[pembroke]

Depends if you're creative or not. If your idea of fun is to open a SOP manual and cook by numbers you'll be fine, and god help you if you add 1 extra ounce of xyz. Think you can plate the food better of garnish nicer than the manual you'll quickly be in trouble. Move away from chain restaurants and work where your talent and input is appreciated might be better. I find that only 20% of cooks are willing to use their day off to create new menus, most are happy to cook what ever you tell them; I'm different, I want to cook the food I decide to put on a menu, not someone elses idea of 'perfect' food. That is the biggest difference I've found in 25 years of cooking.

[maniclowery]

I have done both. No matter how you look at it their is always some sort of a number guideline you must follow. If you are in a applebees, you will have very strict portions to follow. I worked for the cheesecake factory for a bit and a cook would not work a station if he could not pass a written tests on ingredients and portion sizes. As a line cook you will never set the portions. You will not decide menu costs. Their will always be some sort of portion control point to follow. Even if you work for a private restaurant, a line cook will not be too creative of a position. With that being said, only a foolish chef would stifle a cooks thoughts. I encourage my lead line cooks every day to challenge the ideas of creativity. I love all ideas. If they are anything like myself, as a line cook they will challenge their chef daily with new ideas, new creations, and better ways to save money. Someday they will have line cooks doing the same for them. Their is not to many line cooks that get to express creativity. If they did they would be called chefs. I work at home on a regular basis with recipes and menus, cook for seniors every month, special dinner events at home, friends weddings for 500, and on and on and on. My whole life revolves around food. I dint feel i am unique in that when i go to work its like going to a playground where the slides are Vulcan ovens, the flour bin is a sand box, and a catering van is a overgrown tonka toy. I love food!!! If you do as well.......Then any amount of stress you get is worth it! You might find yourself on the wheel calling out the orders, 78 tickets hanging, and another 40 in your fist. Your heart beating fast at the fear of failing and having someone push you out of the way to show you how its done. If this happens and you show up the next day. This line of work is meant for you. i will stop going on about this, but If by chance you are anything like me, you will love being a line cook no matter where you cook.

[maniclowery]

I guess i could of just said ...Ya gatta start somewhere lol

[leeniek]

I love being on the line! I love everything about it.. the pace, the fact that I can play with my food all day and get paid to do it... you name it! I work for a chain so I know all about the portion control, uniformity, etc.. but we do have some creativity in our job. The person on eggs (usually me) can create an omelette special from Monday-Friday and I can use pretty much every ingredient we have onhand, save for smoked salmon as it is rather expensive. Same with the person on the lunch station.. they can create a daily quiche special using the same guidelines as the omelette as for ingredients. We've also recently began making the switch from the campbell's soups to homemade soup for our soup of the day, and the KM told me that if I want to make the soup for the day to feel free and jump in and well I have been and I love it! I love making food that people enjoy. The other thing about the chain I am at (and I think this in general is the exception when it comes to chains) is that anyone can send recipe suggestions to her (we are a breakfast and lunch place but really it's mostly all day breakfast) and she does look at all of them and if she thinks it fits in with the concept, then she'll try them out on the menu as a montly special.

[rat]

Never booring as long as you work with a good brigade. Booring yes when you do not get any input and make the same dish for years on end which is what I think you will find cooking in a chain type restaurnant.