Has anybody pulled the trigger on Rutsu barefoot work shoes? I’ve tried crocs, clogs, snibbs, sketchers, stand+, dansko, etc.
They’re a new company and I’m not sure how long the work shoes have been out, but for $90 even with a discount code I’m a little skeptical.

Tech school nearby has a good looking culinary program but affording it would be difficult. and I almost constantly hear about how it's a waste of money, I have been given the opportunity by my workplace to become acf certified but im also seeing a lot of people say that's useless. What I hear everyone say to do is to stage at fine dining places where I can learn important skills firsthand but I live in bumfuck wisconsin and the nice restaurants here aren't that nice and stay open like a year. me and my girlfriend are trying to move in a few years and maybe then would be a better time depending on the area but idk. I even asked my bosses if they know anyone in the area to get me in contact with and it was crickets unfortunately.

Hello,

As the title suggests I am looking to move temporarily to hong kong as a cook/chef. I am coming from Paris, with over 12 years experience, in some of Paris's most prestigious Michelin kitchens and experience as a chef de cuisine in reputable paris restaurants.

I am not necessarily looking for a high end position, as I much rather prefer working in a restaurant I respect than have a cdc position in a shit restaurant. I will be needing a visa and have never been to hong kong, so I have no idea what to expect...

And hence the questions, what can one expect working as a cook in HK (hours, pay, rigor, quality of life etc.), how feasible is it to find a job willing to sponsor my visa, and any tips or advice from readers with past experiences cooking as a foreigner in HK?

For a bit of context, I have been looking at Neighborhood, Feuille, Racines, Black Sheep Hospitality group as restaurants of interest, but I am very open to working somewhere with Cantonese cuisine, curious what you think.

P.S. If any of you are cooks in hong kong and will to exchange further or have any leads, I would be very grateful :)

I'm at a loss of words here.

Left to right:

Scallops with herby couscous

Lamb chops with red wine reduction sauce

Salmon tartare

Jamon iberico pork croquettes with truffle mayo

We’ve ran out of sanity for the night, I can double check but I’m pretty sure closing chef is crying in his car and we’re out traditional and white onion.

“Just had a smoke and checked, he’s laughing a whole bunch so maybe he’s okay, fuck if I know. It’s probably fine. Is Oscar still coming in for dish out tonight? I can take care of it, it’s not a big deal if he can’t make it in”

It is a big deal. I’m screaming internally and have had 4 separate and uncomfortable bowel movements today. I’ll see if we can get a float chef to help me. Fingers crossed until they hurt. I can play my gameboy at the bar when it gets slow so what am I even complaining about?

Beverly is long in the tooth and hired her teenage son that she probably conceived as a teenager to bus tables. He’s way too nervous and I am trying to relate to him via my video games, showing off my modified gameboy to him. she “jokingly” mentioned that they had to pawn his PlayStation awhile back. She’s too on speed to be dishonest. Kid’s name starts with an L, I just wanted to make sure he has a homie while he’s here. Either that or her white knuckles of sobriety has left her with early onset dementia. It is certainly more likely the former than the latter, but who fuckin knows we don’t have to money to drug test, also everybody here is with drugs, continual or not, lying or honest.

If it’s too hot, get out of paying your rent, phone bill, or car insurance.

I get it though, I’m still unsure and insecure in my decisions and how I handle social situations, and I’m twice his age. Keep it up L, I’ll throw you in the back one of these days and teach you how to flip an over easy egg. You will be a chef, behind, heard, calienté, sharp, and all. Only after I get my fucking rear alignment on my car done.

Linneah, my hiring manager drunkenly cried to me about being short with me because I reminder her of her brother who committed suicide. I honestly didn’t notice, but in retrospect I still couldn’t tell ya the vibe, I was cleaning a grill and she was very day-drunk. Her old lady BFF agreed, and when I saw pictures… it was uncanny. Washed my hands after the hug, but only for sanitary purposes. Big ups and Rest Easy lil bro, whose name I don’t remember. I hope you’re good at poker and hanging out at the tables with my grandma up there or wherever the fuck you both ended up. She’s great, she reminds me of your sister.

So in the PNW this place had been well regarded. Sad to see the spiral.

Wondering…as a non-professional. What is the one or two things you look at in a restaurant or kitchen that would convince you not to eat there?

EDIT: Sorry I was unclear. What specifically would you look for in a kitchen to determine its overall cleanliness? Like the one place that shows you is really is a clean kitchen.

I work at a great restaurant. Good people, made a lot of friends there, good management, alright pay, nice relaxed brewery setting where the food is easy ish and the pace can sometimes get a little high but it’s fun to handle it with a good crew.

