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Keeping the kitchen staff strictly Hispanic???

16K views 69 replies 30 participants last post by  foodpump 
#1 ·
It is harder and harder for individuals like myself who are not Hispanic but passionate about cooking to get a start in a restaurant kitchen. Why do restaurateurs or maybe specifically chefs target only Hispanic individuals to work their kitchen? I know that an ego usually comes with the business minded. Therefore, I really feel that the only reason Hispanics are hired is that most chefs/restaurateurs feel better at ease believing these Hispanics will never surpass them in this industry. Not only that but more often these Hispanics works hard and gets paid less. DISCRIMINATION I understand that the kitchen may not seem like a glamorous job and maybe individuals feel it is necessary to hire an old broken English speaking Mexican than to hire an educated promising 20 something with a future knowing this is as good as it gets for them when the 20 something can find better. However, individuals like me who was desperate for a start should get there start. Everyone gets started somewhere to gain experience necessary to land more prominent roles and build upon their careers. Whether you are black, white, Hispanic or Asian it shouldn't matter for a person willing to work whether it be to gain experience or simply just to make a living. If you are an executive chef owner of your own restaurant do you or would you hire strictly Hispanic just so you can squash any up and comers that might still your thunder?
 
#2 ·
I hire those that want the job, can do the job, but don't feel entitled to the job.
Race has nothing to do with it.
Over the years I've been accused of being biased against females, and of favoring females.
Of being biased against older people, and favoring older people.
Same goes for different races, or any other way you want to seperate one person from another.
And it's all B.S.
I hire...well, read the first sentence.
 
#3 ·
I totaly agree.
And dont know if noticed, but all your advertising, newspapers, TV, Billboaeds are geared toward Hispanic Sector. Why? because it is the largest growth group in our country. If you want to be the chef of the future, take a course in spanish, it will prepare you for the present and future of this business. Some people should Wake up and smell the coffee and stop feeling sorry for themselves. One of the best Exec. Chefs I ever worked with was at the Friars Club in New York, he was Spanish FROM PUERTO RICO and he spoke French!:D
 
#4 ·
As a former owner of 2 restaurants I will tell you that I hired the ones who were hungry to work and werent afraid to work HARD. It didnt matter what color, nationality or sex you were, and I ran a fairly mixed kitchen in Austin, Tx about 5 years ago. You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and get out there, protray a sense of confidence and show that you can do the job better, faster and for the same $$. Nobody will give you anything and nobody is entitled to anything, you need to take it...
 
#6 ·
I agree as well, but I have to admit, 8 out of 10 "white" kids I've hired have a HUGE sense of entitlement. You can almost set your watch by it. Within 2 weeks of getting a job they will have their elbows up on the pass, flirting with the waitresses, texting whenever they think no one's looking and thinking they are the next top chef -just waiting to be discovered. Meanwhile, 8 out of 10 of the Hispanics in the kitchen find things to do, ASK for things to do -on a slow night they will have all the prep done for the next day. I've promoted many a dishwasher -to prep cook-to a grill or broiler position, even though they spoke hardly a word of English.

I'm probably going to get flamed for saying this, -but its a culture thing.
Here in E-merica we are breeding lazier, more technology dependent, I-want-to-be-on -TV kids. We reward bad behavior, and nurture shortcomings to a fault. Work ethic is falling by the wayside and experience is losing it's importance. I've spent 18 years in kitchens, and these kids think they're going to be a "star chef" a few years out of school?! It just doesn't work like that.

Read "The Apprentice" by Jaques Peppin

Hard work is the bottom line. My advice to CulinaryHustler, and anyone else in the field - Work harder that anyone else in the kitchen, listen, ask questions and treat everyone with respect. And I mean EVERYONE, -that Spanish speaking dishwasher is going to save your ***** one Friday night, when you've forgot to prep something. -if you only take a little time to learn some Spanish.
 
#7 ·
After re-reading the OP, my take is that C Hustler has an attitude that comes across poorly during the interview process.

I wanted to relate a situation that happened a few years ago.
I work for an Indian Casino, and we hire all types of people, as we should.
I had this one cook who was a problem, and whenever I tried to discipline him, this was his response:
"You're biased against Indians".
No, I actually have quite a few working for me, and some have been promoted to higher positions than you, like Karrie.
"Well, then you're biased against male Indians".
No, (young) Joseph is doing quite well here.
"Well, you're biased against older male Indians".
Again, no, (older) Thomas is one of my better employees, and just got a promotion.

This went on until he determined that I was biased against someone who was like him, and he was the only one who fit that description.

There are those that will always be looking for some form of transgression against them, and in their mind will always see it, even when it doesn't exist.
 
