# How do you guys do it?



## brianh

The pro chefs, that is. Had a work cookout today, prepped just a couple dishes and sides for about 30+ people. 8 jerk tenderloins with mango serrano salsa, about 12 pounds of dijon potato and green bean salad, simple roasted garlic chipotle mayo as a burger topping etc. Another coworker got burgers and dogs and more sides from a local German butcher. After a couple nights of prep and working a grill this afternoon, I'm shot. How the $&@! do you guys do this all day everyday?


----------



## brainsausage

Check out my avatar.


----------



## CutFingers

Don't think just do it, when your done enjoy a nice cold beer or glass of iced tea. It's often a thankless job but you will get respect on your day off telling somebody you cook.


----------



## brianh

brainsausage said:


> Check out my avatar.



That's the sad part. There was a keg of decent beer and I only could stand one cup. I was too tired and beat to drink.


----------



## Chef Andy

I love doing it, I find it fun. 

The beer helps tho.


----------



## Dardeau

I worked as a pharmacy tech for six months when I was 21. That is a job I don't understand how people do. I ran back to the kitchen and have been there since. You just get up, do it, love it, and then it's done. It will wear you out, but it beats a desk job.


----------



## jared08

Dardeau said:


> You just get up, do it, love it, and then it's done. It will wear you out, but it beats a desk job.



+1


----------



## Chuckles

It is amazing what you can get used to. 

A strong crew sure helps.


----------



## samuelpeter

You see what needs to be done, and you make it happen. You get it done. Always. No matter what. As soon as you start wondering if you can do it, you're out of the game. That's when cooks and CDPs walk out. 

The answer is always "yes, chef" and find a way. Now that I'm chef, it's my own name. Ultimately, though, we're nuts.


----------



## hambone.johnson

In all seriousness; pro cooking, be it exec chef or sautée jockey, is much like being a pro athlete. It takes years of training to become mentally and physically strong to go to work everyday and take care of business. And like a pro athlete when you don't do it for a little while you relapse.


----------



## brianh

So much respect for you pros.


----------



## erickso1

I work in an office setting where I'm the designated cookout guy. Beats me up to. Typically I dont want to eat after. 

But, I also worked on a fishing boat in Alaska processing pollack. Had to look at a candlelight fillet table for 16 hrs a day. Your body gets used to the motion and the angles. 

I find it amazing what people in the kitchen endure and the foods they make. Glad to have them around.


----------



## Mute-on

brianh said:


> So much respect for you pros.



Big plus 1!


----------



## Bigdaddyb

I'm with Brianh!! I cook for those I love only. 

I appreciate those of you who love it and do it for far less than most would ever believe. 


Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans ... are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit. &#8213; Anthony Bourdain


----------



## panda

we're insane.


----------



## Bigdaddyb

Yea. That too.


----------



## ShaggySean

I'm hyper active and most cod I know are I can think of no other environment that gets me through my day I love it horrible hours and feeding the masses and ask that being said I wouldn't wish this life on my worst enemy


----------



## tkern

Its a mixture of loyalty to your coworkers. A desperation about making sure you've produced something good. An arrogance that you actually know what is best. And a belief that all the ********; lost hours of family and friends, self doubting, and just the slightest flame of hope that you've made a positive impact on the world.


----------



## ecchef

hambone.johnson said:


> In all seriousness; pro cooking, be it exec chef or sautée jockey, is much like being a pro athlete. It takes years of training to become mentally and physically strong to go to work everyday and take care of business. And like a pro athlete when you don't do it for a little while you relapse.



Unlike pro athletes, we get paid ****, work injured, don't have a union, and our season is 365 days long.


----------



## Salty dog

As in all professions, just because you do something doesn't make you special. What makes you special is what you do with it.

I know a lot of DB cooks.


----------



## ecchef

Yup. If your crew is strong enough, they usually weed out the DBs themselves. Now, a union shop...that's its own special playground.


----------



## JDA_NC

Salty dog said:


> As in all professions, just because you do something doesn't make you special.
> ...
> 
> I know a lot of DB cooks.



Yeah. 

Perspective is always good. I don't pretend that I'm changing the world or having some important impact on the environment. I do it because it's fun to me and gives me joy. There are a lot of other professions that are more physically and mentally grueling.

