I have to spend the first 30 to 45 minutes of my morning shift cleaning up after yesterday's staff, which is why I got an extra hour added to my schedule. Why? I told my boss he is literally paying me 5 extra hours a week, sometimes overtime, to wipe other people's asses.

Sorry if I'm using the wrong flair

Started working at a healthcare facility where lots of our clients have medical conditions, including autoimmune deficiencies, and, in turn, they have very specific dietary restrictions and, of course, allergies and all that. They regularly schedule 13-hour days and require working holidays and weekends, which is fine; tbh I didn't love it, but work is work, ya know? As soon as the “Chef” in charge realized I knew what I was doing, he saddled me with ALL the prep, and during service (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) he had me run entrees while he sat on his phone or chatted with co-workers at the salad station. I think he made maybe 4 salads and a couple sandos all day. What really made me quit was how I prepped shellfish for dinner. When I came back, he had wiped down the counter with a dry paper towel and was putting down bags of raw chicken (which were leaking) onto our prep counter, and he flipped over the cutting board because, apparently, that means it's clean now in his mind. So I said to him, “Lemme clean the table first. Where do you keep your sanitizer and soap?” and he acted as if I had just badmouthed his mother. Not to mention I was the only non-Haitian person working there, and my French/creole ain't the best, but I could understand enough to know they didn't want me there and that they kept shit-talking me, which is always fun. Cherry on top, before he sent me on break, he said, “ ok tomorrow I'm not going to help you at all. I'll be here in case you need something.” Like, that wasn't exactly what he did today. I said, " Sure, see you when I come back from break and I went home and never went back. There was a lot more wrong with that place but this is already too long so I'll leave it at that.

TLDR: “chef” made me do all his work day 1 when he sat back and did nothing while giving zero fucks about any sort of standards for food prep or cleanliness in the kitchen.

We’ve all been there, it’s a daft idea that you’ve decided to try out. This somehow got onto an email. Not one person said no during this process.

Took the lid off to fill a cambro. Turned around and saw this. now I'll be scraping plastic for the next 30 mins.

Does it matter? How long are the really good for once sliced?

A coworker who has become a good friend is self deporting by end of year because she just received a letter from Immigration Services and she can either pay a penalty of 1,800,000 and stay to continue the fight or leave and not pay.
She’s choosing the latter and it really sucks because she’s great at her job and has spent most of her life in this country. Her case was considered closed years ago but a recent orange fascist pig reopened it.
Her presence will be missed and this is a damn shame. Thought others would have similar experiences here.

Tonight, a server rang in a 23oz Porterhouse, that the guest wanted cooked to med-well, cooked on the flat top only. Our flat is a screaming 400° F, as it is primarily used for searing purposes.

I told the server to let the guest know that it would likely result in a burnt and uneven steak. I was hoping the guest would relent and let me throw it on the charbroiler.

Guess he pouted, and said he didn't want anything if we couldn't cook a good steak. His counterpart ate her chicken dish and kept trying to get him to order something else. Sever said he pouted the entire time. 🤦‍♀️

I guess I could have kept flipping it every couple of minutes, but eventually, I'd imagine the seasoning would eventually turn acrid, and end up gross.

What are your thoughts? Ever had to make a recommendation a guest didn't like, and then act like a child about it?

I feel kinda bad about it, tbh!

First time running into a situation like this. But what's the best approach to tell someone they need to shower and or use some damn deodorant without sounding like an asshole.

Coming in to prep and the night crew somehow broke a knife in a way I didn’t think was possible. Any ideas?

Long story short: Got a new job as a line cook. First couple weeks there I did not receive training at one of the two stations I was supposed to man, because the two old dudes who were supposed to train me were apparently purposefully avoiding it so they could blame me for fuck ups. (This was explained to me by one of my coworkers who is kind enough to clue me in) Every time I would ask them to explain something to me, they would act as if I was a dumbass for even asking.

One of these guys has chronic pain and is popping pills constantly, and the other is an alcoholic with high blood pressure who would clock out at 2pm everyday to get drunk at our bar. (Not judging, we all have our problems, but that's no excuse to fuck with somebody else's job.) My cool coworkers told me that these two were on the chopping block for a while now, but unbeknownst to everyone except management so was I.

I always showed up on time, I never clocked out early, and I was always willing to come in on my day off to cover someone else's shift because I assumed it would earn me some goodwill.

Fast forward to management "cleaning house" and turns out I'm counted it among the dead wood that needs to be gotten rid of.

Anyways I think i'm done working in the service industry. Time to find a career where you don't get shit canned at the drop of a hat for someone else's mistakes.

      I am 22. Not unheard of for a kitchen manager, but still pretty young. I pride myself in my work ethic and am always happy to hear advice people have to give me. I am far from knowing everything and I learn something from every new cook that I hire, and I always value their input. I tell them I am happy to hear their advice, but it will not always be put into effect. 

