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Hi guys. I'm finally glad we got a new thread. I hated posting in that one and going a billion Pages deep for the last several years. I am(okay, was until 3 days ago) ExecChef in NYC. I have been in New York for 5 yearsand I have had a blast, buts it is time to go! the restaurant I was cheffing at closed the other day(Manhattan rent lol, and so many other things). We are getting rid of our apartment, and my wife and I are moving in with the former general manager and her bf so we can save on rent for a few months and then we are going to move to California. gently caress these winters(last year's not so bad but it still sucks) I'm from the south, I moved to vail Colorado when I finished culinary school, and worked in a ski resort/hotel for a couple of years and then I moved to Portland Oregon where I cooked and then became a sous chef at local place over there, and then about 5 years ago I moved to New York and I have been a head chef/exec(depending on where) for the last like 3 years. A lot of My experience in New York has mostly been working for a small hospitality company that has some very busy and some not so very busy restaurants all over the city and I've basically either ran, worked at, consulted forlike 3/4 of the restaurant in my little company. As I stated earlier one of the places I was currently stationed at closed(it will be retooled/rebranded in like 4 months) but because of all this bullshit that I won't get into that was happening in the company, there really wasn't a spot that I was satisfied having, and my wife and I have been dying to leave anyway so we are seeing this is our golden opportunity to get the gently caress out of here as it's been a glorious and gracious ride so far. I'm also looking to get out of lovely stand-alone small Hospitality groups as well because they are absolutely awful, and I've been saying it in this thread for years and I've never done it but I'm finally ready to sell out. I'm looking to apply to hotels over there and I want to be a boring old hotel chef with a nice salary and benes. Working for little guys help me climb the ladder quick and it was good and amazing yet awful experience at the same time but I'm ready for that stability in my life again and I really always enjoyed working in hotels. The fun part is I'm taking care of selling everything and getting rid of my apartment in like a whirlwind 72-hour crazyshit show, and after we settle into our friend's apartment I'm going to undercover line cook somewhere so I can still save some cash for the next month or two while I get a job lined up and can save some money. Not having to worry about homicidal alcoholic drug fueled manic retards is going to be a nice break for me for a couple of weeks while I arrange everything. I would love to answer any questions anyone has for me about, well whatever, and I would love to answer. I'm also unemployed for the next couple weeks so I'll have the time. As well as if anyone has any useful information or advice for the Los Angeles dining scene/good info it would be appreciated.
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Jul 18, 2017 17:08
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 12:52 |
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The ole love/hate. It sounds like here! Yeah, I'm going to air BNB it the first two months so I can find something relative to where my job is going to be. Is summer/end of Summer a good time to head over there?
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Jul 18, 2017 18:08
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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.
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Jul 21, 2017 03:04
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Hi there, Chef goon moving to L.A. from NYC. Got rid of our stuff, and our apt, and job Living with a friend. I have a recruiter working on a couple leads out there/applying to stuff. I am wanting to get back into hotels, and Im moving from across the country(figuring out now im probably going to have to fly out for a tasting soon) blind, and it looks like a going to take a pretty big hit on salary and title. This was to be expected, and kinda the price to pay for going corporate. I'm willing to suck it up for a year or two if it gets my foot in the door of a nice hotel over there. If memory serves me right, most of the chefs i worked under in hotels were all mostly from other cties and usually their foot in the door job, or a transfer from another property. All kinda coming together now. And while the money is better in stand alones, I am so ready to sell my soul for stability, security, and in the long run hopefully more money going corporate. Also since it looks like im going to have to do a tasting for just about worthwhile job out there, my wife and i are just thinking of saying gently caress it and just moving out there at the end of the month anyway. I can maybe afford going out there(i have to pay for this) like 4 days to do tastings.
