Life in the bigger city...

[blue_wolf]

I haven't been on for a while and just wanted to post on what's been going on.

We moved to Madison for better jobs and just a better life in general. My wife got transfer to the main office of her job and I took on an executive chef position at a small restaurant. Before moving, we hired on an almost entirely new staff, including a soux chef. Mind you, the hour commute one way was starting to really wear on me and things were tough, but my GM was telling me I was doing great. My soux has 16+ years experience from the east coast compared to my 6+ from small town Wisconsin, but things seem cool. Then it all went down hill.

One week after moving, my GM calls me into his office and says he and the soux were talking and feel it would be best if we switch positions. I was hired under the understanding the GM would be in the kitchen with me showing me the ins and outs of the exec position. He didn't. There was no strong front of the house, so I got maybe three days with him, the rest I picked up on my own. So, when the conversation started with "I blame this on myself" from him, I knew it wasn't good. I had two choices: either stay at a $2 an hour pay cut or try my luck somewhere else. I decided it would be best to stick it out, due mainly to the fact that I still did really care for the restaurant and wanted to give it my all. Plus, the new exec assured me he would take me under his wing and show me the ropes. What followed was probably the worst working experience of my life. Nothing I did was right. I was told everything I did was "not good" to paraphrase. He wanted to have a talk with all my old chefs to call them all morons and other not so nice words. Everyone else in the kitchen was fine, I was his problem child. A week after taking the position, I was fired. I put out great food the night before. Customers were happy, the GM was even impressed. But, apparantly, he heard different.

I took a week off, job hunting. I now am a line cook at a brew pub in Madison. It's called the Great Dane. It isn't as fancy, and it's a lot less than I thought I would make. But, I can definately say I am much happier there. They asked how I would feel about management in the future, to which I said I would be intrested. So, who knows. Just wanted to give a quick up date and see if anyone else on the board has been pretty much ridden out of a job. Am I alone on this one?

[Mikeb]

My most recent job I was forced out... Things started out great - I was the star apprentice - making recipes, specials, I had some stuff published in a newspaper, etc... I was making horrible pay, but at the time I was having some fun.

Then reality set in - I couldn't sustain the low pay rate for long (gotta pay bills - I don't come from a privileged background like most high end cooks/chefs, I can't afford to work just for prestige). I got a token raise (still less than I was worth), and they used it as a tactic to try guilting me into giving them more effort than they were willing to pay me for. I didn't appreciate this and let it be known, so they started baiting me - trying to set me up for failure so they could have an excuse to fire me. Eventually they just fired me for doing something they couldn't even prove happened...

Oh well, jokes on them. I'm making more money in a better work environment, apparently the culinary grad that replaced me can't pull his weight, and the restaurant isn't doing so well...

[SousWee]

I had a similar thing happen to me Blue Wolf. I was brought in as a line cook at a new place doing Latin/ Pan-Asian fusion, something I'd never done before. The EC loved my attitude and assured me the other guys would teach me what I needed to know. Well it didn't happen, and I ended up leaving, and the new guy that replaced me happened to be a friend of the other guys, imagine that !

Glad to hear you've found someplace that you are happier at.

[Pete]

Blue, I love the Great Dane. Which location are you at? Whenever I visit my brother, in Madison, we always seem to end up there. Sure the food may not be "fancy" or "high end" but they put out good, solid food and some serious beer. It's a bummer about what happened at the old place, but I think if you can stick it out with these guys and get moved into management, you could go places with them. Best of luck!!!

[blue_wolf]

I'm working at the Fitchburg restaurant/brewery. I was talking with the Kitchen Manager the other night and he was asking if I would be willing to transfer to a new store their talking about opening in Florida. As I understand it, there's a law on the books something to the effect that you can only have two breweries owned by the same owner in the state of Wisconsin (put on the books back in the days when Old Style, Pabsts and Miller were some of the biggest beer brewers). So, if they want to expand, they need to look else where. I said I would be intrested, though I wouldn't want to do it for a while. He said it's just in the talking stages now and nothing is solid right now. So, I may be heading out of state in the next few years. Which, in my book, is prety darn cool.

As for working for the brewery, it also has it's bonuses. $1.50 pints of really high quality beer is among them, since I'm more of a beer person compared to a wine person. Plus, I may be able to pick up a little brewing experience, which would also be cool. All in all, not too shabby of a deal. So, I guess taking a few steps back might make it easier for me to run forward.

[Rivitman]

I just got done with a very similar chain of events.
BS artist owner.
Conspiratorial and unsupportive coworkers.

Bleh. I bailed out, and fast. No regrets, things have worked out.

I was too cooperative. Too responsive. Too sensitive to others. Too open to suggestions. I implemented changes against my better judgement to keep the peace. I studiously avoided the stereotype authoritarianinsm that chefs are criticized for.

If and when I go back into management, it will be under my terms and mine only. There will be no "team effort". It will be everybody willingly following my direction. Or else. On my lifeboat, you can either row in my direction, or swim.

And the owner will not lie to me, or mislead me in any way. Or I'm GONE.

[kuan]

Sorry to hear that my blue brother. Keep learning, working, don't smoke, don't drink too much, and don't womanize too much.

[Pizzaordie]

Yep I had a similar situation.

A crazy restaurant owner woman, wants me to be more of a manager type then a chef type, but of course she REALLY wants me to put in 20 plus hours a day running the **** place, plus she hates my menu suggestions, which usually amounts to simplifying the dishes, so that prepping wasn't overly time consumptive ( I still wanted aoili from fresh eggs, and gazpacho from fresh tomatoes marinated overnight, of course, but I didn't want to put 3 side dishes on an entree that was only $13). I am used to allowing my sous chefs to take care of the details when I'm not around but it didn't seem to work this time. In any case she called me in to the office and told me she didn't like my management style, in which case I wanted to tell her that she was a micromanaging ***** from the 7th level of ****, but of course whats the point?? And this was a careeer move I thought was going to last at least 5 years. Very disappointing. Luckily I had some cash saved up and vacationed for 3 months and got my priorities straight, like enjoying life and having a good time before I die, those types of things.

I work now in a small cafe that is ridiculously small and not up to my quality standards, but it pays the bills and is bearable. Madison is great, enjoy it, and enjoy the Great Dane! Great beer! Life is not predictable, and you have to trust in karma I guess.

[gettingbetter]

Madison is great Blue Wolf, I lived there myself for about 5 years. Hates to go, but the job opportunities in Chicago were just too good to pass up.