[peco7]

hi.... i just got a new job... alot of talent in the hotel kitchen.
thing is ... the EX. Chef is green.
Right out of culinary school..... really nice guy..... just green.

the "crew" is older... I think the youngest chef/line cook is 35?

the problem i seem to be having is no direction is givin from the ex. chef.
(wierd.... no one gives direction)

he seems SO obilvious to the kitchen atmosphere.... like I wonder HOW he got this job? It is a well paying gig......corporate...union...mucho benes

I was speaking to a few of the "staff".. ( me being new.... nosing around to get some info on the ins and outs of the place)

it seems like the "kitchen staff" is happy to carry this guy.... teach him and you "know what" kinda boss you will have in 5yrs. {as no one leaves this place... some have been there 25+yrs}

they are WILLING to teach him and give him time to grow into the job!!

STRANGEST thing to me.... anyone ever been in this kinda situation before?

I just find it VERY ODD...........

ps. I do not need MY hand held....mind you.

[Rivitman]

I see a lot of low buck wunderkinds with little practical experience getting exec jobs these days. They work cheap. They probably have a cert from CIA or J+W. They interview well. They are probably handsome/cute. They become the owners/GM's little darlings.

Look, as long as the situation doen't rile anybody, and he leaves you alone, who cares right? Let him bask in the glory, realizing that fairness in the working world is lacking, and in the food biz, often downright absent.


You are cooks right? You don't need junior's direction, and while he may get the credit, you have some freedom. This could be the best of all worlds.

[peco7]

Thanks for the comments Rivetman.... I now am looking at this a bit differently.... the green chef IS a nice guy.... will probably grow into the job very welll ......... and he has not asked a thing from me.... yet.

I still find it odd.... but not enough to get to me. I will do my thing and enjoy the freedom of NO ONE looking over my shoulder....

burn it at both ends!
peco7

[castironchef]

Sounds just like when a well-bloodied combat platoon gets a ROTC 2d Lt. that they like, meaning that probably won't get them killed. It's then up to the top sgt. to "train" him on how the platoon operates.

The alternative is to let the new officer get shot (by either side, alas).

[maguire1]

i have not really been in that situation before. i look at it like this, it depends on what you want.
why did you take thias job? to get schooled in cooking or to do your own thing. either one is a good reason. enjoy it while you like it.
if you want to learn, jump ship now, niether the the guys that have been working there since 1988 or the "green" chef aint going to show you antything new.
the freedom is also good, i am in that kind of enviroment where i am not getting micromanaged. i get to experiment when i can, test my own knowledge.
it all in the eyes of the beholder. just do what makes you happy in the end.
maguire-

[Westernmachefs]

It takes all your life to learn how to cook

and about 15 minutes( a job interview) to become a chef

we are all living and learning in this buisness

the day you think you know it all is when you are your worst enemy

hey if the working conditions are good you can tolerate him

just remember he bears the responibilities for scheduling, menus food cost

you dont have the stress and headaches at the end of your shift or end of the week


anyways best of luck

[Entropy]

That is very weird. However, I worked for a guy who couldn't cook to save his life and didn't manage well either, but he was incredibly booksmart and knew how to suck up very well to his superiors. Thing is, you could be the best cook in the world, but the worst manager and vice versa. If this is your first job, I would be worried if you can't find a mentor, whether its the exec or not. At least if there's a sous who will take you under your wing, then you'll be ok. What matters the most is what you can learn from whoever. If you don't think you can learn anything, I would say get out. But it all depends on what you want. Whatever it is, you need to figure it out, because if you want to do the grind in 5-star restaurants for no money, better to do it in the beginning while you are young and your passion is fresh....

Some Gms will look at this guy and his position as a piece of clay .You hire the experienced jaded vet and you get a quality pro but he or she will most likely be more inflexible,demanding,will jack up your payroll and force you into more compromise than an younger one who probably will hire on for a lot less money,be more cooperative and flexible. It is truly the way of the world ...