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Aug 3, 2017 03:16
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Chef De Cuisinart posted:I FOUND THE TRUCK THAT RAN ME OVER LAST MONTH. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! Nice one. Goon In the middle of moving to la from NYC. There are some confidentiality things so I can't be too specific, but a lot went down today as far as getting a job out there. I had a phone interview that went well with the chef over there in LA. After the interview I called the agency(that I'm using to find a job out there) to let them know how it went. While I was on the phone the chef contacted the agency and wanted to move forward with me. That means me going out there for a tasting on my own dime, which I anticipated. Through the mediator (agency) I sent them dates of flights I could afford, like one later next week because it's middle of Summer travel time and flights are super expensive, a couple next week , and one towards the end of the month. Then they immediately shot back asking if I could come out next week and we are negotiating them helping/reimbursement for the ticket and me staying at the place, which would be amazing, but nothing is confirmed yet. I would try and fit as many tastings in there as possible while I was there. There are pros and cons to the job but honestly it's not bad if I nail the tasting, and it's one of those situations I feel I'm more than qualified for the job, but I'm moving across country, so I have to take a hit for a minute. But I'm also making GBS threads my pants tremendously right now. I'll know more tomorrow after everyone gets back to work tomorrow.
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Aug 9, 2017 04:18
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Hey goons, real quick life crisis. Flew out to la to NY for 2 tastings. Here are the options: Small place but in an absolutely picturesque setting that you wouldn't mind driving to, but wouldn't look as good on the resume. But sit a bad job. Also pay is 3k more but title is poo poo compared to what I was so huge step down.also little. Just finished a super long day in one of the most luxurious places I've ever stepped into. Would look loving killer on resume but job is harder. But not like crazy harder and it's more of a "chef" job than the other one. Pay not as good. Both have good benes. This place is really highly reviewes on glass door. So chill cool job, or job that's better for future? Uhhhh. So conflicted. Need goon help.
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Aug 20, 2017 08:04
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Sorry, I was having a freakout on the on the runway in the runway typing that before I had to go into airplane mode. Basically I think I want to chose the douche place because a im douche, and it will pay off in a couple of years. While the other one wouldn't be bad, and it would be a much more chill job, I just cant take poo poo too easy on myself.
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Aug 20, 2017 18:23
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Okay, finally have all this sorted out. Accepted offer in Malibu. Could have gotten the other one but the timing didn't work and the job in Malibu was a sure thing, and I am moving across the country, so I didn't want to risk anything. Having said that, where do I live if I work in Malibu? I don't mind a 45 minute commute in order to save on rent. I'm just not entirely sure where to start looking.
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Aug 22, 2017 22:02
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We are looking for cheap, 1br it studio, use laundromat, street parking, etc. We are trying to do the opposite of what we did here in NY and live a little below instead of above our means. What about Canoga Park area? It's also our first year, so we are willing to really suck it up and save on cost/pay off some stuff. cods fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Aug 22, 2017 |
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Aug 22, 2017 23:41
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Cookin' goons, made it from NYC to LA! Signed lease this morning so I'm not homeless, and start job in Malibu tomorrow! The tacos here are primo.Chef De Cuisinart posted:Chiming in on the drinking, I haven't had a drink in a month, and I don't need to. It's a very liberating feeling. Cutting out liquor for the next 6mos, let myself have a few beers on my Denver trip next week, but the desire to get smashed is just gone, because I could be doing better things. All you little gooners out there take note. Quitting drinking(to excess/chef style) is the best thing I ever did for working in this industry. It actually makes it more tolerable and you better at your job. And then you start noticing how loving reliant people are on booze to get through their day and handle their problems. Also not being hungover ever day feels loving great, and once you remove yourself from. It for as little as a couple of weeks you realize how loving poison alcohol is, and how it really doesn't help you in a hot, firey, and dangerous work atmosphere and just makes poo poo worse. cods fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Sep 7, 2017 |
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Sep 7, 2017 18:59
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Goons, tell me if im crazy. Long story short, former head chef in nyc, just moved to west coast. Have relatively chill am sous job with o.k. salary. Just got here doing waiting game to get another head chef job, but looking out there I don't really want anything. Especially going corporate. It's completely soul sucking and for a poo poo salary. I'm going to cap out with at most another 20k getting a head chef at a hotel or something but for what? To work 90 loving hours? I just recently turned 31 and that sounds like the last thing I want to do. My knee and should are already hosed up, and the job at this level is making sure retards don't burn themselves for like a barely livable salary that tops out pretty quick just to be a loving hotel/corporate salary slave. I want to kind of drop it all and go back to school and get a stem degree. it seems there is no sane stable future for an old chef. Just jumping around to the same bullshit 60-70k jobs in expensive cities.also I would like to hold on to what little I have left if my body before it grinds away making sure idiots don't burn themselves.