#9 ·
I have to say after reading the OP that Jim is right in so far as the problem seems to lie with the OP. There's an attitude that just seems to ooze racism. Say what you want, but that's what I got out of it.
As far as the quantity of hispanics in a kitchen in my experience if you hire one they will tell others who want to work that you will hire them. If you treat them right (just like anyone else) then their buddies and family members will want to work there as well. As far as work ethic goes I won't compare them as a group to anyone else, but I have rarely seen anything but the highest work ethic from the hispanics. They don't complain, they are eager to learn and work their a**'s off!
It can be difficult to break any barrier when a group is somewhat entrenched in there and this goes for any group of people. As far as salary we always paid the going rate, period! Doesn't mater who you are. Maybe in your area there's simply more hispanics per job that others. But you may want to reread your OP and it seems pretty obvious where the problem really lies.
 
#10 ·
I have absolutely no problems with Hispanics at all. People are getting things mixed up and viewing ME as a racist or something. That is far from what I am. I work in a kitchen where the majority are Hispanic and they are great hard working people. I can not picture the kitchen I work in without them. I will break things down if my post was not clear enough. I have served 6 years as a United States Army Food Inspector. I say that proudly and humbly. I don't ever forget where I came from and for that I am not looking for any advantages or shortcuts. I know just about everything there is about sanitation and I have plenty of experience interacting with vendors. I have supervised operations in the kitchen in Iraq as well as cooked. After being honorably discharged a nearly 6 months ago I enrolled in culinary school and just recently landed a position as a line cook but it took me forever. I know that maybe I don't have much actually kitchen/cooking experience but I am truly passionate about obtaining it. The problem is that I FEEL(my opinion) that between a person such as myself with hardly any experience but passionate about gaining versus a inexperienced Hispanic man not looking to gain experience but just to make a living the position is usually given to the Hispanic man. To clarify from my post, I FEEL (my opinion) that Hispanics are hired in large because people feel as though they won't have to worry about a Hispanic who barely speaks English to surpass them and steal their ideas/recipes/techniques/business concepts from them but then they gotta feel a little intimidated by a young culinary student with promise. AM I RIGHT OR WRONG? There are so many culinary students such as myself or simply individuals who really just want to learn how to cook and get started in a kitchen somewhere that constantly gets turned down over someone who is Hispanic and barely speaks English. I know even Hispanic culinary students who get turned down over there much older Hispanic brothers who don't speak any English and are just looking to make a living. IN MY OPINION THESE CHEFS/RESTAURATEURS ARE RACIST FOR THE FACT THEY VIEW HISPANICS AS HARD WORKING PEOPLE BUT PEOPLE WHO CAN NOT SURPASS THEM AND THEREFORE THAT IS WHY THEY ARE HIRED. More often than not if you are an educated american born individual who wants to learn to cook restaurants push you to be servers than to cook. If you are Hispanic and want to improve upon your English and interaction with others restaurants will push you to cook rather than be a server. TELL ME IF I AM RIGHT OR WRONG AND THEN TELL ME IF I AM THE FREAKING RACIST AND I GOT THE POOR ATTITUDE?
 
#12 ·
I'm not going to call you a racist, I don't know you. But what I will tell you is you answered your own question and probably didn't even realize it. I am going to break this down to you as an owner, chef with staffs of upwards of 20 ppl, and 20+ year veteran of the kitchen. You said that we, Chefs(and for the record I have taken this personally), hire ppl who are looking to make a living, they probably have families and have bills to pay, THEY ARE HUNGRY. Hungry employees dont talk back, dont show up late and dont question when asked to do something, as a general rule, older applicants are more reliable and depending upon where you live many of them may be Hispanic. Younger more ambitious, passionate applicants think they know it all, have seen it all or have read it and its old news. They seem to think they have a better way and quite honestly have a HORRIBLE WORK ETHIC. These are the stigmas that you will find EVERYWHERE you go until you prove yourself otherwise. Its not a racial thing, its about work ethic and what is happening in the work force today.
 