For example:

[video=youtube;RpXL_QaK17E]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpXL_QaK17E[/video]

I can work 80+ hours, getting screamed at, treated like garbage & not making all that much money... but you won't ever catch me doing that. Not no way.


----------



## ThEoRy

Conditioning, adrenalyn, that zone feeling and when none of that is available, coffee. We got lot's of that stuff on tap.


----------



## CoqaVin

Call me whatever you want when we're in the weeds, I'm cool with it, as long as we're cool after service, during it I'm countless names


----------



## Zwiefel

brianh said:


> The pro chefs, that is. Had a work cookout today, prepped just a couple dishes and sides for about 30+ people. 8 jerk tenderloins with mango serrano salsa, about 12 pounds of dijon potato and green bean salad, simple roasted garlic chipotle mayo as a burger topping etc. Another coworker got burgers and dogs and more sides from a local German butcher. After a couple nights of prep and working a grill this afternoon, I'm shot. How the $&@! do you guys do this all day everyday?



I do the cooking for the State Championships we host at my range...about 150 people in 90 minutes. It's all simple sh1t like grilled hotdogs and potato salad....but it wears me the phuq out. However the amount of happy I have about an hour after I clean up is amazing. Similar experience with the cooking classes I teach. I dread both of these things starting about 48 hours before they begin...nerves, knots in stomach, anxiety over what I'm forgetting, anxiety about screwing something up and ruining the day for a bunch of people....But that 2-ish hours of flow (being in the zone) I get are 100% worth it.

We were just talking about flow in Chuckles thread the other day. In case you missed it:

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/19315-Line-cook-diagnostic-chart


----------



## Mrmnms

It helps if you love what you do. It's sad that it's so difficult to make a decent living at it. Cooking continues to be a form of therapy for me, years after I left the line. The more you do production , the easier it gets. Plan ahead and pace yourself.


----------



## King_Matt

I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'
Muhammad Ali


----------



## cheflarge

I have NEVER cooked for the money, always the passion!


----------



## Jgillis86

Coffee, whiskey, cigarettes, passion,and a very, very... Very understanding spouse.


----------



## CoqaVin

has to be the passion, b/c sure as hell aint the money, unless youre in corporate


----------



## Jgillis86

Agreed.


----------



## apicius9

Did not want to open a new thread for this, but I just saw that Mercedes Benz in Germany canceled the contracts with the kitchen service companies (run under the name of a 'celebrity chef')in its museum and customer center. In an audit they found out that sometimes kitchen staff worked over 10h per day - major violation of labor laws and reason for immediate contract cancellation. Certainly not the reality for the small restaurants, but it shows a difference in appreciation compared to what I read here. 

Stefan


----------



## Geo87

If every kitchen were closed that had staff working over 10 hours there would be nowhere to eat! 10 hours is considered a half day at some restaurants


----------



## Salty dog

I cook to keep 25 families healthy, happy and employed. The passion left me a few years ago. It's about legacy now. Trying to raise some baddass Chefs.

P.S. You have to remember I started cooking professionally in 1976. I feel I'm allowed.


----------



## CoqaVin

Hahaha @ 10 hours


----------



## daveb

I'll tread lightly here but from my read it appears that as a result of being "appreciated", the kitchen staff that was working 10 hrs/day is now working 0 hrs/day. I wonder if they appreciate the appreciation.


----------



## larrybard

Sounds much like what U.S. companies (e.g., Nike) say they do when they discover that overseas contractors are making their goods under conditions considered oppressive (e.g., so-called "sweat shops" or using child labor). Debate has always been whether nevertheless those laborers are better off voluntarily working and helping provide for their families than being unemployed.

And I won't get into the U.S. minimum wage debate here, and some of the potential adverse consequences often cited by opponents.


