/ck/ - Food & Cooking

Go for it. Better have thick skin or it'll be a short trip.
You know you will be making min wage, right?

>>5107748
Yeah I know that. I have money saved up for a while so it will help stretch that out. Wife will also be bringing money in and I really have no problem with her being the major breadwinner.

Right now I am thinking the worst thing that happens is that I find it is not for me. If that is the case I would like to have put at least a year in and then try something else.

>>5107738
Ask yourself if you want to work nights and weekends for most of your life, while your other adult friends are out on the town enjoying them selves.

It's not a bad career, but you basically have to make friends with other service industry people because no one who works a typical m-f 9-5 gig wants to go out on a monday night when you have off. It's just the way it is

>>5107738
Culinary Schools can help to open doors but that only gets you so far.

If you are not able to handle the pressure or long hours of work Culinary School is a wast of money.

>>5107757
>while your other adult friends are out on the town enjoying them selves.
Well that shouldn't be too hard. Really the only close friend I have now is my wife. All my friends were at my job but they had their own families/didn't do anything after work anyway so I lost contact.

You do have to knife fight Hector, the 300 pound Mexican dishwasher to advance to the line. Get your knife fighting skills tuned up sooner than later.

>>5107757

Yet, access to lots of free booze and someone always has some form of drugs on hand.

>>5107772
What do I have to do to get Hector's place as the knife fighter?

don't be lazy. even for a fucking second. work really fucking hard, put in the hours and show a desire to learn more. that's how you'll move up

source: was a dishwasher and now am sous chef at the kitchen i work at

don't become an alcoholic

>>5107787

not true. most kitchen people are alcoholics

>>5107790
And/or chronic smokers. And/or smoke chronic.

>>5107794
yeah. i only smoke at work and when a drink. don't do that shit at home, but you can't avoid it in a restaurant.

Keep up on dishes and help with prep as much as possible.

Understand that you will develop a drug habit of some kid to cope with the stress of the job and the malaise sets in.

>>5107798
>Understand that you will develop a drug habit of some kid to cope with the stress of the job
Huh. Can it be a legal habit? If so I guess I would prefer nicotine.

I am going to be honest, I was expecting more horror stories.

>>5107812
>I am going to be honest, I was expecting more horror stories.
Being a dishwasher in a busy restaurant is about as awful as you imagine it being. I did it when I was 17 -18 and it ran me down pretty good.

>>5107812
it's typically nicotine, alcohol, weed or a combo.

>>5107829
Oh its not so bad. Dishwashing is the easy part. Put me on dish before you put me on line anyday.

Best tip you'll get: Make friends with the cooks by washing the things they need first before the front of house gets theirs. That's not to say ignore the stupid fucking waitstaff, just that the kitchen is more important. The cooks will take care of you if you take care of them.

>>5107850
I didn't have a dishwasher. Hand washed master race.

>>5107859
truth

>be washing dishes
>really long and busy day
>"hey dishbitch, how do you eat your steak?"
>"midrare"
>time goes by
>"Hey thanks for all the help today"
>hands me mid rare steak (thought it's about half the size of the normal portion, probably a fucked up cut and didn't want to waste)

kitchen take care of their own

>>5107865
So did you serve like 5 people a day? For anything serious a dishwasher is almost required. If we hand washed where I work our dish guys would be there 24/7

>>5107790

exactly

>>5107884
lolno. I told you, I ran myself fucking ragged. I was replaced by two mexicans when I moved to the line.
I am a living legend if I say so myself.

>>5107871
Sounds nice.

>>5107871
Where I work (as a cook, and at another place before as a caterer/cook) cooks and dishwashers eat for free.

Dishwasher comes to me and wants a meanlover's pizza with extra veggies on top? Of a bacon stacked with grilled veggies and 2-3 slices of bacon? No prob. I think the best was at my previous job however, when I was doing the dishes before upgrading to cook, one of the chefs made me a duck confit rissoto. One of the best things I've ever eaten.

Chefs/cooks hate doing the dishes, they will ask a lot from a dishwasher, but if you do it with a smile, they will freaking take care of you.

>>5108031
>Chefs/cooks hate doing the dishes
Doesn't everyone?

