Drug Usage and Chefs

[lukeygina]

Is it typical for chefs to use drugs? I'm not talking like Pot... no one including myself cares about pot... im talking hardcore drugs like coke and e and other stuff. I work with a Sous chef and he's awesome in the kitchen he even says he does things during work like oxy's and he's been to rehab for it but he's starting again... im only a lonlely prep chef/pantry rat... should i talk to my uncle (owner/ex chef) about it? I feel like a hippocrit because not only do i use (rarely but and on my own time my owner has in the past so I somewhat feel like a rat...But the difference is i'm not using during work or taking pills to get through the day... Another problem is i'm good friends with sous chef... we've hit off since I started 4 weeks ago and I think he knows i'm training to take his job in about 6 months... I just don't know if me telling my uncle will a> help further my career (what if the next guy is wicked good and i never get a chance to make it up the chain) and b> have good employee relations...

[panini]

L
I personally am having a hard time figuring out if this post is valid. I'm pretty sure I saw something that said you walked out.
Hey, using is using.Dropping a dime on someone(even if he or she is dumb enough to put their business in the street) to advance yourself is stupid.
I have to ask, how old are you?
Actually, I'm going to bow out of this one and let someone else clue you in. Do your uncle a favor and move as far away from him as possible. Sorry, but that is just how I feel. That's coming from an owner who has employed nieces and nephews.
BTW, It's not typical for people to use drugs. The sous may very well be setting you up.
Also. A lot of employers care about pot. The fact is, it is still illegal and as an owner, if some stuoid lugnut comes in stoned and hurts him or herself, I'm liable. That's the reason I said you should get away from unc.
Hey GTG. I'm leaving this up so maybe you can see it before it gets deleted.
If your not serious, good one. and if you are, it's Sunday, go for a drive and look for a building with the word worship on it and a bunch of cars in front and check it out.

[even stephen]

Hello again,
I just gave you advice about what to do after walking out on
a family restaurant. My advice is don't lend the sous any money.
Apart from that, learn everything you can from him, except, where
to buy heroine. Restaurant people are a rare breed. Some do
hardcore damage to themselves when they are young and eventually
grow out of it, perhaps after the first bypass or heart attack. If you
are looking for something legal and want a buzz, I knew a couple of
waiters that swore there was nothing like a Chardonnay Enema after
a hard night at the restaurant. Anyway it sounds like a joke or that
you are very, very, young. Good luck and Goodbye.

[paul]

Originally Posted by lukeygina

Is it typical for chefs to use drugs? I'm not talking like Pot... no one including myself cares about pot... im talking hardcore drugs like coke and e and other stuff.

I would never take "hardcore drugs like coke and e and other stuff."
That is bad for you and unproductive.
But, I noticed I can fry the perfect egg (you chefs should know what I'm talking about) shooting a bit of heroin in my inner thigh.

[chefATL]

Drug and alcohol abuse are fairly common in our industry. Most chef's lead the lives off rockstars (without the pay of course). It is a pretty well known fact in our business. Doesn't make it right, but it's there.

[Pete]

Not condemning or condoning drug use, but yes, it is pretty common in this business. That is not to say that all, or even the majority of chefs and cooks use or abuse drugs and alcohol, but it is pretty common at least more common than in many other industries.

[Mikeb]

Originally Posted by lukeygina

Is it typical for chefs to use drugs? I'm not talking like Pot... no one including myself cares about pot... im talking hardcore drugs like coke and e and other stuff. I work with a Sous chef and he's awesome in the kitchen he even says he does things during work like oxy's and he's been to rehab for it but he's starting again... im only a lonlely prep chef/pantry rat... should i talk to my uncle (owner/ex chef) about it? I feel like a hippocrit because not only do i use (rarely but and on my own time my owner has in the past so I somewhat feel like a rat...But the difference is i'm not using during work or taking pills to get through the day... Another problem is i'm good friends with sous chef... we've hit off since I started 4 weeks ago and I think he knows i'm training to take his job in about 6 months... I just don't know if me telling my uncle will a> help further my career (what if the next guy is wicked good and i never get a chance to make it up the chain) and b> have good employee relations...