----------



## TheDispossessed

I've just recently become officially burnt out. I turned 30 in last week and had my first child in november. My career as a cook was relatively short. I started as a line cook at Momofuku Noodle Bar about 3 years ago. I had incredible teachers, we had such a motivated crew and i was just young enough to live the lifestyle a bit (though i was even then the oldest line cook). Spent 15 months there getting brutalized and learning a lot and moved on to Kajitsu, a shoji-ryori kaiseki straight outta kyoto michelin star type of place. that was also amazing, everyone taught me so much, and was patient with my ignorant a$$. Left after a mere 6 months because well, japanese kitchens are for learning very very slowly in a very different way and i had realized my goal was not to become a high class japanese chef. Went to help my buddy turn around a failing restaurant in Brooklyn. He offered to make me the head chef and we tried to open a caribbean restaurant, in a caribbean neighborhood, as two white boys in crown heights. It actually did pretty ok and we had a killer summer. And aside from about a dozen other trails that's it for me.
I got to the point where I didn't even like cooking anymore. I hated the guests, which isn't fair, and I hated cooking at home. I drank way too much, was never home and was miserable all the time. I'd eat cheese and drink during the day on my days off and was just fried. I personally think the business is so wacked out it's unreal in terms of how the labor is treated and how impossible it is to make any money even running a restaurant. I absolutely love the kitchen and a lot of it's culture. I just can't get into not being around for my son for what, 50, 60, 70,000 a year? For me it was unsustainable and I hope the industry can change for the better so that cooks and chefs can have better quality of life and people with talent can actually make money running a place maybe.
I recently trailed at a top chef type restaurant looking for a couple days work and when i walked on the line (which was the filthiest place i'd ever seen) and found myself in the middle of a bunch of enthusiastic 20 somethings working their ass off for $12/hr I was just like, no, I'm done.


----------



## brianh

Wow, that's crazy. Sorry to hear


----------



## JDA_NC

TheDispossessed said:


> I hated cooking at home. I drank way too much, was never home and was miserable all the time.



I know this will sound familiar to most of us. It does for me.

A lot of respect to you for being honest with yourself. I know that there's no way I could be doing this if I had children.

It is a brutal lifestyle. I have a ton of respect for guys like Salty who have been doing this for 20+ years. 

It's funny how your perspective changes. I've only ever had jobs in restaurants. I really don't know what to do otherwise. Saying that, I didn't take cooking seriously until I was 20. And I loved everything about the lifestyle. It was exciting and allowed me to literally travel across the country and see a lot. I've made a lot of great friendships through it. I grew up never thinking I would leave my hometown. So being able to do something that gave me options everywhere was very liberating. But it does wear you down. 

I've only been doing this a short while as well. I'm 25 now and funnily enough I still feel like I'm at square one. And what was cool at 20/21 is not looking so attractive anymore. I'm definitely tired of sleeping on floors, getting hammered nightly, and being dead broke. I still enjoy cooking. I'm living in Chicago now and working for a really cool restaurant that does some great food (and is always busy), which is fun. But in the back of my mind, I do start to wonder. I reckon I will give it another good 2-3 years and if I don't see any sort of success (personally & professionally speaking)... well, it's time to find something else to do. The money & stress isn't worth it. I don't want to be that dude who is holding down a station in his 40's with two children. I can't be.

These were things I never gave a second thought to before. Holding down a serious relationship/marriage & raising children, with all the hours & stress, is next to impossible. I've seen it time and time again with people that I've worked with or for. At the end of the day it comes down to priorities. The vast majority of us are not going to be wealthy or successful at this. It is is what it is...


----------



## cheflarge

FYI: I have been working in kitchens for almost forty years, while married to the same woman! &#128526;


----------



## JDA_NC

cheflarge said:


> FYI: I have been working in kitchens for almost forty years, while married to the same woman! &#128526;



Speak to us, Obi-Wan... :biggrin:


----------



## cheflarge

Fortunate enough to of married a saint! Believe me I have battled all of the aforementioned tribulations, and some. Pretty sure I'm the luckiest guy on earth. A whole lot of, one sided, understanding. She was raised in the business, "gets it", a little better, I guess.


----------



## Salty dog

Just don't let her get into yoga.


----------



## Chuckles

If you just had a baby in Nobember your gonna be burnt out. It is hard. Really hard. 

It doesn't really get a whole lot easier. But, if you stick with it, you will have the opportunity to get much much better at it. And you will get much much better at it.


----------



## cheflarge

Well said, Chuck. 

Salty: How about Krav Maga! &#128526;


----------



## CoqaVin

I didn't feel like starting a new thread about this, so sorry about TJ'ing somewhat, anyone hate "HACKS" as much as i do?


