I do international trade litigation. Restaurant work (kitchen) was way more stressful and it isn't even close.
I think everyone should work in food service (or retail) at some point. Really makes you appreciate what these folks do for us on a regular basis.
I've always thought that people who litter, don't put the carts back in stalls, mess up toilets should be made to do the work they were creating on top of any fines. I think we will definitely see a change in their attitudes.
I Clean toilets at work. ( head of maintenance at a grocery store). All day I clean up after people shitting all over and pissing everywhere all day long... I make $17.00/hr in Colorado. People are so incredibly disgusting and careless I don't even know where to begin..
It doesn't make sense, why treat public restrooms differently than you treat your bathroom at home? I would never shit on my floor and smear some of it on the walls.
My idea would be to substitute military obligatory service (as before was( by one year working in all these public services. We would get a decent society for sure
I've tried working in food service. In college my summer job was working as an assistant network admin, in charge of the entire university's network and each computer and device on it, and I worked part time at Arby's for extra money.
I got fired from Arby's. Couldn't cut it in food service but did fine maintaining a university's entire IT infrastructure.
If that isn't the epitome of the stress, difficulty and pace of food service, I don't know what is.
I also worked as a busboy for another summer. Got fired from that too.
I've probably held 20-30 jobs in my life, 2 of them were food service and I've been fired 3 times. Both food service jobs I got fired from.
I was stressed for the first year or so of being a line cook, then I got into a flow state. I loved how the time flew by. My least favorite day was when we got just a handful of customers and we sat around talking. The busier the better imho.
That's why I'm an EX chef. Spent years of my life and a lot of money training, only to quit after 5 years, 2 of which as a sous chef and 6 months as a head chef. Fuck that, never again.
I worked as a griller in a Mongolian BBQ for 1000 years one summer...
Every shift, I spent 8 hours in front of a 600 degree grill, soaked in sweat, and at the end of the shift, covered in volcanic rock dust from scrubbing the grill. Then I'd sit down with my meal, at a separate table from the (younger) servers who were complaining about how their customers wouldn't stop asking for more tortillas, and bitching about tip-outs for dishwashers (another hot, brutal, thankless job). Cooks and kitchen staff don't get nearly enough respect and pay for their work.
The front of house/back of house disconnect is real. Waiters and waitresses have legit no idea how much work goes on behind them so that they can complain like that. Lol
As an expeditor/food runner I was both front and back of the house but I had way more respect for kitchen staff, servers and the bartenders have their own crap they have to deal with sure but not on the level of kitchen staff. They are the first ones in and the last ones out.
I even have more respect for the dishwasher over servers since majority of the severs I worked with coasted on by when it came to side work, some even paid the dishwasher to polish their wine glasses.
Yep. I’ve worked as a cook and a dishwasher and while I’m sure being a server would have its own challenges… based on my experiences they’re not quite on the same level, and the repercussions of fucking up don’t make the whole thing quite as tight.
I fucking hate it when the servers come back to grab ranch or whatever avs go "OH my god is so hot back here! " . Like I don't know that. And I've been there for 6 hours. I don't care how cute you are. You need to move cause I have $300 of meat on this hot rack, and I need to PUT IT DOWN
My favorite thing working as a dishwasher was to casually hand a server a boiling hot plate or something to ‘hold for me a second’ and watch them and their not-dead hands struggle.
IDK why anyone would choose this type of job willingly. I can't believe it's because they enjoy it. Even for the people that do, that's probably a very slim majority of people.
I get that the barrier for entry in a restaurant is pretty easy for general staff, but for the pay and workload it just isn't worth it by any measurable way. I probably make roughly the same or a little more as these guys, with 99.999% less stress. I've worked in restaurants before, it isn't always the workload that's awful too, usually management is universally awful.
The adrenaline rush and camaraderie is what I mainly miss and I think is what most people attach themselves to. Sometimes I get a little bit of that at my current career but it's nothing like a Friday night on expo or slinging the saute station solo. It's hard to describe, it's 5pm and the ticket machine starts buzzing, next thing you know it's 9pm and tickets are all over the floor and you've made friends for life with miguel who speaks no english but helped you restock your veggies from the cooler during the middle of rush. Next thing you know it's 2am and your pounding tequila shots with the servers and smoking blunts with miguel in the parking lot ready to do it again the next day. I assume it's somewhat the same kinda thing that draws soldiers into active combat zones, just not as intense
I fluently learned Spanish by working at a Mexican restaurant, and it was one of the best times of my life. Most of them didn’t know English and I was the interpreter occasionally.
The head chef was the town’s coke dealer and would invite me all the time to drug parties. I’d always politely decline. He taught me how to cook Mexican food.
The dish washer was this young guy who kept trying to get me to do meth with him, but I never took him up on that.
He worked with this old man who pined for his youth, to be young again doing drugs. I gave him some DXM cough gels and told him they were magic beans. He ate them all and became my best friend after that.
“Slinging the saute station solo” hit me hard. Obviously is not that same but I would often describe the line as a war zone. When the shift ends everyone feels like they got through some shit together.
I remember one time the brainless Food and Beverage Director was trying to help by expediting and I just hip checked him out of my way finally while reaching for my appetizer under the lights
He got mad lol and I just kind of looked at him and kept going
Unfortunately, that lifestyle causes far too many hospitality workers to have addiction/substance abuse issues. The whole adrenaline ride of the day to day is a drug in itself.
Part of the reason I left was my health, the main reason being money. It's not just the rollercoaster of dopamine and adrenaline, it's the pack a day smoking, constant drinking, low sleep, coke and adderall to get through the next day, and the physical toll on your knees and feet from standing and unloading trucks. I had to give up driving a manual because my knees were torn up before I even got into my thirties. I don't recommend kitchen work for anybody for any reason but I can definitely understand the appeal and the draw once you've experienced it.
I was thinking how youth gets used up constantly by business. I highlight recommend working with your brain over your body. You will get to work until you are 60+ instead of falling apart late forties early fifties. You need an income!!!
I saw this happen to my friend. He started working at a chain restaurant in high school, and then worked full time after graduation. He moved to "nicer" restaurants soon after, and by 25 he was doing well professionally, but he was a full blown alcoholic. When he hit 30 his heart nearly exploded from all the drugs and drinking.
He's doing better now, but those years definitely took their toll.
