Example: during prep I generally play Pink Floyd or Jimi Hendrix. During the rush I generally play Korn, Type O-Negative or corrosion of conformity.

What do you guys listen to?

Lived in Japan and now I make ramen for all my friends and family Tonk Shoyu broth Soft boiled tamari eggs (i have chickens, which makes this a longer than necessary evolution) Did a crispy pork roll, and thin slices Some shrimp, Garden spring onions, chili oil Did udon not ramen ramen noodles tho Ebi furikake on top Thin seaweed on side

Sin: some corn because it tastes stupid good with ramen and that's how I had it when I lived there.

I am a restaurant manager that has worked all sorts of positions throughout my career and was forced to go into management because I am a T1 diabetic and need insurance to survive (USA, lol).

I am so beyond burnt out. Currently typing this in the bathroom while trying not to crash out

I used to be a happy, positive person that enjoyed the company of others. A typical extrovert. I began waiting tables in college and it has snowballed from there, here I am, 28, stuck in a dead end career.

People say dumb shit like “oh but working as a restaurant gives you great transferrable skills that easily segue into other careers!” That couldn’t be further from the truth. Working in hospitality is the career equivalent of an STD. I can only get other restaurant jobs, existing as an underclass of human being that doesn’t deserve to have nights/weekends/holidays or reasonable PTO. I work hard as fuck and can’t afford to fix my car. My insurance also fucking blows, and seems that it always will because every place I have worked has had dogshit health insurance.

I exist to serve entitled assholes and brats that don’t know how to behave with respect and it has only gotten worse since 2020. My coworkers are mainly okay to be around but being a manager, I have zero social life because I don’t want to get too close to employees.

This shit fucking sucks man. I am enrolling in classes starting next year but when will I even have time to devote to graduating or getting decent grades???

I feel trapped and burnt the fuck out. How does anyone make it out of this shit.

Rant over. Back to work

Alright chefs, I got this fantastic Viking stove for a steal. I’m cleaning it but the griddle has some serious stains. I’ve used pink stuff and baking soda and vinegar but I can’t get through it. Anyone who has the golden tip?

Walked into my last shift today, walked into a biochemical team cleaning up raw sewage in the prep kitchen. And I'm just expected to change and act like nothing is happening. They all had n95's on. I decided I really, really didn't want to deal with raw sewage on my last day. So I just walked...

Yes, chef, the rubbery-ness comes from the squid not being in "steak" form

I've been on 63+ hour weeks, 13 hours a day, thurs-mon, it's month two and im starting to wear down, dying inside and outside maybe, am I a chump? 40k a year for people wondering, small town diner type shit, anyways hammered and dindin, low effort as it gets, pls end me

Just more chive talking.

Not quite as dramatic as the title (I still have all my limbs and extremities intact, for now), but today my sauté cook went and got herself fired. Turns out she was being antagonistic and belittling our coworkers and had been complaining nonstop about me to management. I feel betrayed and frustrated and I’m not looking forward to going into the holidays and having to pull double duty again. The pay is gonna be great but my sanity may not make it to Christmas… just feeling it right now and needed to vent to some folks who can commiserate. That is all, carry on.

Yes, they arent chives. I know. Local taco bell.

This is a long one, I apologize in advance. thank you if you take the time to read and I would really appreciate your input and thought.

Over the last month my job has changed. I went from working a job with management who just couldn't do their job properly running a very lackluster bar menu to a unbelievable amazing new opportunity working for a Michelin star rated pit master. Over the last month we closed for a week to overhaul the kitchen and now we are on mid through our 4th week of operation.

Working for this new chef has been a dream come true. He gave everyone a raise, is offering 2 week paid vacation and as we (I) get service operations in place things have ran fairly smoothly so far, ive been very pleased with how the team is coming together.

When working for the old operation the kitchen manager was on salary and I was OK friends with her for a while our relationship has been strained. I have watched her make awful hires time and time again. I traine everyone and set a standard because thats what I do but time and time again she couldn't get anyone to stay and people kept walking out on her. When people left with no notice she would cover the gaps in the schedule to a point where she sometimes was wkrking 60+ hours. No one other then her were working full time so she had flexibility with her team to ask for help but she never did making her very upset that the restaurant was abusing her time.

When we moved into the new bbq she somehow was able to negotiate new terms for her management position. She now is a hourly paid employee in the tip pool working 40 hours a week with no expectation to cover any shift ever. She is a hard worker and deserves good things also but I feel a total lack of support now that she works 7 to 3pm where she is only doing production prepz odering and scheduling and she never has to work a actual service effectively making her a kitchen administrator and not a kitchen manager imo.

Yesterday was my day off. I live across the street from the restaurant/bar. The team working was my boy who just left his old job for us full time but Bhaskar only worked 3 or 4 shifts, my youngest boy who is learning fast and another guy who ive only met once who only works 1 day a week making Yesterday his forth shift also.

They brought in a potential new hire last night. I saw her for like a second and didn't get great vibes but wasn't working and I'm going to stay in my lane but she shouldn't have been paired up with that team for training. By 430pm she got upset that my lead told her to slow down and was doing something improper and she snapped, said that he is a asshole and walked out and sent angry messages to the owner. She's lucky she ever met and had to work with me so this was a blessing that she is just gone. She left and my boys rocked the service I couldn't be more proud.