>>5108261

Only if they're someone elses dishes.

>just got a food service job
>baker in a bagel shop
>minimum wage but the entire restaurant splits tips, told I can expect $3-$5 extra per hour from this
>free shift meal
>everyone is laid back, nice, not trashy at all
>I get to show up at work at 4:30 before anyone else is there and just blast music and bake bagels

I think I got pretty lucky.

>>5108295
Man I would love that except for the 4:30 part, couldn't do it unless it was at dunkin donuts or the grocers by my house. Need to take the bus and they don't run that early here.

>>5108295
>I think I got pretty lucky.
Right up until the jew stampede at opening

>>5108295
Thats what i do at a local breakfast restaurant.
Not quite that early, but its my favorite part of the day,
when i can just work with nobody in my way and listen
to the music i want to hear.

>>5108295
nobody tips at a bagel shop. more like $3-5 per WEEK

>>5108332

Joke's on you, the entire counter staff is young, bubbly, female college students.

>>5108339
But are they attractive? They could be young, bubbly, and in college but look like dogs.

>>5108339
so there's no table service? if not, don't expect any tips. I work at a company with some retail sandwich shops w/no table service (in fact there's not even anywhere to sit). those tips are barely anything, so they're not even worth being split up. they go towards things like getting dunkin donuts for everyone in the morning or a once a year night out at a cheap dive bar. and yes, all the girls are young bubbly super qt grills

>>5108345

I have not viewed them all but the ones I met are not unattractive by any stretch. Point is, the $3-$5/hour was accurate.

>>5108368

Then evidently we're some sort of tip anomaly.

You better have tough skin, literally. Some people have reactions to all the chemicals. I used to work at a pizza place and quit when half of my right hand became a red, itchy mess. I would wake up in the middle of the night itching it. I thought it was just somthing in that store. After I quit it healed up in 3 weeks by itself. I got a job at a different restaurant, and 2 days in, it started coming back (pick related). Quit again. Guess its not meant to be.

>>5108382

Yowza. Wash your hands in white vinegar if that ever shows up. Looks like an alkaline burn.

>>5108391
It slowly grew for 4 months, but once I quit it magically disappeared. Then, when I started again at a diff place, it popped back immediately. Is soon as I saw it I knew I had to quit. Kinda sucks.. I liked working in kitchens

>>5108410
Now you are frightening me. What if I love it but have a reaction like this?

Its sorta gone now, 2 weeks after I quit. There's some discoloration and dry skin still. And odd enough, its only my right hand. Left is fine

>>5108418
Pic related

>>5108413
It was really embarrassing quitting my job after the 3rd day... felt like shit. But nothing I can do about it. Im workin witg my dad on a truck now, its not bad, but not as fun/exciting as a kitchen

>>5107738
Don't do it, OP. Your time is better spent in school.

>>5108382
It's from having the protective layer of skin stripped off by cleaning agents. I used to get that all the time because I work with idiots who didn't pay attention in the food handlers class then they very clearly tell you how much bleach to use in bleach water. Cortizone cream clears it up. Wearing gloves helps.

That's what I did.
I started dishwashing at a sushi restaurant, now I'm the best kitchen-man there, a year and a half later.

They're talking about moving me up to the sushi bar, rolling.


As far as advice, as has been said, always keep busy; the head chef's watching you, even if you think he's not. Keep up on your dishes, and offer to help the prep/kitchen guy. Chances are, they'll be happy for the help, and start you off doing something menial. Over time, you'll get bigger and bigger tasks, and make good friends with them.

Eventually, you'll know how to do everything on the kitchen side. Offer to cover for someone when they need a day off. If all goes well, you then take this to the manager and ask about being scheduled on kitchen-side, and (providing there's a need for more kitchen guys), your kitchen friends can vouch for you as well.

That's how I got here, I started as a high-school student with no work experience one or two shifts a week, now I'm scheduled four days a week (the busiest days) for doubles.

>>5107783
this guy is right
nothing worse than a lazy kitchen hand

>>5109770
a lazy chef is almost as bad
the type that literally throws dishes at you in the quiet lulls, leaves teatowels in a fucking bin, gets you to do his work for him while he chats with his girl on the phone, leaves you to clean their benches and grill etc.