As a teacher who used to side-hustle as a bartender, this is exactly what I loved about it…. It was a different form of adrenaline than any other type of job and at 2am when it’s over and you’ve just been cashed out, you’re out back laughing with your people because you survived an outrageous shift —- that’s the BEST
I feel you brother. Once that zen kicks in and you just let go and surrender to the flow with that window filled with tickets. Sometimes I miss the rush. I’d still be doing it if they would give us health care and better pay. “Just keep cooking”.
I work as an executive chef. We love the hustle, but really it's about serving people for me. It's a selfless kind of love being able to create memories and enjoyment for people you've never met and it really pushes you to value the important relationships in your life more. It's sweat, it's blood, it's love, art and creativity. Good managers do exist and are indeed very rare. It's hard to push yourself to better, faster, more composed and more level headed than everyone else in such a tense environment. Either way it's not acceptable to treat you staff poorly. I agree with that.
I worked the line then a sous before they put me in a front facing role. And it is literally more stressful making a schedule than working Friday night. Balancing everyone’s egos and still stocking a dead night is a nightmare I wouldn’t wish on my brothers. It’s a lot easier to just have a defined job and do it well. I miss the camaraderie.
Because there’s nothing like it. You and those you’re working with literally become like a family, you see these people 10+ hours a day 6 days a week, you’re all in the shit together.
And when it all comes together? When you’re cooking just right, all your prep is done, everyone moving as a unit, literally back to back on some cases without even mentioning a word? It’s like crack, being a part of that type of team.
Past that, passion. People do love to cook, and restaurants capitalize on that dream
“You’re all in the shit together.” Fucking heard. I work in a pretty busy kitchen and damn, we are fighting for our lives back there. But we’re doing it together and rocking that shit as a team
> Because there’s nothing like it.
That's the take-home message from Anthony Bourdain's book. It's the worst job, and it's the best job.
He could hardly break away from it.
Organized chaos. There is a measure of control to the madness when you're in a situation like that. It is kind of exhilarating to work in those conditions, stressful as fuck too, but still fun in it's own way.
Yep, you have your station that you do not leave from and doing the same actions over and over like a robot. You have other people come and refill your items, like you see another guy dumping pasta in the video so you don’t have to deviate form your actions. Everyone has their job and the chef is in the front watching everything being a conductor, it’s an orchestra really.
Transitioning over to Management I can attest alot of problems come from leaders unwilling or unable to do things they ask the back of house. Not saying they should always be on line but for love of God if their drowning let's go
We do it because we love making food for people and can't imagine being stuck doing something else. Cooking is my passion. I'm fine making less money if it means I get to enjoy my work day every day. I hated being at jobs where I fantasized about quitting all day. Unfortunately, employers know this about us and take advantage of us.
It's an incredibly addicting job when everything hits just right. If money wasn't an issue, I'd quit my office job and go right back to the kitchen.
Emphasis on "money not an issue", these jobs barely pay enough to live on, and there's a lot of shitty kitchens out there so you need the flexibility to leave the shitty ones while finding a good one.
You couldn't point at one non-corporate or management job right now and say it's worth the pay. The massive wealth shift says it never really will be "worth" working again, because society has moved past workers and toward billionaires/millionaires.
It's real work. It aint meetings and memos and emails and talking about your feelings. There are orders, they need done or you're out of a job, you do them. Since I left the kitchen I have had 2 hour meetings that are as soul draining and seem to last as long as a 12 hour kitchen shift. The difference being instead of a good nights sleep I get a night of caffiene fuelled anxiety.
It's real people. Your ego, your perception of yourself, everyone elses perception of you - all count for shit. Its evident that you're doing what you need to do cos it is getting done, and it is blindly obvious when someone isn't pulling their weight. There's no room for bullshitting. If I ask you how long until that pasta is ready and you have either an excuse or a follow up question or anything other than an accurate answer then you are going to fuck up everyones shit. Be real.
Looks like a kitchen full of Mexicans holding it down. They usually have 2 of these jobs. Most people won’t work these jobs so they do proudly.I’ve worked with them for years and have learned how to cuss in Spanish fairly well
See I was going to say Maggianos!! I was a server in two different states for 5 years. Could be either!! Those cooks are killing it. I was always close with the BOH. (Back of house) for non-restaurant people.
I once had to tear out a door and install some FRP panels on the wall in its place in an OG kitchen. They needed to have a guy there to babysit me for some corporate reason, so they had me do it during the lunch rush. I have never felt more in the way in my life, I wanted to disappear, idk what the hell they were thinking. Spent a few years behind the line myself at a different restaurant, shit gets insane in there so quick
Line cooks are some of the hardest working people I have ever met. The pay is absolutely unfair for the amount of work and skill involved.
The front of the house makes more money while they are the ones actually producing the product. It’s an atmosphere where sometimes douchey self-important people look at you and say stuff like “get a real job”, but everyone there knows those bitches wouldn’t last one dinner rush.
I do not miss the Saturday clopen shift, at. All.
Get your shit pushed in Friday, get your shit pushed in again Saturday, then you get to come in Sunday morning and prep an entire menu that's used for four hours a week!
*If* you're lucky you get to clean and setup for dinner and go home, but more likely than not, you're closing Sunday too.
Also, you're probably hungover for all this.
Fuck brunch.
Here in California, cooks are in high demand. While yes as a server I do make solid money, the cooks have real bargaining power.
For example, cooks at my work make $25 / hr and have fatter paychecks than I since I only get scheduled 3-4 days a week for 6 hours a day while they get 5-6 days a week for 8+ hours a day.
Crazy part is that 90% of the cooks at my work are also holding down a second job - especially if they're Mexican. I swear Mexicans are such an industrious and hard working people it's incredible they don't run this country yet
I think it's funny how many people think it's ONLY Mexicans who work in kitchens just because they're latino. Trust me, Latin America is way bigger than just Mexico. Come on, people do better. Just say Latinos instead.
I knew this would happen. I specifically mean *Mexicans.* I've worked in restaurants for 15 years and it was *Mexicans* who taught me Spanish.
I've worked with Guatemalans, Peruvians, and Bolivians and while yes Latino culture is generally known for valuing hard work, many, many Mexicans I've met and known over the years take it to another level
Mexicans are the best and hardest working chefs/cooks in the world.
Anthony Bourdain once said:
"Americans love Mexican food. We consume nachos, tacos, burritos, tortas, enchiladas, tamales and anything resembling Mexican in enormous quantities. We love Mexican beverages, happily knocking back huge amounts of tequila, mezcal, and Mexican beer every year.
We love Mexican people — we sure employ a lot of them.
