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Sous chef hours

post #1 of 8
2/13/08 at 10:25am
Thread Starter 
This is a question for all sous chefs out there or the equivalent of a sous but with a different title.

Roughly how many hours a day and how many days a week do you work during busy season?

How many during slow season?

If you are fortunate enough to work somewhere that isn't affected by the season. Then whats the average for you.

Just trying to settle a discussion between myself and another chef friend.

Thanks
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post #2 of 8
2/13/08 at 6:01pm
I'm not a sous...but the sous' where I work typically work 5 days a week (sometimes 6), and anywhere from 10-14 hours a day.
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post #3 of 8
2/14/08 at 2:38pm
I had occasion to be the sous at a local golf course. I was there for 17 months, 2 full summer seasons. I do not know how many hours I put in exactly. When I was released, the company continued to pay me for the next 11 weeks to make up for all the OT I put in. Sounds like 440hrs OT in 2 busy summer seasons. It was not uncommon for me to arrive at 8am and not leave until 11pm at night.
Just my opinion though....
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post #4 of 8
2/15/08 at 7:07am
Most Sous are management positions, and most are paid on a monthly salary.

The short answer to your question is: Depends. Mostly depends on what you negotiated. During the Christmas rush it is expected to work 6 or 7 days per week, and during the dead season you might get 4 days a week. But since it is a salaried position, alot of the work falls on you and then reluctantly goes to hourly positions.
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post #5 of 8
2/15/08 at 7:24am
It varies of course. Mine used to work 40 as much as possible, maybe 50 during the holidays. When I was banquet sous (banquet chef) I worked 70 a lot. Restaurant sous chef was much easier. The hours went by quicker. All of a sudden it's time to cleanup already. Maybe 50ish hours as restaurant sous, not counting the hours at the bar after the restaurant closed of course.
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post #6 of 8
2/15/08 at 7:52am
15 hrs/day, 6-7 days/week on the busy season. During the slow season we laid off everyone so I still had to do everything. I was salary. What was I thinking.... I think sous are easy targets for abuse.
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post #7 of 8
2/15/08 at 3:39pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the responses....Most sous are underpaid and over worked.
I am trying to find a happy medium with mine.
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post #8 of 8
3/1/08 at 9:36pm
When I was a Sous Chef I worked about 50+. Sometimes much more, occasionally a bit less.
"Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle
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