|
bunnielab posted:Every time this thread reboots I like to point out that anyone who can last in a kitchen should be able to hack it as a stagehand and even the most grunt and skilless work will usually pay like $12-15 an hour in or around big cities. It is a really flexible job and would mesh well with kitchen stuff time-wise and will give you a whole nother peer group of shady motherfuckers to complain with, try to nail, and buy drugs from. It's incredibly transferrable, and if pro cooks made themselves as effective in every part of their life as they are at cooking they'd rule the world. Of course, most of them are drunk the rest of the time, so unlikely.
|
#
¿
Jul 20, 2013 21:13
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 6, 2024 09:22 |
|
|
Chef De Cuisinart posted:Speak for yourself, half of my responsibilities are recipe and cost refinement. The actual prep -> cook -> serve is brainless work for the most part that I can manage hungover and on 3 hours of sleep. I need to be awake and alert before I can do my actual job around here.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 20, 2013 22:49
|
|
|
Chef De Cuisinart posted:Always thicken with corn starch, you can be gluten free, and it doesn't scorch like flour.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 23, 2013 20:58
|
|
|
cods posted:And momo noodle bar just sent me an email wanting me to come in for a trail for a line cook, but the only day/time I can do it all week is when I have the hotel interview, and that jobs a shoe-in becuase my old chef was a sous their and I told her to call them before all this other poo poo happened. I mean I'd rather be a sous and make twice what I'm making right now, but I don't want to burn any bridges or seem like an rear end in a top hat either. fuuuuuuuck. I can't afford booze right now either so it makes this entire situation extra stressful. Let them know you have an interview that day, they'll probably hook you up with one way sooner if you're talking to a live person.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 27, 2013 20:33
|
|
|
For real. Yelling makes no sense. If it's a simple job, once you build habits it's easy, you can do it on autopilot. So watch and look for the part that they're doing wrong, teach them the right way to do it, and apply constant gentle pressure. Danny Meyer that poo poo. (PRO loving READ: http://www.amazon.com/Setting-Table...tting+the+table)
|
|
#
¿
Jul 28, 2013 18:25
|
|
|
Black August posted:Well that seemed to go well. Guy was already 4 coffees in and shaking like a discount space shuttle when he interviewed me, so I feel that me being on 5 hours sleep and no food balanced it out. Place seemed classy, only 8 months old and gearing up for the fall season. It's their first restaurant, they seem to usually be one of like 20 music venues, half of which are in NYC. Seems like a nice crossover, since they often cater to their own venue next door. They're even hiring for backwait/busser/runner stuff, so fingers crossed. Guess the only problem is that they're open until 1am, and the T stops running at midnight, so we'll see if I can pull this off without walking for 3 hours back home every night. Of course, the last time I ate there I went to Alinea, which of course will alter my perceptions a little bit. Also, if you ever end up anywhere in Boston, let me know where (via PM if you want privacy).
|
|
#
¿
Jul 31, 2013 00:35
|
|
|
Wow. That's as serious a position as there is, really, and I do have to warn you that they're probably going to put you through the ringer before hiring you. Good luck!
|
|
#
¿
Jul 31, 2013 19:29
|
|
|
Go with Christ posted:Anyone in Boston and need any help in BoH I have ServSafe and AllergenAwareness and not much experience but a whoooole lot of hustle and drive.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 1, 2013 21:53
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
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'm not the most experienced person here (probably the least), but are we seriously recommending that people bring treats to a stage like this is a thing that happens?
|
|
#
¿
Sep 17, 2013 00:40
|
|
|
Business Gorillas posted:EDIT: Congrats on the job, though. The same goes for places like Applebee's. I worked with a guy who was a manager at an Applebee's once and he said that they just have drawers like in fast food places to cook their steaks and poo poo to temp
|
|
#
¿
Sep 17, 2013 15:26
|
|
. Not like I'd eat there since the food isn't great and after loving over their employees by cutting their shifts because of OBAMA, but having a "medium" heat drawer that you slap a steak in is just terrifying.
