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Kitchen Bassists Club!

#22
Tat2dHeart said:
Auto, I don't need a number, but I hope it's okay that I hang. I ran a kitchen back a bajillion years ago in a previous life. Loved the cooking, just had a few different goals in life. Now I'm working to finish the cookbook(s).
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Tat you know you will always be welcome in every thread I've ever posted in because I love the **** you :D
 
#25
This industry is a beast and the longer i'm in it the more my goals change. I started in food service at 13 (i'm 31 now), i was scooping ice-cream at a local mall. From then i got a job at papa johns tossing dough and topping it, followed by throwing it in a conveyor belt oven and popping the bubbles with a fork. After that i delivered pizzas then i moved to a college town and tried to go to a regular school which i did, but after graduating with a BS in chem and a minor in spanish i realized i wanted nothing to do in ether fields. My mother suggested i go to culinary school and i did. I started working fine dining in 2001 and have now worked in 3 james beard awarded kitchen and now i'm in a 9 million dollar a year restaurant with 3 meal periods in a W star wood resort. I'm exec sous and have had a few exec chef jobs offered even through my own company, but i just didn't feel like it was the right time or place. Last month i found out i was having baby and so now things change. My company is based out of Philly but i'm in florida and we are one of two restaurants outside of the north east with two more on the way (one which is mine i hope) in the next year. I use to want to own my own place and chase the Beard house down till it sported pictures of mine on all the walls, but my perspective has changed. Now i just want to make as much money and work a little as possible so that i can spend more time with my family, But one thing that has not changed is my commitment to quality, innovation, and drive, i deliver 5 days a week 12 hours or more a day and still find room to gig once every two weeks sometimes once a week. I love the kitchen but man how things change, i use to hate the man and now i work and nurture him. Basically what it comes down to for me at least is i love the kitchen i love bass playing but i love my wife and baby to come most so i'm now at a crossroad on which path to take in my career and i think it's clear less work more play!
 
#26
I'm not a chef but I bought a headphone amp (from China!) and now I play all over the house, including the kitchen. Since I'm a bogus cook I'll talk about the headphone amp.

They're just like the little VOX amp with the male plug built in. No guitar cord necessary. The VOX uses AA batteries but this little booger has a rechargeable lithium battery that lasts ~18 hours per charge. There's also an aux jack to plug in an mp3 player and play with your favorite whatever.

It's the Flanger "Preppy-Style" F1. Not a flanger effect, "Flanger" is the Chinese brand. It has a gain, tone and volume and sounds exactly like a '72 Ampeg SV tube... just kidding.:)

Seriously, with the gain turned to zero it's more than loud enough to play along with ~95 to 100 db of music, maybe louder. I can even hear the slight growl coming from passive EMG selects. Any gain and it starts to sound like a toy but might not be too bad with 6-strings.

I've seen the VOX go for $50. The "F1" was $18.99 shipped.
 
#27
Nicolay3535 said:
This industry is a beast and the longer i'm in it the more my goals change. I started in food service at 13 (i'm 31 now), i was scooping ice-cream at a local mall. From then i got a job at papa johns tossing dough and topping it, followed by throwing it in a conveyor belt oven and popping the bubbles with a fork. After that i delivered pizzas then i moved to a college town and tried to go to a regular school which i did, but after graduating with a BS in chem and a minor in spanish i realized i wanted nothing to do in ether fields. My mother suggested i go to culinary school and i did. I started working fine dining in 2001 and have now worked in 3 james beard awarded kitchen and now i'm in a 9 million dollar a year restaurant with 3 meal periods in a W star wood resort. I'm exec sous and have had a few exec chef jobs offered even through my own company, but i just didn't feel like it was the right time or place. Last month i found out i was having baby and so now things change. My company is based out of Philly but i'm in florida and we are one of two restaurants outside of the north east with two more on the way (one which is mine i hope) in the next year. I use to want to own my own place and chase the Beard house down till it sported pictures of mine on all the walls, but my perspective has changed. Now i just want to make as much money and work a little as possible so that i can spend more time with my family, But one thing that has not changed is my commitment to quality, innovation, and drive, i deliver 5 days a week 12 hours or more a day and still find room to gig once every two weeks sometimes once a week. I love the kitchen but man how things change, i use to hate the man and now i work and nurture him. Basically what it comes down to for me at least is i love the kitchen i love bass playing but i love my wife and baby to come most so i'm now at a crossroad on which path to take in my career and i think it's clear less work more play!
Click to expand...

Soooo...want a number? :hiding:

But for serious, that's awesome man. After all these years you're still dedicated to your craft. And it seems like that's a pretty easy crossroads. I love cooking and being in the kitchen but if I could get more money and work less hours...its a no brainer! Good luck with the baby on the way!
 
#28
autodidact said:
Soooo...want a number? :hiding:

But for serious, that's awesome man. After all these years you're still dedicated to your craft. And it seems like that's a pretty easy crossroads. I love cooking and being in the kitchen but if I could get more money and work less hours...its a no brainer! Good luck with the baby on the way!
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Got a number my lucky number 3! Thanks man cooking is half of the person I am today and takes more than half of my days so I have learned to love and live the kitchen one way or another, now off to work while most civilians as I like to call them have their day of rest!
 
#29
For the past seven years i have been doing university catering. Which for me is a great gig. It affords me to luxury of being creative with new menus for almost every function. I get to do any cuisine i want somedays three or four different cuisines a day. But the best part is the hours. Granted i average about 70hrs a weeks. But during summer all we do are weddings on the weekends which i average about 30hrs per week. Plus a good two weeks of for Christmas and a week for thanksgiving. I have amazing benefits and a decent salary. which with a three kids and a wife, are a must. if you are looking for something that isn't as stressful or demanding, but can still be challenging and be true to your love of food, look into university dining.
 
#30
I was checking into some of the assisted living and retirement home gigs a few months ago. Hours are usually pretty regular, benefits are offered, but since its a constant care facility they run 365 days a year so family time on Christmas and stuff is hard to come by. I had to explain to my girlfriend when we first started dating that spontaneous days off, calling in sick, etc. are not an option. Also had to explain I might be able to see her on Christmas but all other holidays I'll likely be working. She's been a real trooper so far, very supportive even now that I'm working 7 days a week.
 
#31
I know some people who have worked the whole assisted living thing, and to me it seems pretty bad.
I tried getting out of the kitchen a few years back, and doing something else completly work wise. That didnt end up that well, so I took a job at a high end grocery store thinking that the day time hours and isolated kitchen would be a good stepping stone to get into something else. Ween myself off if you will.
And working for the man, making good wages, 401k healthcare and what not is pretty bad ass. Plus, you dont feel bad milking the clock. Cause you know...the man.
 
#40
Nicolay3535 said:
There are no churches on the beach here so all I get for brunch this time of year are Brits, all the waiters are pissed off cause Brits pretend like they don't know you have to tip, I think it's pretty funny!
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My main place is in a tourist driven town, old railroads, Amish, small town charm, blah blah so we get a RASH of people that pretend they don't know how to tip. My favorite is when we get in a 5 or 6 of tourists (usually French for some reason) and NONE of them speak more than 6 words of English. Makes my day to watch the servers squirm hahaha. Its like in the movie Waiting when the blonde girl gets the table of "foreigners"
 

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