TheKennedys posted:This is fair. I dunno, I'm still actively debating it, but I just feel like it's kind of a dick move, plus it's not -entirely- spite, I'm pretty good friends with most people here. It's me, I'm the idiot Nobody is going to look out for your best interests but you, especially not in this crapsack industry. Look out for yourself first and foremost, or you're going to lose it all.
|
|
# ? Jul 19, 2017 02:20 |
|
|
# ? May 30, 2024 13:37 |
|
TheKennedys posted:This is fair. I dunno, I'm still actively debating it, but I just feel like it's kind of a dick move, plus it's not -entirely- spite, I'm pretty good friends with most people here. It's me, I'm the idiot Just give proper notice and no one will care aside from complete assholes, you can even use the people you like there as references.
|
# ? Jul 19, 2017 02:25 |
|
Being friends with your coworkers is how the food industry gets you to work lovely jobs for too little pay. It's like how hazing makes people love their frat.
|
# ? Jul 19, 2017 03:35 |
|
Your friends at your current restaurant will still be your friends if you get a better job. Just because you don't spend a shitton of time with them at work, doesn't mean you stop being cool with each other. Plus, you can probably meet more friends at the new job.
|
# ? Jul 19, 2017 03:58 |
|
TheKennedys posted:This is fair. I dunno, I'm still actively debating it, but I just feel like it's kind of a dick move, plus it's not -entirely- spite, I'm pretty good friends with most people here. It's me, I'm the idiot Dude, you are me ten years ago. Don't be me. There is nothing in this world that should ever keep you in a food job with terrible management that is wrecking your health, unless somehow there is literally nothing else you can do. Seriously, cooking jobs are so common and interchangeable at that level that there is absolutely no reason to put up with a bullshit environment that is hurting you. Kill your pride, start applying out, and glory in how good it's going to feel to never, ever have to go back in there again.
|
# ? Jul 19, 2017 04:17 |
|
The best thing about working terrible jobs is that there are always other terrible jobs. It's really a freeing sensation to know that you could just walk out on the spot without giving notice and have another job in a week or two.
|
# ? Jul 19, 2017 04:34 |
|
SymmetryrtemmyS posted:Overtime chat: it's 80 hours in a 14 day period in Oregon, so you can work 60 hours in a week and 10 hours the next week and still get paid regular rates. gently caress Oregon. Oregon labor laws are pretty clear that more than 40 in a 7 day period has to be paid overtime. The employer can decide what the range of days that counts as a workweek is, but they aren't allowed to move it around. Pay periods are specifically called out as unrelated to overtime. If you've got an employer doing the 80/2wk bullshit, you've probably got a labor claim against them. Just... get organized in secret because we're an at-will state and if your boss is lovely enough to cheat you out of overtime pay, they're lovely enough to fire you before you can get your complaint filed.
|
# ? Jul 19, 2017 04:44 |
|
Bonjour new thread. Still serving, still Canadian, still over paid, still surrounded by idiots, still complaining, still no concept of work/life balance.
|
# ? Jul 19, 2017 07:03 |
|
NinjaDebugger posted:Nobody is going to look out for your best interests but you, especially not in this crapsack industry. Look out for yourself first and foremost, or you're going to lose it all. this is very good life advice
|
# ? Jul 19, 2017 07:27 |
|
Tendales posted:Oregon labor laws are pretty clear that more than 40 in a 7 day period has to be paid overtime. The employer can decide what the range of days that counts as a workweek is, but they aren't allowed to move it around. Pay periods are specifically called out as unrelated to overtime. After working hospitality I've learned that low level minimum wage companies are usually committing tons of payroll violations at a minor level and the victims either don't care for such small amounts or they don't have the time or luxury. One of my friend in CA who works security/guard jobs just got $4k from a class action settlement from a previous company he worked for that refused to let employee take meal breaks. The offenses went on for probably 5+ years but most of the people working there put up with it because they needed the income.
