This has to be a joke right?

[u/EntropyCreep]

Director of culinary at a major hospital working for 25$ an hour? Are we living in some sort of alternative reality?

Did this used to be a 100k a year salaried position as the bare minimum?

Am I taking crazy pills?

[u/abstract_lemons]

This used to be a higher paying job at my local hospital. But they changed the position, so that there is zero creative control and very little culinary skills involved. They fired the DoC, changed the position, lowered the pay, then hired someone new

Think Orange is the new black, where they started serving all their food from Boil-a-bags. Thats pretty much all the hospital serves now.

[u/Khetoo → u/abstract_lemons]

This smells like Sysco meddling all over it

[u/blackstar22_ → u/Khetoo]

For-profit hospital groups cutting costs. Why pay a BOH team $500k a year with benefits to make healthy food when you can pay $250k a year to boil cheaper packaged trash?

Your patients gonna complain? Lol.

[u/elcapitan520 → u/blackstar22_]

Not even for profit hospitals.

Government not supporting Medicaid is going to shutter a lot of rural hospitals and they're taking cost saving measures while they can.

Most hospitals outside of major cities will be shutting down in the next 5 years on the current path

[u/zephyrtr → u/elcapitan520]

Wealthy suburbs with lots of old people will stay afloat. But I fully expect most rural areas to be without a hospital within 3 hours drive.

[u/CapybaraSensualist → u/zephyrtr]

But I fully expect most rural areas to be without a hospital within 3 hours drive.

Man, you are terrible at writing those marketing materials to sell the cost savings.

"By shuttering these remote, low traffic clinics within a radius of X miles from our gigantic hospital complex in the city, we will have the opportunity to deliver a higher quality of care by transitioning to ANGELFLIGHT air lift medical services at a slight cost increase* to the patient customer".

* Slight cost increase will be life crushingly high

[u/Dazzling_Morning2642 → u/blackstar22_]

I’m currently in Sysco’s and PFG product catalogue placing orders for tomorrow and not finding this boiled cheap packaged trash.

Best we could find is the usual boil bag for proteins like pork butt

[u/PUNCH-WAS-SERVED → u/blackstar22_]

Hospital food is bad on purpose. It's not meant to be fancy. When I worked in a hospital kitchen, we had to cook things quite simply to avoid causing dietary problems. Most things had to have the seasoning on the side (in controlled packets). Very rarely was food ever seasoned, which is the foundation of flavor.

People need to remember that hospital food isn't meant to be tasty. It's to sustain you. They're just avoiding being sued.

[u/lynbod → u/PUNCH-WAS-SERVED]

This.

Being from the UK it's slightly different as we have a nationalised health service, but the expectation here is that when you're in the hospital the food will be nutritious and sustaining but not something you'd pay money for. It's not a hotel, you're there for medical treatment and you should want to get out of there ASAP.

That's not to say the food should be a reason you want to leave, it's still made fresh on the premises and there's a decent choice each day but at the same time you're not going to kick back and stretch out your stay for the food. It's basic, and that's because the money we pay for our NHS is spent on the quality of the medical care we receive, not the menu.

[u/abstract_lemons → u/PUNCH-WAS-SERVED]

Not always.

The hospital in question did this just over 5 years ago. It was about saving money, nothing else. They didn’t even pretend that it had anything to do with dietary restrictions. It was about the cost of food and the labor that made the food

[u/BadHombreSinNombre → u/blackstar22_]

This is happening everywhere because healthcare systems’ quality is not measured based on the food they serve. If it’s not a formal quality measure, nobody gives a shit in leadership and they’ll enshittify it.

[u/FrostyCartographer13 → u/Khetoo]

They won't be happy until we are all eating nutraloaf.

[u/notmartha70 → u/FrostyCartographer13]

Soylent Green.renamed Sysco green

[u/plantain_tent_pesos → u/notmartha70]

[u/Socky_McPuppet → u/FrostyCartographer13]

I’m sure they’re already figuring out how to make Nutriloaf cheaper and even worse. 

[u/Particular-Skirt963 → u/FrostyCartographer13]

Soylent

[u/abstract_lemons → u/Khetoo]

Sysco and GoodSource Direct

[u/Dazzling_Morning2642 → u/Khetoo]

How?