No one really cares about drugs unless it affects their employee's performance. If the sous is a great worker despite his problems, what's the issue? You should tell your uncle if you know the sous is neglecting his duties - if you want to tell your uncle to further your career then you're a rat... You don't make it "up the chain" by trickery - you make it there because you're the best for the job.

[foodpump]

Got a problem with that, heavy drugs in the kitchen.

Look at this way, you've got someone on a highly addictive, very expensive, AND illegal substance. Can't grow coke in a bedroom closet with a couple of heavy watt bulbs can you?... If the user can keep his habit under control, then there's nothing to worry about, right? Yeah, right, never met a user yet who doesn't escalate his usage. The rare one might try to give up the habit, but the majority of the users escalte their habits until the habit controls them. So then what? You need more money for the habit, thats what. Either they deal or they steal, or both. Steal from where?
Now it's my problem too, because it's in my face.

Don't hate the addicts, but I hate their habits and what their habits make them do....

Vancouver? Nah, there's no drugs here....

[shroomgirl]

24 year old sous of a brewery/restaurant died last week from a Heroin OD.....
the place closed down Friday so all could go to the funeral. Sat. was farmer's market the atmosphere in the restaurant was morose.

[chefATL]

I have known my fair share of talented cooks and Chef's that succumbed to drugs and alcohol. I was almost one of them. My life is tame now compared to my early years in this business and I am grateful for it. As I said earlier, many people in the industry live like they're rockstars and have that feeling of invincibility. Unfortunately many don't realize until it is too late.

[Pete]

chefATL, I am right with you!!!! Sounds a lot like my "earlier" days!!!!

[Harpua]

I'm not saying it is good, but it is definately common. However, I don't think there is anything more frustrated than working with someone who dissapears for a half hour and comes back full of wine. In my case, nothing gets done and their work is incredibly poor. However, since it isn't a frequent thing, it is no big deal. If someone was always lit and they worked just as hard, I think the only problem is theirs and it's personal. If it starts to effect the work big time, then they are the *****.

[blue_wolf]

At one of the restaurants I worked at in the past, I had one cook who would come in stoned out of his mind. I warned him once, next time fired him. I caught flack from some of the other cooks, but made the point of the dangers. He couldn't hold a knife strait and I am suprised he didn't loose a finger. I did my fair share, but kept it out of work. I'm clean now, but I did have those times... What memories... What was I thinking?

[DanBrown]

I'm freakin perplexed. You claim to love Bourdain's book, yet you act naive about drug use in kitchens??

My rational for working in kitchens for a long time was that no one does drug testing, if I was stoned, and no one knew I was stoned I won! (Testing is cheating.) I've worked for innumerable chefs that have been using one form of drugs or another (the most common being the bottle), but finally one day you have to grow up, and that point comes for everyone.

In retrospect, the benefits of drug use were many (particularly organizing prep list under the influence of speed), but the cost is too high. Burnout, fatigue, lack of concentration, and finally a loss of passion for making food. No one can learn from anyone else's mistakes, everyone must walk their own path. So I expect that cycle of error and redemption will continue as long as humanity endures.

Lastly I'd like to tell you about being a rat. You will never, ever, get to the top by waiting for others to make mistakes that you can report to a superior, and you will lose the respect and trust of everyone around you. In any walk of life, a tattle-tale is someone who doesn't have the guts (almost used the other word) to tell the person to their face that they see a problem, and that the problem needs to be addressed.

As my friend Mike Reeves says,"If your talking to me about a problem you have with someone else, you're talking to the wrong ****ing dude."

Do what makes you happy, let everyone else do the same.

[Jr Sous]

Its happens we work long old hours and coffee ain't always enough if you know wat i mean