|
# ? Jul 19, 2017 09:38 |
|
Good news: The only guy in the kitchen with anger issues/manic outbursts put in his two weeks. It's obvious he wasn't happy here, so good for him. Good for everyone else too, since a bad mood is really easy to share with coworkers during a dinner rush. KM has complemented my knife skills every time he walked past my prep table. I've only been here for two weeks but I might be able to escape the dish pit sooner than I thought. Bad news: A horrific rash on both my ankles. I never spilled anything on me, no chemicals stored on the floor anywhere, my pants are clean and dry at the end of my shift. Got a few days off with a doctor's note, and the rash is slowly dissipating while I rest up. Bloodwork hasn't come back yet to see if it's bacterial, fungal, or "dunno lol" I have tried in vain to get some actual work shoes. I don't care if they're cheap and need to be replaced every 6 months. I don't care if it's a big investment up front for something more durable. I just have 12-13W feet and even some wide sizes are not wide enough. In the mean time, I bought some gel inserts for the sneakers I've been wearing. Sore feet is no longer a problem, but I need to get more appropriate footwear before I slip and hurt myself or others. Last time I worked dish pit I ended up using really lightweight hiking boots that were water resistant and gave enough traction to safely waltz on greasy tile.
|
# ? Jul 20, 2017 01:31 |
|
p-hop posted:Good news: The only guy in the kitchen with anger issues/manic outbursts put in his two weeks. It's obvious he wasn't happy here, so good for him. Good for everyone else too, since a bad mood is really easy to share with coworkers during a dinner rush. KM has complemented my knife skills every time he walked past my prep table. I've only been here for two weeks but I might be able to escape the dish pit sooner than I thought. I'd go to a local community college and see if they have a cooking program. If they do they might have shoes for sale there. I know mine does.
|
# ? Jul 20, 2017 01:42 |
|
Sketchers for work via the Web do decent cheap nonslips.
|
# ? Jul 20, 2017 02:23 |
|
Rash guy do you live anywhere that has chriggers? A couple of years ago a buddy of mine got a horrible mystery rash and it turned out to be nothing but some really horrible bug bites.
|
# ? Jul 20, 2017 03:55 |
|
iospace posted:I'd go to a local community college and see if they have a cooking program. If they do they might have shoes for sale there. I know mine does. That's one place I never would have thought to look. Thanks! I'm still catching up on ~50 pages or so of the old thread, but there was discussion about people eating off of half-finished plates that come back into the kitchen to be cleaned. I knew a dish guy that would snag french fries, wings, all kinds of finger food off a plate if the server didn't clear it before setting it in the dish pit. Everyone thought it was nasty as gently caress but the guy never got sick. One time when I bussed the bar, the bartender offered me the rest of their calamari plate they didn't finish. I brought it back into the kitchen and snacked on it, grossed people out before I told them it was the bartender's. Then they were all OOOOHHHH YOU PRETTY MUCH KISSED HER!! DID YOU GET HER NUMBER? Acting like a bunch of 12 year olds is a great way to blow off steam at the end of a hard shift. Talking poo poo with/at the whole kitchen crew is a good, uh, "team building exercise" for lack of a better term. I've felt much more "part of the team" in every kitchen I've worked in than any other job I've ever worked. FoH seems to save it for the bar after you've clocked out but it's kind of the same there too. ONE OF US ONE OF US
|
# ? Jul 20, 2017 04:22 |
|
As a man who works FOH you basically just give the same respect to the BOH as they give you... They can make all the jokes they want. And I'll give it right back. Mostly I don't even acknowledge them because why bother. All i want is for the place to run like a well oiled machine and we good.
|
# ? Jul 20, 2017 12:49 |
|
tweet my meat posted:The best thing about working terrible jobs is that there are always other terrible jobs. It's really a freeing sensation to know that you could just walk out on the spot without giving notice and have another job in a week or two. I walked out of my worst kitchen job in the middle of friday night bar food rush while the fat useless sous smoked his 20th cigarette out back, and it felt pretty great and i had another lovely kitchen job within two weeks If it worked for me it can work for anyone
|
# ? Jul 20, 2017 14:13 |
|
iospace posted:I'd go to a local community college and see if they have a cooking program. If they do they might have shoes for sale there. I know mine does. In a pinch, Payless sells kitchen-safe shoes (I think the brand is Saf-T-Step?) for less than $30. I bought the Chuck Taylor style ones when I got my first dish job and they held up p well for wading through puddles of 180 degree water in a high-volume, industrial grade dishpit. Never slipped, I only retired them after 6 months when they got cracks in the sides and I started coming home with Vietnam trench foot. Also, Payless is a godsend to the large-footed woman (I'm a 10 in womens, 7-8 in guys), I imagine they got yer size 13 back (foot?).