----------



## Vesteroid

Non cook here, no restaurant experience. Reading this thread, I have a few questions. At what level does a person move from hourly to salary in a kitchen?

For a line cook, assuming that's hourly, what's an average hourly rate? For s sous chef, what's an average yearly salary?


----------



## CoqaVin

Tough question vesteroid, like you said when you move on up from just being a typical "line cook" that is when you start becoming salary , or i noticed as well when you work a TON In the summer tthey will out you on salary , I think it also depends on where you are working, like corporate compared to a chef just owning the place and putting out good food, know what I mean


----------



## Chuckles

Line cook anywhere from $9/hr for a small fine dining spot to $30/hr for a NYC union gig. Sous Chef anywhere from 28k to 60k depending on the restaurant. Restaurants can be so different. A small fine dining operation might do 1.5 million or less a year in sales while a big busy restaurant could do 25 million or more.


----------



## Geo87

Yeah being a cook with kids is hard! 
I was still working fine dining when we had our first baby.
70 hrs p/w for peanuts. We actually couldn't afford to live off that bs salary and I had to essentially sell out of fine dining for a higher paying job with less prestige. Basically I went from working with a bunch badass professionals at one of the best places that everybody knows and respects to working with a bunch of muppets somewhere no ones heard off. That to this day kills me ! But I get more time with my family greater flexibility and more money so we can Live! Still a hard move to make .


----------



## CaremeFraiche

I'm a new dad and now i work part time as a cook. When i was full time and staying up all night with the baby i could have been an extra for a zombie movie and would have saved them the need for makeup. Although i love my job it's hard when you have to pay the babysitter more per hour than you make. The worst part was not being able to give 100% to my baby. Now that i have more time for him I'm much happier even if I'm little poorer.


----------



## aaamax

Tough thread.
I've been an expat for many years now and back in the 80s/90s you could see the writing on the wall in the States. Wages were staying still and you just knew that it wasn't better anywhere else. Obviously I'm not talking the star chefs and or top flight joints. I'm talking about the 95% of the rest of us. 
Back in 2006 a friend who was a bleeding magician in the kitchen was having trouble landing a job for $12 hour! He was getting under bid for $8 hour. 
Here in Europe the wages are considerably better, but what gets me and I just will never get used to it is that you are expected to do clean up after closing. I'm not talking about your station, I'm talking about the floor scrub, trash. drains, etc. Never did I do this in the States, ever. No cheap labor to be had here I guess, so they figure, you did it, you clean it. Lol.

So back to the original posters comment.
What kills me is not the shift, its the freakin' major clean up afterwards. the prep, cooking and plating are a breeze by comparison.
Cheers to my old knees.


----------



## Cashn

Cooking is my passion. I've worked a few lines and an odd bakery job but I work FoH, managing currently. I save the cooking for home and it really lets me keep the passion in the kitchen. Making/exploring what I want to make when I want to make it. Hours aren't better but the pay is with salary and bar tending a few nights. I'm 25 and look at what my time is worth and unfortunetely take the pay over passion. One interesting gig I just did was cater for the movies. 17-20 hr days feeding 150-250 (some movies it goes to 350+) people twice a day at sometimes two different locations each day. It was re shoots so I was told its not always that crazy moving locations. Pay was there, 19/hr for the first 8 hours and time and a half after that, the lead (chef) got double that.Food isn't that great but when all you have is a food truck and 2 moving trucks with 3 or 4 hours of prep inbetween each meal you cut some corners. There were 4 or 5 of us on the crew depending on the day and 2 of the guys had been going for a month straight. The job gave me a clear line between tired and exhausted and I'll take tired any day hehe. Ill stick to my 50-70 hr weeks, 100+ hour weeks you really can not have any kind of life. The chef who called me with the job is a friend of mine and we worked together for about 3 years so we talk as friends. He's told me he's burnt out and a sell out. He's a good cook and doing some of the things he has to do to put out a 20 chafer buffet and cold line isn't what he likes but has to be done to make it happen. Not sure how they do it, gluttons for pain I guess. My gluttony does not go that far hehe.