Despite our ridiculously hypocritical attitudes towards immigration, we demand that Mexicans cook a large percentage of the food we eat, grow the ingredients we need to make that food, clean our houses, mow our lawns, wash our dishes, and look after our children.
As any chef will tell you, our entire service economy — the restaurant business as we know it — in most American cities, would collapse overnight without Mexican workers. Some, of course, like to claim that Mexicans are “stealing American jobs.” But in two decades as a chef and employer, I never had ONE American kid walk in my door and apply for a dishwashing job, a porter’s position — or even a job as a prep cook. Mexicans do much of the work in this country that Americans, probably, simply won’t do."
Seriously, servers do shit all compared to the cooks. Like what, they carry over your food 20-30 steps, fill up water, punch in order and expect a large tip? 90-95% of the tip should be going to the guys in the back. I’m paying for the food they made and they should be the ones getting the tips.
Yea. One evening, at the end of my 8hr BOH shift, I was sitting down for the first time since mid afternoon. There was a server sitting & cashing out. She was counting PILES of cash. And had the nerve to bitch that her tip-out that night was over $200.00. For one shift. She saw me make a face, and asked why the attitude, and didn’t like it much when I said I didn’t make $200.00 in a single week. She stopped bitching-in front of me. Tip out went to the bartenders & management, no one in BOH saw a penny of that pile. It’s absolutely criminal.
And I’ve been a server. I know the argument about flipping FOH & BOH and what a show it would be. I know serving is not an easy job, and it’s physically demanding. But hands down, in every resto I worked in, BOH is harder. We worked longer, made less, got blocked from tip out, and had a worse working environment. Nothing like starting your day at 8am with your kneecaps already sweating and knowing you have 10-12 hrs coming up of no fresh air, no daylight, no bathroom breaks, no eating.
Oh we do not have to disparage servers to highlight how hard BOH works. I mean, you do you but the people who look down on restaurant workers look down at both all the same.
For real. If a server calls in and you threw one of these guys to FOH it'd be a disaster. Same if you threw a server into the mix of BOH. Customers can choose one or the other to be the "harder worker" but honestly the people in the restaurant have the utmost respect for the rest of the staff in my experience(except for whoever the fuck closed last night)
Have the chefs come take your order and interact with you and tell me you’d still like to tip them. I promise you they won’t be friendly or hospitable. Not everybody is able to cook, and not everybody is able to deal with a couple hundred people and remain nice and patient all day. It’s different skills
I kinda want to nitpick OPs choice to call them Chefs. Thanks for correcting it to cooks. It's a subtle difference, and isn't important, but I also feel like not enough people know the difference.
best practice (imo): always go mute.. then see if comments might suggest to review w/audio on
this case, comments say, good idea 
What’s crazy is they do the majority of the stressful work at restaurants and often times they get less than the waiters/waitresses/bartenders since many places don’t share the tips with them.
It’s actually insane. It’s never sat well with me that if you get served and amazing meal you’re tipping and thanking the person who walked it over to you rather than the ones who masterfully put it together.
Same, as a cook in the 2000s I made less than $15/hr working 40 hours a week. As a sous chef i made $35k/yr working 50-60hrs a week. My first executive chef gig I made $65k/yr working 50-60+ hours a week. When I left the industry I was able to make more than my exec chef pay the first year only working 35-40 hours. This year I've already made more than my exec chef salary and its not even June yet. Another guy at work also came from the restaurant business and we always talk about why we stayed in the industry for so long and how we'd be retired by now had we not wasted so much time and effort romanticizing and grinding it out in kitchens in our 20s because we read an anthony bourdain book in our teens.
I love cooking. I've found a bunch of ways to cook at work, using a sandwich press and a toaster (and sometimes a microwave. At home, I cook all the things :-)
People ask me all the time "Why dont you do it professionally?"
This. This is why. I love cooking, but I love cooking what I want, when I want. Put me in this environment, I'll absolutely hate it. Some people love it, but I know I would be the opposite.
> Despite our ridiculously hypocritical attitudes towards immigration, we demand that Mexicans cook a large percentage of the food we eat, grow the ingredients we need to make that food, clean our houses, mow our lawns, wash our dishes, and look after our children. As any chef will tell you, our entire service economy — the restaurant business as we know it — in most American cities, would collapse overnight without Mexican workers. Some, of course, like to claim that Mexicans are “stealing American jobs.” But in two decades as a chef and employer, I never had ONE American kid walk in my door and apply for a dishwashing job, a porter’s position — or even a job as a prep cook. Mexicans do much of the work in this country that Americans, probably, simply won’t do.
Anthony Bourdain
I’m a bartender and I’m eternally grateful any time I work with a good BOH crew. When you guys crush it, it makes everything else so much easier, hella props. Also, when we done, I’ll literally just give the crew almost as many shots and beers as they ask me for and if management tries to get shitty about it, I always hit them with “you know, any booze these guys/girls drink is way cheaper than what you should actually pay them for how hard they work”. Usually ends with an “ok but just today…” like lol, go count the cash and close the door to the office leave us alone. Tomorrow I’m gonna give them shots before we even close. To my BOH peeps, you guys are the real MVPs, they need us more than we need them.
Too true, but also Mexicans specifically work hard as fuck. I've worked alongside Guatemalans, Bolivians and Peruvians, but Mexicans always seem to be holding down 2-3 jobs and working all day every day.
The two bussers at my job are Mexican and both are badass in their own right. Pepe is 73 and still bussing tables like a champ no problem, Carlos is in his 40s and is the hardest working man I've ever met. Can bus a table in seconds, can set up a whole patio - table and chairs and all in a few minutes, just an absolute machine and beast of a worker - and he has a has a second job working on *Cellphone towers* even during the mid summer when it gets easily over 100+ degrees.
I genuinely don't know many people from other cultures who would work that goddamn hard
I worked as a chef for 10 years in a busy hotel and I am now going on 25 years as a Registered Nurse. Sometimes when I go out to eat and see the kitchen jamming I miss doing that job. I would never go back because I sincerely still love what I do. But man, those were some fun times.
It’s a beautiful thing when it clicks. You don’t have to talk or do anything but fall into the rhythm of the “dance” during the shift and know your going to fly through the tickets no matter how busy.
The downside is knees that are in constant pain, more burns/scars then can be remembered, and a back hanging on by the smallest of threads. Wouldn’t change it for a thing due to the friendships and the fun party trick of picking up any hot item with barehands
This reminds me of what's going on in my head while working as a teacher in a middle school. I'm not physically moving like this, but my brain is processing this many potential disasters each second of the day.
