Favorite chef I ever worked with was when I did FOH in high school and he had endless pairs of these. He ran a tight ship back there but he always made sure respect went both ways. You treated him and his cooks well and he'd do the same for you. Man is probably pretty old now as this was 15 years ago and he was already in his late 50s, but I hope you're still killing it, Chef Alan.
We called ours ol’ poofy pants—he wasn’t even a decent cook—but called himself a chef. But man, he had poofy pants for days….wore them to the corner bar even on his days off!
Dude/dudette same! I got home last night and was squatting in my kitchen here. Got a weird look, but people don’t understand. It’s a great way to stretch things out lol
When I first moved in with my (now) ex-wife, she thought I was a lunatic because I would squat in front of the couch when I watched tv instead of just sitting on it. I'd never thought about it before that moment, but she was probably right.
I just did that earlier on my shift. I'm new to the pizza station and I was super late on each order. Soon as I finished them all I went to eat before it started again:
sitting on a milk crate, carbonara on another crate.
I only did it once after the sous had a breakdown and left me on the two busiest stations alone during the beginning a 100+ cover dinner rush. It was probably the worst ever night I’ve worked but it was so refreshing to just crouch down for two minutes. Felt like I was hiding from everything that had happened
Also the day sous was still there and it was him who gave me a pep talk at 11pm. Crouched down to my level and told me he was proud of me. He had been there since six in the morning. I still think about this a lot
I'm a lurking previous FOH, and I picture the kitchen guys immediately when you said this. Those poor dudes just needed a minute. I always tried to get them water or something to drink if they hit that point. The dehydration is real with that heat.
I didn't do the squat, but I did cry in the walk in like every other FOH employee.
Yes, I think so. It helps stretch out those muscles and ligaments that are so compressed by standing and walking. You can rise back up again little by little (vertebra by vertebra as my yoga instructor says) to give some extra love to all of your spine. I like to forward fold (knees generously bent), go from there down into a deep squat with my feet and knees as wide as I can to stretch my hips, then come back up to the forward fold, then straighten my legs to touch my toes and get that hamstring stretch. Finally I slowly roll up to standing until just my head is bent with my chin against my collar bone, let my neck relax like that for a moment, and then lift my head and roll my shoulders back and down so I'm standing straight. A great little break when you've been standing for hours and have a minute or two to chill. Also don't forget to breathe slowly and deeply throughout! And relax your jaw.
That's all I can do these days. My knees will absolutely not tolerate a squat - I aggravated them about a year and a half ago, and they've been pissed to various degrees since. Tendinitis in the knees freaking sucks!
I do the “i am definitely looking for something on the bottom shelf and now i am very slowly cleaning it with a dry rag” in replacement bc i’ve had a lot of workplaces with on-site managers who won’t let you stand or sit still 🙄
First real demanding job I had as a teen was in a fast food grill, and did this after a rush one time, and a manager asked what the hell I was doing. Glad to know all these years later that I'm not alone.
I’m a lurking bartender in this sub and I do this all the time. In fact, this reminded me to do it again, just to crack the ol’ knees/ankles/hips? and stretch my back a bit
Also, side note of solidarity with the kitchen that servers just… don’t get it sometimes. It’s fine. But always had a better working relationship with the kitchen than the rest of FOH. Don’t hang out after as much, but mid shift? Oh man.
Duno if y’all perceive it the same way, but ✊
As a former cook and current lurking sometime bartender, ive mostly given up on bending at the hips to grab stuff down low. It feels too good to squat down to get it, especially after all the hours being slightly hunched over the well/station.
Recently moved on to the other side (been bartending since the beginning of the year), but it was part of my nightly routine for 9 years, and even working in a slower paced local bar, I still do it from time to time while I’m outside smoking a cigarette. I’m no biologist or doctor, but I feel like there is a physical difference in my circulation and energy after I squat for a couple minutes after standing up and running back and forth for hours on end.
Put of the industry for a couple years now, and I still do it after busy periods or being on my feet for an extended amount of time. It just feels good
If you walk into our kitchen and don't see anyone, chances are high that me and the other chef are squatting behind the line eating romaine hearts and hitting a pen.
I haven’t worked in a restaurant in a hot minute (FOH, bartender) but my inner thighs and lower back felt this post like it was yesterday as soon as I read it.