I’m 20, third kitchen job, hired as a line cook at the beginning of the season and worked the whole summer. This isn’t me blowing air up my ass but pretty much everyone has told me I’m the best hire of the season, only behind a very solid guy who has 10 years more experience. We’ve got two other guys hired this season everyone bitches about, everyone agrees they suck at their jobs and annoy us outside of work too. Even the sous agrees with us that they’re not good workers.

I was just cut down for the winter because it really dies off. I’m still employed there but I’m not gonna be on the schedule, I’ll just be able to pick up shifts and get called in if they need me. I am pissed off about that because nobody’s gonna hire me at this time of year. Everyone from chef to sous to the line coaches likes me, sees me as solid and good in a rush and hard working (I always hop in dish and never ask to get cut early). But those two other guys are literally still on 2 and 3 shifts a week respectively. I am a student but I only go 3 days a week so I don’t think it’s an availability issue, my whole weekend is open and they wouldn’t be giving me full time anyways. I just think it’s totally unfair that I get all my shifts taken away until February/March but these shitheads who EVERYONE despises get to keep their hours. I texted all my work buddies and they agreed this is bullshit but I haven’t spoken my mind to sous or chef yet.

So basically I’m asking for advice on what to do. I definitely don’t want to quit because I like the job and all my friends are there and it is a sweet gig. But this is kinda bullshit, no? So maybe if there’s a way to make this case to chef and ask to prove my value to them even in dead times

(This might a rant, Mods may remove if it doesn’t fit 🙏🏾)

A year after graduating, I decided to leave Server hell and finally do something with my Pastry Degree. The restaurants scene back home was basically non-existent, So I decided to stage in a restaurant across the country and was sold a dream. A young restaurant with a radical, French-trained executive chef chasing a Michelin star within its first year. I knew it was a pipe dream then but I wanted to give it a shot, (plus it wasn’t like I had many options in the area). When I was greeted with a “Welcome to the Shitshow” my very first day I knew..

Flash forward 6 months and a puff piece film about our Chef, I’ll give it credit; I would take doing Pastry work is better than getting psychic damage from customers. However, there’s no way you can achieve Michelin with Pillsbury Puff Pastry. On top of stretching the kitchen crew to cover the concert season, Surprise Banquets on days we are closed, and a head chef who declares war against FOH. Ofc we didn’t get a star.

Whatever try again next year….

Recently, We’ve received the news that We will be working on Christmas Day. Upper Management’s orders. They promised that we would be working no holiday… “It’s a Friday” was our Chef’s reason so we can’t have it off. Sprinkled in the convo also was the declaration if you have requested time off and are called to come earlier, you are heavily inclined to accept. No matter if you are out of state and a flight away. Heavily eyeing me whose Birthday is coming up and has time off requested in December.

Everyday, It feels more like I’m working in a restaurant with a rich owner who just wants his name on the building and an executive chef who’s been taken on for the ride.

At least I have insurance.

What in the ever-loving fuck is this knife?

Hello lads, it’s me, the old lady of the group. So I had a cook go out on long-term disability. He’s a former marine and has been suffering with PTSD, and extreme alcoholism because of that. He came into work one day, back in September, absolutely roaring drunk (at 6:00am) with a black eye.

We put him on leave and we’re holding his job, pending him finishing a rehab course. Unfortunately, the rehab course had a four-week wait. So he just started two weeks ago. It’s a 12-week course, which means he won’t be done until mid-January.

I’ve been one cook short for months and months, and now I’m two cooks short. I’m currently going into our ever so much loved busy season, and I’m two men down. Or girls, whatever.

Anyway, I’m already feeling burned out, overworked, taken for granted, and taken advantage of. I know this too shall pass, but it feels like it’s gonna pass like a kidney stone.

I’ve been begging my Executive Director to let me hire one more cook for over a year, and it’s been falling on deaf ears. Today, she said she would take my request to the Board of Directors, so maybe there’s hope…

I guess what I need right now is just a few words of encouragement, and I hope you can find it in your heart to give them. I love this job. But I’m just so f@cking frustrated!