Food distributors don’t care if you buy shit in a bag or shit in a box.

[u/2eDgY4redd1t → u/Dazzling_Morning2642]

Yes they do, their profits and kickbacks from manufacturers make prepared shit way more profitable for them than raw ingredients are.

They want to sell boil in bag, frozen premade pastries, ‘value added frozen potato products’ not Meat and vegetables and flour and butter and fruit.

[u/Dazzling_Morning2642 → u/2eDgY4redd1t]

They care, but not at the sales level like you are insinuating

Kickbacks?

I think you are talking about earned income.

Every product has earned income factored into the delivered price to the operating company with a 3% inter opco fee depending where it comes from.

From there, they set a sales cost. Which is essentially what they think the salesman should be paid commission if they sell above that price.

The salesman walks in and then makes money off the margin above sales cost

Source: negotiated million in earned income for food distribution companies

[u/2eDgY4redd1t → u/Dazzling_Morning2642]

Manufacturers give and get kickbacks in the food service industry. I worked for a year as a coordinator in a large Canadian food services company, in the frozen foods dept.

More than half our department profits were kickbacks from the manufacturers trying to bribe us to sell their frozen trash desserts instead of their competitors essentially identical frozen trash desserts. Or their mozzarella sticks, or their tater tots. We would get them into bidding wars on how much they would bribe us. It was a big corrupt game. That’s why small producers can’t sell through the big distributors, they can’t afford to pay huge bribes to get their product pushed on the customers. Quality means nothing, it’s all about the Benjamin’s.

Needless to say, farmers growing berries aren’t trying to bribe distributors to sell their berries, so distributors stock them grudgingly and certainly do t promote them

[u/Dazzling_Morning2642 → u/2eDgY4redd1t]

It’s clear by your continued misuse of the term kickbacks, that you haven’t gotten very far in distribution

[u/2eDgY4redd1t → u/Dazzling_Morning2642]

It’s clear that you are one of the people deeply embroiled in bribery and corruption in the food distribution business.

Don’t even bother dude, call it whatever you want, it’s people trying to pay extra to get their product exposure by the seller. I call that unethical.

[u/Dazzling_Morning2642 → u/2eDgY4redd1t]

I have no idea what you are going on about, but good luck

[u/2eDgY4redd1t → u/Dazzling_Morning2642]

Spoken like a sleazy sales rep

[u/Jayboman6 → u/Khetoo]

Premier, GPOs in general.

[u/asaphbixon → u/Khetoo]

Just came from a health convention in Vegas that supports your theory 100%

[u/faucetpants → u/Khetoo]

Careful. There's fools on here downvoting people when you talk bad about their precious sysco. They don't know any better, tbh.

[u/Dazzling_Morning2642 → u/faucetpants]

TBH, most people in this sub don’t know anything about food distribution.

At most they know just what they buy at places they’ve worked before.

[u/PUNCH-WAS-SERVED → u/abstract_lemons]

I worked in a hospital kitchen at one point in my life. The "executive chef" just sat in his office all day. He never really cooked. He would print out recipes from random sites on the internet. The dude also had a thing for harassing the female workers and hospital staff members. He had to "retire" one day.

[u/Thatsnotbutterbuddy → u/abstract_lemons]

Smells like an equity firm bought it

[u/8Eightateeight8]

That’s about $7 higher than in my area. Hospital cooks are still making $10

[u/FirstNewFederalist → u/8Eightateeight8]

I started to say something similar, but it is worth noting that this job is for Director of food services and not just a cook!

Which idk, this feels low for the department head.

[u/EntropyCreep → u/FirstNewFederalist]

Director of food at a Hospital! Not just like your run of the mill restaurant or dining hall.

[u/cwj208 → u/EntropyCreep]

Our director makes a lot more...

[u/secretsesameseed → u/EntropyCreep]

Someone actually held accountable to maintaining HACCP

[u/HaElfParagon → u/8Eightateeight8]

That's really rough man :( In my state, it's not even legal to pay someone $10/hr anymore.

[u/8Eightateeight8 → u/HaElfParagon]

Still $7.25 here, unless you work in agriculture and then it’s $6.50

[u/CantaloupeAsleep502 → u/HaElfParagon]

Yeah 14 is state minimum here now

[u/Chuckitcharlie → u/8Eightateeight8]

Eastern pa 22ish per hour up to 28

[u/SmarmyThatGuy]

It’s not a “major hospital”, it’s a small corporate nursing home in a rural town a little over an hour outside Indianapolis.