|
# ? Jul 20, 2017 15:51 |
|
JacquelineDempsey posted:In a pinch, Payless sells kitchen-safe shoes (I think the brand is Saf-T-Step?) for less than $30. I bought the Chuck Taylor style ones when I got my first dish job and they held up p well for wading through puddles of 180 degree water in a high-volume, industrial grade dishpit. Never slipped, I only retired them after 6 months when they got cracks in the sides and I started coming home with Vietnam trench foot. Also, Payless is a godsend to the large-footed woman (I'm a 10 in womens, 7-8 in guys), I imagine they got yer size 13 back (foot?). Yeah... because of my clownfeet, all my work shoes are mens sizes because gently caress trying to find women's with them. I wear 13 mens, for what it's worth. That's a new level of fun.
|
# ? Jul 20, 2017 15:58 |
|
Yeah, I have to say if you work in the pit you gotta have good footwear. Last week, I was taking back dishes and straight up ate poo poo. I'm talking full on fell backwards dishes breaking everywhere and the whole staff looking at me. Dishwasher pulled me up by the boot straps and we laughed. America.
|
# ? Jul 20, 2017 16:06 |
|
iospace posted:Yeah... because of my clownfeet, all my work shoes are mens sizes because gently caress trying to find women's with them. I wear 13 mens, for what it's worth. Ah, my bad, I didn't realize you were a fellow goonette. Still, Payless has been kind to my size 10 in women's, I'd be surprised if they don't carry something for a 13 in men's. Also, 'sup new thread, if we're doing intros... former dishbitch for the Army (ama about working for a DFAC), now prep/line cook for a co-op's deli. You down with TVP? Ya you know me!
|
# ? Jul 20, 2017 16:15 |
|
Lotta Peggy Hills itt. My large-footed lady wears Keens as work shoes, I think they go up to like 12-13 womens?
|
# ? Jul 20, 2017 16:29 |
|
A Man and his dog posted:Last week, I was taking back dishes and straight up ate poo poo. I'm talking full on fell backwards dishes breaking everywhere and the whole staff looking at me. Awww, back at the DFAC we'd just say "AMahd broke his cherry!" and help you pick up poo poo. Happened to everyone at least once, though it was less an issue of slippery floors and more that we had gimpy carts with wobbly wheels or these things: https://cdn.ckitchen.com/pmidimages/piper-products-2at6-sth-dish-dispenser.png that would be missing the STAR Labs doohickeys that keep the plates in there. My current gig, I can actually wear non-kitchen shoes sometimes because the floors are relatively clean and dry. I've only eaten it once, and it was because some shithead spilled olive oil on the floor and didn't give everyone a heads up that the piso was indeed mojado. JacquelineDempsey fucked around with this message at 16:55 on Jul 20, 2017 |
# ? Jul 20, 2017 16:52 |
|
Just did a basic stage and that restaurant I talked about in the last thread. I think it went pretty well. There is one other person they promised to try out, but it was implied I would get the job. The combo of a blocked ear, loud hood vents, and a quiet-spoken chef had me pretty nervous. Was asked to make a mirepoix and chiff some basil. I didn't square off my carrots before dicing ('doh.) Head chef's eyes lit up when he was toe'ing around asking me about availability and I hit him with the "no kids, no school, full avail." Besides some other basic questions that was it. Now I need to pick up a few things to make my life easier. You guys have any suggestions/recommendations/brands to avoid on the following: Knife rolls or bags and blade guards Chef coats Honing steels
|
# ? Jul 20, 2017 22:06 |
|
odinson posted:Just did a basic stage and that restaurant I talked about in the last thread. I think it went pretty well. There is one other person they promised to try out, but it was implied I would get the job. The combo of a blocked ear, loud hood vents, and a quiet-spoken chef had me pretty nervous. Was asked to make a mirepoix and chiff some basil. I didn't square off my carrots before dicing ('doh.) Head chef's eyes lit up when he was toe'ing around asking me about availability and I hit him with the "no kids, no school, full avail." Besides some other basic questions that was it. http://www.chefknivestogo.com/knifeholders.html Here is a good start, and there is are a bunch of different gaurds, and a couple of cheap knife rolls to get you started. Everything CKTG brand is pretty good value as well. Coats: restaurant should supply. Did they tell you to bring your own? And as far as steels, almost all my knives are carbon steel so I try and use a smooth ceramic honing rod and a leather strop(I have been cooking 10+years and I just started using a leather strip and it's the best!), But the more aggressive the steel the more it " sharpens" your knife and takes away steel vs. aligning the edge. So it kind of depends on your knives. If you have soft German steel you need and aggressive steel, and you have higher HRC(hardness scale for steel) Japanese knives you need something less intense.
