• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Kitchen Bassists Club!

#42
i am a recovering kitchenaholic ... been free of the addiction for almost 10 years now.

started out line cook, broiler. moved to fry/salad ... then prep, then mid ... did some expo, then started getting scheduled tank shifts by a manager i didn't get along with.

so, i went elsewhere ... back to line cook. then prep cook, then took a hiatus (moved to FL for a year, where i worked as a line cook ...lol) came back as - wait for it - front of the house? fortunately, it was cashier / prep backup. then on to kitchen manager.
after a year of the 4p-4a shifts 5 days a week i got my smart on and went to school.

now, i am too old and my knees too shot to deal with the kitchen glide ... i would flat out fall on my arse 30 times a day. but, my cooking has improved exponentially since i got out of the game. it makes a huge difference when you are cooking for yourself and family
 
#48
I'm a culinary instructor at a local technical community college. Also a grad of a culinary school (NECI). Served in the Army for 20 years, and over time, food became my passion (about 15 years or so ago), so I pursued it after I retired.

I found the references in the thread to food on time/perfect interesting. One of my internships was at a local chophouse/brewery, and they were (seemingly) all about speed. As an older guy, it could be pretty frustrating some times. I'd rather get it right than just send it out, but that's just me.

Still looking for the right culinary situation for me. I had a line on running a local market/deli/cafe, but ... lets just say that the owner and I had disagreements over what needed to be accomplished before opening the kitchen and selling food to the public. Where I live it's mostly chain restaurants and mom and pop places, not necessarily where I want to be. I'm doing the teaching gig because it pays fairly well for this location, and it at least keeps me in a kitchen until I can find something else.

Make that steak black and blue, can I have a number too?
 
#51
Lol...I didn't know there's such club till i saw this.
Ok, i play...been in the kitchen for 16 years now. I'm from indonesia and now am executive chef in Novotel Dubai UAE.
my kitchen career are all in the hotels. My sweat and grease in the kitchen turned into fender, lakland, markbass, etc...Lol

SERVICE!!! PICK UPPPP NOW!!! :D
 
#54
So my part time gig just offered me a full time spot over there. Closer to home, a little more money, about 10 more hours a week more than I'm getting at my current FT spot, half of those hours being OT. That all sounds great but to add to it Ill be working with the best cooks I've ever worked with in a restaurant that is voted the best in the city and takes a tremendous amount of pride in its food. The chef is extremely talented and is more of a "Ill yell when were busy but never forget that you're a great cook and its just to make you better" kind of guy than a Gordon Ramsey type.

I'm excited for the position but nervous to leave my FT place of 2.5 years. :eek:
 
#55
Congrats!! it is always nice to work with a crew that knows what they are doing. Plus this industry is all about learning from many different people, just like playing bass and music.

Sounds like a win win on your part. You get to leave a declining kitchen where the Chef has no pride to a kitchen that exudes pride and actually cares about the quality and presentation of the food. and you'll be making more money and be happier. Go for it!

Just remember to make time to play :bassist:
 
#56
Sounds like a great opportunity, I say go for it. The FS industry is so transient anyway, it really doesn't matter if you job hop a bit. Besides, 2.5 years is a pretty long run. If you've found a chef who's nicer than Ramsey, then that's fantastic! IME, Ramsey is a relatively nice guy to work for, so any improvement from there is gravy.
 
#57
chef_tater said:
I take great pride in this awesome industry. And it pains me to see "chefs" take short cuts and sacrificing quality for speed. Granted you need speed but you also strive for perfection. Whenever I am interviewing a new chef/line cook one question I always ask is "would you rather send the food out on time or perfect?" And believe or not, a lot of people say they would send it out on time, and a few follow it up with no one is perfect. Needless to say they ain't working for me!

Don't get me started about culinary students!!
Click to expand...

Sorry to derail for a moment:
I'm not in the industry but have more than a passing interest. Have been watching Restaurant Impossible for awhile now, and am amazed at how episode after episode, owners are all making more or less the same mistakes!!!!
Dirty kitchens, canned food, lack of seasoning/overseasoning, food not fresh, not cooked properly, poor service, dated menu, crummy atmosphere. Makes me think that if a few simple rules are obeyed, with talent and drive anyone could do it and be successful.
 
#58
dmusic148 said:
Sorry to derail for a moment:
I'm not in the industry but have more than a passing interest. Have been watching Restaurant Impossible for awhile now, and am amazed at how episode after episode, owners are all making more or less the same mistakes!!!!
Dirty kitchens, canned food, lack of seasoning/overseasoning, food not fresh, not cooked properly, poor service, dated menu, crummy atmosphere. Makes me think that if a few simple rules are obeyed, with talent and drive anyone could do it and be successful.
Click to expand...

There is some truth to that, depending on your location. In Lansing, MI, it is very true, for instance; but in Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo, MI, it isn't even somewhat true. Location, location, location...

There is no excuse for shoddy workmanship or shortcuts in a fine restaurant, although they may be a part of the charm of a greasy spoon, so you really have to take the overall aim of the establishment into account when determining what is/isn't an acceptable practice.
 
#59
dmusic148 said:
Sorry to derail for a moment:
I'm not in the industry but have more than a passing interest. Have been watching Restaurant Impossible for awhile now, and am amazed at how episode after episode, owners are all making more or less the same mistakes!!!!
Dirty kitchens, canned food, lack of seasoning/overseasoning, food not fresh, not cooked properly, poor service, dated menu, crummy atmosphere. Makes me think that if a few simple rules are obeyed, with talent and drive anyone could do it and be successful.
Click to expand...

The biggest reason restaurants bite the dust, from what I've seen is that, people go into it with the "anyone can do it!" attitude and don't understand just how money it takes to start up/maintain a restaurant. Food cost, labor cost, materials, maintanence, advertising, etc. are all absolute factors. Also you have to constantly hire-fire-hire until you get a good group. Lots of food go "missing" in the biz too whether it be to employee meals that were never rung in or from employees making "a little extra" to take home for dinner. You have to be strict which some people just can't handle and then that adds to the finding a good staff process. You need to be prepared to be there open to close every day you're open and build relationships with your customers. Its a LOT more work than most people think. That's why I think its something like 80% of new restaurants fail within the first year. Its crazy, that's why I never want to open my own place...I'll run someone else's.
 
#60
tekdiver500ft said:
There is some truth to that, depending on your location. In Lansing, MI, it is very true, for instance; but in Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo, MI, it isn't even somewhat true. Location, location, location...
Click to expand...

This too, you have to keep in mind the demographic you're trying to reach and what's actually available to you. For instance, opening a fine dining restaurant in a place where you're surrounded by buffets and Pennsylvania Dutch style cooking you might think you're appealing to new customers but that's a gamble because people around you have gotten used to lots of comfort food for cheap. Your tuna tar tar isn't going to appeal to the chicken pot pie market that you're surrounded by. Ya dig?
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back