/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>what am i doing wrong?

You chose to seek employment in food services.

>>5101963

ha fair enough. i often have that thought in my head, but im so far in i cant really stop now. i have no other skills

>>5101929

Two things. First, are you talking with owners/managers/head chefs, asking to come in for a trial, etc? Or are you dropping off resumes and asking people to call you back? If the latter, that's part of your problem.

The other problems I see are 'caterer, wedding, 1 day gig' is just padding your resume. Same with charity prep. It's great that you do that, that you're involved in your community, but those are things you talk about in an interview, not put on a resume. You're dedicating, what, a quarter of a page, maybe a half page to 2-10 days of work? That's wasting their time as readers, and to me it implies either that you consider those two single-days on par with your 8 years of running a section, or that you lack so much confidence that you think your resume needs to be fluffed up to be appealing. Neither of those are good things.


So, tl;dr, talk to people, get face time, show them that you can cook. Sell them on the things that will make you a good sous chef, because that's the only thing they give a fuck about.

>>5101998

thanks for your input. i put those 1 or 2 day gigs in a volunteer section if that makes a difference.

also i do go and talk to head chefs and managers, but the majority of them say theyd love to have me trail or stage, but its a insurance problem if im not on their payroll.

i also do the whole resuem drop off thing. and apply online since thast the only way to get in with a lot of the chain places.

but again thanks for your input. i really never thought about the volunteer stuff

>>5101929
>moved up from prep after 6 months
>mfw on month 8 and still prep

>>5101929
Do you show up to interviews wearing your coat and holding your knife kit?

If you aren't you should

>>5101998
I don't think the 1 day gigs are a bad thing to include. Though I agree they shouldn't go under work experience. He could add them to a further qualifications section.
-has catered 4 course meal for 100 guests
-has prepped for 200 person charity event
-is california food handlers carholder

>>5102011
>trial period
>insurance problem
>not on payroll

They are just trying to let you down gently. No one does a trial period without pay, or if you are the one offering it, then you look desperate and they wouldn't want to hire you anyway.

>>5102018

ive always thought interviews in my chef whites was tacky. But maybe I was wrong?

>>5102015

technically the job after my prep gig started as prep, btu i got promoted after about a year to cook, and then after a year head cook.

in all honesty i did get a sous chef offer from that company but i didnt want to move to the middle of nowhere to work at a retirement community. plus that title was deceiving at that company. It was basically just head morning cook that also helped with the order once a month

>>5102029
I haven't cooked in 15 years, so maybe the standards have changed. But I was taught to wear whites to an interview. Or maybe it was to have your coat with you so are ready for a practical.

any other thoughts?

Showing up in your whites seems a bit over the top for most jobs, but I've always shown up in kitchen ready attire/shoes, with my knife kit in tow, just in case the opportunity for a bench test comes up.

If you're career doesn't seem to be going anywhere, try staging at a really nice place in your off time (lol - but seriously, that's how it's usually done).

How do you go from head night cook (whatever that is) to prep cook? Just get experience working the line. Can you make salads? Can you work saute? Can you work the fryer? Can you work a grill, and know meat temps? If you didn't answer "yes" to all of those questions then your resume is laughable. If you did answer yes, then you should have enough experience to know what to do to further your career.

It's really not that difficult. I've only been in the industry just a few years, and I already feel like I'm overqualified.

>tl;dr - learn as much as you can, let the higher ups know what you're are doing (when you have something to show), and when you feel like you know what you are doing, ask for a raise, promotion, or find something better. Also, if you want to get into the big leagues you're probably going to have to work for free for awhile, being a bitch.

I would promote someone from within rather than hire someone off the street for the position. If no one was sous material and I had to hire someone off the street, I would hire someone with the same experience level as myself. Someone who has had management responsibilities in numerous places not just one. Also, try to stick it out at a place for at least 6 months before moving on. 8 months to a year is better.
Showing up in whites wouldn't change my mind, but you should be able to answer "When can you start?" with a "I have my knives and jacket in my car...(right now)".
But basically I wouldn't hire you because of your lack of experience in management (in more than one place). Not trying to be mean; just being straight. There are tons of qualified people looking for restaurant work, especially since the boom of youngsters all wanting to be chefs because they grew up watching food network. The market is saturated.
Good luck.

this thread makes me grateful that i choose to prescue another career

>>5102027
>No one does a trial period without pay

that depends where you live. in my town it's common practice

to OP, open your own shit.

>>5103506
>many youngsters
JWU alone has like 10000 students working on culinary art degrees

>>5105083

>tfw you work in a town with a jwu campus and constantly have to work with at least one or two kids doing their internship

Holy fuck are they pretentious. I really need to find something else.