|
heyfresh888 posted:Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed working at those places. It just gets old hearing the same mantra day in and day out when most people are striving to be better. It's a giant social scene. It has become a lot less about the food and more about the social process of advancement.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 17, 2013 17:16
|
|
|
Chef De Cuisinart posted:Yeah, but the covers are about $500 for 24 since they're a special order from American Metalcraft. So it'd be like 200k for enough lids.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 20, 2013 01:23
|
|
|
Plan Z posted:Man, do any of you guys get the as much of the "haha sure hope they don't spit in my food," water-testing as I do? I have worked with angry crackheads before, but never once have I seen someone spit in food. The only times I've seen it have been those famous pictures crappy chain and fast food restaurants where the "cooks" are basically just microwave technicians.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 9, 2013 20:00
|
|
|
Plan Z posted:I'm so loving tired. I'm 25, and I can't even close my hands all the way. I've been doing this since I was 16. I haven't left this state since I was 18, and I've only gotten one Christmas off since then, as well. It's rewarding to have a skill, but I can't keep this poo poo up, and I'm scared that if this food truck doesn't take off, I'm going to be one of these half-crazy middle-aged guys who dies at his prep table after calling a server a dumb bitch because she doesn't know what vinegar goes on the spinach salad. It's doing well, but the guys like that whom I've met are basically what gets my rear end up after 4 hours of sleep. Mu Zeta posted:So I've been at my first industry job for a few weeks (big chain coffee store) and it's terrible. gently caress it, going back to an office job. I'm too old and can't keep up with the young kids in speed. No Wave fucked around with this message at 13:55 on Oct 28, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Oct 28, 2013 13:51
|
|
|
You can't really teach someone that they're doing something wrong by covering all their mistakes. Because then they're not, really, as nothing's going wrong. If you really want her to learn, you have to let her get in the poo poo because right now, why should she change her behavior? How can she understand that what she's doing is bad when everything's fine?
|
|
#
¿
Dec 16, 2013 14:32
|
|
|
Sir Spaniard posted:The problem with that is, at what point does it go past being 'her problem' (Not that I disagree, because she should pick up the slack, definitely) and become something that, if ignored/not fixed by others, will affect the service? You guys aren't paid enough to really make this your problem, and the easiest thing to do with someone who doesn't "get" it is just to let them go - I mean, that's one way to learn that what you're doing isn't working without having to gently caress up any services.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 16, 2013 16:42
|
|
|
Sir Spaniard posted:I know this is from way earlier in the thread, but another chef was using a mandoline without the safety handle thing at work tonight. I'm scared enough of them even while using that (though the one we have doesn't sit in line so that doesn't help at all). I nearly flat out refuse to use one unless I have no choice at all, because of some scrapes and some very very scary near misses.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 23, 2013 13:49
|
|
|
Sir Spaniard posted:I'd be a lot less wary if the one we have at work wasn't super flimsy and with a plastic resting base that doesn't lock in properly. And I wouldn't be surprised if the safety/food/carrot holder, whatever you call it, was actually from a previous one. It doesn't seem to fit exactly, and never slides exactly right.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 23, 2013 17:32
|
|
|
Wroughtirony posted:If you can't deal with the fact that you are not in charge no matter how "right" you might be, you have no place in a professional kitchen.  But they're right. The only good part about being a dishwasher is that it's not your problem or fault if things go poorly.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 10, 2014 23:09
|
|
|
spouse posted:edit: to weigh in on the "will restaurants explode if servers are paid fairly". My ROI was calculated at just over 2600% since I started at said restaurant 6 months from time of report. That means that even if they paid me $10.00 an hour instead of $2.13 an hour, I'd still be giving them a 500%+ return on investment. That doesn't sound so bad to me. I know labor is, at the absolute most, 1/3 of the restaurant cost, but seriously, wages will get absorbed, and you'll have significantly more talented (and put together) people lining up for restaurant jobs if they're guaranteed to still make $100 on a double even if no one comes in. "Fairness" has nothing to do with it - the reality is that good waitstaff are often harder to recruit and maintain than good back of house, so you have to compensate them more accordingly. And doing it through tipping is what people are used to in the US. You can forbid tips and pay hourly, and some restaurants (most famously Per Se and Alinea/Next) are starting to do that. But as a (usually cash-poor) business owner it's more advantageous to do what everyone else is doing. Switching to hourly you'll get soaked in the slow times and during the busy times your servers will be making less than they're used to and may even be thinking "this is bullshit" - and this is when you need them most. I mean it's not like they're the only salespeople in