----------



## _PixelNinja

That's interesting to hear. To me, it's normal that we clean up after our shift. We usually spend an hour cleaning everything up and once a week we'd do an even more thorough cleanup (taking out all the shelves from the fridges and store room, pulling out the freezers to get all the way behind them etc.) I found it tough when I began, because we are required to clean up rather quickly yet properly what is a rather big kitchen, but I got used to it. 

In regards to the original question in this thread, I have problems with focus/attention and get bored very fast, thus demotivated in doing things in general. With cooking, I am always learning and seeing new things; be it at work or on the Interwebs, and even though I have a very, very long way to go, I look back at where I started and I can already see a (modest) progression. I hope to continue to learn much more; I guess that's my drive.


----------



## kostantinos

How do we do it?

Well as many said we just do . Most of the times a chef has to make a decision one way or another, for this or that or the other thing , it aint matters , as long as you can get it done.You just do , and if you fail making a decision or question the circumstances or etc the game is lost.

Since i became an "executive", i try to build teams that understand the concept of under promise and over deliver . That means that you buckle down , you don't make statements of grandeur of any sorts and you really deliver when its go time. That is the only way to do this.

As far as how difficult this is; it is more difficult the older you get and i think the newer generation understands it more now because they had seen how bad this job can bend you physically , and emotionally sometimes and how much of your life it can consume and how bad it can hurt you and your surroundings.


----------



## chiffonodd

Do you all think that Bourdain's kitchen confidential is on point? He talks about the strain a lot.


----------



## drawman623

I've enjoyed this thread though it has reminded me of challenges I failed to surmount as well as moments of inspriation.

As a home cook it is important for me to see this perspective as it helps me temper my words with due respect. A kitchen knife forum is likely full of professionals leaving my skill set (or lack there of) in the minority.

I broke down 15 pounds of butternut squash one afternoon and found it arduous. I've felt the burn in my back after cleaning 250 squid...I know enough to know I don't have what it takes...

I tip my hat to you all


----------



## 420layersofdank

Bong hits and lazy snacks! That's my night cap!


----------



## koki

after a while you just get used to the busy environment


----------



## matthew78

been in the kitchen for 21 years now and although theres days you just dont want to face the day and just want to hide under the bed covers,once im in and working i forget it all and remember i kind of love my job .in a a sadistic kind of way we all love the long hours and stress of service ..dont think theres much that can compare to that feeling when service is in full swing and the adrenaline is pumping ..i think it difficult for most to really understand what its like. a very understanding partner helps too


----------



## ecchef

I think that's it in a nutshell Matthew.


----------



## matthew78

amazing just how quick your body falls out of the cycle though..iv just come back from a weeks holiday and done 65hrs in the 5 days since back .and must say the first 3 days back were complete hell ..


----------



## spoiledbroth

Cashn said:


> Cooking is my passion. I've worked a few lines and an odd bakery job but I work FoH, managing currently. I save the cooking for home and it really lets me keep the passion in the kitchen. Making/exploring what I want to make when I want to make it. Hours aren't better but the pay is with salary and bar tending a few nights. I'm 25 and look at what my time is worth and unfortunetely take the pay over passion. One interesting gig I just did was cater for the movies. 17-20 hr days feeding 150-250 (some movies it goes to 350+) people twice a day at sometimes two different locations each day. It was re shoots so I was told its not always that crazy moving locations. Pay was there, 19/hr for the first 8 hours and time and a half after that, the lead (chef) got double that.Food isn't that great but when all you have is a food truck and 2 moving trucks with 3 or 4 hours of prep inbetween each meal you cut some corners. There were 4 or 5 of us on the crew depending on the day and 2 of the guys had been going for a month straight. The job gave me a clear line between tired and exhausted and I'll take tired any day hehe. Ill stick to my 50-70 hr weeks, 100+ hour weeks you really can not have any kind of life. The chef who called me with the job is a friend of mine and we worked together for about 3 years so we talk as friends. He's told me he's burnt out and a sell out. He's a good cook and doing some of the things he has to do to put out a 20 chafer buffet and cold line isn't what he likes but has to be done to make it happen. Not sure how they do it, gluttons for pain I guess. My gluttony does not go that far hehe.