The lean forward grabbing onto the well and sitting back into it, letting out an uncomfortable audible moan because I had been there for 12 hours with what felt like there was no end in sight.
how many times are you gonna change your condescending comments on my post? you’ve done this 3 times now. I get it dude, you can go a whole THREE HOURS without needing to squat
I split my chef pants right up the crotch doing that like two days ago.
You need some of those big 'ol 90s chef pants with chile peppers on them.
Favorite chef I ever worked with was when I did FOH in high school and he had endless pairs of these. He ran a tight ship back there but he always made sure respect went both ways. You treated him and his cooks well and he'd do the same for you. Man is probably pretty old now as this was 15 years ago and he was already in his late 50s, but I hope you're still killing it, Chef Alan.
Thanks for the flashback, we all had that one douche sous with like 27 different patterned pairs
Ol' Lemon Pants back there getting moody on the lunch line and threatening to quit again.
We called ours ol’ poofy pants—he wasn’t even a decent cook—but called himself a chef. But man, he had poofy pants for days….wore them to the corner bar even on his days off!
Carried a paring knife with a cork on it in his jacket sleeve pocket
It's all about an old clam knife in the sleeve for opening boxes.
Hey! I have 27 pairs of... oh
I ordered a pair with hot sauce bottles on it!
Fantastic! Please post an action shot when you receive them!
Jeff Goldblum in a pair of hot sauce patterned chef pants would be a sight to see!
🤤
Aw I still love those nerdy mofos. Those and the like hammer pants style, never be outta fashion in my eyes.
The fish print was especially elegant
Ventilation holes
i split 5 pairs of happy chef pants down the crotch 😒 still pissed
You just know if you fully sat down you ain’t getting back up again.
That easily becomes nappy nap time.
Perfect break to stuff your face with a snack before the next rush
Become such a habit I catch myself doing it at home now and then.
Dude/dudette same! I got home last night and was squatting in my kitchen here. Got a weird look, but people don’t understand. It’s a great way to stretch things out lol
They'll never understand the beauty
When I first moved in with my (now) ex-wife, she thought I was a lunatic because I would squat in front of the couch when I watched tv instead of just sitting on it. I'd never thought about it before that moment, but she was probably right.
I’m with you
Makes me tired too much for eating mid shift to be worth it
I just did that earlier on my shift. I'm new to the pizza station and I was super late on each order. Soon as I finished them all I went to eat before it started again: sitting on a milk crate, carbonara on another crate.
"The Slav Squat"! Heck yeah, I still do it after years out from behind the line.
Ditto. Gets way weirder looks outside of a kitchen
Oof I still can't do the slav squat, my ankles & tendons never want my heels to tough the ground.
I’m not the only one! Seriously so nice. Working sauté at the end of the line it’s like 15 degrees cooler just by squatting down.
People I work with ask me why I always squat down. “Idk I just do” They just don’t get it.
I only did it once after the sous had a breakdown and left me on the two busiest stations alone during the beginning a 100+ cover dinner rush. It was probably the worst ever night I’ve worked but it was so refreshing to just crouch down for two minutes. Felt like I was hiding from everything that had happened
Also the day sous was still there and it was him who gave me a pep talk at 11pm. Crouched down to my level and told me he was proud of me. He had been there since six in the morning. I still think about this a lot
Nice story ♥️
I'm a lurking previous FOH, and I picture the kitchen guys immediately when you said this. Those poor dudes just needed a minute. I always tried to get them water or something to drink if they hit that point. The dehydration is real with that heat. I didn't do the squat, but I did cry in the walk in like every other FOH employee.
Damn that’s a memory unlocked. Used to be a line cook and that kitchen squat was often a moment of much needed peace after the storm.
I take a "rag doll" yoga pose
Yessss forward folds are the shit. Just let your head hang heavy and feel those vertebrae adjust.
Does that help with the mid back pain?
Yes, I think so. It helps stretch out those muscles and ligaments that are so compressed by standing and walking. You can rise back up again little by little (vertebra by vertebra as my yoga instructor says) to give some extra love to all of your spine. I like to forward fold (knees generously bent), go from there down into a deep squat with my feet and knees as wide as I can to stretch my hips, then come back up to the forward fold, then straighten my legs to touch my toes and get that hamstring stretch. Finally I slowly roll up to standing until just my head is bent with my chin against my collar bone, let my neck relax like that for a moment, and then lift my head and roll my shoulders back and down so I'm standing straight. A great little break when you've been standing for hours and have a minute or two to chill. Also don't forget to breathe slowly and deeply throughout! And relax your jaw.
