/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.14220117]

Is there a way out of the restauraunt life? I don't know where I'd go without this industry and I'm so tired of the kitchen life.

[Anonymous No.14220160]

>>14220117
trade school and apprenticeship if you're a hands on guy. community college and internship if you can write decently well. you can land a tech writing or copyeditor job with an AA I think. easy work livable salary. don't fall for the university meme unless you can stay in state and get scholarships

[Anonymous No.14220181]

>>14220117
>I don't know where I'd go
Have you tried Taco Bell?

[Anonymous No.14220207]

>>14220117
Posts like this make me nervous about going into the industry

[Anonymous No.14220243]

>>14220117
Man, I remember all those burn marks on my arm, reaching into the oven to take out trays

[Anonymous No.14220258]

>>14220117
>tfw not even line cook
i have been a dishwasher for over a year please when are you going to promote me i have had training please i do not want to be in the dish pit any more please...

[Anonymous No.14220257]

this is literally my brother. he is the manager at a country club and has nobody working so he does everything. I feel bad for him but at the same time despise cooks.

[Anonymous No.14220265]

>>14220117
Best way is to ask around people you work with, they might be able to hook you up.

There's a reason chefs move around so much, they are pretty much everything in that picture and don't realise that everywhere in the industry is pretty much the same.

When I handed in my notice I gave the reason I wasn't learning anything new, which was true because I was trained on every section and covering other people's holiday's. Naturally because I was good, I was always doing the busy shifts with freeloaders doing the easy ones and getting paid the same.

Went to the chain's flasgship bar in a different town for the notice period and offered a job there.
It's a shame because that would have been more money and better learning, they cut their own steaks, made all sauces from ingredients and had like 100 covers on a busy day compared to the 600-900 I was doing.

But the job I was leaving left a horrible taste.

I ended up moving into insurance, now working for a law firm dealing with injury claims.

[Anonymous No.14220271]

>>14220258
sometimes you gotta jump ships to get a better gig. I might be coming up on that myself.

[Anonymous No.14220276]

>>14220258
Are you actually doing any cooking or prep to prove that you're not completely retarded?

[Anonymous No.14220293]

>>14220271
>>14220276
Yes i know how to work the grill and saute i have even been on the salad bar and of course i know prep i've been making all the cold cuts and prepping the fries for over 4 months.
My chef has been saying he will promote since like November.
I even fucking clean everything basically i'm a little bitch slave while all the other dishwashers are fucking niggers who do nothing and arrive at work high as shit and don't even fucking dry the dishes OR EVEN FUCKING USE GLOVES AHHHHH

[Anonymous No.14220294]

>>14220258
id rather wash dishes then cooking desu.

[Anonymous No.14220332]

>>14220294
Have you ever been a dishwasher for 6 days a week for over 13 months believe me its hell anon it really is.
Also cooks get paid way better but i just wanna make it to the top i guess.

[Anonymous No.14220371]

>>14220117
Call centers. Not great but better prospects than washing dishes or chopping vegetables

[Anonymous No.14220380]

>>14220293
A quintessential kitchen bitch

[Anonymous No.14220401]

>>14220117

The one good thing about being a line cook is that you will always have a Friday night/Saturday night job. If I were in your shoes, I would look to get a ticket or apprenticeship in something and work part time.

Right now, if I had to choose a trade, it might be escalator or elevator maintenance.

[Anonymous No.14220424]

>>14220380
anon is that good thing...
do you have on in the restaurant you work at do they get promoted or do they get stuck here forever..

[Anonymous No.14220469]

>>14220207
If you're at all hesitant about it, don't do it. You have to want to do it and love it regardless of anything else to make it.

>>14220117
There's lots of food-related jobs that are not restaurant industry. Manufacturing needs the help, they need people who know food and who are willing to study food chemistry to help them make their latest frozen food line, flavored extracts, drink syrups, dry instant pastas, etc etc.

There's also country clubs, assisted care homes and nursing homes, and university and school cafeterias who need people who can cook to varying degrees depending on the program (private schools & universities or higher-cost care programs have decent food offerings). For care programs or anything health-related like that you will need to have studied some form of nutrition (they may provide this for you).

>>14220258
If you're good at washing dishes they will not promote you unless they have no choice because a good dishwasher is rare as a unicorn. I would lie to your boss and tell him you found a job offer cooking on the line somewhere else, tell him you really want to stay with the company as you love your kitchen bros, but if you have to leave in order to progress your career you will. Give him one last chance to promote you and if he doesn't, dip and get a new job.

[Anonymous No.14220479]

Go literally anywhere.
Try driving further than one block away from the interstate. Car dealerships are easy.