In my opinion this is bollocks. I don't like cooking in a home kitchen on residential grade equipment. I like restaurant cooking. It's nothing like cooking at home. I've never seen a photo of a restaurant quality dish produced in a home kitchen. Keep in mind, I'm talking "fine dining"... Who makes a sauce and reduces it au sec and then pours it into a squeeze bottle so they can scrape the plate with it? Why would you ever hot-hold hollandaise at home? Who cooks 70 steaks of varying doneness and coordinates with their significant other who produces the fish dishes to serve 120 guests at a home dinner party? Apples and oranges. I think there are people who are actually in love with what you seem to think is slavery... I think some of the stuff that goes on in the world of Michelin you might consider to be a crime against humanity as a whole. :laugh: Imagine if you were a stagiaire! Or a student. :scared4: Just jokes, friend.


----------



## Mucho Bocho

spoiledbroth said:


> In my opinion this is bollocks. I don't like cooking in a home kitchen on residential grade equipment. I like restaurant cooking. It's nothing like cooking at home. I've never seen a photo of a restaurant quality dish produced in a home kitchen. Keep in mind, I'm talking "fine dining"... Who makes a sauce and reduces it au sec and then pours it into a squeeze bottle so they can scrape the plate with it? Why would you ever hot-hold hollandaise at home? Who cooks 70 steaks of varying doneness and coordinates with their significant other who produces the fish dishes to serve 120 guests at a home dinner party? Apples and oranges. I think there are people who are actually in love with what you seem to think is slavery... I think some of the stuff that goes on in the world of Michelin you might consider to be a crime against humanity as a whole. :laugh: Imagine if you were a stagiaire! Or a student. :scared4: Just jokes, friend.



You haven't been to my house. Poly science, vac chamber, blend tech vacuum tumbler, all cambro, multiple refrigerators, 30k burners exhausted to the out doors... Clearly you haven't been on the forum very long cause you would have seen, I'm not alone. There are some bad assed home cooks round these parts. Today for lunch I'm making Neapolitan pizzas on my out door carbon steel plancha in my Kamado cooker. Gezzz, this guy. Ha


----------



## panda

on my days away from commercial kitchen i cook instant ramen, yeah some heavy cooking there!


----------



## spoiledbroth

Mucho Bocho said:


> You haven't been to my house. Poly science, vac chamber, blend tech vacuum tumbler, all cambro, multiple refrigerators, 30k burners exhausted to the out doors... Clearly you haven't been on the forum very long cause you would have seen, I'm not alone. There are some bad assed home cooks round these parts. Today for lunch I'm making Neapolitan pizzas on my out door carbon steel plancha in my Kamado cooker. Gezzz, this guy. Ha


I'm happy to see you have some fun kit at home but unfortunately your ability to spend thousands on your home kitchen has nothing to do with my post. Thanks! When I say a restaurant dish I mean composed, elements. Not pizza. :shocked3:

Home kitchens need this:


----------



## Dardeau

Chip much?


----------



## spoiledbroth

??


----------



## Dardeau

A chip. On your shoulder.


----------



## knyfeknerd

Mucho Bocho has a lot more solid gear than most of the restaurants I've worked in. 

I could cook for 300+ people out of my home kitchen with regular appliances, but that's probably because I've cheffed and catered for the better part of my life. If you can't do it on normal equipment, that doesn't make you much of a chef does it?
You've got to be able to adapt.
I guarantee you that there's at least a good dozen or more home cooks on this forum that could cook you and me under the table. I must admit that a lot of the "foodies" are way more passionate about the process and science of cooking than your average line cook. Their posts have been a resource to me in the past, they leave no stone unturned. 

There's a recipe for humble pie somewhere.....
.....I've eaten it a time or two in my life, especially when starting a new job.


----------



## daveb

Play nice fellas.

No need to see who can piss highest on the tree.


----------



## knyfeknerd

Cheffing was a lot easier to do before I had kids. You can't get back the time you've missed with them. It's not fair to ask your wife to basically be a single working mom, because you're never around..............
........and when you are, you're a worthless exhausted turd.
I miss the actual work, the crew, the talk, the attitude that you're a harder worker than most. 
But not as much as I missed seeing my kids grow up.