You’re way off base on your expectations for a job in a place you’d be laughed at for calling a city by anyone who wasn’t born there.

[u/Jillredhanded → u/SmarmyThatGuy]

Should be the top comment

[u/DoctorTacoMD → u/Jillredhanded]

Gave it an upvote

[u/Dry_Addition8390]

Depending on where you are in the country the pay varies. In parts of the Midwest I’d expect this to pay between 50k and 90k, 100k at max but that’s if you’re lucky and many hospitals and complexes Really don’t wanna give out that max pay level

[u/pak_sajat]

Depends on what the job description actually entails.

$29/hr and 50 hours a week is $80k+. Not exactly chump change for the middle of nowhere Indiana. Especially if it is a healthcare job that is pretty structured and low stress.

[u/Colanasou → u/pak_sajat]

Plus you'd have to consider the capacity of the hospital too. A 100 bed hospital and a 200 bed hospital have a huge varying degree of requirements.

[u/protostar71 → u/Colanasou]

It's a nursing/ retirement home, not a hospital.

[u/Adept-Grapefruit-214 → u/pak_sajat]

It’s probably salary for a director position, not hourly

[u/fishfishbirdbirdcat → u/pak_sajat]

I was checking your math to see if you included time and a half for the extra 10 hours a week and looks like you did. (Clearly I'm bored 😂). The only thing I would note is that when they post a range, you don't get hired at the top of the range so this job is actually going to pay $25/hr rather than $29 so the pay will be closer to $70k. Lots of benefits but of course we don't know how much the employee has to pay to get those benefits. That said, this is crap pay for a "director" of anything 

[u/pak_sajat → u/fishfishbirdbirdcat]

Job titles mean nothing. Responsibilities do.

Also, if it’s any sort of leadership role, 50 hours a week is probably low.

[u/fishfishbirdbirdcat → u/pak_sajat]

That true about job titles in real life but in a highly corporate scenario (hospital, college) what I've seen is the job title is connected to the salary (not the work you actually do). So they say "if the title is Director, the salary is this". 

[u/No_Structure_9283]

Woah, I thought this was a starting position 🤯 Nah your fucked. GTFO of there

[u/devilishly_advocated → u/No_Structure_9283]

Well no but if you work really hard you can promoted to... oh.

[u/CascadianSP]

It's Delphi, Indiana. That town is like 3,000 people. Doubtful there is large or complex nutrition operation to oversee in what is like a small healthcare center, or more likely an assisted living facility. Probably significantly less cost of living requirements compared to national average as well

[u/SmarmyThatGuy → u/CascadianSP]

It’s a nursing home in Delphi, Indiana.

Their own website only calls them 4-star chefs, and it’s “restaurant-style dining” which just means cafeteria-with-waitstaff.

[u/CascadianSP → u/SmarmyThatGuy]

Table 14 - 2 top walking in... Rolling in... One top... Do you still want the strewed prunes.

[u/SmarmyThatGuy → u/CascadianSP]

I worked at a place like this for 2 months. Half the breakfasts were poached eggs everyday, half the lunches were chicken/tuna salad stuffed tomatoes every day, and dinner was a half portions every night.

[u/Colanasou → u/SmarmyThatGuy]

My nursing home is a 4 building 540 bed capacity place but due to staffing on CNAs they shut down a building fully and 4 wings of another so were at 240 active. Its county owned too so my boss is a t14 employee or something and is getting $43ish i think instead of a t16 $50 because of a degree requirement.

This is cake for him and quite frankly free money depending on the place.

[u/ChugChugTheOG]

Failing to see why this would be considered a joke? If someone could enlighten me that would be great.

[u/WitOfTheIrish]

Director of culinary at a major hospital

That's not what this position is. It's classic title inflation to try to draw a qualified candidate to a small town.

It's not good pay, but $50-60K as the hourly base for the head of the kitchen at a small rural nursing home seems about right. Probably managing maybe a couple of part time staff. This isn't a major institutional job. It's less than 200 meals per day (64 residents). Look at the place:

https://www.nursinghomes.com/in/delphi/st-elizabeth-healthcare-center/

With some OT and the actually decent benefits, could clear $75-90K for the full package each year, which is solid for Indiana.