[Anonymous No.14220498]

>>14220371
This. The front line is absolutely going to suck, there's no question. People will treat you even worse over the phone vs. in person (e.g. retail or fast food), but tough it out and bust your ass for a year. I'm literally an idiot but edging in on a 6 figure salary as a consultant because I clawed my way out of the shitheap in a call center for a big insurance company.

[Anonymous No.14220502]

Bro get a job at a liquor store, it's going to be slightly better money for a fraction of the stress

[Anonymous No.14220512]

>>14220117
I went from line cook to doing maintenance at a hotel, it was a giant improvement. I still got to work on my feet, but back pain went away, had normal sleep schedule, got to interact with ton of people including crazies, got tons of funny stories, and better pay. Highly recommend. It's not hard to get a job at a hotel, the turnover rate is high.Or at least it wasn't, I guess the industry will be in a depression for a while, but still.

[Anonymous No.14220558]

>>14220512
Is that transition possible if you're personable, educated, but also have a (non-violent but still sketchy-looking) criminal record? Asking for a friend...

[Anonymous No.14220568]

You’re tired???

Try sitting at a computer for five years

[Anonymous No.14220577]

i worked at a restaurant when i was 20 but i was a host and it was really fun cause all the other employees were my age and we used to steal food and do stupid shit

[Anonymous No.14220579]

>>14220558
Hospitality gives about as much of a shit about that as does fast food, which is to say very little. Just be prepared to talk about what you learned from your past and how it's made you a better person.

[Anonymous No.14220623]

>>14220579
Good to know. Food service never even checked, i worked in mid-level kitchens not fast food, but it sounds like I should expect to be upfront about a criminal history on the assumption that they'll be checking anyway so might as well get it out there?

[Anonymous No.14220629]

>>14220558
believe it or not, yes, and it may not hurt you at all in some places. I worked at a hotel where a guy who had a sketchy record was hired... Like I said, high turnover rate, employees are always doing weird shit at hotels, lot of empty rooms, friendly guests, bosses are not there for many hours. People get caught fucking up all the time, but many hotels still have a corporate HR and firing people is tricky... long story short, a guy fucked up and they fired him supposedly because "he lied about his criminal record". I think they knew he lied in the interview and deliberately looked the other way so they could later use it as an excuse to fire him if they needed to. Maybe omitting your record will work out, and if they question you say you didn't think it was a problem because it was nonviolent.

[Anonymous No.14220647]

>>14220623
Naw, let them bring it up but have some answers ready. In most cases it's better to let them bring it up (if there's any sort of background check) rather than just volunteering it. Bias is real so you don't wanna spike yourself if they weren't going to bring it up, but you should at least be prepared.

[Anonymous No.14220840]

Food service is the fucking worst. I went back to school part time in the past few years and got accepted to pharm school just to get out.

[Anonymous No.14220899]

>>14220469
From what I've understood speaking to people in senior positions within the restaurant industry (head chefs, chef instructors at culinary schools) people in the food processing industry usually look for highly experienced cooks who understands bulk production really well and knows how to develop recipes and tweak them on a tight timeline. Don't really know if the average line cook fits that description.

[Anonymous No.14221668]

>15 TOP WALKED IN 5 MINS BEFORE CLOSING
https://youtu.be/sn7PJRYmCmI
https://youtu.be/sx34LAJdbJE
https://youtu.be/1GJfiCaOnSc
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[Anonymous No.14221731]

>>14220117

Holy fuck is this accurate

[Anonymous No.14221787]

>>14220258
You’ll miss your halcyon days in the pit. Cherish these times.

[Anonymous No.14221832]

>FRANTICALLY WORKING 10 HOURS STRAIGHT NO BREAKS ALL WEEK
https://youtu.be/oavVq95vj9A
https://youtu.be/o2G4nFovs5I
https://youtu.be/A_4N05coN2g
https://youtu.be/_7x1lXVebfM

[Anonymous No.14222140]

>>14221668
>john maus
Very cool

[Anonymous No.14222174]

>>14222140
THEY HEAVILY FEATURED HIS & AP'S MUSIC IN A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT INCELS NOW I FEEL LIKE AN INCEL DAMN

[Anonymous No.14222194]

>>14222174
Didn't even know about that. Everyone keeps recommending me AP but I can't get into him. What songs would you recommend?

[Anonymous No.14222209]

>>14220258
I like the dish pit for some fucked up reason

[Anonymous No.14222246]

>>14222209
Could it be that you're fucked up?