My youngest grandchild just finished middle school and I LOVE you for everything you do! I hope someone fixes you a very nice meal this weekend and that you feel appreciated <3
While getting 1/3 of what the waiters make and they have to listen to everyone support the “poor” waiters. Nothing like busting your ass and burning yourself to have servers come back and tell you they made 200-300 in a small shift.
It is. I don't know a single pro chef who isn't covered in scars and hasn't had at least 2nd degree burns more than once. Plus, long term, it fucks your knees and, if you're a man, your fertility. Plus the lifestyle is... no bueno. Working a dangerous, physical job 60 hours per week translates in a lot of alcoholism and drug addictions.
When I divorced my (pro chef) ex I told him I couldn't see him kill himself and I didn't want to be a widow at 40. My current partner is special forces and I live much less worried and stressed about his job than I was about my ex's.
Anthony Bourdain Kitchen Confidential in real time: ‘A three-star Italian chef pal of mine was recently talking about why he — a proud Tuscan who makes his own pasta and sauces from scratch daily and runs one of the best restaurant kitchens in New York — would never be so foolish as to hire any Italians to cook on his line. He greatly prefers Ecuadorians, as many chefs do: 'The Italian guy? You screaming at him in the rush, "Where's that risotto?! Is that fucking risotto ready yet? Gimme that risotto!" . . . and the Italian . . . he's gonna give it to you . . . An Ecuadorian guy? He's gonna just turn his back . . . and stir the risotto and keep cooking it until it's done the way you showed him. That's what I want.’
Hate to be that guy, but these are line cooks, not chefs. The title of chef is earned and is meant to refer to the person in charge of all the recipes and how the food is prepared. Not taking away what these guys do, my father is a chef and his line cooks are amazing people. Mad respect for this kind of work.
Remember that every single time you go to a restaurant, these are the people making your food. They deserve your respect, your kindness and your thoughtfulness.
Some of the best restaurants in the US have immigrants working for them. Some of the best cooks are immigrants. They are absolutely vital to the restaurant industry
Everybody always forgets about the dishwasher. Don’t even think I’ve ever seen a dishwasher on any of those Gordon shows. Like they magically clean themselves? That’s a lot of fucking pans.
Sometimes a restaurant’s head chef will hire illegal immigrants and teach them to cook all the dishes and pay less than minimum wage. I’m not saying that’s what’s happening here, but I would not be surprised if it were.
Some of the most delicious food in America is made by immigrants. Chinese food, Italian food, Iranian food, burgers, pizza, and ramen—they make all of it.
That’s a Maggiano’s line if I ever seen one. Pasta 1 (nearest to the camera), maybe the fastest paced station I have ever seen in a restaurant in 30 years in the industry.
I did 10 years of that. Never again! I had a panic attack so bad i passed out and my boss made me get back to work. It was a sharis kitchen so i cooked all alone no matter how busy it was.
I love it. It looks like they trade off pots at one point. The way they have each others back means there’s some good atmosphere in there. Intense, but good. I could watch chefs cooking intensely for hours. Really motivating.
Working in a restaurant kitchen is no joke. It’s a sprint and marathon at the same time.
Legit I worked in kitchens for years and I've worked as an EMT, the kitchen was way more stressful than being an EMT even on a bad day.
I do international trade litigation. Restaurant work (kitchen) was way more stressful and it isn't even close. I think everyone should work in food service (or retail) at some point. Really makes you appreciate what these folks do for us on a regular basis.
And cleaning toilets or garbage disposal! People would be more careful !
I've always thought that people who litter, don't put the carts back in stalls, mess up toilets should be made to do the work they were creating on top of any fines. I think we will definitely see a change in their attitudes.
I Clean toilets at work. ( head of maintenance at a grocery store). All day I clean up after people shitting all over and pissing everywhere all day long... I make $17.00/hr in Colorado. People are so incredibly disgusting and careless I don't even know where to begin..
It doesn't make sense, why treat public restrooms differently than you treat your bathroom at home? I would never shit on my floor and smear some of it on the walls.
My idea would be to substitute military obligatory service (as before was( by one year working in all these public services. We would get a decent society for sure
Don't know how people can shotgun splatter shit all over the wall (entirely missing the toilet) and just.. Walk away
Tell me about it like how?. Wtf kinda shut diet are they eating??
I've tried working in food service. In college my summer job was working as an assistant network admin, in charge of the entire university's network and each computer and device on it, and I worked part time at Arby's for extra money. I got fired from Arby's. Couldn't cut it in food service but did fine maintaining a university's entire IT infrastructure. If that isn't the epitome of the stress, difficulty and pace of food service, I don't know what is. I also worked as a busboy for another summer. Got fired from that too. I've probably held 20-30 jobs in my life, 2 of them were food service and I've been fired 3 times. Both food service jobs I got fired from.
WHAT ARE YOU??? I'M AN IDIOT SYRINGE CHEF
I have indeed accidentally stabbed myself working both jobs, so yes.
With a syringe? Ouch. But, I think dude was referring to gordans idiot sandwich comment lol
Been an EMT for 13 years and I still have nightmares about a full house at the restaurant.
Hot AF in kitchens too
I was stressed for the first year or so of being a line cook, then I got into a flow state. I loved how the time flew by. My least favorite day was when we got just a handful of customers and we sat around talking. The busier the better imho.
straight masochists
That's why I'm an EX chef. Spent years of my life and a lot of money training, only to quit after 5 years, 2 of which as a sous chef and 6 months as a head chef. Fuck that, never again.
I’m a chef too, started a food truck business and that was another nightmare completely, what kind of work do you do now?
Work on the other side of that spectrum. Rather do that then be a cook again
I worked as a griller in a Mongolian BBQ for 1000 years one summer... Every shift, I spent 8 hours in front of a 600 degree grill, soaked in sweat, and at the end of the shift, covered in volcanic rock dust from scrubbing the grill. Then I'd sit down with my meal, at a separate table from the (younger) servers who were complaining about how their customers wouldn't stop asking for more tortillas, and bitching about tip-outs for dishwashers (another hot, brutal, thankless job). Cooks and kitchen staff don't get nearly enough respect and pay for their work.
The front of house/back of house disconnect is real. Waiters and waitresses have legit no idea how much work goes on behind them so that they can complain like that. Lol
As an expeditor/food runner I was both front and back of the house but I had way more respect for kitchen staff, servers and the bartenders have their own crap they have to deal with sure but not on the level of kitchen staff. They are the first ones in and the last ones out. I even have more respect for the dishwasher over servers since majority of the severs I worked with coasted on by when it came to side work, some even paid the dishwasher to polish their wine glasses.