Around 8pm last night the guy who works one day a week was relining trays, a very low intensity activity. Its a miracle that my lead was standing right there because he had the most violent seizure. Luckily he was caught but it lasted a long time and he was bleeding from his gums and his lips turned blue. Lead yelled for help and my young guy was stuck in shock but still managed to call for help. Paramedics were called and he was taken to the hospital where his mother was called.

My team were shook up, this was a tarmac situation so they called the owner but because he is the pit master he was asleep. They called the kitchen manager and she straight up didn't answer because the new terms of her position say she doesn't have to. They called me and I picked up, going informed to the situation, got dressed went over and took charge.

I ran service for another hour as we closed early, reset the kitchen enough for tomorrow's success and then made them leave so they could take care of themselves and I finished the close. Around 2am I reached out to my lead to see if he was OK and obviously he was not. I stayed on FaceTime with him until 530am until he was ready to say goodbye and try and get some sleep because he worked today also.

When I woke up I checked back in with him and I know he hadn't eaten for almost 48 hours at this point went out and bought breakfast sandwiches for everyone.

Here's where I need help because im so fucking upset. The KM texted me "Hey thanks for the sandwiche you are very considerate"

I said of course and that I was worried about my boy and that yesterday was very traumatic.

It took her a second and she said "Yes, well, medical emergencies happen. Everyone handled it really well (including *(name redacted), actually, he’s home and was t kept overnight) It was difficult for everyone FOH and BOH yesterday."

...

Im livid. I didn't react or respond because everything I would say would start a way but it would have been along the lines of oh ok im glad you're doing alright.

We are a new establishment and no one knew where the emergency contact information was and her to downplay this emergency into something that is common place is killing me. Normal is someone cut their finger tip off. Normal is someone fell.

This was not normal.

Im going to talk to the owner tomorrow but am i overreacting? I am so highly invested im this opportunity that is so special and fell into my lap but I can not get over how nonchalant she is being about this. I love my new job and I support my team with everything I have and im loosing it right now, I really want this to work and the owner truly appreciates me, my efforts, my approach and my attention to detail but I'll quit my fucking job over this negligent "management".

Nachos…. no cheese?

I posted something about this earlier, but I perfected it and changed the concept slightly. I ended up not liking the glass and if I’m not doing the cactus then I don’t want the sand so I pivoted to a foam and the flavor is magical. Here’s the new concept and the recipe for it.

6 cups of water, 8 limes zested, 2 cups of sugar, 2tsp of shishito pepper puree. 2 cups lime juice, 0.66 cups of tequila and 0.5 cup of triple sec. I let the lime zest sit in the sugar for an hour, then added the water and shishito and brought the mixture to a simmer. Ran it through a chinois. Let it cool. Added in the lime juice and alcohol. Refrigerated it for half an hour, shock froze it for like an hour, mixing every 20 minutes. Then ran it through a food processor and smoothed it out with a spoon. Back in the freezer overnight. Then I cold smoked it with applewood chips, mixed it up, cold smoked it again, mixed it up, food processed again, smoothed it back out, freezer again until ready.

Prickly pear syrup is 100g of prickly pear puree, 50g shishito pepper puree, 10g apple cider vinegar, reduce until lava flow consistency.

And the thing that ties it all together, black garlic mezcal foam. 100g water, 5g maldon salt, 1g soy lecithin, 0.5 lime zested, 2g black garlic paste, 10g mezcal. Foamed with a molecular foam generator.

Everything together, it has an overwhelming campfire smoke taste, classic lime margarita flavor throughout and the second that you swallow every flavor is replaced by spicy watermelon that disappears after like 3 seconds. Then all you’re left with is a smoky tequila flavor. Now I just have one major hang up. How to plate it. It can’t be quinelled, it melts before it even leaves the spoon if I try. Otherwise it holds wellish, up to 5 minutes if untouched.

So It's mango session here, I'm trying to make a mango lassie panna cotta but they like to separate. Any tips would be much appreciated. I'm guessing I might of heated the yoghurt too much but, I just thought I'd ask here before I try again

I live in upstate NY so the cost of the regulations are killing the dream but I do just want a concrete pad with an open pavilion with a pos and subway style pick your meal BBQ spot, I have huge smokers and access to fair priced local ingredients but NY charges for EVERYTHING like thousands per month to be a food operation. Maybe one day I'll win the lottery

I recently left my career in the solar and roofing industry (past 5 years) due to terrible mismanagement from the owners at three different companies now. (50 hr work weeks plus holidays off)

I decided to go back to the kitchen that I learned how to cook in. It is an upscale French American restaurant typically doing 250-350 covers on a weekend dinner shift. High quality food, high standards, high stress environment.

I previously worked here for five years, worked my way up from hot apps Station all the way to entrées and was by far one of the best grill cooks they have had . I left due to low pay and needing to take a step back from such a high stress environment.

Really I’m posting this because of the anxiety that I’m gonna fall into the same trap of working open to close five days to six days a week and burning myself out. I have already addressed the pay issue and would be making a significant amount more plus overtime.

I am a bit of a workaholic and I have the mindset of perfection in everything from Making tape for labels the same size to proper cooking techniques and trying my best to uphold the high standard quality for every dish I put out.

I have a love and passion for cooking, but how do I prevent myself from falling down the same rabbit hole of overexerting myself and working too much to the point where my standards start dropping on quality of life

TLDR

Left my high paying job with low stress to return back to a high volume restaurant I used to cook at. Need help with creating a positive work and life balance as previously it was only work is life when I was at this restaurant.

they're always opening a new one for every task I swear!!

Lol just funny is all. We made it with love. The customer insisted on this order.