>>5109798
but you should be honored that someone who gets paid more then you is giving you the honor of doing their work whilethey are off jakin it someplace

>>5108382
I've got some of that too. I took it to a doctor, he said it's eczema. It clears up when I have a few days off, and comes back when I return. It's gotten to the point that it covers my hole left wrist, and it's starting to form on the right.
Sometimes, it itches so badly, I scratch all of the skin right off.

>>5107738
>have a wife
>be a dishwasher
pick one fucker

>>5109822
I do that too.
I get it on the tops of my feet and right above my thumb knuckle for some reason, and it just keeps itching and itching until I scratch all of the skin off and it starts bleeding.
It starts hurting and bleeds everywhere for a bit, but the itch is gone.

I wonder if thats more of a mental thing, or if my skin is really itching 'that' bad.

>>5109844
I forgot about the breakouts on my feet! Those are really recent.

I think it's actual itching, my un-trained un-professional medical opinion/understanding is that basically, the chemicals are causing skin to shed prematurely, without a new layer under it. This is why it itches; your body is trying to replace that skin, but it hasn't made a replacement yet.

That's my (probably ass-retarded) guess, anyway.

>>5109824
Whynot both?

Could OP's situation also apply to a female?

What I mean to say is, are there any opportunities as well for girls to be on the bussing and/or dishwashing side of a restaurant business and then move up the ranks? I'm aware that some people say it's more of a job for males but what's your opinion on this?

The reason I'm asking is that I'm in quite the same situation as OP. I don't think I can be a server because I'm awkward and not good with handling customers, plus I want to work IN the kitchen.

Has any girls here ever been a busser or dishwasher? How was it?

pic unrelated

>young and stupid
>dishy
>worked my hands to the bones for 2 years
>climb them ranks
>kitchen hand proper
>even get to make mains and shit now, allowed to be autonomous as well, no checking with the chefs every 30 seconds


Feels fucking good man.

Write a utility that lets restaurant owners easily set up a robot to wash their dishes for them

>>5110439
thats called a dishwasher (machine) my friend

>>5110367
i've never seen a female dishwasher, but i do see plenty of them doing kitchen prep (they are usually older mexican women tho). i see plenty of female chefs and cooks in kitchens, but i imagine most of them went to culinary school and made contacts to get into the industry.

my job involves going into kitchens of nice restaurants and meeting with the chefs, so i have a fairly broad perspective

>>5107738
You're going about it all wrong, OP. Culinary school and working in kitchen. You'll get where you (possibly) want to be much quicker. Greentext related.

>have vegan/vegetarian/halaal sister
>can only follow recipes
>goes to culinary school
>still afraid to experiment beyond basic spices and cooking techniques
>works at chain restaurant
>lands job at 4 star restaurant
>becomes a lead chef at espn
>still won't cook pork
>still doesn't have that feel about cooking
>mfw

Swear to God I cook circles around her at home. BTW you can start saying goodbye to your liver.

>>5110367
There is no reason a woman can't be a dishwasher. It's a usually gross and physically demanding job though, and if you are personable, your boss will want you interacting with customers, not being stuck in the dish pit.

I work in a place with a lot of female cooks, and they tend to be squeamish about dishes. They let the rinsing sink fill up with debris and gross water because they are too dainty to clear the drain, or they just pull the filter and let all the crap and grease go down the drain because they don't want to deal with it... Which causes the grease-trap to overflow and our drains to get clogged and flood the kitchen. They also don't rinse and stack the dishes. It's kind of funny since I moved up and don't have to deal with that bullshit anymore. I mean, these are people who have survived the blood and gore of birthing a child, but they are completely put off by the idea of touching dirty dishes.

>>5110552
>There is no reason a woman can't be a good dishwasher
You just listed several.
Plus the reduced strength, and every woman I've worked with in a kitchen save one or two gave up earlier and complained more.
Also most men seemed to offer help more often.

>BS in CS
Some Office Space shit going on?

>>5110570
That and women can only really work 3/4 of a month.

>>5110577
Basically. I just don't actually enjoy programming really. I only did it in school because it was easy enough that when I went through my Sophomore Slump I was still able to rock those courses.

