So, as recently as a few weeks ago, I decided that I would start training as a server to serve lunch in the afternoons and then work as a cook at night. What I've learned so far is that not only does it make me an extremely valuable employee (as I'm certain in what can be done in both houses and what can't), but it makes me so much more intuitive in what *should* be done. It's enhanced my experiences as a cook because I've learned what people actually *like*. Sometimes, what the customer likes is hardly ever what the chef wants to serve. I can relay this back to the cooks, and we can make adjustments as needed.
We have four stations in a small kitchen, sometimes six on the weekends (depending on who's on the books), and I've been cross-trained in all of them. It's very easy for me to work as server as I am intimately familiar with the food and can be very specific when need be, and can cater to almost any need in regards to food allergies and general likes and dislikes. I rarely ever tell my tables that I am a night cook, and I NEVER tell them I'm the one that prepared that special..... or created that one little menu item... However, I always make it clear I'm greatly interested in their opinion.
I don't find it necessarily reasonable to attempt to make an entire staff trained in both FOH and BOH and actually perform both shifts when need be, however it's been rewarding for me. There are downsides, as I experience the horrors of being a server and a cook (and we all know what *those* are), yet the idea that I'm really, really great at my job is the only incentive I have at showing up everyday, eager to learn and perform well.
I would hope that others find this helpful, and if anyone in the industry has the ability to be trained in both fields, I recommend doing so. Sure, I work from 10am to 11pm five days a week, but I'm young, and on the road to success!
We have four stations in a small kitchen, sometimes six on the weekends (depending on who's on the books), and I've been cross-trained in all of them. It's very easy for me to work as server as I am intimately familiar with the food and can be very specific when need be, and can cater to almost any need in regards to food allergies and general likes and dislikes. I rarely ever tell my tables that I am a night cook, and I NEVER tell them I'm the one that prepared that special..... or created that one little menu item... However, I always make it clear I'm greatly interested in their opinion.
I don't find it necessarily reasonable to attempt to make an entire staff trained in both FOH and BOH and actually perform both shifts when need be, however it's been rewarding for me. There are downsides, as I experience the horrors of being a server and a cook (and we all know what *those* are), yet the idea that I'm really, really great at my job is the only incentive I have at showing up everyday, eager to learn and perform well.
I would hope that others find this helpful, and if anyone in the industry has the ability to be trained in both fields, I recommend doing so. Sure, I work from 10am to 11pm five days a week, but I'm young, and on the road to success!