the country getting paid on commission. Granted, dealing with lovely poorly-tipping customers sucks a lot, but the fact that it's often unappealing is what keeps the overall pay high... Not sure how you're calculating your ROI, given that rent, utilities, prep, and... you know... food are critical components of what allow you to get tips. Though I imagine the real reason tipping stays around is probably because people assume customers don't actually factor in the 20% bump in price when looking at the menu vs. a place without tipping. I will say though that as a server it would very much behoove you to save up an emergency fund ASAP. There's plenty of money flowing towards FoH in successful establishments - I'm not sure if you're saying they should get more or that the restaurant should smooth out their income for them, but if it's the latter you can take care of that problem yourself by saving more of your income in the good times No Wave fucked around with this message at 01:37 on Feb 19, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Feb 19, 2014 01:17
|
|
|
spouse posted:I was given it, along with a detailed printout of my sales and a breakdown at a meeting at the end of the year. I don't know, but I can only assume it's something simple like wages+training+materials-comps/spillage=my value. This isn't to comment on your worth etc. as a server, I'm just signaling my confusion.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 19, 2014 21:25
|
|
|
Cercies posted:What is the minimum you all would take a salary position for in your restaurants? Also, they wouldn't be offering it to you unless it was saving them money
|
|
#
¿
Mar 5, 2014 18:33
|
|
|
brick cow posted:I technically got overtime but it was chinese overtime , so it wasn't that great. The only reason I agreed to it was because I was waiting for a brand new store to be built for me to take over. Then drama-poo poo happened which isn't related to money but just how lovely pizza hut treats it's employees and I ended up walking out before my store was built. (And that particular one never ended up being built.)
|
|
#
¿
Mar 6, 2014 00:46
|
|
|
The Saurus posted:e: And do Americans still think all British food is terrible and we can't cook like a few years ago? Was hoping Gordon Ramsay and his bullshit reality shows would have demolished that preconception.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 23, 2014 00:15
|
|
|
The Saurus posted:Trained chefs make $7.25 an hour in the NYC area? Really? How can anyone even afford to live there on that. The highest paying restaurant cook job in NYC is probably at Momofuku Ko, because you get tipped out (as the cooks serve the food). There are ten of those jobs. The rest, you generally won't be making above $15/hour barring exceptional circumstances - and you'll probably start out lower ($9 - $12). What many of our parents failed to impart is that college educations are nice to have because they make our lives easier.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 23, 2014 16:44
|
|
|
It was a fantastic way to get rid all of my stupid I'm different-from-my-peers-too-special-for-normal-jobs-not-doing-it-for-the-money romantic notions, and I was lucky enough to get a programming job afterwards. But I didn't have a wife.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 23, 2014 23:41
|
|
|
The Saurus posted:How many British chefs are actually well known in the United States? I'm guessing Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver, maybe Heston Blumenthal at a push.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 24, 2014 02:12
|
|
|
Turkeybone posted:Yeah.. I'm not really taking to NY so well, but I basically sit around in a cubicle and do excel and talk about wine and restaurants all day long. You'll get a good ROI
|
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2014 02:06
|
|
|
MAKE NO BABBYS posted:I know the place that I'm working at the moment is a total hellhole and that I struggle with the level of (lack of) cleanliness they find acceptable every day, but this just seems super bizarre to me: they have a cleaning service that cleans the floors and pulls the mats behind the two bars every night. However, they just dump the mats in front of the bar each night for the day bartender to pull back behind, they never wash or spray down the mats themselves. To open, one drags three filthy mats (which are the cheap, thin kind with no fasteners or any thing to keep them from sliding around and not heavy enough to stay in place of their own volition) across and into place on (supposedly) clean and STILL WET tile floor. It makes the slipping worse, I feel like my hands are never clean afterwards and there's a hue sticky spot in front of the bar where the dirty mats sat for hours. What. The. gently caress. This job will be the death of me. Four more months.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 30, 2014 22:37
|
|
|
Republicans posted:We've done small parties at cost for local organizations before where I volunteer to handle all the labor myself, including clean up and dishes. That's why I felt so blindsided when he came in with the pricing, especially after asking me to arrange it. No Wave fucked around with this message at 19:01 on May 2, 2014 |
|
#
¿
May 2, 2014 18:58
|
|
|
Black August posted:EDIT: Actually, I rescind that statement. What can go eat a toilet of turds at a taco stand is huge parties that eat up 90% of your tables for half of your shift, reducing your sales to nothing can making the kitchen glare at you when you place in the absurdly specific orders. Then you get tipped 10% because they paid half on card, half on cash, and only tipped on the card amount.