[Anonymous No.14222252]

I don’t know if I have any advice to offer or good response to this thread but I just wanna say that I finally got to the point in my career where I’m happy to continue cooking for many years and advance my skills in the kitchen and becoming accepting of that path lead me to get the best kitchen job I’ve ever had and move half way across the country to a super awesome city and I’m working on a farm on my days off growing organic produce and I’m super stoked.

Keep grinding the glow up is real.

[Anonymous No.14222268]

>>14222246
It's nice back there no one to bother me can listen to my music and stay busy for the most part but yeah im a bit fucked in the head don't really like being around people much

[Anonymous No.14222286]

>>14220117

r/kitchenconfidential is filled with dorks and boomers

[Anonymous No.14222287]

>>14220117
>Is there a way out of the restauraunt life?
Yes, you can go apply for a different job. I worked in restaurants for over 20 years, and now I do cushy CAD work for an engineering company.

[Anonymous No.14222308]

>>14222287
god i hope it doesnt take a catastrophic injury to make me do the same thing.
id much rather be building and fixing cars and have a banging kitchen at home.

[Anonymous No.14222358]

>>14220502
cept when it gets looted/robbed

[Anonymous No.14222397]

>>14220207
If you have a choice, don't cook. Cooking is the last refuge of disfunctional addicts, illegal immigrants, autistists and crazies, unambitious masochists, and other such dregs. Why would you willingly join such horrible company?

[Anonymous No.14222399]

>>14222252
It's good to see another career cook on here who actually enjoys what he does. Keep fighting the good fight, brother.

[Anonymous No.14222426]

>>14222397
You've never worked in a kitchen outside of taco bell have you

[Anonymous No.14222445]

>>14222397
thi is just a meme pushed by "counterculture" wannabees that pretend like their life is one of anthony bourdains books.
Tons of normal people cook in restaurants

[Anonymous No.14222453]

>>14222426
Nope been doing it for ten years.

[Anonymous No.14222512]

>>14222194
I only liked lover boy at first, the album was a collab with Johna
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL425B2E5311F29B45
Then I got into pom pom, but now I like most of his stuff
https://youtu.be/E-eAH2uyQPY
https://youtu.be/LCxK8XqWXhE
These two are my favorite currently
https://youtu.be/hMNPWT6WDJQ
https://youtu.be/VcS0oJwlz_Q

[Anonymous No.14222568]

>>14222194
Here's a collection I made of the more obscure maus songs too
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL8T7wYoAxzdgzR6tWOuMQiFYsz1VwTKc

[Anonymous No.14222596]

>>14220117
>15 top entering 5 mintues before close
I hated these fucking faggots so much when I was a dishwasher by trade. I had no idea why they were even allowed to enter the restaurant and order a fuck load of drinks and appetizers right after I finished cleaning everything at my workstation.

[Anonymous No.14222627]

>>14222596
Because they have money in the pockets and thats what matters to a restaurant, not you going home.
the sooner you realize that you could die and they wouldn't even stop for a day, the better.

[Anonymous No.14222632]

>mfw I walk in 5 minutes before closing knowing you tards will complain about it on a Korean stenography forum

[Anonymous No.14222673]

>>14220207
I am thinking of going from steel work to kitchen because I want to run my own either Doughnut shop and or Taco stand. I really like to bake and cook and my mom and my granny both ran doughnut shops successfully. I also make mean spic food. My goal is to run my own business though.

[Anonymous No.14223055]

>>14222673
are you asian?

[Anonymous No.14223129]

>>14222596
This is the worst lol

[Anonymous No.14223163]

>>14220293
1. find alternative kitchen bitch job
2. apply and interview, let them know you still work at your current job and that you are debating leaving. tell them that you would have to quit your current job to work for them.
3. get hired
4. instead of immediately quitting, give your boss an ultimatum. If he doesn't promote you, you will quit.
5. If he turns you down, you will know that he never had any intention of promoting you ever anyway. quit on the spot.
6. try again at new job

5b. if he promotes you, mission success. professionally let the employer you just interviewed at know that you have changed your mind.
6b. enjoy being a cook

life sucks man, sometimes you have to force the things you want to happen

[Anonymous No.14223308]

Honest question, is the food industry REALLY this bad? I'm not talking like shitty Denny restaurants, I'm talking ACTUAL restaurants. Would it be better to get a food truck and try and just open a small little sandwich truck (I live near Chicago).

[Anonymous No.14223397]

>>14220117
>>14220207
Never play to stay long...

[Anonymous No.14223400]

>>14223397
You learn mad skillz though.

[Anonymous No.14223419]

>>14223400
>mad skillz
>creme brulee
Are you the retarded dishwasher they sometimes let do desert when it's not too busy?