Sorry if this post is long winded but I’m frustrated and this situation needs some background

Job 1- sushi chain- makes me roughly $750 biweekly, it’s been fine but they’ve given me less hours than expected. If nothing came up I could stay here and make a decent living

Job 2- small business pizza joint - (when i worked full time) I could make between 600 or 1000 biweekly due to it being a tipped job. They have a consistent weekly schedule I love and I’m friends with a lot of people there

Anyways, I quit job 2 in early September after it screwed me up on rent day. Once my two weeks were up I learned that we had a full time cook walk out, and the Kitchen Manager asked if I can cover some of his morning shifts that I wanted to work on before leaving. I missed my coworkers and how relaxed the small business kitchen was compared to the busyness of a chain restaurant, so I said yes. Literally rehired a week after quitting

Then the Kitchen Manager put his 2 week notice in, and I saw opportunity. I asked the General Manager if I could be considered for the job, and she looked so excited to hear that. We’re trying to prepare for our busy holiday season and lately the kitchen has lost more employees than it’s hired, so I think more than anything she was just happy to have someone cooking that doesn’t need trained. Regardless, she said she’d have to talk to the owner about it

This starts a very frustrating process of telephone between the GM and the Owner that lasted the entirety of our KM’s notice.

I talked to the owner last week, and he stated he’d love to have me as the kitchen manager but that he’d need to talk to the GM. He seemed to really like me because we talked for almost an hour about the town, college, and the restaurant. He also mentioned that the pay for KM is twice that of a cook. So I hope you understand why I’m so passionate about this promotion

But that was last week, when I came in today I asked him for an update and he had something very different to say: “your on-time percentage is below 50%, how can i trust someone who, on paper, looks like they just don’t give a shit?” I was too taken aback to respond to this.

Now that I’ve processed the interaction and talked to my coworker, it seems he’s not excluding tardies that my KM and I had agreed on, and he’s including things like clocking in at 4:01 as late. Clearly this shouldn’t be a reflection of my abilities. In fact in a few cases I had clocked in “late” to relieve someone from the second half of shift they wanted off of.

After he left today, I talked with the GM about that and she said she’ll discuss it with him. Then she told me to give my notice to job #1, and she’ll have an answer about the KM job tomorrow.

Now i don’t think she means to mess me up, but I really don’t want to quit a very steady job before I get confirmation of a raise/promotion at this job. In the case that the owner is seriously upset over me clocking in marginally late and decides not to hire me, what would happen to me? I want to wait until I hear back but what if it gets delayed again? Do you guys think I should put my notice in at job 1, wait and see what happens tomorrow, or talk to the GM at job 2 today and tell her I can’t put notice in until I get a solid offer?

Do we still send the new guy out for “specialized” tools? Or am I a fossil?

Hi all, of all the thankless jobs in the world, I don't think you all get enough credit.

I am curious though, how do you guys recognize your line cooks and dishwashers? Outside of money, promotion, etc b/c my hands are tied in that regard. Sometimes a thank you doesn't cut it and I am trying to have a more creative idea on how to recognize employees. Keep it legal please.

Alternative question: What was the best way you got recognized at your job for the work you did?

I have an interview for my first ever kitchen job at a theater. The initial phone interview seemed intimidating because they mentioned how quickly you need to move to keep up with the timing of all the films showing.

I've never worked in this industry and have no idea what to expect and I feel this environment is a little more nontraditional. She mentioned all of the menu items have different stations and I would be on one or rotate (so like a fried food station, drinks, Burgers etc)

Does anyone have any experience with this and any tips in general?

It doesn't look like much, but both sides of my plastic wrap are factory tucked underneath the roll. It is physically impossible for me to get more than a foot of clean wrapping before both edges tear. If one side tears, by the time I'm done fixing it, the other side is torn to shreds. Back and forth, back and forth. I've been arguing with it for the last hour and a half 😭😭

Recently did some thinking, and remembered the absolute, 100% worst shift of my entire life.

I was addicted to vodka at the time, drinking a handle (1.75L) every single day.

One particular shift, I didnt bring any alcohol with me hidden in small containers, thinking I could make it. Oh boy was I wrong…

I was “ok” for the first hour, because I got well (by drinking obviously) before work, but then my body already started needing more. I started getting sick around the second hour, stomach hurting, sweating like crazy, body pain, no energy, the usual stuff. Then it just kept going downhill and got worse.

Vomited around 15-20 times throughout the shift, going to bathroom every few minutes. Shaking SO BAD, could barely hold a water cup. And even when I did drink the water, I’d throw it all up immediately after. The shaking never stops. Not only your hands but your entire body. and the ONLY thing that will make you feel better is more alcohol. didn’t have any until I got home. by the time I got home all my fingers and muscles were already contracting involuntarily - the withdrawals were getting brutal.

By some miracle I still ended up closing my station, but took way longer than it should have and clearly my manager knew something was wrong. But you know, as long as you aren’t literally passed out they don’t really care.

9 months sober now. alcoholism is a fucking nightmare. So glad it’s over.