>>5104843

>prescue

what the fuck

Anyway, OP. Quit bouncing around jobs so much. As a chef (kitchen manager at another job) who has hired and fired for about five years now, seeing someone who has worked three jobs in one year is a huge red flag. Your experience also isn't as illustrious as you might think, because I look at your resume and see:

>italian restaurant
Good, I know that place, know the chef, know the cooks, not bad.
>cruise ship
Uh, so what? You were in charge of thawing out the steaks? I also can't call anyone for a reference, because I have to navigate through their massive HR department just to find someone who may not even work there anymore.
>caterer
Don't care.
>prep cook for charity
Don't care.
>retirement home
So.. you were in charge of thawing out the broccoli and peas n' carrots? institutional food has a bad rap among restaurant chefs, and for good reason. at least you worked there for eight years.
>prep cook in a bar
Great, so you can grate cheese?
>server for charity
don't care.

>servsafe
good!
>foodhandler's card
good!
>continuing education
good! can you work nights?
>membership to 3 culinary groups
meh.

So, really, what it comes down to is that you've really only worked in ONE restaurant that any chef would even care about, and it constitutes your shortest work experience. Being there for only 4 months means that you either quit or got fired, which is worrisome. Culinary school would honestly be your best bet at this point.

>>5105450
>dont care
faggot i hope your place of business burns down idiot

>>5105471

Well put.

>>5105450

>culinary school would honestly be your best bet at this point

While I've known a few people who went to culinary school on the advice of their chefs (and were being groomed to be sous chefs, and went to school for free, while working full time), culinary school is mostly a way to get your foot in the door, in my experience.

I've never been in a position of hiring/firing people, but proven experience and connections (which comes with experience) is far more important than school, and most chef's I've worked under look down on culinary students with little or no experience.

In any case, your post seems pretty spot on. My only issue is with you not caring about a catering job. They can be three person operations, serving less than 100 people once a week, but they could also be high end operations working full time (I worked at one for a bit less than a year). It's not the same as working the line, but you are still working non-stop and getting whatever you're doing down to a par. My catering job is where I got (pretty much) fully confident with butchery and processing seafood (yeah, I still have a lot to learn, but can walk into most kitchens and not need much training). I also never actually worked onsite. I just worked in the prep kitchen (which yes, did involve actual cooking - and yes, even at fancy events half of the shit is cooked beforehand).

tl;dr - I lost track of what I wanted to say

I was lucky to work as a sous chef. Came in with only catering on my resume, chef/owner said no. I asked if ANY jobs were open (dishwasher, waiter, etc...). He tried me out as a busser and host. The sous chef quit and the owner was way too busy in the kitchen. I had been watching, rolled up my sleeves, and joined in after telling the waiters my idea (they were cool with it). Next day (day off) got told to meet him at a bar. Went to a steakhouse with him, got told to come in a couple hours early because I'm the new sous chef.

>>5105990

>ifseriousyouaremorecharismaticthanmostcooksandstillgotreallyluck.png

>>5105912

I actually have a fuckton of respect for caterers, since they have to put out 1200 identical dishes, AND THEN DELIVER THEM, hot and well presented. The logistics are insane. I didn't care about his specific experience with catering because he's got literally one day experience with it. If he had worked as a caterer for two years (or even one full summer), it would be a different story.

Anyway, regarding culinary school: it seems to be /ck/'s little pet motto that you don't need to go, it's a waste of money, experience is more important, blah blah blah. To a large extent, I agree with this. Given the opportunity, you'll learn far more and be a much more attractive candidate if you can get your ass out there and stage at some great restaurants. Seeing as how maybe 0.5% of cooks actually do this, however, it's hardly a viable option or worthy piece of advice. The reality is, the vast majority of cooks will work at a couple of decent-to-okay restaurants, put in enough time (or have enough people above them quit) to get promoted to sous chef, and that's it. That's the ceiling. With a little extra luck, they might even get promoted to chef, but that's exceedingly rare. I've seen more 45 year-old line cooks struggling to make 12 bucks an hour than I care to think about.

The truth is, all the folks that say that you don't need culinary school have never tried to get a job better than sous chef. It's one thing to spend a few years in a joint and work your way up to it. It's comfortable, it's predictable. It's a different thing entirely to walk up to a stranger (or an HR department) in an entirely unfamiliar and say, "hey, give me a $50,000 salary and a $20,000 weekly food budget. i can bone a chicken out in 15 seconds from the five years i spent at chucklefuck's bar and grill." Serious business people expect to see serious credentials, and a culinary degree (or certificate, really) provides just that. [...]

>>5105450

italian - ok
cruise ship steakhouse - steaks were cut frsh from a butcher every morning, and i worked as a tournant. have direct number on resume

retirement home - i hate that it was a retirement home, because we did 90 percent from scratch. not that mimi's cafe is great, but i'd say our food was on par with theirs, and not just pureed food and frozen veggies

i was only at the cruise ship for one contract, and i currently work at the italina place. plan to stay there until i find somethign better.

culinary school is what ive been tyring to do, but i =m in a financial debacle.

i cant afford school, but i make too much to get enough financial aid to pay for it. and i cant get a private loan out without a cosigner but i have no cosigner.

also i just got a phonecall back from a stage at a 2 michelin starred place in the next town over. he said i can stage there for as long as i want as long as i show that i want to learn

>>5106052
How does one get an interview at Chucklefuck's Bar and Grill?
Sounds like a wonderful job.