[Anonymous No.14223431]

>>14223419
Lol, this board takes pride in not being impressed, I forgot.
What do you find impressive, got any pics of something you’re proud of making?

[Anonymous No.14223440]

>>14220117
>Is there a way out of the restauraunt life
yeah, i quit because of corona. today i have a phone interview scheduled for a position in a factory. it's via a temp agency but it pays more than minimum wage and bonuses for working the nightshift and shit.


i need to go back to school man.

[Anonymous No.14223451]

>>14220117
honestly, take your cooking skills and go corporate. The food sucks, but the hours, pay, and benefits are light years ahead of the restaurant industry.

[Anonymous No.14223454]

>>14222627
based

[Anonymous No.14223514]

>>14223308
Yeah... you walk home with like $50
You smell like death.
You never have enough time to get caught up
You end up fat and begin to drink
You hate food after a while

[Anonymous No.14223565]

>>14223308
It really depends on the place and the people. I've had cooking jobs that made me consider drinking myself to death. I've also had cooking jobs that inspire me to work hard and never stop learning, Most people that get super depressed get caught in a loop of bad restaurant with low standards one after the other, and they start to believe there's nothing better out there. There is. Not every shop treats the employees like shit and make them feel like nobodies. There are plenty out there that are worth working for. That being said, it is very hard and thankless work. You have to love it and find ways to stay motivated.

[Anonymous No.14223584]

>>14223419
oh look, it's the guy who's working the saute station at the cheesecake factory for the first time after being stuck on garmo for 2 years because he couldn't figure out how to brunoise an onion.

>>14223400
Nice plates dude!

[Anonymous No.14223591]

Spend all your waking hours outside of work training/looking for a different job

[Anonymous No.14223790]

>>14220117
man just throw some resumes around and see what sticks, you just have to talk up all the "skills" you learned in kitchens during all interviews for any job:
Crisis management, working under pressure, group communication, teamwork, attention to detail, organization, workflow management, customer interaction, work ethic, inventory management, etc. etc.
Talk yourself up right and you can swing most any job. A lot of places just need bodies.
if you still want to bust ass and make a bunch of money, postal service/parcel delivery is good.

[Anonymous No.14223792]

>>14222397
lol never seen such an apt description of kitchen scum. warms my heart

[Anonymous No.14224027]

>>14221668
based ariel pink

[Anonymous No.14224073]

>>14220117
I worked as a /dishpit/ and line cook for 7 years. I am now a PhD student in organic synthetic chemistry.

Ask me anything. Lots of skills transfer over; you better wash your own glassware if you want to be successful, cleanliness = success, heavy drinking, long nights and working days off, you are the only dependable entity in the building...etc.

If you're a good line cook you can be a good chemist. My polymer chemist buddies are even more autistic about cleanliness as it's crucial for them.

[Anonymous No.14224180]

>>14223163
this is very good advice

[Anonymous No.14224220]

>>14220117
i want in
i autistically chop my meats and vegies to the point i can do it way faster than it should be appropiate or safe
i cook sauces on woks on the highest heat and keep adding water and mixing to keep it from burnin
i start prepping my next meal when im not done making the first one and im washing the dishes, im raising some dough in the background and prepping my ingridients for dessert
im obsessed wioth fast

[Anonymous No.14224243]

>>14222397
because my dream is to have a catering business, the kind that does stupid theme corporate events and autistic weddings
i want it to have two tiny tables in the front so people can actually eat there and feel really uncomfortable while people going in and out of the store give them akward looks. Bonus points if we get our suff delivered while they are eating there and they have to sit there like that party wojack edit
>this chair is uncomfortable, the table is too small to fit my food, the waiter keeps coming in and out of the kitchen to see if we already left

[Anonymous No.14224256]

>>14220371
A call center can get you into an industry/company and if you know politics and are lucky can get you an entry into a better position. At least I've seen it at a mid sized company,

[Anonymous No.14224287]

>>14222596
I don't understand this shit if you are not closed why would you not expect customers? If you want to stop working at a certain time, just close at a time that makes that possible. Are restaurant fags to stupid to understand how time and clocks work?

[Anonymous No.14224288]

>>14224073
>cooking and washing dishes is the same as chemistry
The fuck are you smoking that dishpit skills transfer over?

[Anonymous No.14224299]

>>14223790
This is true and those skills will actually help you in most jobs. If you are good at what you do you will be good at most jobs, education is irrelevant and its 80% genetics.

[Anonymous No.14224450]

>>14220117
I'm so fucking happy I'm out of the industry. I never worked in a kitchen but serving and bartender for 15 years.

