[HeavyMetal Chef]

...are all of them the same or do you have to find one where you fit in? Here is my scenario, I left the Ritz pastry kitchen (which I was great at and felt I needed a better challenge) to go work for Michael Richards Citronelle. I worked there...for 8 days. I was ok the first 3 days but I was learning very little. Everytime I would ask about something I would get the response, "I don't know" or "we don't have time" from the people that were training me. So 1 day before I was alone on my station (which it was a change because I started working garde manger there to get "hot line" experience) I still didn't know these following things and i wasn't taught it by the end of the day:

how to make their tomato tartare, how to make their goat cheese roulade, what size to cut the blinis to (they were frozen), how to make the first dish in a 15 course tasting (had 3 in the time I was there), how to make the vischysoius (sp?), how to make the cauliflower foam, how to properly make the belugula eggs, where 2 different dishes and their props were (I asked 5 times...literally), how to make the tomato gelee, how to make the cucumber gelee, how to make the "scallop scramble".

It was like they were refusing to teach me. I would ask and wouldn't get the response I wanted (if any response). I was held accountable for things I didn't know how to do...HOW THE @*&# AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THINGS RIGHT IF I WASN'T TRAINED!?!?!?! And it didn't help that I had a sarcastic *&%hole commenting on things that I would ask. I left that kitchen that night and didn't go back...it was to the point that I thought of work before, during and after work and not in a good way. I was anxious all the time but had to keep my cool and my past depression problems started to come back. Are all fine dining restaurants like that and can anyone give me any constuctive criticism no matter how harsh you have to put it? I don't mean to whine about it but I have never felt so unconstructive and unwanted in a place like that one...usually I work the hardest and most logically out of my coworkers...btw I was rehired back at the ritz by my pastry chef.