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Dr. Garbanzo posted: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 That's a really good idea and similar to some of the advice I've gotten. I'm going to have to small batch these ideas. Please explain. I have to roll these out let's say 70 orders a night. Aye-Aye fucked around with this message at 04:05 on Aug 30, 2013 |
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Aug 30, 2013 04:03
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So I got moved from cashier (front of house duties, back of house location) to hostess (all front all the time!). Since I've been there for a year, I get to train new people even as I'm still learning the ins-and-outs of my new role. Mostly I've learned that it's a lot easier to tell people no on the phone than it is face-to-face. Today we had a late-ish party who'd called to make a reservation, and when they arrived, it was a man and a woman. The woman's hair looked a little unkempt, or like a crazy cat lady's might, but I didn't think anything of it, and since we had tables open, I had the new host seat them in the table reserved for them - one right by the door, and thus the host stand. And then the woman walked by me, I got a whiff, and it was like she hadn't showered in months. Or rather, since I'm in NYC, it was like she was one of our late night subway hobos. They had a reservation, they were fully dressed, the offending stench hadn't smacked me until the woman came by, and it's not like we could (or were going to) refuse them service. At the same time, the unfortunate tables who just happened to be in the same area made sure to catch my eyes and give me looks, and the servers and busboys also definitely noticed the smell. We ended up opening all the doors for the rest of their stay to let the dining area air out. I really don't know how the table that was still eating food managed to do so, but I lost my appetite for the night. 
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Aug 30, 2013 06:18
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 Had some bone in prime filets leftover from a banquet, so I ran a special. Smoked cream corn, broccolini, and apple bourbon glacé.
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Sep 1, 2013 01:42
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Naelyan posted: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. You can sous-vide them with just a couple tablespoons of fat to take care of confiting them!
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Sep 1, 2013 01:48
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I think the best thing about working with restaurant people is drinking with restaurant people. By which I do mean servers (not that I doubt you goons would be fun to drink with), since the chefs and the servers where I work mostly party separately. A coworker turned 21 on what was also her last day at the place, so as a farewell party, we basically just went drinking and shooting the poo poo and it's just always more fun than when I'm drinking and shooting the poo poo with regular friends. (Or perhaps I'm not drinking and shooting poo poo with regular friends enough, but blah blah blah, schedules never match cos I work when they're off and they work the one day I'm off.) On the other hand, I'm kind of curious what it's like when cooks go drinking. The cooks at my place like me enough that they've invited me to go with them a couple of times, I've just never done it and I kind of want an idea of what it'll be like before I bite the bullet. (They are also apparently the rare kind who don't really do substance abuse, but I do work in a sushi restaurant.) There's a bit of racial segregation where the sushi chefs and the servers are all Asian and the busboys and kitchen cooks are all Hispanic, and drinking with the busboys is usually done on Asian ground which is why I'm especially curious.
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Sep 1, 2013 09:54
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You are working in a sitcom setup.
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Sep 1, 2013 15:28
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Aye-Aye posted:That's a really good idea and similar to some of the advice I've gotten. I'm going to have to small batch these ideas. You'll have to cut your spuds into the size chip you want before putting into a large roasting tray. Melt the fat before pouring over the top of the potatoes. Cook in an oven for 20 mins at 130C or until tender. You want the potato cooked but it still needs to hold it's shape. Once they've cooled slightly remove from the fat and then they'll be ready to fry at 180C for service. It'd be a fair bit of work for 70 orders a night but test it out on a small batch first to fine tune the recipe and make sure it's what you're looking for. Hope it helps
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Sep 1, 2013 23:55
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Kimitsu posted:On the other hand, I'm kind of curious what it's like when cooks go drinking. The cooks at my place like me enough that they've invited me to go with them a couple of times, I've just never done it and I kind of want an idea of what it'll be like before I bite the bullet. (They are also apparently the rare kind who don't really do substance abuse, but I do work in a sushi restaurant.) In my experience NYC cooks drink like everyone else I've ever met, just later at night and straight on till morning.