>>5110580
That is kind of true, they can be working at a reduced capacity.

>>5107738
Some friendly advice, from a seasoned dishbitch:
Be prepared to stay an hour or two longer than scheduled. Depending on the busboys and customers, you can easily get slammed in the last thirty minutes or so of your shift.

>>5110623
Can confirm this, just finished a buffet shift for 200, alone.
Two tables arrived at 10 minutes before closing, so that was 100+ plates, and the fact that they cleared about 40 minutes later than normal.

>>5110367

female line cook here. you could try bussing, but dishwashing is usually male dominated. you do a lot of heavy lifting, but if you can lift heavy ass kitchen equipment then maybe. try applying for food runner or busser. i started off as a hostess, decided i hated talking to customers, and somehow ended up as a line cook 2 years later. i had quick-service food experience so that helped.

if you can follow a recipe, have knife skills, and a desire to learn then you might be able to apply for a prep cook job. your coworkers will definitely be mexican and take a lot of short cuts.

>>5107738

culinary school is a fucking joke. my bf already learned 95% of his curriculum by just working in a restaurant. he said he hasn't felt challenged there either. kitchen work is a hands-on experience. being tested on spices and sauces... you can do that at home by reading a book or just working in a kitchen.

my advice is to definitely make sure you are working for a competent chef. my chef and sous chef are young, around my age, but their ignorance shows. they frequently ignore the advice of 10+ year veterans who know the business. they're shitheads who have no idea how to motivate people and they've turned our atmosphere into teamwork to competition. definitely look out for that kind of red flag. there will always be some competition, but teamwork is so important in a good kitchen. if one person is fucked, then you're all fucked really.

get ready for: working on holidays, working in bad weather, working late nights, missing out on shit, your wife getting pissy that you don't spend tme with her, and don't get too crazy on the drinking/drugs.

it's tough work, but if you're in a good environment then you will love it.

>>5110695
>culinary school is a fucking joke. my bf already learned 95% of his curriculum by just working in a restaurant.

And that's often the case even if you go to the CIA. You aren't paying to learn how to cook, you're paying to SAY that you know how to cook.

It's a crucial difference.

>>5108285
lol this. Back when I lived with my parents I had no issues cleaning up after my own messes, but when the sink got stacked with everyone's shit there was no chore worse.

>5110570 here's my story
> be 20 just got promoted to
chef de parti
>Aka I run the line hence nickname sheepdog
>got a bump to 14.50 an hour Plus fixed tips 200 bi weekly for being pseudo management
>errybody loves me cept whore server gf who dumped me to find herself aka dicks
>new dishpig hired 16 blonde qt3.14
>herewego.jpg better get the termination papers ready
>retarded busy night 220 covers fucking christmas partys rightguis
>she fucking slays it 4th day in proud of my lil dishwasher
>decided to have a safety meeting after shots around
>she gets pretty tipsy has trouble closing I stay help her out
>foh manager tells me to lockup when were done
>end up fucking her in the prep area no cameras
Shes 18 now online as second cook and we still fuck on the reg I left now but shes the best dmo ive ever seen

im sure its been said already but

chefs are 98 percent assholes
i have pot washed in 2 restaurants and cheffed in one and they are all angry bald short criminals with little education. spend two years or maybe less doing some culinary cheffing course or work your way up, but prepare for shit to get given

>>5110871
this, my friends, is what alcoholism does to you

i manage a sportsbar that specializes in pizza, we hire pizza chefs with no experience, usually they take a few months to actually replace someone working, so its just having an extra set of hands. twice people have moved from dishwasher to pizza cook, only took them a month or two

line cooks are a different story. weve never had someone come in with 0 experience in the 5 years ive been there. its just too hard. theyre so slow that they need to be a 3rd person along with our regular two, which means that they are always in our current cooks way. so when we're busy, theyre a hinderance

following our recipes isnt hard, its just doing it fast as fuck while you have 7 tickets cooking and timing everything together

however im opening my own place in a little under a year and im going to have a 15 item max, just so itll be possible to train people with no experience

