Attention to detail

[Andrew563]

working dirty, being late, not wrapping stuff at the end of the night, leaving dirty pots, pans, etc for the day crew. Basically, being a lazy idiot.

[boosehound]

in reply to SOMEDAY...... yes i am a slight control freak.... BUT i have the only cutting boared on the line if it gets sliced... I slice it, and further more we all have our equipment and it all has its place and i use the same exact stuff every night of service. and o ya if someone does cross the "line" into my "AREA" bad things happen like burns spillage and so on, no gets cut because they know to ask me to cut something and i gladly do it, o ya when we are slamed and i or the grill guy needs help plateing they use their OWN tongs and help plate.

GREG , you seem to know what im talking about, thanks

and o ya almost forgot SOMEDAY no im not havin a bad day it was actually quite enjoyable day of both prep and service.


edited for terrible spelling errors

[panini]

I can't agree more with Jim.
I am also guilty of it sometimes. You have to push three steps forward after taking one step backwards.
I'm certainly not a control freak, just don't touch, or especially, move, MY tools!!!!
PS Boose, we never look at spelling!

[Mikeb]

Originally Posted by Someday

Are you really that much of a control freak that people can't use your stuff or be in your "area" when you are working? In such a small kitchen I'm suprised you don't work in a more team oriented fashion to make it easier on everyone.

Reminds me of my last job. I had a tiny cutting board, and had knives lined up on it that were hanging over my inserts of food (we cut alot of stuff to-order, for example fresh truffles). I never once cut myself, but the chef used to joke that I intentionally had my knives there so others couldn't steal my MEP (after he nearly cut himself trying to do just that). Anyhow people work best when their area is set up the way they like to work, anyone interferes with this and it doesn't work...

[foodpump]

Kinda feel for boozehound and would like to elaborate to Someday a little.

Nothing more frustrating than working a rush with someone who means well, but makes many mistakes and slows you down. Sometimes it's a new guy that the boss hires without even telling you, sometimes it's staff that's been there long before you, can't get rid off, and definitely don't want on the line.

Thing is, I've worked with cooks whose guts I hate, and they me, but we can respect each other on the line and not step on each other's toes. Might not get along with them, but they are competant, and a competant cook is a good cook, one that knows that if you place a sauteuse down next to your cutting board with a tablespoon of demi still in it, that they instinctively know that you'll use it for the next order to be fired in about 90 secs and not to throw the pot in the dish pit; or not to grab your knife when you're not looking, chop a carrot, the place it on it's back, point facing away from you, so when you instictively feel for it simultanously reading out the next bill and checking to see if the d/w isn't slacking off, the veg guy is setting up the next order, you cut your hand...

[Blueicus]

Place where I work we normally wouldn't grab from each other's sections unless we are really short on stuff or don't have the MEP in our section for a couple of items, although since our kitchen is very narrow and long and the only other way to get to the dishpit is to walk through the restaurant, we have to cross the line in order to toss stuff away or get new things. However, usually when I work with other people in my section we usually get a pretty good ballet going in a week's worth of shifts and we just bang down things we need as we check the board.

[NeciPride1]

You seem a bit uptight about your utensils

[boosehound]

ya so uptight you posted it twice! neci pride huh, well when i went their workin on any line it was always stressed to stay organized and to have your things were you want them and from reading the other posts i realy dont have to elaborate on it much just read em it explains it pretty well

[Someday]

Originally Posted by boosehound

in reply to SOMEDAY...... yes i am a slight control freak.... BUT i have the only cutting boared on the line if it gets sliced... I slice it, and further more we all have our equipment and it all has its place and i use the same exact stuff every night of service. and o ya if someone does cross the "line" into my "AREA" bad things happen like burns spillage and so on, no gets cut because they know to ask me to cut something and i gladly do it, o ya when we are slamed and i or the grill guy needs help plateing they use their OWN tongs and help plate.