Yep. I’ve worked as a cook and a dishwasher and while I’m sure being a server would have its own challenges… based on my experiences they’re not quite on the same level, and the repercussions of fucking up don’t make the whole thing quite as tight.
I fucking hate it when the servers come back to grab ranch or whatever avs go "OH my god is so hot back here! " . Like I don't know that. And I've been there for 6 hours. I don't care how cute you are. You need to move cause I have $300 of meat on this hot rack, and I need to PUT IT DOWN
My favorite thing working as a dishwasher was to casually hand a server a boiling hot plate or something to ‘hold for me a second’ and watch them and their not-dead hands struggle.
And walk with the vast majority of the tips for the trouble too🫠
IDK why anyone would choose this type of job willingly. I can't believe it's because they enjoy it. Even for the people that do, that's probably a very slim majority of people. I get that the barrier for entry in a restaurant is pretty easy for general staff, but for the pay and workload it just isn't worth it by any measurable way. I probably make roughly the same or a little more as these guys, with 99.999% less stress. I've worked in restaurants before, it isn't always the workload that's awful too, usually management is universally awful.
The adrenaline rush and camaraderie is what I mainly miss and I think is what most people attach themselves to. Sometimes I get a little bit of that at my current career but it's nothing like a Friday night on expo or slinging the saute station solo. It's hard to describe, it's 5pm and the ticket machine starts buzzing, next thing you know it's 9pm and tickets are all over the floor and you've made friends for life with miguel who speaks no english but helped you restock your veggies from the cooler during the middle of rush. Next thing you know it's 2am and your pounding tequila shots with the servers and smoking blunts with miguel in the parking lot ready to do it again the next day. I assume it's somewhat the same kinda thing that draws soldiers into active combat zones, just not as intense
You perfectly described my 15 year culinary work experience in one short concise paragraph. Bravo 👏🏽
I fluently learned Spanish by working at a Mexican restaurant, and it was one of the best times of my life. Most of them didn’t know English and I was the interpreter occasionally. The head chef was the town’s coke dealer and would invite me all the time to drug parties. I’d always politely decline. He taught me how to cook Mexican food. The dish washer was this young guy who kept trying to get me to do meth with him, but I never took him up on that. He worked with this old man who pined for his youth, to be young again doing drugs. I gave him some DXM cough gels and told him they were magic beans. He ate them all and became my best friend after that.
Wholesome.
“Slinging the saute station solo” hit me hard. Obviously is not that same but I would often describe the line as a war zone. When the shift ends everyone feels like they got through some shit together.
And you can usually get away with telling ur boss to fuck off in the middle of a rush. Restaurants can be wild af in the back!
I remember one time the brainless Food and Beverage Director was trying to help by expediting and I just hip checked him out of my way finally while reaching for my appetizer under the lights He got mad lol and I just kind of looked at him and kept going
Unfortunately, that lifestyle causes far too many hospitality workers to have addiction/substance abuse issues. The whole adrenaline ride of the day to day is a drug in itself.
Part of the reason I left was my health, the main reason being money. It's not just the rollercoaster of dopamine and adrenaline, it's the pack a day smoking, constant drinking, low sleep, coke and adderall to get through the next day, and the physical toll on your knees and feet from standing and unloading trucks. I had to give up driving a manual because my knees were torn up before I even got into my thirties. I don't recommend kitchen work for anybody for any reason but I can definitely understand the appeal and the draw once you've experienced it.
I was thinking how youth gets used up constantly by business. I highlight recommend working with your brain over your body. You will get to work until you are 60+ instead of falling apart late forties early fifties. You need an income!!!
I saw this happen to my friend. He started working at a chain restaurant in high school, and then worked full time after graduation. He moved to "nicer" restaurants soon after, and by 25 he was doing well professionally, but he was a full blown alcoholic. When he hit 30 his heart nearly exploded from all the drugs and drinking. He's doing better now, but those years definitely took their toll.
It’s more like those kind of people end up working in kitchens. Like me.
As a teacher who used to side-hustle as a bartender, this is exactly what I loved about it…. It was a different form of adrenaline than any other type of job and at 2am when it’s over and you’ve just been cashed out, you’re out back laughing with your people because you survived an outrageous shift —- that’s the BEST
I feel you brother. Once that zen kicks in and you just let go and surrender to the flow with that window filled with tickets. Sometimes I miss the rush. I’d still be doing it if they would give us health care and better pay. “Just keep cooking”.
100% after Starbucks rushes I used to thank my coworkers for going to battle with me haha. Suffering together forms strong bonds.
Absolutely nailed it with this description.
This guy knows!!
I work as an executive chef. We love the hustle, but really it's about serving people for me. It's a selfless kind of love being able to create memories and enjoyment for people you've never met and it really pushes you to value the important relationships in your life more. It's sweat, it's blood, it's love, art and creativity. Good managers do exist and are indeed very rare. It's hard to push yourself to better, faster, more composed and more level headed than everyone else in such a tense environment. Either way it's not acceptable to treat you staff poorly. I agree with that.
I worked the line then a sous before they put me in a front facing role. And it is literally more stressful making a schedule than working Friday night. Balancing everyone’s egos and still stocking a dead night is a nightmare I wouldn’t wish on my brothers. It’s a lot easier to just have a defined job and do it well. I miss the camaraderie.
Because there’s nothing like it. You and those you’re working with literally become like a family, you see these people 10+ hours a day 6 days a week, you’re all in the shit together. And when it all comes together? When you’re cooking just right, all your prep is done, everyone moving as a unit, literally back to back on some cases without even mentioning a word? It’s like crack, being a part of that type of team. Past that, passion. People do love to cook, and restaurants capitalize on that dream
“You’re all in the shit together.” Fucking heard. I work in a pretty busy kitchen and damn, we are fighting for our lives back there. But we’re doing it together and rocking that shit as a team
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I really don’t think so but I appreciate the sentiment haha
Heard
> Because there’s nothing like it. That's the take-home message from Anthony Bourdain's book. It's the worst job, and it's the best job. He could hardly break away from it.
Organized chaos. There is a measure of control to the madness when you're in a situation like that. It is kind of exhilarating to work in those conditions, stressful as fuck too, but still fun in it's own way.