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Feb 5, 2018 17:39
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This is true. There servers where I work are driving around in new Mercedes. And I just don't love it. I loved it when I was coming up, trying to prove myself and earn a title, but once I got it, it's not all it's cracked up to be. It's just such a loving toxic industry. Just being in charge of people producing food(especially when it's not "yours") just gives me a" why the gently caress ambi doing this when any other idiot could stand here just to make sure people don't set themselves on fire." Let alone working all the holidays gets old, never taking a vacation gets old, not having savings gets old. Resume is good! But good for being just keeping above water. cods fucked around with this message at 18:43 on Feb 5, 2018 |
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Feb 5, 2018 18:02
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The thing is... I do. I work at basically that. my dishes make it to the menu(after they get altered by committee), I have benes, work the day shift, and have a weekend day off(or two!) A week. But then I look at my chef who makes a little more than I do, works way more than I do, gets called in at a moment's notice (basically here almost seven days getting called into meetings regardless of off day or not) blah blah the same poo poo I used to have to deal with. No life, "ON" on holidays. It's just not a lot to work towards or look forward to. And being a head hotel chef is just a loving pain in the rear end and not really about food anymore, more just running poo poo and controlling chaos. Even though it will suck for like 4 years the payoff of not having to stand for 12+ hours a day will hopefully be worth it.
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Feb 5, 2018 21:05
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Don't worry, there is only 1 of us so far(building more) on the west coast. Yeah, it's independent. Every hotel I have worked in has been the same, with the chaos that can happen in a hotel with multiple outlets, all of my hotel head chefs were absolute slaves/ always Fighting against the higher ups(and losing). Just like in an independent going back and forth with the owner. I also just happened to watch 2 " cheffy" documentaries that also have been weighing heavily on me. One was " the last magnificent - Jeremiah tower", spoilers: awesome chef, very successful, peaked, hosed off to mexico, and came back to be the head chef of tavern on the green in NYC and turn it around. there is the scene that really struck a note with where this very famous renowned Chef, who was brought in to turn the place around, going back and forth with the dumbass owners that are absolutely clueless over the dumbest poo poo. I've had that same argument over and over, and I was like wow, even at 70 I will be having the same dumb argument. And the 2nd was 42 grams, and I won't ruin the great ending, but separately, even if I pour my heart and soul into food I believe in, aside from that moment, it all kind of amounts to a hill of beans or a, " oh yeah, I did that thing and it was cool, but now I have nothing to show for it." I'm just not mentally in it anymore. I am married, and don't want children, but I don't even see the point of not having kids if I am at working the whole time, and not making enough money enjoy myself. I am just mentally not there anymore. Having people enjoy and reproduce my dishes does not outweigh the want to make a decent salary without having give up like 90% of my life to a job that is also physically demanding. I take pretty decent care of myself(for a chef) and I would say I have only a few more years before my joints just totally give up. I just can't justifyit to myself that this is acceptable anymore. Can you goons tell me about I.T.? Lol cods fucked around with this message at 20:35 on Feb 6, 2018 |
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Feb 6, 2018 19:42
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That doesn't sound like too bad of an idea. Phlux, I just moved to the west coast in search of a better quality of life compared to NYC kitchens, but then I find it's just kind of the same poo poo everywhere. After doing like 10 years of 12 hour days it's just stale. The is my first not head chef job in a few years. I'm in line with my current place to head up a new property, or I could jump from this place to minimum a cdc or exec sous at another hotel(this was just my first landing spot) but I'm honestly just tired of working 12s on my feet. At the end of the day I'm just zapped, and I want to just sleep on my day off. Not a life to live. I also don't have anything to fall back on if I were to continue this line of work when my body quits. It unfortunately is my passion. 8 identify myself as a chef because it's all I know. But I'm also doing this because I have to. If anything were to happen to me I would be hosed. And if I did my ownes it thing it would be even worse. I just don't think I'm there anymore. Maybe in 10 years after I have more to fall back I can cook for some nerds and they can give me money for a restaurant, but as for now I think I'm done.
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Feb 7, 2018 20:06
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 12:52 |
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Hi goons, indecisive Chef who wants to get out of the kitchen: Tell me more about being a food sales rep/in a large metropolitan area? I've been bouncing a lot of things back and forth for my next step and this one seems like a not so bad option. It seems like the good ones work a lot, but I'm used to that. Also what do they make? cods fucked around with this message at 15:10 on Apr 24, 2018 |
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Apr 24, 2018 14:45
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