He or she may not as yet have established a culinary identity but as long as this new guy can make his #'s and budgets and fulfill the company mission statement then this will be the easier way to go if that is what the gm is looking for.

As for you young grasshopper ...wax on wax off until you get it right ! He or she who desires to be the best in their field must during their developmental years surround themselves with the best minds. You won't know how much you've learned or notice it until you leave and go work some where else. I would say don't stay in any one place to long in the first 10 years or so . Your learning curve and repertoire will become too one dimensional and you will experience difficulties in making transitions from one job to the next later on. Develop a varied and broad resume and that will help you down the road in more ways then you know...It will be harder to ask for descent money later on without it ....

If A kitchen has no chain of command or set standards of quality ...that will spell disaster more often than not...If you really want to be successful down the road you need to establish a good sound fundamental base of experience. You won't get that from working for this guy. More often than not you just end up picking up bad habits from half-assed chefs that may be harder to brake later on .Your going to have to suck it up and pay your dues at some point so it might as well be in the beginning and for somebody who knows what he or she is doing who rides you and makes demand of you . This will put money in your pocket later . Most young people just don't realize this at the time ...

It has been my experience that the top pros in the field and the ones who generally make the most money are those with the best people skills. Culinary geniuses on the stove are a dime a dozen .....you can find them all over but find one who can manage lots a people and make it all come together don't come along too often.

I think while you are young it is not such a bad thing to struggle a little and work under guys who are demanding and don't think you quite have it ... You will grow in these positions and it will harden you up some .

When you are in charge later on and the poop hits the fan and you have a busy day where a lot of things are not going as planned , and everybody has 'm from time to time because there are so many variables that are out of your control, If you don't have some of that hardness in you of having gone thru a bunch of wars in the trenches your ship will most likely sink .
It simply comes down to not whether or not you fall (we all do)but how fast and how you handle getting up and regrouping so nobody outside of your inner circle even knows anything happened.. Those have been some of my most important lessens I've learned along the way....you can find recipes anywhere nowadays. It's learning how to avoid the potholes along the way that you won't find in any chef school or cookbook....
I agree that cooking is a life long learning process but don't necessesarily agree with that 15 minutes comment...I've seen way too many wannabe's come along the pike who were so wrapped up in titles and payscale that they forgot to concentrate on the meat and potatoes of their job performance. Their lack of substance was soon exposed.

One rule of thumb that has always worked for me is that you should be either making some serious green or learning a lot or both !!! If you're not doing at least one or the other than it is time to get out and move on . I understand that the employment atmosphere in certain parts of the country during certain times of the year make this difficult but you should at least be aware of it and thinking about it. If you're not moving forward your moving backwards ....there's no such thing as coasting when it comes to success...

Find out who the top people are and try to get your foot in the door ! You will find out that you will experience a lot less heartache,disappointment and regret working for the right people so be picky about who you work for and don't settle for easy or less or a vaca type job ..you won't get anything out of it ....

Don't be afraid to fail ! In order to move forward you have to stck your neck out sometimes and take some risks. Sometimes you will learn more from your failures than your successes. I was told one time when I was down in the dumps wearing my heart on my sleeve after a bad day that even the best baseball players who ever lived in most cases went back to the dugout after making an out seven out of every ten times they went up to the plate so your not going to be perfect all the time. Absolute perfection is an illusion and being obsessed with it is not a good thing so just do the best you can ,try to learn from your mistakes,have a good time and realize that your work will never be done and there is always tomorrow !
Good luck ,
Foodi4lif

[rat]

My .02
If he got the job, he must be that good at least with some good experience, there are a lot of new ideas out there as well as techniques even after 20 years in I am still amazed at some of the new dishes and methods I see, maybe the mgmt. is considering that. You can't teach an old dog new tricks but you can teach a young dog almost anything.
If the new chef is a good guy, can walk the walk and will look after his crew then why not support him. You are all there for the same goal to make your boss $$$ and in turn you make more $$$, work together and kick but.
Regards, Rat.