#13 ·
I understand what you are saying and I believe at least we both agree that this topic is very controversial. For the record I never said ALL Chefs. As much as you say I answered my own question, you very well fit the criteria of individuals who am I speaking about. ChefHow how the **** do you gauge a person's hunger? If I am saying to you that I was hungry, culinary students are hungry for an opportunity. You already put the stamp on it. You already drew the conclusion that young individuals think they know it all and therefore it is best to hire old non passionate applicants who don't know anything and usually don't know much English too. That is what you are saying. It all confirms what I said and that is simple, there are those Chefs with big egos who loves to hire Hispanics who don't speak much English for the fact you also think they don't know much. Therefore, these individuals won't know much to even think of attempting to surpass a Chef with 20 years of experience such as yourself. This is how you feel and therefore I find this discrimination. I have been to war for this country and I served proudly. If you were to view me as a cocky individual with weak work ethic and think that I know it all you are far from the truth. I think it takes a humble individual to go to war for his country voluntarily. I have gone to restaurants and asked to be a dishwasher just so I can learn the kitchen and have gotten rejected. Now tell me that isn't hunger for a veteran of this great country that can get several high paying government jobs to beg for a position in a kitchen as a dishwasher and get rejected. I don't think you know how that feels so for you to look at the young and say we are not hungry. I think you are discriminating and you are the one that THINKS YOU KNOW IT ALL.
 
#14 ·
If conclusion jumping was a sport you could be an Olympian.
Chefhow said none of what you are attibuting to him.
You've obviously got a chip on your shoulder, and I believe it comes across to people you interact with.
If you presented half this much attitude when applying at my place I wouldn't hire you either.
And I'm sorry but not all culinary students are hungry or passionate.

Do you just make this stuff up?


I hope you find what you're looking for, and end up happy.

I'm out.
 
#15 ·
Lets talk apples to apples oranges to oranges here. The Army and Iraq have nothing to do with your beginning question. A lot of us were in military service. So what! That has nothing to do with the Oh they hired a Hispnaic before me. I taught culinary arts in the New York and private school system for many years. There are all kinds of students ones who as I say "Have it in their hands and once that do not." I blame the administration of the schools for painting visions of sugarplums in these students heads. When you graduate you know strickly the basics, thats if you listened and watched. You are not within 7 years going to become Exec.Chef at The Waldorf. nor even qualify for Sous Chef.
You have to as most of the older guys on this site have done, pay your dues and learn. I dont care if you were valdictorian at the CIA you have to gradualy get your knowlefge and experience and backround ON THE JOB.
You may not like what I say or how I say it, but I dont BS thats the way it is and its not going to change for you.
When I interview, I dont want to hear how great you are and what you know, I want to know what you dont know so we can help you learn, BUT YOU ALREADY KNOW IT
 
#16 ·
nifty topic. want a hard job to get? apply at authentic Chinese, Indian or Thai places.. you stand no chance. I have actually been laughed at for even asking at several places. I have been shmoozing my way into my favorite Mexican place and it looks like I might get some part time work there soon. It also helps that I have a small but rapidly growing vocabulary of "kitchen spanish".

I'll tell ya something else, hungry also means showing up week after week, month after month to get the chance to work for THE restaurant you want. some places just have gotten lucky and have the same employees for years, they honestly don't need you. Others have a waiting list of honestly hungry people who will drop what they are doing to go to work at THIS place cause of the chef, the reputation or just because of the ideals of the owner. persistence and patience will get you far in this industry.
 
#17 ·
While I can understand the fact that you think you are being discrimenated against, I have absolutely NO SIMPATHY FOR YOU!! Your assumptions of me and other Chefs is why you are where you are today, and thats obviously no where questioning what to do next. I hope that you open your eyes and see the light, as we have seen in your previous posts you are going to need to in order to get a job. Its a very tough, very tight job market right now and for those of you who think that because you went to culinary school you should get a job ahead of somebody who didnt, well your sorely mistaken. I cant say it enough, your passion doesnt mean SQUAT if you have no drive to get ahead and desire to bust your ***** for what ever it is you are going to get paid. I know that you think you have been there and done that but you dont know a thing about the real restaurant world.

Good luck to you, you are certainly going to need it with an attitude like that and all of the assumptions you have made in this post.
 
#18 ·
No--I do not believe that chefs choose to hire people that they think do not have the talent or drive to surpass them. We hire people that are teachable. And we like to surround ourselves with people who work hard, want to learn, and YES--who have talent. As one of the other chefs pointed out....training is expensive and time consuming. High employee turnover in restaurants costs money. So yes..while we as chefs feel it is our duty to help train up a new generation of cooks who will move on to different (and perhaps bigger) things...we also need to build up a loyal brigade who will stay with us for years if we are lucky. People who are happy to come into work every day and do the menial jobs and don't necessarily have huge culinary dreams for themselves. Those jobs need to be filled too. If I were to hire you for a dishwasher's position you would most definitely want to advance over time. And that's a good thing. And I richly reward initiative and interest in my patisserie. But at the same time...I still need my dishes done. Why not hire someone who just wants to be a dishwasher in the first place? This has nothing to do with my ego as a chef...it has to do with my needs as an employer. And it has to do with being a wise financial manager. I had to hire and train you....now you want to move to another position so I now have to hire and train someone else. That costs me MORE MONEY. Restaurants are about making money as you know and in these lean financial times restauranteurs have to be smarter than ever about how they spend every penny.