|
# ? Jul 21, 2017 03:04 |
|
I'm pretty sure they have some coats in the back, but I'd like to find a style/brand that fits well. Last place I worked at where the coats were needed, none of them really fit right. I'm using some pretty basic knives right now. Several years ago, our knife sharpening guy at work was shipped too many knives for what he had ordered, and was selling them on the side. Got a chef, pairing, serrated, and a boning knife for maybe $25. I should definitely get get them professionally sharpened before getting a honing steel. Just using one of those basic Smith pull through carbide/ceramic things now. TY for the CKTG link.
|
# ? Jul 21, 2017 04:14 |
|
odinson posted:I'm pretty sure they have some coats in the back, but I'd like to find a style/brand that fits well. Last place I worked at where the coats were needed, none of them really fit right. Pull throughs are garbage and honing steels (distinct from ceramics) are not as intense as you're imagining them to be and you need one now. A mongrel grab-bag you bought for a song is perfect for practicing sharpening. The kitchen knife thread here literally cannot shut the goddamned hell up about sharpening.
|
# ? Jul 21, 2017 05:53 |
|
Hello new thread from the ex-cook lurkers. Those of us that compusively clean tables. Kitchens full of professional gear, but just basics. Quarter and half sheets, decent tongs, lots of fluffy clean white towels. Stock in the freezer properly labeled. Glad to be making much better money but still miss the rush sometimes.
|
# ? Jul 21, 2017 06:19 |
|
Willie Tomg posted:Pull throughs are garbage and honing steels (distinct from ceramics) are not as intense as you're imagining them to be and you need one now. A mongrel grab-bag you bought for a song is perfect for practicing sharpening. The kitchen knife thread here literally cannot shut the goddamned hell up about sharpening. So, ceramics are better/worse? I had a knife shop sharpen and grind out some dents and bends in my chef knives (8 in Shun/Henckel) and the guy who seemed like he knew what he was saying was that for casual use using a ~$40 set of ceramic honing rods was better then trying to master sharpening on a stone because until you get the hang of it you'll gently caress up the angle more often then not.
|
# ? Jul 21, 2017 09:27 |
pentyne posted:So, ceramics are better/worse? I had a knife shop sharpen and grind out some dents and bends in my chef knives (8 in Shun/Henckel) and the guy who seemed like he knew what he was saying was that for casual use using a ~$40 set of ceramic honing rods was better then trying to master sharpening on a stone because until you get the hang of it you'll gently caress up the angle more often then not. Steels, ceramics and sharpeners are separate but related things, on top of that what they do depends on the hardness of the knife. Softer "German" steel knives have edges that tend to roll over under pressure, for those a steel works well since the steel can be bent back to its proper shape, on harder steel knives this does not work because the edge does not roll, it just slowly wears away. Ceramic rods are textured and hard enough that they remove steel, so they are closer to actual sharpeners. Sharpening stones and other abrasive systems are for removing steel and remaking the edge. I recommend a guided system like one of the edge pro knockoffs, they are reasonably cheap and will put a decent edge on a knife while maintaining a proper angle. If you just want to hone the knife and leave sharpening to a pro then a ceramic rod is a good option, just use a light touch with it since it does actually remove material.
|
|
# ? Jul 21, 2017 15:14 |
|
I'd be a hypocrite if I said I'd never used an edgepro knockoff, or did not own one myself, but tbh in hindsight it just prolonged the process of being bad at maintaining my knives, and most of the knockoffs you can't really trust the angle guides and have to fudge your own with a literal protractor. At which point, why not feel out the edge of your knives--which, to be clear, you probably don't know what that is--on a stone, which you're gonna be doing anyway when you get sick of your knockoff edge pro's bullshit? Like everything else about the work, it's about 20% concrete fact and 80% pagentry and narrative about how a person found a way that worked for them, and you gotta sift through that to find the way that'll work for you. But definitely get a steel. Or bum one from a coworker on the promise you'll get your own poo poo asap. That much is certain.