[Anonymous No.14224761]

>>14220117
That's the same for me, except I'd add 'drinking and non-stop drug use have made me dissociate hard enough to not have a proper grip on the passage of time''

[Anonymous No.14224796]

>>14220117
Dude what the actual fuck this is so accurate holy shit.

[Anonymous No.14224880]

>>14220117
Fixed it for you.

[Anonymous No.14225184]

>wants to date a waitress
>doesn't want the drama

damn, hits close

[Anonymous No.14225422]

>>14224287
Employees normally begin cleaning and organizing their work area at this point, hell even earlier than that if it's a slow night. Unless you're a dumb cunt, those who have common sense will check the hours of operations of the restaurant before proceeding further into the establishment. If they arrive with a party minutes before the place closes and still expect service, they are inconsiderate retards who can't manage their time accordingly.

[Anonymous No.14225435]

>>14224287
Employees normally begin cleaning and organizing their work area at this point, hell even earlier than that if it's a slow night. Unless you're a dumb cunt, those who have common sense will check the hours of operations of the restaurant before proceeding further into the establishment. If they arrive with a party minutes before the place closes and still expect service, they are inconsiderate retards who can't manage their time accordingly and should go to McDonalds instead.

[Anonymous No.14225538]

>>14223790
This. Also, if you are a line cook worth your salt, you'll probably be a harder and more efficient worker than a lot of people in other fields. I took a break from cooking for 2 years and did construction. Most of the guys I worked with were a bunch of lazy corner-cutting dweebs. You stand out if you're organized and not afraid of working hard.

[Anonymous No.14225557]

>>14224287
>>14225435
Not only this, but the owner/chef usually wants the cooks to start closing early in an attempt to tighten their labor cost, but will also be annoyed if you groan when customers come in late. You can't win.

[Anonymous No.14225610]

work in the kitchen is so much more stimulating than anything I've done, getting good at it makes me proud to be a community college drop-out

[Anonymous No.14226495]

>>14220117
in the same boat. been working as a restaurant manager for too many years. i like the people i work with but i'm older than all of them, and also i really should be moving on from restaurants in my 30s. really don't like the owners of the place because they're cheap and stupid, and i'm really tired of the job, seeing that place and being the most-skilled person there because i have more experience than the entire crew put together. i can tell everyone's inadequacies, weaknesses and can point them out instantly but i'm just tired of doing it. tired of the menu, the customers, and this circumstantial bullshit with the masks, and everyone's ordering pickups now and showing up immediately like wtf was the point of that.

the plus side of this occupation is i'm so full of confidence from being there so long that i can walk in there without a worry at all. even the most stressful hours i can handle it by myself. i've walked in after so many awful opener's shifts i'm able to just fix everything and brush it off. the opening manager doesn't even care if my closes aren't good. i've got answers to every problem.

thanks to all of the above this gig is easy ass money, plus i get bonuses. i'm afraid if i walk away from something that easy i'll never find an opportunity as good as it again, but that's dangeorus thinking because it's bullshit, and it means if i really believe it, then i have to deal with this place i'm tired of and just be stuck there when it's clearly not providing me any sense of accomplishment anymore.

[Anonymous No.14226922]

>>14220117
My old room mate eas a cook and he was depressed as fuck.

[Anonymous No.14227948]

I feel like I'm fucked because tips aren't coming back in full for a long long time, this seems like the time to get out.

[Anonymous No.14227989]

The thing about cooking is it’s low pay and you have to put up with idiot servers while watching them collect hundreds in tips but the thing is... if you’re good at what you do nobody can really give you any shit. You do your work and handle your station and that’s it, there’s no Karen in HR messing with you , you can smoke and drink if you want, you get to eat tasty foods, and sometimes it’s actually fun.

[Anonymous No.14228137]

what community college degrees aren't garbage?

[Anonymous No.14228192]

>>14220117
Can you read a tape measure? Go to any temp job company and they will find you a manufacturing job in a few days. Work with mostly old dudes still slavin away. Its not that hard to run CNC machines.

[Anonymous No.14228214]

>>14228137
Probably anything stem that allows you, with some hard work, get into a State college with scholarships.
Economy will tank eventually so I guess it wouldn't be that much of a risk to just have a go at it, lol.
Another safe route, if you like languages, becoming a linguist for the army/similar, it gives you a really nice skillset.

[Anonymous No.14228247]

>>14228214
ty ck anon

[Anonymous No.14228254]

>>14228214
this is correct

[Anonymous No.14228645]

>>14228214
Don’t join the military fuck the war pigs.