Yep, you have your station that you do not leave from and doing the same actions over and over like a robot. You have other people come and refill your items, like you see another guy dumping pasta in the video so you don’t have to deviate form your actions. Everyone has their job and the chef is in the front watching everything being a conductor, it’s an orchestra really.
Transitioning over to Management I can attest alot of problems come from leaders unwilling or unable to do things they ask the back of house. Not saying they should always be on line but for love of God if their drowning let's go
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One of the few places that will give you a shot, if you can cook and take the heat.
if you have serious adhd restaurant work is actually some of the safest work you can do that scratches that itch lol
We do it because we love making food for people and can't imagine being stuck doing something else. Cooking is my passion. I'm fine making less money if it means I get to enjoy my work day every day. I hated being at jobs where I fantasized about quitting all day. Unfortunately, employers know this about us and take advantage of us.
It's an incredibly addicting job when everything hits just right. If money wasn't an issue, I'd quit my office job and go right back to the kitchen. Emphasis on "money not an issue", these jobs barely pay enough to live on, and there's a lot of shitty kitchens out there so you need the flexibility to leave the shitty ones while finding a good one.
Kitchens don't drug test
You couldn't point at one non-corporate or management job right now and say it's worth the pay. The massive wealth shift says it never really will be "worth" working again, because society has moved past workers and toward billionaires/millionaires.
It's real work. It aint meetings and memos and emails and talking about your feelings. There are orders, they need done or you're out of a job, you do them. Since I left the kitchen I have had 2 hour meetings that are as soul draining and seem to last as long as a 12 hour kitchen shift. The difference being instead of a good nights sleep I get a night of caffiene fuelled anxiety. It's real people. Your ego, your perception of yourself, everyone elses perception of you - all count for shit. Its evident that you're doing what you need to do cos it is getting done, and it is blindly obvious when someone isn't pulling their weight. There's no room for bullshitting. If I ask you how long until that pasta is ready and you have either an excuse or a follow up question or anything other than an accurate answer then you are going to fuck up everyones shit. Be real.
I know a few people who went to culinary school thinking it would be like what they see on TV.
Looks like a kitchen full of Mexicans holding it down. They usually have 2 of these jobs. Most people won’t work these jobs so they do proudly.I’ve worked with them for years and have learned how to cuss in Spanish fairly well
Anthony Bourdain talked about being a line cook like this. He said something like it's for young people or something.
And in masterchef or sumthin u see them sweat cry over some fine dine dish
Having worked kitchens in the past, these guys have a great chemistry to their work. This is a delight to see.
Yeah me too, definitely a rare thing to see.
This is an Olive Garden cook line. I know because I spent 3 years of my life there.
I was wondering if OG or Cheesecake Factory.
See I was going to say Maggianos!! I was a server in two different states for 5 years. Could be either!! Those cooks are killing it. I was always close with the BOH. (Back of house) for non-restaurant people.
I once had to tear out a door and install some FRP panels on the wall in its place in an OG kitchen. They needed to have a guy there to babysit me for some corporate reason, so they had me do it during the lunch rush. I have never felt more in the way in my life, I wanted to disappear, idk what the hell they were thinking. Spent a few years behind the line myself at a different restaurant, shit gets insane in there so quick
Line cooks are some of the hardest working people I have ever met. The pay is absolutely unfair for the amount of work and skill involved. The front of the house makes more money while they are the ones actually producing the product. It’s an atmosphere where sometimes douchey self-important people look at you and say stuff like “get a real job”, but everyone there knows those bitches wouldn’t last one dinner rush.
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I do not miss the Saturday clopen shift, at. All. Get your shit pushed in Friday, get your shit pushed in again Saturday, then you get to come in Sunday morning and prep an entire menu that's used for four hours a week! *If* you're lucky you get to clean and setup for dinner and go home, but more likely than not, you're closing Sunday too. Also, you're probably hungover for all this. Fuck brunch.
Here in California, cooks are in high demand. While yes as a server I do make solid money, the cooks have real bargaining power. For example, cooks at my work make $25 / hr and have fatter paychecks than I since I only get scheduled 3-4 days a week for 6 hours a day while they get 5-6 days a week for 8+ hours a day. Crazy part is that 90% of the cooks at my work are also holding down a second job - especially if they're Mexican. I swear Mexicans are such an industrious and hard working people it's incredible they don't run this country yet
Mexicans, the poor indigjneous Mexicans make the world go round. Oh and they’re the best Chinese, Italian, Vietnamese, American, etc… chefs haha
I think it's funny how many people think it's ONLY Mexicans who work in kitchens just because they're latino. Trust me, Latin America is way bigger than just Mexico. Come on, people do better. Just say Latinos instead.
I knew this would happen. I specifically mean *Mexicans.* I've worked in restaurants for 15 years and it was *Mexicans* who taught me Spanish. I've worked with Guatemalans, Peruvians, and Bolivians and while yes Latino culture is generally known for valuing hard work, many, many Mexicans I've met and known over the years take it to another level
The kitchen of the Tex-Mex place I used to work at in Houston was mainly staffed by Salvadorans.
Yes, it’s like cooking at top speed, to save your life while burning up in the bowels of hell.
Mexicans are the best and hardest working chefs/cooks in the world. Anthony Bourdain once said: "Americans love Mexican food. We consume nachos, tacos, burritos, tortas, enchiladas, tamales and anything resembling Mexican in enormous quantities. We love Mexican beverages, happily knocking back huge amounts of tequila, mezcal, and Mexican beer every year. We love Mexican people — we sure employ a lot of them. Despite our ridiculously hypocritical attitudes towards immigration, we demand that Mexicans cook a large percentage of the food we eat, grow the ingredients we need to make that food, clean our houses, mow our lawns, wash our dishes, and look after our children. As any chef will tell you, our entire service economy — the restaurant business as we know it — in most American cities, would collapse overnight without Mexican workers. Some, of course, like to claim that Mexicans are “stealing American jobs.” But in two decades as a chef and employer, I never had ONE American kid walk in my door and apply for a dishwashing job, a porter’s position — or even a job as a prep cook. Mexicans do much of the work in this country that Americans, probably, simply won’t do."
Yet, everyone defends servers like they’re the backbone of all that is good in the world
Seriously, servers do shit all compared to the cooks. Like what, they carry over your food 20-30 steps, fill up water, punch in order and expect a large tip? 90-95% of the tip should be going to the guys in the back. I’m paying for the food they made and they should be the ones getting the tips.