|
# ? Jul 22, 2017 00:30 |
|
dumbass kid at one of my jobs who thinks hes too pro for the rest of us dumped 80/20 oil all over the brand new whetstone and the sous almost cried lol
|
# ? Jul 22, 2017 09:48 |
|
Naelyan posted:In Ontario (which is in Canada, the land of socialism and Good Things) as long as the schedules and pay periods are 2 weeks long, it's 88 hours in a 14 day period. Whattup. the hitler numbers, nice
|
# ? Jul 22, 2017 10:24 |
|
Willie Tomg posted:I'd be a hypocrite if I said I'd never used an edgepro knockoff, or did not own one myself, but tbh in hindsight it just prolonged the process of being bad at maintaining my knives, and most of the knockoffs you can't really trust the angle guides and have to fudge your own with a literal protractor. At which point, why not feel out the edge of your knives--which, to be clear, you probably don't know what that is--on a stone, which you're gonna be doing anyway when you get sick of your knockoff edge pro's bullshit? I don't have one but most people seem to really like their fakepros, where did you get your's from? Willie Tomg posted:Like everything else about the work, it's about 20% concrete fact and 80% pagentry and narrative about how a person found a way that worked for them, and you gotta sift through that to find the way that'll work for you. This is very true, like every person I know who is really good at freehand sharpening does it a totally different way.
|
# ? Jul 22, 2017 12:12 |
Has anyone here ever taught cooking classes? Some family members went to a few and I'm curious what the experience is like from the other side of the demo counter.
|
|
# ? Jul 22, 2017 16:26 |
|
bongwizzard posted:I don't have one but most people seem to really like their fakepros, where did you get your's from? Amazon from some chinese vendor, I really don't remember without going through my order receipts from like three years ago. The stones were pretty legit, and the general concept of the machine is obv. sound, but the angle guides were totally off and the suction cup lasts maybe 5 strokes before wiggling loose from the countertop and unless you're leaving the thing out all the time, in the time you setup and dial in your edge pro to begin sharpening you could have splashed-and-gone on a splash-and-go stone, and I really don't like spending more then 5-10 minutes giving the set a touchup semiweekly. YMMV of course, but once you get a handle on Stone Anxiety its pretty hard to justify whipping out Some Gizmo. Willie Tomg fucked around with this message at 17:20 on Jul 22, 2017 |
# ? Jul 22, 2017 17:17 |
|
Culinary: A bunch of puddles yelling at each other that their holes in the ground are shaped weird and *this* one is much more natural.
|
# ? Jul 22, 2017 17:19 |
Willie Tomg posted:Amazon from some chinese vendor, I really don't remember without going through my order receipts from like three years ago. The stones were pretty legit, and the general concept of the machine is obv. sound, but the angle guides were totally off and the suction cup lasts maybe 5 strokes before wiggling loose from the countertop and unless you're leaving the thing out all the time, in the time you setup and dial in your edge pro to begin sharpening you could have splashed-and-gone on a splash-and-go stone, and I really don't like spending more then 5-10 minutes giving the set a touchup semiweekly. YMMV of course, but once you get a handle on Stone Anxiety its pretty hard to justify whipping out Some Gizmo. I'd say that whether one or the other is better is up to the individual, some people just can't hold a consistent angle freehanding so a guided system is going to be better for them, I eventually splurged on both good stones and a good guided system and settled on the guided system. I will say that the good versions of the guided systems are far better than the knockoffs, so much more stable and a lot more accurate on angles.
|
|
# ? Jul 22, 2017 17:46 |
|
Willie Tomg posted:Amazon from some chinese vendor, I really don't remember without going through my order receipts from like three years ago. The stones were pretty legit, and the general concept of the machine is obv. sound, but the angle guides were totally off and the suction cup lasts maybe 5 strokes before wiggling loose from the countertop and unless you're leaving the thing out all the time, in the time you setup and dial in your edge pro to begin sharpening you could have splashed-and-gone on a splash-and-go stone, and I really don't like spending more then 5-10 minutes giving the set a touchup semiweekly. YMMV of course, but once you get a handle on Stone Anxiety its pretty hard to justify whipping out Some Gizmo. Interesting, I wanted to pick one up to use to reprofile all my knives to the same angles based on use so I would have an easier time freehanding them, but I am already loaded down with rarely useful gizmos.
|
# ? Jul 22, 2017 19:20 |
|
|
# ? May 30, 2024 13:37 |
|
I just peeled 150lbs of potatoes with a paring knife*, peeled 50 lbs sweet potatoes, 25lbs carrots, diced a 10 gallon bucket of stale bread for croutons, diced a case of mushrooms, case of strawberries, case of broccoli, fine diced a fish tub full of mirepoix. My hand and arm aren't even sore. What have I become *they want super thick peels because they fry 'em and serve as a loaded potato skins app
|
# ? Jul 23, 2017 03:14 |