GREG , you seem to know what im talking about, thanks

and o ya almost forgot SOMEDAY no im not havin a bad day it was actually quite enjoyable day of both prep and service.


edited for terrible spelling errors

I've always believed that working on the line should have a TEAM oriented environment, rather than an individual environment, which you seem to favor. I can't fathom a kitchen where, say, if one guy is getting slammed with pickups, there would be another guy just a few feet away NOT helping out and just watching or cleaning or whatever. Why not just jump in and plate, a good cook can communicate effectively with his team to tell then what needs to happen. And ultimately, it is for the guests when they get hotter food faster. So what if he uses my spoon to sauce a dish, or baste a steak in butter, or whatever. He can use my knife anytime, because I trust him and he trusts me. He doesn't even have to ask, unless I see him/her abuse it or take it away from my station. But odds are, if he's using something of mine, he's doing something I was going to have to do anyways, and I'm grateful for the help.

And next time he is in the weeds, I'll be there to help him out.

If the fish guy next to me was busy plating something, and so I grabbed his fish spat to flip his close-to-burning scallops (lets pretend), got some herbage and butter in the pan and used his spoon to baste the scallops, and he got pissed at me for using his equip? THAT would piss me off, because not only did I save him the time of possibly redoing them, but know the guest doesn't have to wait an extra couple of minutes.

Just when someone starts talking about touching YOUR knives, YOUR tongs, YOUR tickets, YOUR area, etc, seems like it's not the best team environment.

Anyways, whatever, seems kind of self defeating to have that attitude and I would argue that the food you guys turn out probably isn't the best it could be. And I'm really not trying to be an asss it's just suprising and dissapointing for me to hear things like this.

[boosehound]

first off if i need help which is usually just plating ill ask but generally dont need it been here long enough that i can usually handle it, second if meat needs to be sliced it gets sliced on my station!(as ive already said)so ill go into more...... when im slicing, getting into the oven is almost impossible unless i either get on top of my cutting board or move or just stop take what needs to be put in the oven and continue slicing/ plating, third we are very TEAM orientated its only 3 maybe 4 at most usually only 3 we all work together, we all work long long days and we make sure that before we sit before service everyone is done/set-up.

will i care if my chef turns off one of my pans NO cuz i turn hers off occasionaly will i get irritated when my tongs dissapeer when i have to grab something, YES as for my towel hmmmm i could just grab a fresh one but since im smart i try to use as little towels every day as possible we have to send it to a laundry place and pay for that service and on top of that pay for boat freight charges so when my towel WALKS AWAY i instantly grab a new one and keep going

as for MY TICKETS their simply my tickets if we are bussy i have a system and it is my job to see that the food goes out properly to the correct tables if i have the person next to me callin stuff off or stabbing tickets it isnt going to work at all thus i get irritated, if we are slow, like tonight for instance i could care less and i didnt.


i suggest you read some of the other posts they seem to get it i dont know why you dont maybe you work in a large kitchen i dont know i realy dont care,

and o ya one more thing someday you can argue all day all night about the quality of food that goes out of the kitchen i work at because it is always top notch, and the chef is very happy as are the customers, in reality i could list a bunch of links for you to show you the great reviews we have gotten in the past few ys but i wont it is a waste of time as a are you in this pissing match about pet peeves and attention to detail, good bye

[Jim]

Let's keep this professional and on topic. If everybody is as good as they say they are, then a meaningful exchange of dialog should not be that much of a challenge.

[pastrytracy]

Let's see....
....the owner saying that is not his recipe even though his recipe stinks and no one likes it.
.....when ppl use the robo-coupe, mixer, salad spinner, etc...and do not clean it or worse...put it away dirty!

[shroomgirl]

hot dogs who don't ask for help and screw something up because they wanted to carry the cambro by themselves.....

oh this is a good one.....this one really burns......someone who does not think out their movements and takes 4x the amount of time necessary to prep something. Usually they don't last that long in my kitchen. Multitasking and knowing how to use your tools is important.

promising (usually recipes) and not coming through.

[jfb1060]

Everyone has brought up some very good points. These things are obviously issues in all restaurants to one degree or another.

On the positive side, being new to game, I am learning to respond with patience to co-workers that do not do the right things when they are supposed to do them and to make sure that I listen 99% of the time more than I talk. When I do get ready to talk I make sure that I think before I engage my mouth.

I would say that for the most part I am fortunate enough to work under great managment with a very competant staff for the most part. I like the company I work for as well. So when taking everything into consideration the glass is definitely half full.

Joe

[mrdelicious]

It's about sharing and organization... share your stuff... respect others... .and keep organized. Anything is possible...