----------



## Cheeks1989

matthew78 said:


> been in the kitchen for 21 years now and although theres days you just dont want to face the day and just want to hide under the bed covers,once im in and working i forget it all and remember i kind of love my job .in a a sadistic kind of way we all love the long hours and stress of service ..dont think theres much that can compare to that feeling when service is in full swing and the adrenaline is pumping ..i think it difficult for most to really understand what its like. a very understanding partner helps too



Nailed it.


----------



## spoiledbroth

knyfeknerd said:


> I guarantee you that there's at least a good dozen or more home cooks on this forum that could cook you and me under the table. I must admit that a lot of the "foodies" are way more passionate about the process and science of cooking than your average line cook. Their posts have been a resource to me in the past, they leave no stone unturned.


This is what I don't agree with. How could a home cook ever cook say, a chateaubriand better than me? I've cooked thousands, thousands more than the average person could expect to eat and cook for their family in a lifetime. I read books about cooking (not cook books) outside of work. I watch maybe 1 or 2 shows regularly on tv that aren't food related. I immerse myself in food outside of work. I get what you're saying about "the average line cook," but this isnt me. I'm punching below my weight.

Anyway, didn't mean to offend any home cooks. I'm sure there are lots of people with really well outfitted home kitchens. I do not have one nor the expendable income to build one. My point was more that restaurant cooking is far and away different from what people do at home. 100% different. There's really no comparison to be made.


----------



## Dardeau

I've cooked professionally for a long time now, and have worked at some very good restaurants, and eaten at a lot more. The best meals I've eaten have been in people's homes. 
My partner was a professional for a long time. When she stopped working in a kitchen the food she made at home got better.
Thinking about food all the time doesn't make a great cook, it just makes someone who thinks about food a lot. 
Having a life and interactions with people who don't make dick jokes all the time makes you a better cook in the long run because you are less stressed, more creative, and more perceptive of your senses.
Food is food cooked at home, in a restaurant, or in a back yard. And almost anyone who cares and has attention to detail can buy a nice steak, light a fire, put some salt and pepper on it, and out do most restaurants.


----------



## tkern

Dardeau said:


> I've cooked professionally for a long time now, and have worked at some very good restaurants, and eaten at a lot more. The best meals I've eaten have been in people's homes.
> My partner was a professional for a long time. When she stopped working in a kitchen the food she made at home got better.
> Thinking about food all the time doesn't make a great cook, it just makes someone who thinks about food a lot.
> Having a life and interactions with people who don't make dick jokes all the time makes you a better cook in the long run because you are less stressed, more creative, and more perceptive of your senses.
> Food is food cooked at home, in a restaurant, or in a back yard. And almost anyone who cares and has attention to detail can buy a nice steak, light a fire, put some salt and pepper on it, and out do most restaurants.



All this is well and good but can we please not slander dick jokes while we're at it.


----------



## ecchef

To answer the OP's question succinctly, tonight I did it with my entire night crew, the dining room manger, the assistant manager and a boat load of beer and awamori at the izakaya afterwards. 
Tomorrow we'll do it all over again. Well, maybe not the drinking part.


----------



## matthew78

tkern said:


> All this is well and good but can we please not slander dick jokes while we're at it.



too true ,without dick jokes a pro kitchen would quickly just become a mental asylum filled with ppl that just want to kill each other .the dick jokes help keep homicidal thoughts at bay ..doesnt matter what continent your on all kitchens are filled with the same humor and slightly unbalanced ppl that work in them


----------



## mano

spoiledbroth said:


> My point was more that restaurant cooking is far and away different from what people do at home. 100% different. There's really no comparison to be made.



+1

I'm a pretty fair home cook with an average kitchen, but with the right prep and planning I put out a fine-dining meal for 20. That's a couple of times a year. The fine dining pro's do this every night for a hundred or more covers. Yeah, they have a crew, but from my experience it's apples and oranges.

Just because someone's obnoxious doesn't make them wrong. (Though I wish it did).


----------



## spoiledbroth

I didn't mean to be obnoxious, I wasn't saying to cook at home is petty or stupid, I just said its not for me and it's not what I'm in love with or passionate about. 

I'm in love with my co workers. I am passionate about where I work. The camaraderie. The land speed records. Like people have said, the rush of 70 covers being rung in at once or even just working an action station at a function. Looking at a prep list a page and a half long and beast-mode 3/4 of the way through by lunch time. The focus on skills, theory, panache and economy of motion.