>>5106052

For them, a degree IS the proven experience. It IS the connection, a connection to an accredited source that says, "hey, this guy knows the basics of cooking and cost management." Just like in every other industry, that little piece of paper talks.

It's unfortunate that it's like this, but it is. I know way too many culinary grads who don't know a goddamned thing, but sleepwalk their way into great jobs. I've been beaten out by guys who were fresh out of culinary school, even though I have over a decade's worth of experience compared to their one year, can cook circles around them AND run a reliable 25% food cost. It's surprisingly competitive at the top. While there might be 30,000 cook jobs in your city, there might be only 1,000 chef/km/gm jobs out there, though oftentimes far less. When you're competing for an actual, grown-up career and salary against other guys and girls who are doing the same, every bit of advantage you can give yourself helps.

>>5106071

They have a working interview. You have to stage your way in. Nothing too serious, though. You go in, maybe make the soup du jour, make some salads during dinner service. Chef might ask you to make some mayonnaise, just to see if you know how to emulsify. Don't be too nervous, and don't try too hard.

>>5106052

I'm the anon you were responding to.

I do have an AS degree from a reputable culinary school. It got my foot in the door.

However, cooking a variety of traditional dishes, using every technique, a few times over the course of a year of two, aside from cutting edge molecular gastronomy shit (not that I'm opposed - I was told there's no money in the field by a couple chefs I trust), means nothing if you don't know your meat temps.

I know I'm talking basic skills, but that's what I got from culinary school. Basic skills. And the handful of places I've worked at since then cared less about my education than they did about my experience, and what I could do.

>tl;dr - i've had a minimal culinary school education, and am still not sure it was worth, despite what the rest of /ck/ has to say about it, knowing what little they do

>>5106100

Yeah, that's the flipside of the coin, and a big reason why I never chose to pursue (sorry, prescue) a culinary degree myself. For all of those struggling 45 year-old line cooks, I've also known nearly as many cooks and sous chefs who were carrying $50,000 worth of debt and still struggling to make $12 an hour. A culinary degree from even a prestigious dump like J&W is by no means a guarantor of success.

>>5106039
I'm strangely charismatic. I can keep an eye on the front door and wander the restaurant because it's a small place. Customers offer wine, tip me separate from the servers, and little old ladies hug me on the way out. Still get tips and requests to see me from the customers I got to know while up front. Some people were surprised once I wore short sleeve shirts tough (mainly the nice old ladies who thought only bad people have tattoos)

>>5106311

Oh, you're one of THOSE guys.

You'll go far, but everyone in the kitchen and most of the servers will hate you.

>>5106311

Once again, the anon you were responding to.

I'm somewhere between ass-burgers and social anxiety tier, and could never work FoH.

If I was even a bit outgoing I could probably score an assistant brewer position (which is the direction I'd like to go in). I also work in a brew pub, and the beer is generally better than the food.

Being outgoing is 90% of being successful, and I'm working far below my level of qualification, simply because I can't deal with social interactions.

>>5106314
Already at sous-chef, aren't I? I have a problem with 2 of the 16 person staff, but that's it. Both of them are the typical ones that everybody has a problem with. One's a server that's too professional to the customers to fire, even if he's a total ass and fucks up the kitchen constantly ("This table is ready for the entrees! Oh, right, forgot to give you the fuckhuge ticket for it"). The other is just a lazy fuck dishwasher.

>>5106355

Well, I mean, you're sous chef at the kind of restaurant that lets the sous chef go schmooze the guests, drink wine on the floor, get tips.. and was promoted only out of convenience and necessity due to a high turnover rate. So read into that what you will.

I am serious about you going far, though. The industry is full of chefs who would rather be out on the floor (or the bar) than on the line. Being presentable and funny and endearing will get you just as far as any culinary skill ever might.

>>5106369
Eh, when I'm not cooking I can do what I want. Tipping was only while I was up front, though I do miss that...

If I read the thread properly and you got a call back, that's great anon.

In regards to your resume, my biggest concern is how long you stayed in jobs. The few days per year don't count much because really it means you worked about three days in the entire year at that job, which isn't much. It's great that you stayed right years somewhere, but then why are the latest places only four-five months? You've been working four months and are looking for a new job already? It leads to assumptions that you caused trouble and will cause trouble at the new place, or couldn't keep up with the work/standards/whatever. It doesn't matter if it's not true, most employers will assume there's some kind of drama that made you leave there and will bring it over to their workplace, in which case it isn't worth the hassle to hire you. People want to hire people who will stay there for the long run, so I agree with the 'try to stay somewhere for at least six months' if you can.

>>5106396
eight years, not right years, sorry.