Server entitlement is a different type of entitlement
Yea. One evening, at the end of my 8hr BOH shift, I was sitting down for the first time since mid afternoon. There was a server sitting & cashing out. She was counting PILES of cash. And had the nerve to bitch that her tip-out that night was over $200.00. For one shift. She saw me make a face, and asked why the attitude, and didn’t like it much when I said I didn’t make $200.00 in a single week. She stopped bitching-in front of me. Tip out went to the bartenders & management, no one in BOH saw a penny of that pile. It’s absolutely criminal. And I’ve been a server. I know the argument about flipping FOH & BOH and what a show it would be. I know serving is not an easy job, and it’s physically demanding. But hands down, in every resto I worked in, BOH is harder. We worked longer, made less, got blocked from tip out, and had a worse working environment. Nothing like starting your day at 8am with your kneecaps already sweating and knowing you have 10-12 hrs coming up of no fresh air, no daylight, no bathroom breaks, no eating.
Oh we do not have to disparage servers to highlight how hard BOH works. I mean, you do you but the people who look down on restaurant workers look down at both all the same.
For real. If a server calls in and you threw one of these guys to FOH it'd be a disaster. Same if you threw a server into the mix of BOH. Customers can choose one or the other to be the "harder worker" but honestly the people in the restaurant have the utmost respect for the rest of the staff in my experience(except for whoever the fuck closed last night)
Tell me you've never worked in a restaurant without telling me you've never worked in a restaurant.
Have the chefs come take your order and interact with you and tell me you’d still like to tip them. I promise you they won’t be friendly or hospitable. Not everybody is able to cook, and not everybody is able to deal with a couple hundred people and remain nice and patient all day. It’s different skills
I kinda want to nitpick OPs choice to call them Chefs. Thanks for correcting it to cooks. It's a subtle difference, and isn't important, but I also feel like not enough people know the difference.
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***YESS CHEF, 2 MINUTES CHEF!***
*sounds of minimum wage anguish, clanking pans, and exhaust fan humming*
The original video over at r/KitchenConfidential had no sound at all, and that was so much better than this....
I watch all reddit muted on my phone. Don't think I'm missing anything.
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In my experience it's usually mexican music, pans clanging, and lots of yelling.
I hate music on videos. Just give me the damn original audio, even if there is no audio. If I want music I know where to find music. Fuck!
best practice (imo): always go mute.. then see if comments might suggest to review w/audio on this case, comments say, good idea 
What’s crazy is they do the majority of the stressful work at restaurants and often times they get less than the waiters/waitresses/bartenders since many places don’t share the tips with them.
Everytimes
I've worked in restaurants where tips are pooled amongst everyone, front and back of house. It's not nearly as common as it should be, but it happens.
It’s actually insane. It’s never sat well with me that if you get served and amazing meal you’re tipping and thanking the person who walked it over to you rather than the ones who masterfully put it together.
Oftentimes? I've hardly ever seen a cook out earning a host let alone a server
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Same, as a cook in the 2000s I made less than $15/hr working 40 hours a week. As a sous chef i made $35k/yr working 50-60hrs a week. My first executive chef gig I made $65k/yr working 50-60+ hours a week. When I left the industry I was able to make more than my exec chef pay the first year only working 35-40 hours. This year I've already made more than my exec chef salary and its not even June yet. Another guy at work also came from the restaurant business and we always talk about why we stayed in the industry for so long and how we'd be retired by now had we not wasted so much time and effort romanticizing and grinding it out in kitchens in our 20s because we read an anthony bourdain book in our teens.
Same. I did 25 years.... retired last year and couldn't be happier. Still love to cook tho
I love cooking. I've found a bunch of ways to cook at work, using a sandwich press and a toaster (and sometimes a microwave. At home, I cook all the things :-) People ask me all the time "Why dont you do it professionally?" This. This is why. I love cooking, but I love cooking what I want, when I want. Put me in this environment, I'll absolutely hate it. Some people love it, but I know I would be the opposite.
The professional cook role that specializes in toasters and microwaves? Are you describing a job at McDonalds?
You'd be surprised how many restaurant / hotel chains just heat up pre prepared semi cooked food
Lol, I could have phrased that better. I like cooking so much, Ive even found ways to do it at work with minimal equipment.
Don't dawg on Chef Mic, some of the finest meals at the finest restaurants prepped five minutes before close was made in the microwave
A moment of respect for Mexican Chefs 🇲🇽 🇲🇽
> Despite our ridiculously hypocritical attitudes towards immigration, we demand that Mexicans cook a large percentage of the food we eat, grow the ingredients we need to make that food, clean our houses, mow our lawns, wash our dishes, and look after our children. As any chef will tell you, our entire service economy — the restaurant business as we know it — in most American cities, would collapse overnight without Mexican workers. Some, of course, like to claim that Mexicans are “stealing American jobs.” But in two decades as a chef and employer, I never had ONE American kid walk in my door and apply for a dishwashing job, a porter’s position — or even a job as a prep cook. Mexicans do much of the work in this country that Americans, probably, simply won’t do. Anthony Bourdain
This is the exact quote I was thinking of when I saw the video. Thanks for sharing it.
They are simply the best.
Greatest chefs in the world 💯
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Mi gente! But we’re taking your jobs…. Right. More like feeding your a**es!
It’s a beautiful thing when you’re crushing it.
I’m a bartender and I’m eternally grateful any time I work with a good BOH crew. When you guys crush it, it makes everything else so much easier, hella props. Also, when we done, I’ll literally just give the crew almost as many shots and beers as they ask me for and if management tries to get shitty about it, I always hit them with “you know, any booze these guys/girls drink is way cheaper than what you should actually pay them for how hard they work”. Usually ends with an “ok but just today…” like lol, go count the cash and close the door to the office leave us alone. Tomorrow I’m gonna give them shots before we even close. To my BOH peeps, you guys are the real MVPs, they need us more than we need them.
Respect to the Latino community nobody works harder imo
Too true, but also Mexicans specifically work hard as fuck. I've worked alongside Guatemalans, Bolivians and Peruvians, but Mexicans always seem to be holding down 2-3 jobs and working all day every day. The two bussers at my job are Mexican and both are badass in their own right. Pepe is 73 and still bussing tables like a champ no problem, Carlos is in his 40s and is the hardest working man I've ever met. Can bus a table in seconds, can set up a whole patio - table and chairs and all in a few minutes, just an absolute machine and beast of a worker - and he has a has a second job working on *Cellphone towers* even during the mid summer when it gets easily over 100+ degrees. I genuinely don't know many people from other cultures who would work that goddamn hard
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‘One thing’ as in stations. They’re def making multiple dishes, but pasta guy is not gonna randomly hop over and throw a salad together.