The older cooks that I hire seem to struggle with this. They think their age means they have automatic seniority (which is kind of true) but right off the bat they do not respect me as their boss. I also find that older men are the biggest babies.

      Today, I told a grown ass man that he can't talk about cyber warfare and politics while he's on the clock as he was visibly upsetting the woman he was talking to, and he told me he had freedom of speech, that I am rude to him and that I embarrassed him and hurt his feelings. I told him if this subject is that important to him, then he should go home. He said "no", then stormed to BOH to throw some dishes around, came back out 5 minutes later and "apologized", which was just him telling me I was rude and not to do it again. 

No grown man would say the things he said to their manager. Unless their manager is 22.

      I work hard to earn the respect of all of the cooks I have, and admittedly, he is very good at his job. It's a rough give and take out here right now 😩

Hi r/KitchenConfidential

I'm Hannah, a journalist working for ARD, Germany's public broadcaster. We're researching working conditions in German fine-dining and Michelin-level kitchens: hours, pay, hierarchy and the culture on the pass, the "passion as payment" trade-off, and where the line between hard work and abuse gets crossed.

Even though the focus is Germany, I know many chefs here have worked across borders or have a clear read on the industry, so I'd genuinely value hearing from you – whether you've worked in German kitchens or want to share your experience from neighbouring countries (Austria, Switzerland etc).

What I'm looking for: people who've worked in fine-dining/Michelin star kitchens and are willing to share their experience: on the record, on background, or fully anonymous, whatever you're comfortable with. No obligation to appear on camera.

How to reach me: share your experiences here in the comments or contact me privately at [finedininginvestigation@proton.me](mailto:finedininginvestigation@proton.me). I'm happy to verify who I am first and send you a copy of my press card or an email from my official editorial address.

Source protection is taken seriously, and nothing gets used without your consent.

I stare at these buckets daily whenever they cross my path and I’ve learned enough about hens eating eggs to know there’s a quandary however you explain this blurb (unless Henrietta is a person who’s simply chuffed to be working in Big Mayo).

Is there a product or box or label in your world that takes up too much of your brain space?

compilation of the worst tables i encountered in my year at buffalo wild wings

Im need to name a bunch of freezers and coolers with cold themed celebrity pun names. We already have: LL Cooler, Phyllis Chiller, Larry Brrrd, Chillie Holiday, Fria Kahlo, Ruth Bader Iceberg, Christopher Walkin, etc. Any ideas would be very helpful. Also this is food pantry/commercial kitchen so it can't be anything you wouldn't want your grandma to see.

I add the heads and tails while cooking for the flavor then take them out when the risotto is almost done. Now he wants me to leave the tails in. “So they know how much is in there”, he said. The poor diners.

Bit of backstory for context.

I own a restaurant with my mother. She opened it 10 years ago after working for nuclear plant for 30 years.

Last time i worked in hospitality, I was twenty and a commis in a shady kitchen where it was just me and the chef (a former lieutenant in the french foreign legion with no cooking training. Just vibes).

Now, I'm 37 and I have been working in the restaurant for the past 6 years. The first 3 years, I was FOH. Then our chef decided that she didn't want to work in the industry anymore and recruiting when you're seasonal is a nightmare if you want to stay consistent. Hiring a new chef every summer felt like a bad idea.

So I decided to take over the kitchen with no qualifications but motivated to do everything I could to keep the standards up.

We started off as a tapas bar because no one was offering this kind of cooking in our area. Now, I can count at least 6 restaurant offering tapas in a 20 km radius.

We decided to pivot and offer tacos now. It is a style of cooking that I personally love and that no one around offers.

I love what I do. I wish I could stay open all year round but the area is extremely dependent on tourism and the population is divided by ten in winter.

3 years later and people are happy. I get congratulated a lot. We've got a decent rating of 4.4 on Maps and I should be happy.

But it isn't the case. I feel like a fraud and, as the rush of summer is winding down, the imposter syndrome hits hard.

I know I'm lucky. I do what I love. I decide my own menu. But still, I cringe every time someone calls me chef and every critic feels like a failure.

Writing this makes me feel like whiny spoiled kid but I needed out.

Thanks for reading me chefs.

In our kitchen we have a couple bottlenecks that people kinda dance with each other at every day. A couple years ago I started basically putting my palms together and pointing which way I am definitely going to walk when approaching someone coming towards me. It cuts language barrier, removes the need for the other person to have to decide on the fly what to do or try to guess where you are going. It's saved so much time over the years.

Edit: Thank you to u/O_Blaarggag for calling it the "FISH OF DIRECTION"

First time I’ve seen their shit for sale at a store. I always assumed they just sold to the general public under a different label. Not sure what it means, just found it interesting.

For example changing the lyrics to I wanna dance with somebody to I wanna punch somebody. Or (in the tune of Farmer in the Dell) shoot me in the face , shoot me in the face. Oh I want someone to shoot me in the face.
Idk. Just something we do to deal with the stress and have some fun with each other making up messed up songs. If you do it too post your songs so we can add to our collection.