don't remember why it came up, but I made a joke about using truffle oil to confit something. Couple weeks later he sends me a picture of truffle oil confit duck legs, and potato wedges fried in duck fat/truffle oil. That crazy loving guy.
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2013 21:50
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 9, 2024 21:08 |
|
|
Even though it's a longer process you could confit your potatoes in duck fat before frying them. The flavour will still get into the potato but you'll be able to decant and reuse the duck fat for a lot longer before it goes rancid
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2013 02:13
|
|