>>5108261
nah im this guy
>>5111461

i often dont schedule a busser or dishwasher during slow shifts. ill just have the servers buss their own shit and ill wash them

its pretty fucking easy if you have a good sink/hose/garbage disposal. scrape into trashcan, blast with water, and put it in the rack

the only bitch part is putting it away, which i make food runners do lol

>>5111461
in my experience,a huge problems with restaurants is that they have WAY too many menu items. even places that are supposed to be nice sometimes have huge menus. the best restaurants i've been to have all been able to fit their appetizer/entree menu in a single side of a piece of paper. the number of dishes should be limited to ensure they are all done good with the freshest of ingredients. and rotate the menu frequently. change things out and train your cooks to learn the new dishes. thats how you develop your cooks

>>5111786
And as a customer it is less overwhelming, just need to make sure there is a nice balance so you don't have people who don't want anything on the menu.

>>5110871
>end up fucking her in the prep area no cameras
The way you type makes me angry that you fucked a tight 16 year old.
Did you graduate high school?

What's with all the anons talking about having to hand wash dishes?

Sure, every restaurant has a pot sink, but I've never been in a kitchen that didn't have a dish-washing machine to take care of the bulk of everything.

I've got a question, though. I just got back from a 10 hour Friday night shift, and ended up slicing a nail (and some flesh) in two while peeling carrots (I had no trouble putting two 6 pans worth of them through the mandolin afterwords, which is still my least favorite thing to do).

I feel completely disgusting - sweat and grease - and need to go in tomorrow (I was informed on a whim, when my sous chef was leaving a few hours before I finished up; yeah, don't make plans OP, you will be expected to come in on a Saturday night, and only be told towards the end of your Friday night shift). The problem is that I have a fucking finger tip bandage around my finger, and if I take it off to shower, I'll probably bleed all over myself and cut my face up with my split nail, just trying to get clean.

How do people deal with this?

>i've also had around 7 drinks in the past hour
>the good news is that i grabbed about 10 finger band aids before I left

>>5112817

I live in a first world country and don't have a phone (lol, phones take pictures these days), so I decided to draw a picture of what my finger looked like before I bandaged it up.

So, any advice?

>p.s. - i should have cut my nails, as they're longer than in my picture, and sharp, and have shit underneath them (not necessarily literal shit) that might infect me if i cut myself, again, with my split nails; it's on my left hand - the middle finger - if that makes a difference

>>5112838
Learn to keep your hand away from the peeler, they are deceptively sharp and with the speed/force you may slip and do something like you did. Just work a little bit slower and more carefully in future.
Aren't your nails shorter than your finger tips?
If not then get them as near to that as you can.
I lopped my pinky tip off, about 3mm worth last year; I felt like an idiot and a chump for that, and the fact that I had to go to the doctor to get it properly bandaged, but sometimes a doctor is needed.

Just bandage any wounds well and use cling film/tape to waterproof it while showering, or shower with one hand, it's awkward but definitely possible.

>>5112876

>learn to keep your hand away from the peeler

This was the first time I'd ever cut myself with a peeler, and I was probably preoccupied with having to use the mandolin (after 5 years working in kitchens it still freaks me out, especially with carrots).

>aren't your nails shorter than your finger tips?

They should be, but I'm lazy, a drunk, and don't always make the most basic efforts to ensure a safe work experience.

>i felt like an idiot and a chump for that, and the fact that I had to go to the doctor to get it properly bandaged, but sometimes a doctor is needed

I preferred to not tell anyone that I sliced my finger open - the anon who trained me noticed, however. I was told by the chef when signed up to report any injuries, because they can turn into serious issues... I just want to take a shower... And really don't want to go into work tomorrow.

I had plans, OP. You will never be able to count on making plans and following through, on a Saturday night, if you decide to work in a kitchen.

>>5112902
>basic efforts
You should be stressed enough to bite your nails sometimes.
>You will never be able to count on making plans and following through
I think I've worked every weekend but one for the last two years, that was my finger.
Are you sure there's no-one else to fill in?

Hey OP,
I am 22 years old, started bussing tables, got to golden globe of dishes, got invited to cooking, and now I am a kitchen manager of a small night club. Not the end goal, but considering I could have taken out loans for 150,000 for culinary school and I am still only 22.. I'd rather be paid to learn and still get the same end result. Go for it and good luck.