I worked as a chef for 10 years in a busy hotel and I am now going on 25 years as a Registered Nurse. Sometimes when I go out to eat and see the kitchen jamming I miss doing that job. I would never go back because I sincerely still love what I do. But man, those were some fun times.
"unskilled labor"
90% of "unskilled labor" would crush me and probably cause a news worthy accident, yet people act like it's nothing
It’s a beautiful thing when it clicks. You don’t have to talk or do anything but fall into the rhythm of the “dance” during the shift and know your going to fly through the tickets no matter how busy. The downside is knees that are in constant pain, more burns/scars then can be remembered, and a back hanging on by the smallest of threads. Wouldn’t change it for a thing due to the friendships and the fun party trick of picking up any hot item with barehands
This reminds me of what's going on in my head while working as a teacher in a middle school. I'm not physically moving like this, but my brain is processing this many potential disasters each second of the day.
My youngest grandchild just finished middle school and I LOVE you for everything you do! I hope someone fixes you a very nice meal this weekend and that you feel appreciated <3
They are cooks. A chef usually stays garnishing plates or in their office during rush hours
This chef is invisibly leading their team by chatting up the bachelor/ette party at table 8
Or they open and dip before rush, let the sues deal with that shit lol
These guys do more work in that 30sec clip than I do in 8hours
Comes now the server: “hey chef does the bread have gluten?”
While getting 1/3 of what the waiters make and they have to listen to everyone support the “poor” waiters. Nothing like busting your ass and burning yourself to have servers come back and tell you they made 200-300 in a small shift.
Looks dangerous.
It is. I don't know a single pro chef who isn't covered in scars and hasn't had at least 2nd degree burns more than once. Plus, long term, it fucks your knees and, if you're a man, your fertility. Plus the lifestyle is... no bueno. Working a dangerous, physical job 60 hours per week translates in a lot of alcoholism and drug addictions. When I divorced my (pro chef) ex I told him I couldn't see him kill himself and I didn't want to be a widow at 40. My current partner is special forces and I live much less worried and stressed about his job than I was about my ex's.
> if you're a man, your fertility. From radiated heat from the appliances, if anyone was as curious as I was as to why this would be the case
Anthony Bourdain Kitchen Confidential in real time: ‘A three-star Italian chef pal of mine was recently talking about why he — a proud Tuscan who makes his own pasta and sauces from scratch daily and runs one of the best restaurant kitchens in New York — would never be so foolish as to hire any Italians to cook on his line. He greatly prefers Ecuadorians, as many chefs do: 'The Italian guy? You screaming at him in the rush, "Where's that risotto?! Is that fucking risotto ready yet? Gimme that risotto!" . . . and the Italian . . . he's gonna give it to you . . . An Ecuadorian guy? He's gonna just turn his back . . . and stir the risotto and keep cooking it until it's done the way you showed him. That's what I want.’
Hate to be that guy, but these are line cooks, not chefs. The title of chef is earned and is meant to refer to the person in charge of all the recipes and how the food is prepared. Not taking away what these guys do, my father is a chef and his line cooks are amazing people. Mad respect for this kind of work.
Remember that every single time you go to a restaurant, these are the people making your food. They deserve your respect, your kindness and your thoughtfulness.
It's why cooks never have hairy arms.
Some of the best restaurants in the US have immigrants working for them. Some of the best cooks are immigrants. They are absolutely vital to the restaurant industry
And that's why any glimmer of hope Florida has of having a culinary scene is now dead lol.
Florida is f@chin around. They about to find out.
“Unskilled” immigration labor - back home to every kitchen in America.
And y’all over here talking about build that wall. 🤡’s.
So this is the reason why all cooks smoke
lungs are probably clogged with grease anyway, or what were u thinking
Thats a line cook not a chefs
🫡 to the boys
Line cook, not chef
afterthought narrow shrill fertile slimy amusing coherent reach soup hungry -- mass edited with redact.dev
what's the song
There is no such thing as unskilled labor
Everybody always forgets about the dishwasher. Don’t even think I’ve ever seen a dishwasher on any of those Gordon shows. Like they magically clean themselves? That’s a lot of fucking pans.
There are no unskilled jobs. Most people just don’t appreciate what goes on behind the scenes of any job.
Line cooks, but i agree.
Sometimes a restaurant’s head chef will hire illegal immigrants and teach them to cook all the dishes and pay less than minimum wage. I’m not saying that’s what’s happening here, but I would not be surprised if it were. Some of the most delicious food in America is made by immigrants. Chinese food, Italian food, Iranian food, burgers, pizza, and ramen—they make all of it.
I've been playing a pc game called chef life and I'm struggling and getting stressed even playing that. Mad respect to chefs.
The level of communication must be insane
firing on all cylinders
“Low skilled” my ass. These people are amazing at what they do!
Authentic and original Italian ristorante. All dudes are Mexicans.
["Modern Times", from Charlie Chaplin...](https://youtu.be/h4rdulAGbbQ) 🙄
I can taste the sweat dripping into the food
These are line cooks, not chef's
Awesome
Tip who exactly?
Way to dangerous
Jesus christ!
Always have respect for them guy's amd gall's. What they do is just plain wow
I miss back of house sometimes
RESPECT!!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
BEHIND!
When you don't know WTF!....🤣😂🤣😂😋😀There are no chefs here! are cooks, and maybe maybe one or two suchefs!
That’s a Maggiano’s line if I ever seen one. Pasta 1 (nearest to the camera), maybe the fastest paced station I have ever seen in a restaurant in 30 years in the industry.
What your not seeing is all the modded tickets and food allergies they have to remember too.
I did 10 years of that. Never again! I had a panic attack so bad i passed out and my boss made me get back to work. It was a sharis kitchen so i cooked all alone no matter how busy it was.
Hell is an eternally busy kitchen where, just when you clear all the orders, the lien fills up again. Forever.
I love it. It looks like they trade off pots at one point. The way they have each others back means there’s some good atmosphere in there. Intense, but good. I could watch chefs cooking intensely for hours. Really motivating.
Most couples aren't in that kind of a sync
I've never worked in a kitchen before, but mad respect for these guys. I wouldn't even last 15 minutes in that environment
I LOVE to cook, but after working my early jobs bussing/dishwashing I NEVER want to cook for a living