At the same time, I'm not going to romanticize it, overall it's a **** industry and if I ever have kids I would not recommend it to them. There are plenty of things that are not glamorous about my day, and I am essentially working poor (maybe without the knife addiction I'd have some savings but hey, it's a lot of fun). I'm very lucky to work where I do in spite of my complaints about pay.

All that being said I couldn't see myself doing anything else and I find that when I spend long periods away from the kitchen I can safely say I am not any better off for it. As we like to say here... YMMV.


----------



## ecchef

matthew78 said:


> too true ,without dick jokes a pro kitchen would quickly just become a mental asylum filled with ppl that just want to kill each other .the dick jokes help keep homicidal thoughts at bay ..doesnt matter what continent your on all kitchens are filled with the same humor and slightly unbalanced ppl that work in them



Absolutely true!


----------



## knyfeknerd

spoiledbroth said:


> I didn't mean to be obnoxious, I wasn't saying to cook at home is petty or stupid, I just said its not for me and it's not what I'm in love with or passionate about.
> 
> I'm in love with my co workers. I am passionate about where I work. The camaraderie. The land speed records. Like people have said, the rush of 70 covers being rung in at once or even just working an action station at a function. Looking at a prep list a page and a half long and beast-mode 3/4 of the way through by lunch time. The focus on skills, theory, panache and economy of motion.
> 
> At the same time, I'm not going to romanticize it, overall it's a **** industry and if I ever have kids I would not recommend it to them. There are plenty of things that are not glamorous about my day, and I am essentially working poor (maybe without the knife addiction I'd have some savings but hey, it's a lot of fun). I'm very lucky to work where I do in spite of my complaints about pay.
> 
> All that being said I couldn't see myself doing anything else and I find that when I spend long periods away from the kitchen I can safely say I am not any better off for it. As we like to say here... YMMV.



Well said!
Seriously.


----------



## sachem allison

16 hour shift solo. 30 top walkin, 4 -8 tops, 3-5 tops, 6-4 tops and full bar and about 30 walkins.All the prep solo, all cooking solo and 1 new dishwasher. All drinking soon to be solo. I will be doing 14 days of open to close shifts solo. cook is on much needed Vacation and other cook in INS limbo somewhere. Chef Says Kiss My Ass!
gotta go still have 4 hours left and a heavy cleanup. Goodnight gentleman and ladies.


----------



## tkern

sachem allison said:


> 16 hour shift solo. 30 top walkin, 4 -8 tops, 3-5 tops, 6-4 tops and full bar and about 30 walkins.All the prep solo, all cooking solo and 1 new dishwasher. All drinking soon to be solo. I will be doing 14 days of open to close shifts solo. cook is on much needed Vacation and other cook in INS limbo somewhere. Chef Says Kiss My Ass!
> gotta go still have 4 hours left and a heavy cleanup. Goodnight gentleman and ladies.



I'm going to start taking the train up after my day to help you finish yours.


----------



## mano

spoiledbroth said:


> I didn't mean to be obnoxious, I wasn't saying to cook at home is petty or stupid, I just said its not for me and it's not what I'm in love with or passionate about.
> 
> I'm in love with my co workers. I am passionate about where I work. The camaraderie. The land speed records. Like people have said, the rush of 70 covers being rung in at once or even just working an action station at a function. Looking at a prep list a page and a half long and beast-mode 3/4 of the way through by lunch time. The focus on skills, theory, panache and economy of motion.
> 
> At the same time, I'm not going to romanticize it, overall it's a **** industry and if I ever have kids I would not recommend it to them. There are plenty of things that are not glamorous about my day, and I am essentially working poor (maybe without the knife addiction I'd have some savings but hey, it's a lot of fun). I'm very lucky to work where I do in spite of my complaints about pay.
> 
> All that being said I couldn't see myself doing anything else and I find that when I spend long periods away from the kitchen I can safely say I am not any better off for it. As we like to say here... YMMV.



Oh, all right, +1


----------



## dough

spoiledbroth is partly why i like this place more then many other places on the net. its fun to let people make their point without just cutting the guy off and thinking he might be railing on homecooks. 
btw that was a pretty/honest message about your passion sir... one many of us share. keep on keepin on.


----------

