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Are there any people in the industry here?
New group, new topics, this is all so exciting. I'm a chef myself and enjoy discussing the business and philosophies of what I do. I'm wondering if other people in the industry have found their way unto Tildes at this point.
Not a worker but a consumer of what you good people do, often without the praise due. It’s not an easy job.
Thanks for noticing. It's not an easy job for sure. Long hours and working when other people are enjoying themselves take its toll. It's also a very rewarding job and if you let it, it will consume you.
Quick question: is there a good way to show your appreciation for the back of house staff?
Some places in countries that have tips, share tips with BoH. If you really want to show your appreciation that's one way. The best thing is to ask the waiter to give the kitchen your praise. We feed of off that and it never gets old.
I'll be sure to keep that in mind! :)
Ask for seconds. On the house.
I travel for work- I eat out a lot. Believe me when I say there are a lot of us that wouldn’t be able to do what we do without you making sure we’re not eating cracker jacks for sustenance.
Will always be grateful. ;)
Ex chef.
I lost my mojo a few years back and walked away. I carry a clipboard around a warehouse now.
Like so many before you. I totally get it. I've been close to burn out so many times I've lost count. I somehow always managed to find my way back to enjoying it.
Might I ask what you did when still working as a chef? Line cook, head chef, type establishments?
All sorts, from nouvelle cuisine to pub food to restaurant/bistro.
I kept taking advice to "advance your career" and every rung I climbed took me further away from what I enjoyed and was good at. My final job was for a small chain of boutique hotels with responsibility for three sites, so travel between them, and everything that goes into running a place - costings, hiring and firing, menu planning and development etc etc. I probably spent maybe two services a week actually in a kitchen in whites.
It just about broke me.
Ohh, I can totally see how that would break a chef. It's something I've given some thought to myself. I a head chef at a recently opened franchise and the expansion plan is hopefully 2 more places in the next 2 years. With how things are heading internally it's a very real possibility that I might be put in charge of the future places if they happen. Thankfully the owner is a really nice guy and takes my advice seriously so I have some hope of structuring everything so I could do it my way.
Brief flirtation with the industry as a teenager before I realised how ridiculously hard it was!