I'm not concerned about my staff surpassing my ability....it certainly would make me look like an amazing teacher if they did. Really and truly there is nothing new under the sun....there really isn't. The man who trained me--a brilliant chef by the way--told me there are no secret recipes. You take those recipes to a level no one can replicate by your skill level. I have a certain skill level....others will have more skill than me or less skill than me....I can't concern myself with that...and I don't. My sous chef is a better bread baker than I'll ever be. Does that make me feel insecure? Not in the least. In fact--I encourage her to learn more...to gain more knowledge and skill. And I teach her as much as I can as often as I can.

Anyway--that's my two cents worth.
 
#19 ·
First off let me start this post off with a warning: we have seen these conversations on Cheftalk many times before and often they get closed down because they often turn into a flaming war and have sometimes gotten quite abusive. I am not pointing the finger at anyone but I am saying watch your steps or you will find this thread closed as flaming wars bring nothing constructive to the thread or to Cheftalk.

On to my post. I have never not hired anyone because I feel that they could surpass me and show me up. First off, just a few years with me won't cut it for that. It takes years and usually a number of chefs to turn out great cooks, though there are some exceptions. So that has never been a deciding factor in my hiring process. In fact, I will teach anyone all that they can absorb hoping one day they take my job or at the very least move on to bigger and better. That's what me chefs did for me and that is what I feel obligated to do for those who work under me. As for hiring hispanics, I don't make it go out of my way to hire hispanics or not hire hispanics. I hire the person who is qualified for the job, one who I feel will give me some loyalty and not take off after 6 months, who will work hard, give me 110%, one who I know will show up every day, and one who is willing to work for what I can pay them. This last one is rather important. I see kids coming out of culinary school who feel they should be making $10-15 an hour. That is pretty much out of my price range. Profit margins are tight and so are labor dollars. I pay most of my staff under $10 an hour oftentimes (depending on where I am living) with only those key employees with a good amount of experience making more. You'd be amazed how many culinary grads never call me back after they find that out. I also don't need a cook around who is always second guessing me and unfortunately it seems many of today's culinary grads feel entitled to letting their opinions be known. Working with hispanics who are "just there for a job," I know they will execute my menu the way I want and not change the dish or the plating because they feel they have a "better" way.

Finally, I find these conversations all somewhat racist against both hispanics and caucasians. I have employeed many great hispanics and many hispanics who were lazy, sleazy, conniving bums, but the same goes for caucasians. Anytime you decide to speak about a large group in general you automatically make gross generalizations that usually are not very representative. The same goes for making gross generalizations about chefs. I know chefs of all types and to make sweeping generalizations about us just doesn't seem very practical.
 
#20 ·
You are as WRONG as WRONG can be!!! Great chefs teach in their kitchens every day.

Everything you've written smacks of racism and a very poor attitude. I can't imagine anyone hiring you. Truthfully, I think you'd do yourself a favor by going back in the army and your old MOS.
 
#21 ·
Here here Pete!!!! My belief (whether my employees believed it or not is a different thing) was that my success was 49% of my own doing and 51% because of the people I hired to work for me. Too bad I couldn't get a few of them to believe that. Sure woulda saved my back looking like a knife rack :rolleyes: By the way, I never had a hispanic employee back-stab me for his or her own gains. ;)

I never went out of my way either but as luck would have it, most of the applications I received were from Hispanics. 95% infact and I never found as much attitude nor heard "what I won't do" out of them.


I always believed that you get what you pay for and that if you pay a respectable wage....... I understand exacty what you're saying and can empathisize but in the same breath, wages in this industry are far too low for my liking. That is considering I made more in 1985 as a line cook than most today. Wages have not kept up with any portion of any economy. I was just thinking today that based on what we expect or should expect out of the folks that handle food and what we are ingesting, we should pay more. I did my part and often paid dearly for it in more ways than one. Maybe it's a thought process that only I or very few posses but I am proud of it and am not afraid to express it. After all it is my personal opinion and it is expressed without intending anyone harm or disrespect.:look:

I couldn't agree more! :cool:
 
#22 ·
This is quite some post. I wonder if Culinary Huster is still out there or if he has given up on us because no one took side with him.