|
|
#
¿
May 12, 2014 21:12
|
|
|
cods posted:I'm a serious lurker of this thread, but I'm pretty sure I am about to get a CDC job at a successful farm to table restaurant in Nyc and I'm making GBS threads my pants right now.final details to be worked out on Friday. Being a workhorse and not being a total rear end in a top hat might have finally paid off. No Wave fucked around with this message at 14:27 on May 16, 2014 |
|
#
¿
May 16, 2014 13:53
|
|
|
MAKE NO BABBYS posted:Why would you want your bartender on their phone on the floor? Even if it's to send you a ticket, the impression on the guest is that they're being ignored for texting. iPad is better off, people recognize them as being work-related or POS system. Can't help with a specific app, but even if one doesn't exist at the moment, you could probably pay a dev to make one for you easily.
|
|
#
¿
May 16, 2014 19:56
|
|
|
MAKE NO BABBYS posted:It's not a POS he's looking for, is it? If that's what he needed then just use one of the millions of ipad based POS systems. I thought he was looking for a way to communicate with a bartender. I figured maybe the kitchen made some garnishes or accoutrements for drinks, so he needed something like a messaging system. Bartenders doing what looks like texting on their phones behind the bar is a bad look from the guest's perspective, even if it's not actually texting.
|
|
#
¿
May 16, 2014 20:29
|
|
|
Deep-fry the discs.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 30, 2014 21:30
|
|
|
Trouble with the lamb sandy is that the lamb sandwiches people are used to having (shwarma) are hyper-flavorful and ultra-caramelized. To compete with that level of flavor you have to either add jus or get a huge crust on the meat.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 30, 2014 23:45
|
|
|
CommonShore posted:The problem is that having a good dishwasher in the pit can do more to make the kitchen run smoothly than a mediocre guy on the line, and I've found that good dishwashers are surprisingly rare. Most of the dishwashers I ever worked with were morons, which is why they were "still" dishwashers. gently caress, I remember one guy in particular who on his own in the pit was as better than three of the regular "entry level" mongoloids who would get hired. At that time I worked on sautee, so he was running my pans all the time during rushes, and I never once remember being out of pans or anything, and on top of that he was keeping the dishes for the whole ~300 seat restaurant moving, too. But he got promoted because he was good, and he became a pretty average prep cook. After that I was stuck with the kind of idiots who would use steel wool to scrub teflon off of a pan because he had no idea what it was. What you're looking for is someone who works like he's got a good reason to work hard, but without actually giving him a reason to work hard. No Wave fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Oct 3, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Oct 3, 2014 18:50
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 6, 2024 09:22 |
|
|
Love how on one page we're talking about how the industry takes advantage of people and on the next it's "you gotta pay your dues"... for a guy who's spent a year in a dishpit already. I don't know any pro cooks who had to spend a year in a dishpit, that's loving ridiculous.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 6, 2014 04:16
|
|