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Sep 2, 2013 00:22
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Splizwarf posted:You are working in a sitcom setup. We've even got the "mildly successful artist"-as-waiter role cast, so I probably am. reserve posted:In my experience NYC cooks drink like everyone else I've ever met, just later at night and straight on till morning. And now I'm already regretting pushing it off for so long. I'll just look forward to the next invite, then, thanks. Restaurant got slammed just before closing today (I managed to seat everyone except a single walk-in! In the back, the reaction was more like "Well gently caress, she sat everyone except that single walk-in.") so it'll probably be a while before that happens. Kimitsu fucked around with this message at 06:04 on Sep 2, 2013 |
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Sep 2, 2013 06:01
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Kimitsu posted:drinking with cooks ???? drinking with cooks owns i hope that this helps you
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Sep 2, 2013 09:18
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Cryptozoology posted:drinking with cooks owns i hope that this helps you He does not lie. Cooks drink like there is no tomorrow. You should have seen our last Christmas party. The owner stupidly decided it would have an open bar. Two hours in, only cooks were left, and between us we proceeded to try at least one drink of everything in the house. I'm pretty sure between three cooks we cost (not would have spent, but actually cost) the owners about $400 in liquor. And that's only because we're in a hick town and don't stock really expensive poo poo. Fake edit: that said, no cook I've drank with is the would give you poo poo for not keeping up. Most of us seem to be of the "know your limit and you're ok" variety, not "drink as much as me or you suck" variety. Mithross fucked around with this message at 09:52 on Sep 2, 2013 |
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Sep 2, 2013 09:39
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Mithross posted:Fake edit: that said, no cook I've drank with is the would give you poo poo for not keeping up. Most of us seem to be of the "know your limit and you're ok" variety, not "drink as much as me or you suck" variety. This. Any cook who gets a server or a young busser or something completely beyond-their-limit-not-safe-anymore drunk, is an rear end in a top hat and no one likes them.
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Sep 2, 2013 18:00
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All of the FoH people here are the sort to push everyone nearby past their limits and then start snorting ritalin before starting in on more drinks. Repeat until dawn. Meanwhile the cooks barely have more than a handful of beers and call it a night after 2 hours out. Also all the dishwashers are recovered addicts who never imbibe anything.
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Sep 2, 2013 18:18
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You assholes have time to drink? gently caress all a y'all. I'll tell you where the GM drinks. Alone. I still lovehate my job, and I want a time machine so that I can go back and smack myself in the face five years ago when I was a whiny, entitled server. Also, I think one of my regulars is seriously giving thought to investing in one of my pie in the sky restaurant concepts- a health food joint where everyone is paid a living wage and it's heavily marketed as "fair trade." They asked me why I didn't hire tons of foreign exchange students like the restaurant used to, and I had to explain the whole F1 visa thing, which lead to the demographic challenges of our particular area, which lead to "why don't you just offer a higher wage to attract good servers?" which lead to them discovering that virtually every waiter in the country is paid $2.13/hr. Nothing will come of it, but they did leave their server a larger-than-usual tip. :-) We got slammed today because we are one of the few restaurants in the area that doesn't close for Labor Day (I know, right?) but we managed to pull it off with a minimum of comping and even the crankiest table who had the worst time promised to come back and give us another chance, so I'm putting it in the "win" column.
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Sep 2, 2013 21:52
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Wroughtirony posted:You assholes have time to drink? gently caress all a y'all. I thought the GM was supposed to get first dibs on liquoring/using up the newest/most attractive hires until they get fired when the owner decides to check the dry storage security camera feed from home and sees the GM urinating on the new busboy?
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Sep 2, 2013 21:58
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I am starting to get reaaaaally nervous. It's been 3 days in a row I've gone home early or seen half the staff cut for the day because of how incredibly slow it was. One server gave me $3 in tips after a 7 hours workday. If poo poo does not pick up this month, and hard, I'm gonna have to look for another job. I hope I can wiggle my way into server or bartender over busser, the owner does seem to like me, but I don't much care to put myself out there and then see someone far more attractive and young hired. Like ok I get it dude, you cheat on your wife and like to hire 19 year old bartenders who giggle a lot. I want to make more money. If you want me to suck your dick to get it, just loving say so.
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Sep 2, 2013 23:05
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Ughhh, I have to be careful when I drink with other cooks. Why so many shots... Sighhh, yes I'll take another one...
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Sep 3, 2013 20:12
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So many jäger bombs. Last December we had a holiday party, kitchen staff goes out and gets shots of Wild Turkey 101 and comes back significantly tipsier. I like to think we were the life of that party. Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Sep 3, 2013 |
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Sep 3, 2013 20:14
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BAck in the day, we did secret santa at the restaurant. Every kitchen person got a bottle of alcohol. Said alcohol did not leave the party.
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Sep 4, 2013 02:45
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At my last job we got kicked out of the place where we were holding our holiday party because everyone's secret Santa gift was booze and it as well did not make it out of the party.
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Sep 4, 2013 06:08
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I got a bottle of whiskey for my birthday last year, and we drank most of it before I left, and then I managed to kill my immune system with whiskey so bad I got the flu from hell the next day, and no one would believe me that it wasn't a hangover, and they were right not to. It was a flu, but I'd have doubted me too.
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Sep 4, 2013 08:08
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I love the idea that everyone should be forced to work as a server so they know what it's like. It'd result in a much better working environment and prevent people treating their servers like poo poo as happens so often. I also think it's a good idea for everyone to party with restaurant workers at least a couple times. Having worked in restaurants (FOH, but hung out with BOH staff as well), honestly no one else compares. You take your average Joe who thinks he knows a guy who parties too much, and you give him one night out with restaurant workers. He would be shocked...no...HORRIFIED at what he experiences. No one else does it better. When a girl I worked with snorted a line of coke so she could keep drinking to keep up with her line cook alcoholic boyfriend despite it being 4am and them needing to be in to work at 10, I knew I'd found good people.