I think the main problem is that Culinary Hustler didn't do his due diligence and investigate the culinary scene before dropping big bucks on Culinary school. Like, washing dishes for a few months or plating salads before making his decision. Maybe he got suckered by a recruiting agent for one of those big schools--"when you graduate you're entitled to a good job and better salary then those who've worked the same position for years and know more about the job. Entitled? No, it's your right, after all you've paid your tuition, right?"

Meh, poor schmuck, now we're stuck with the likes of him until they shape up or move off into real estate or tele-marketing

O.T.O.H. I've never worked in the States, and have therefor never worked with Hispanics. However I've worked shoulder-to shoulder with many "Guest workers" from European countries, and have worked shoulder to shoulder with many Asians in kitchens around the world. I've had problems with the a-holes, and great working relationships with the non-a-holes. Doesn't matter what country they're from.

Wages? The source of all money comes from the customer. People are cheap, and when push comes to shove, they'd rather pay more for the waiter than the cook. But then, that's life. Who earns more, the diamond cutter, or the diamond ring salesman?
 
#24 ·
I don't agree with most of the original post but I do think that it's become a thing where it is hard to break into cooking (in a city especially) if you are over 20 and white, just because most restaurants in New York, Chicago, Boston, and beyond won't hire a white dishwasher. If you speak English (and god forbid you went to college) and you try to apply for a dishwashing job you'll get a lot of raised eyebrows. It seems the majority of people I know that hire kitchen staff as a part of their duties feel reluctant to hire a white dishwasher for fear of the person flaking out on a crucial night.

So you're white and have no experience and you have to try to con your way into an actual cooking job. mexicans, Brazillians, Ecuadorians, these guys start out as busboys and dishwashers. They work their way up.

But then again - be a white line cook in an all Hispanic kitchen. Chef is probably white. Guess who gets first crack at sous chef? That's right - the guy who can actually call in the order without an impenetrably thick accent. The guy who the chef an yell at and get something other than a blank stare. Once you get your foot in the door, being white is a huge advantage as a line cook in terms of money and authority.

Of course none of my Hispanic staff would take the sous position anyway - they usually make more money working two hourly wage jobs than what I can afford to pay salary.

My staff is sorta mixed - most of my white staff I get off craig's list or from walk-in apps, most of the Hispanic staff come from referrals - the fish guy knows a guy, the dishwasher who's being promoted to prep has a cousin, that sort of thing.

It's an odd situation. It's a clash of people who are chasing achievement in a craft and people who want a reliable paycheck. (Of course that's not true either - most of the people who have worked under me to later open a restaurant are Hispanic - or they open up other business ventures)

Right now I've got three white guys aside from the two sous chefs. One's an oddball lifer line cook (smokes a lot of pot, shows up on time, runs a tight grill station), the hyper anal culinary grad who is slow as all **** but makes ridiculously good bread and can break down a pig, the experienced culinary graduate who is really solid on saute but needs an extraordinary amount of ego stroking to not go into *****-mode all night. But also I've got a hyperactive El Salvadorian who's 21 and needs to be handcuffed to his counter lest he follow the cute new busgirl into the dining room, the old Ecuadorian who does apartment maintenance during the day needs a banana at 7:30 every night or he gets grumpy because his knees hurt, the perpetually doped haitian dishwasher who listens to an ipod all night and is sometimes way too rough when cleaning emulsion blender attachments. (and don't even get me started about losing sausage grinder blades.)

It takes all kinds. everybody has their stuff. If you know kitchen people you'll find jobs easier. If you've been a dishwasher you'll find it easier to be a prep cook. And so on.

But whatever. OP - good luck, I guess. You sound like you've never cooked in a kitchen before, so your summation on why you think chefs hire Hispanic is really indicative of that experience level. It's not a glam job so you shouldn't have trouble finding somebody willing to let you burn their food for them.
 
#25 ·
I agree with the sentiments, but with profit margins as tight as they are, in most restaurants, it's hard to pay "decent" wages. It's a little easier for the chains with their bulk purchasing power. They could use some of the money they save on food and pay their cooks better, but they won't (and that's sad) but for many small independent restaurant owners paying their employees more means that they (the owners) will end up taking a very small paycheck if any at all. As someone who has worked for small independents and small chains I hate the fact that I can't pay people what I would really like to and then to heap insult on injury, offer them insurance which will probably take almost one full paycheck of theirs.
 
#26 ·
In my first place I didnt take a paycheck home for over 6 months after we opened. In fact I never even cashed my first one, I framed it and it was only for about $200. My Sous Chef was taking home $300/wk and I paid his insurance, ALL OF IT for his entire family just to get him to work for so little. Once we started to make a profit I gave him a monthly bonus of 3% of bottom line, great incentive and it paid off.
 
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