Anyone here a cook/chef?

[nonameo]

Please tell me a little about your job.

How you like it
Hours (total, shifts)
How you came to be in that position
How much you make
Stress level("pinch"/critical stress, as I call it, physical, mental)
etc...

 

[Hyperlite]

currently i am not, but i will answer your questions in relation to my last job as a cook...

This was at a very popular seafood restaurant in my town...

I liked it while i was doing it, i learned a ton. I worked full time, M-T-H-F-S, usually the 12pm-8pm shift. So basically, i cooked for the better part of lunch, prepped for dinner, then cooked for the better part of dinner. Lunch was usually two cooks with joint responsibilities, dinner was usually 3 with the head chef in accompaniment. I was hired into the position, as i had prior kitchen knowledge and my employer knew i wanted to learn the trade, so to speak. I made $8/hr, but it was really only a summer job, and i have been offered a substantial raise if i choose to come back this summer.

Stress...whew. All types of stress. It was HOT. all the time. lots of heavy lifting, lunches and dinners got ridiculously busy, never more than 4 kitchen staff at one time.

It was (at most times) fun and very educational job. A lot of the fun factor had to do with my co-workers. The head chef (who has since been replaced) could be a real d!ck some times, but the rest of the kitchen staff was usually very upbeat, which makes all the difference in the world. stay positive, it helps soften the concussion of mistakes. If everyone is already pissy and someone makes a mistake, its just baaaad.

 

[cakegirl]

Originally posted by: nonameo
Please tell me a little about your job.

How you like it
Hours (total, shifts)
How you came to be in that position
How much you make
Stress level("pinch"/critical stress, as I call it, physical, mental)
etc...

I'm a pasty chef and work in a bakery. I like what I do, just not my current position.

 

[mooglemania85]

Originally posted by: cakegirl

Originally posted by: nonameo
Please tell me a little about your job.

How you like it
Hours (total, shifts)
How you came to be in that position
How much you make
Stress level("pinch"/critical stress, as I call it, physical, mental)
etc...

I'm a pasty chef and work in a bakery. I like what I do, just not my current position.

Do you know the Muffin Man?

 

[CKent]

A while back it made a list of the top 3 worst jobs; lowest pay for the highest education, bad working conditions, etc. One of the other 3 was research scientist, and I forget the third.

 

[nboy22]

Here's what I gather.. I worked at a restaurant for 2 years.. During that time I saw a total staff change, and 3 head chefs. Restaurant jobs are fun at times when there's no rush, and when there's a rush, it can be no fun at all. Head chefs run the kitchen differently and they go from one place to another very quickly because if you stay at one place for too long, it just gets boring. I would never want to be a head chef but for someone who really enjoys cooking (and I like cooking) I guess it would be alright.

 

[krotchy]

Ive heard some bad things about being a chef, namely the pay is extremely low even at very high quality restaurants. My friend was dating a guy who worked at a 4-star restaurant and was the 2nd in command so to speak, and he was making under 40K a year. That is after getting a culinary degree at I think Johnson and Wales or something like that.

Pretty much the only way to make real money is to be the cook at your own restaurant, and get investors to buy into your concept.

 

[Zugzwang152]

Originally posted by: krotchy
Ive heard some bad things about being a chef, namely the pay is extremely low even at very high quality restaurants. My friend was dating a guy who worked at a 4-star restaurant and was the 2nd in command so to speak, and he was making under 40K a year. That is after getting a culinary degree at I think Johnson and Wales or something like that.

Pretty much the only way to make real money is to be the cook at your own restaurant, and get investors to buy into your concept.

Isn't second in command a Sous Chef?

 

[compuwiz1]

I am a Chef, but not by profession. What I cook for my family and friends comes from a love of kitchen cullinary, meant for the one's I love. I could never cook for the masses.

 

[Tremulant]

Originally posted by: CKent
A while back it made a list of the top 3 worst jobs; lowest pay for the highest education, bad working conditions, etc. One of the other 3 was research scientist, and I forget the third.

Architect.

Assuming this is the same list.. http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/15/pf/training_pay/

 

[ric1287]

Originally posted by: cakegirl

Originally posted by: nonameo
Please tell me a little about your job.

How you like it
Hours (total, shifts)
How you came to be in that position
How much you make
Stress level("pinch"/critical stress, as I call it, physical, mental)
etc...

I'm a pasty chef and work in a bakery. I like what I do, just not my current position.

should get out in the sun more.

 

[cakegirl]

Oops! Not my fault, a friend was typing for me! Thanks for the advice, though!

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: mooglemania85

Originally posted by: cakegirl

Originally posted by: nonameo
Please tell me a little about your job.

How you like it
Hours (total, shifts)
How you came to be in that position
How much you make
Stress level("pinch"/critical stress, as I call it, physical, mental)
etc...

I'm a pasty chef and work in a bakery. I like what I do, just not my current position.

Do you know the Muffin Man?

The one who lives on Drury Lane?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Hyperlite
Stress...whew. All types of stress. It was HOT. all the time. lots of heavy lifting, lunches and dinners got ridiculously busy, never more than 4 kitchen staff at one time.

I used to work at a pizza restaurant as a cook and I agree. Being a cook can be a very stressful job. Sources of stress for me included:

1. Heat - like Hyperlite said, it's always HOT
2. On your feet your whole shift - you come home pretty tired after a long day
3. Understaffed - I was rarely on a shift that was properly staffed
4. Amount of work - especially around lunch/dinner time, it would get crazy busy. an order gets lost, customers get irate, yada yada yada.

Combine all that and you get some serious stress. You're tired from being on your feet, it's mega hot, you're in uniform, the kitchen is understaffed, you get a couple hundred orders over the space of a few hours, it can get crazy! I actually liked my job, but the management wasn't so hot as far as scheduling people, having the necessary resources, dividing up the workload, and so on. I eventually moved into management but that was a headache too.

On the plus side, if you like cooking then it can be a great job. The trick is finding a good place to work with a good boss, which can be hard things to find. If you have the skills and you're reliable, then you can get a job pretty much anywhere.

 

[cakegirl]

I do! He's pretty cute, too.

 

[manlymatt83]

Originally posted by: cakegirl
I do! He's pretty cute, too.

Who, the muffin man?

 

[cakegirl]

Yes, the Muffin Man!

 

[mooglemania85]

?Top Chef? Dreams Crushed by Student Loan Debt
By KIM SEVERSON
Published: May 8, 2007

Excerpt:

Rick Park started working at a Jack in the Box in Austin, Tex., when he was 18. He moved on to sub shops, pizza parlors and chain restaurants, turning out hundreds of meals during a shift.

But Mr. Park wanted to be a chef. So like tens of thousands of other young people who grew up in the age of kitchen celebrities like Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse, he enrolled in culinary school.


full article