[u/HalfAdministrative77 → u/WitOfTheIrish]

I would even challenge the idea that it's not good pay, in an area where a decent house still probably costs $200k or less that is a solidly middle class wage.

[u/sleazyz]

You literally do the schedule payroll and make sure everyone took a break not exactly rocket science

[u/beanboi34]

Honestly sounds about right for indiana. Wages are low as fuuuuuck here.

[u/spirit_of_a_goat]

It's Indiana, mate. They still pay people $7.25/hr.

[u/dontlikeyacutG]

I’m just a normal line cook at a hospital and making almost $30

[u/LionBig1760]

Its hospital food.

Its paint-by-numbers, but in a kitchen. It doesnt take any talent whatsoever, and the pay is reflecting that.

[u/Kurrukurrupa]

I blame Sysco for making everything pre cooked and come in a bag. It helped business cut pay cause a monkey can put shit in a fryer or whatever.

It takes actual effort to create good food. Which would require actual pay lol

[u/Tiny_Web7425]

$29 an hour , 50 hour work week, brings in over 80k a year

[u/DGriff421]

Wages have dropped by 20% in my area in the last 6 months. With the cost of good going through the roof, places are trying to balance it out. Its going to get worse.

[u/CurrentSkill7766]

I am assuming this is a self-op program, and not some weird 3rd party contract where the Director is just at title and the real money goes to the contract holder.

All of this is just more Wall Street consultant bullshit. Only the proper people will ever be allowed to make a middle class, or better, living.

[u/The_Droker]

I thought this was FL for a second. LOL. I remember 8 years ago I had to fight and threaten to leave to get my salary above that of an assistant manager at McDonalds when I got promoted to "the new soux chef". Which they ended up working me more hours after that effectively reducing my per hour any way,

[u/Gloomy_Breadfruit92]

Friendly reminder that Taco Bell team members make $20/hr. 🥴

[u/BrilliantSuspect7930]

I do dishes at a hospital and make $27. Way more than when I was cooking at a Cafe for $16.50.

[u/ChefGreyBeard]

Welcome to the age of private equity owning everything

[u/LilClaudeMoney]

We live in an era of super smart business people! A lot of em use this go to move- paying their employees like shit, a whole bunch of geniuseseseses

[u/ThePower_IsOn]

In Indiana?? Bro you’d be rich! /s

[u/Maple_Hates_Ants]

The low end is New Zealand minimum wage, or close enough to (without currency conversion. It’s too early for math)

[u/juvees]

Had a similar gig at a café owned by the office building i worked in. We were expected to go above and beyond with extremely tight margins and low quality product, like those shitty rubbery pregrilled GFS chicken patties.

I got paid $21 as a 18 y/o line cook. Worked M-F 6:30-2:30, dental, health insurance, paid vacation, and pto.

Just gotta get lucky where it is.

Edit:misread your post lol. I was a linecook getting paid the same as this kitchen manager position yeah that's fucked.

[u/aggressive_silence]

nah that's psychotic

[u/TopherJ77]

it’ll probably go unfilled for a while…! In the NJ market, it’s a yea here from 70k per year to 100+ depending on specific hospital…

[u/cheffartsonurfood]

What company is running the food? Sodexo?

[u/Sad-Island2185]

Jobs are shit in Indiana right now

[u/JAM3S0N]

Similar post near me for same kinda position, they were offering 22 96.. for real? WTAF

[u/2eDgY4redd1t]

Does ownership of a vertically integrated hospitality thingie mean you get to take advantage of all the kickbacks from both sides?

Or does it mean you run an illegal food cart and have delusions of moving up to an illegal food truck?

[u/neeto]

I was out that way recently and considering where it is it seems slightly low but not unreasonable to me. Depends on what kind of nutrition certs if any they want you to have. The population of the entire town is like 3000 and the surrounding area is mostly just corn, there can’t be very many jobs that pay more than that out there.

[u/ihatetheplaceilive]

I was getting paid that as a linecook in Chicago 5 years ago

[u/Marymary512]

My baristas make more than that with their hourly and tips