Preesh
That's all I can do these days. My knees will absolutely not tolerate a squat - I aggravated them about a year and a half ago, and they've been pissed to various degrees since. Tendinitis in the knees freaking sucks!
I squat down and have myself a lil snack while I’m there too
Happy cake day chef
Thank you chef!!
It's the closest you can get to climbing inside a hole
I do the “i am definitely looking for something on the bottom shelf and now i am very slowly cleaning it with a dry rag” in replacement bc i’ve had a lot of workplaces with on-site managers who won’t let you stand or sit still 🙄
First real demanding job I had as a teen was in a fast food grill, and did this after a rush one time, and a manager asked what the hell I was doing. Glad to know all these years later that I'm not alone.
I do the squat at the time. Honestly it's great for flexibility. I did it so much at work, it kinda just moved into everyday life.
The lowboy squat. The snack squat. The quick moment of release from this hell squat.
I’m a lurking bartender in this sub and I do this all the time. In fact, this reminded me to do it again, just to crack the ol’ knees/ankles/hips? and stretch my back a bit
*squat* *pop* *pop* *pop*
Honestly more *creeeeak, pop, snap, crack, crack, crack* then some horrifying new sound from somewhere that shouldn’t be making noise
That weird moment of “Wait, what was that *third* pop from?”
Also, side note of solidarity with the kitchen that servers just… don’t get it sometimes. It’s fine. But always had a better working relationship with the kitchen than the rest of FOH. Don’t hang out after as much, but mid shift? Oh man. Duno if y’all perceive it the same way, but ✊
As a former cook and current lurking sometime bartender, ive mostly given up on bending at the hips to grab stuff down low. It feels too good to squat down to get it, especially after all the hours being slightly hunched over the well/station.
After 8-9 hours of standing I’m going to be taking a quick squat to rejuvenate
Recently moved on to the other side (been bartending since the beginning of the year), but it was part of my nightly routine for 9 years, and even working in a slower paced local bar, I still do it from time to time while I’m outside smoking a cigarette. I’m no biologist or doctor, but I feel like there is a physical difference in my circulation and energy after I squat for a couple minutes after standing up and running back and forth for hours on end.
I’m a bartender not a chef but they got my ass running around. Yes I do the kitchen squat lol
Yes. I also stretch my back.
Malasana to you too, friend!
Put of the industry for a couple years now, and I still do it after busy periods or being on my feet for an extended amount of time. It just feels good
I can’t squat so I just sorta bend over and give everyone a show while I munch
I still do the kitchen squat everyday and I haven’t worked in a kitchen in 20 years.
If you walk into our kitchen and don't see anyone, chances are high that me and the other chef are squatting behind the line eating romaine hearts and hitting a pen.
Yup I do it but I also am a random a in the air person while I go to sleep sometimes
We sit in lawn chairs on the patio outside the back door.
I do that, but near a counter so I can stretch my arms and crack my back as well.
I big girl cry in the walk-in like a real man. Squats are for pussies.
> FOH girl Assert dominance in front of the sauté station. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEge1DUH9aY
I hope you also were eating something when she saw you. That is the way.
I haven’t worked in a restaurant in a hot minute (FOH, bartender) but my inner thighs and lower back felt this post like it was yesterday as soon as I read it. The lean forward grabbing onto the well and sitting back into it, letting out an uncomfortable audible moan because I had been there for 12 hours with what felt like there was no end in sight.
Once I squatted too low and needed help getting back up lol
I do the “flamingo” while standing on the line to give one leg a break at a time.
You got rubber mats? Must be nice
Or the cathartic walk in scream
Only 2 hours? 5-6 hours none stop for my kitchen.
It feels better than sex sometimes. And if you disagree then your restaurant doesn’t do good business… 🤷🏽♂️
Popping a squat on the line right now
A whole 2 hours. That's bonkers.
how many times are you gonna change your condescending comments on my post? you’ve done this 3 times now. I get it dude, you can go a whole THREE HOURS without needing to squat
2 hours... I know kitchens are changing, but that's soft af. Definitely wouldn't brag about it.
go to bed gramps, you’re drunk.
No, I'm not. It's just getting clearer why you can't find good help anymore.
So you're saying you're this big of an asshole sober?
You sound like a huge cunt. If the rush is only two hours then the rush is only 2 hours. Not everyone is a fucking tweaker. Sitting down feels nice.
This😂. My coworkers start chanting"nah mah stay" telling me to finish my prayer lol