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Sep 4, 2013 19:01
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I'm about to start a job in the shittiest part of town - the Tenderloin. I'm going to die
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Sep 4, 2013 19:38
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The tenderloin is hardly the worst part of town. You'll be fine. I know we've had this conversation a few times, but its new shoes time so anybody have recommendations for good waiter shoes? Non-slip, comfy, 'leather', nice enough to wear for the occasional catering 'formal' event. Seen those shoes for crews, they seem nice enough and pretty cheap. Anybody have experience with them?
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Sep 4, 2013 19:49
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JERFit posted:The tenderloin is hardly the worst part of town. You'll be fine. Yeah, the tenderloin isn't too bad. Just don't wander around sloppy drunk after your shifts or go looking to buy crack. I used shoes for crews daily for around 2.5 years. They were very comfortable but the insoles needed to be replaced after three months and the shoes themselves would be falling apart after six. I finally gave up and bought a pair of Dansko shoes that I still have.
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Sep 4, 2013 20:21
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The Tenderloin? Sounds like a gay bar!
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Sep 4, 2013 22:10
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Turkeybone posted:The Tenderloin? Sounds like a gay bar! Best steak + gay bar themed website
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Sep 4, 2013 22:22
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JERFit posted:The tenderloin is hardly the worst part of town. You'll be fine. I have a pair of Dansko Walkers that have treated me very well over the last year. They look pretty nice, and feel amazing once they're broken in. They should be a little tight over the top of the ankle at first.
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Sep 4, 2013 23:29
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Turkeybone posted:The Tenderloin? Sounds like a gay bar! The restaurant is actually right in between the Tenderloin and Nob Hill districts. That's right, it's in the TenderNob
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Sep 5, 2013 02:54
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Danksos. But never the patent leather- they crack. Another one bites the dust. I'm getting a divorce. I didn't realize that was one of the requirements for managing a restaurant, but really, we all saw this coming. No way a hardened industry bitch like me can get away without a failed marriage to make me harder, more bitter and more ruthless with my staff. I'll be fine. Condolences/congratulations can be sent via 5 star yelp reviews. After all, my 90 day review is coming up in a few weeks.
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Sep 5, 2013 04:15
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Wroughtirony posted:Danksos. But never the patent leather- they crack. Jesus Wrought. That loving blows. Seriously, you want me to give you a 5 star yelp, just tell me the name of the place, and I will BS the gently caress out of it.
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Sep 5, 2013 04:18
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Wroughtirony posted:Danksos. But never the patent leather- they crack. I'm really sorry to hear that, Wrought. 
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Sep 5, 2013 04:24
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Oh, gently caress. I'm so sorry, Wrought.
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Sep 5, 2013 04:28
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<3 Divorce or no, I will EARN that star back because I am good at my job. Stop by if you're in Northern Virginia, but I was not serious about wanting non-legit yelp reviews. Thanks for the support. I'll be fine. I'm to mean to lay down and die.
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Sep 5, 2013 05:40
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poo poo, how long did things last Wrought? Seems like it's been forever.
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Sep 5, 2013 06:16
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New thread? Just kidding! I'm sorry to hear it, but hopefully you'll end up in a better place in the long run. If it makes you feel any better, I've now gone full-blown insane and trying to win back my ex that I dumped a year ago... yeah Im a loving idiot.
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Sep 5, 2013 06:57
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Oh Wrought, I'm so sorry. I've been silently lurking for multiple iterations of this thread, and have been hoping your job woes would eventually come to an end. Hopefully things look up from here for you.
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Sep 5, 2013 17:42
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Much <3 Wrought. Now kick some (more) rear end.
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Sep 5, 2013 19:41
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Wroughtirony posted:I'm too mean to lay down and die. When people quit after years of running track or soccer or similar, some of them scale back their calories accordingly and some of them don't notice until they're 200 pounds heavier. Mean or not, keep an ear on the things that two people (usually) do better than one, like laundry and light bulbs and trash and paying the bills on time. Your divorce sucks, and it hurts to read about it. I'm in the NoVa area, PM me your work info and I'll bring a handful of Yelpers and drop you a couple interesting bottles some night. Do you have any allergies?
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Sep 5, 2013 21:03
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Splizwarf posted:When people quit after years of running track or soccer or similar, some of them scale back their calories accordingly and some of them don't notice until they're 200 pounds heavier. Mean or not, keep an ear on the things that two people (usually) do better than one, like laundry and light bulbs and trash and paying the bills on time. I'm also in NoVa, and I also volunteer to do the same! I'll bring my gym buddies after a heavy Friday session and we'll eat ALL THE FOOD!
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Sep 5, 2013 22:06
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