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radio in the kitchen yes or no????

post #1 of 25
9/18/09 at 8:00am
Thread Starter 
I've been in plenty of kitchens that don't allow music or radio in the kitchen, but when I became "the man" i said let's rock. I think it can really help with the attitude in the kitchen, something to get your mind off of the daily grind so to speak.....oh yeah, NO COUNTRY no RAP........remember I'm "the man"......It's good to be king...LOL
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post #2 of 25
9/18/09 at 10:38am
Here is why many places don't allow it. The dishwasher is hanging a pot it starts to fall I see it yell at you Look Out, you don't hear me you get hit. Guy working stove behind you puts pot on stove pot hits another one and boiling water is going to fall on you and the floor I yell, /you don't hear me=Your hurt. This is my only objection.
CHEFED
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post #3 of 25
9/18/09 at 10:55am
Thread Starter 
Ed, we could put some elevator music on for you....LOL...
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post #4 of 25
9/18/09 at 11:29am
the last 3 kitchens I've worked in we've had serious satellite radio. the first place I was a line cook we actually had speakers hooked up above the line which was really cool. but the last two we've just had sirius boom boxes. The great part of being a Chef De Cuisine is I get to listen to whatever I want and my cooks cant say anything about it or if they change the station without asking me I just turn it off, or if they turn it up etc...

But basically I dont mind having a radio in the kitchen at all, in fact I love it... I turn it off during the rush and always have it at a low setting throughout the day...one because there's a table right outside the kitchen doors and the other reason was stated above, because I hate repeating myself, constantly hearing "what?" "what?" "what?" that really makes me angry. So yes, radio is fine, but with limitations.
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post #5 of 25
9/18/09 at 11:51am
I wanna live in a world where I can tell my stewards that there won't be any rap because I like rock and the dishes still get done and every one shows up on time.
Over all I think music in the kitchen is one big pain in the hind quarters.
Then there's the volume issue.
I have had to take the music out of a few kitchens. In others it's not been an issue. For me it really depends on the crew and the kitchen. I'm not sure letting NWA's version of **** the police rock the crew during service would work real well in an open kitchen. :lol:
I think the most wonderful thing in the world is another chef. I'm always excited about learning new things about food.
Paul Prudhomme
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post #6 of 25
9/18/09 at 12:54pm
I've been at places that have allowed it, and the last place I worked at was totally open concept cafe so I listened to whatever they had on for the cafe. At some point in my day I'd be busy and I'd tune it out so I could focus on what I was doing at the time. The kitchen I work at now doesn't allow it.. it's an open kitchen.
OK ... where am I going?.. and WHY am I in this handbasket??
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post #7 of 25
9/18/09 at 11:20pm
I was rockin out with the Sous today... couldnt picture life without a radio. He was telling me a story about when he was younger, they tried taking his radio away, and he led a rebellion in the kitchen that halted production because "We don't work without music". They relented and brought the radio back. He got a severe write up, but said it was worth it for the radio.

The lead cook likes Rap, the Sous likes soft/alternative rock, and I like my heavy metal. Tonight we were rocking out to various acts like Tool, Radiohead, Megadeth, Disturbed, System of a Down, and a few others. The food was coming out perfectly, and we had a good rhythym going. We run a 1-2 person line, so theres not too much dispute about what we get to play.

But yeah, I can see why its not acceptable in an open kitchen (though as a guest in a restaurant with an open kitchen, if one of the cooks started playing something, I wouldnt mind)
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post #8 of 25
9/19/09 at 5:19am
Life with a radio can be a lot easier when you have a small crew. When you have as many in the dish room alone as some entire kitchens and you get a boom box in the dish room and another on the line or a third in the banquet area it can become a twisted version of duelling boom boxes.
I do like the idea of having XM in my office and putting speakers in the kitchen. When I worked at Disney they piped in Disney-esque type tunes in a similar fashion. While it became like white noise it still was nice and that was a huge kitchen with a lot of ethnic and personal diversity.
I think the most wonderful thing in the world is another chef. I'm always excited about learning new things about food.
Paul Prudhomme
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post #9 of 25
9/19/09 at 6:58am
I allow it; however I can see why my old chef hated music in the kitchen. Having a radio means having to share music. Everyone brings in their own music and it gets annoying. I like music from sublime, chili peppers, tool, all the way to old school NWA. But no one else likes that music, so every single time I leave teh kitchen, I come back to deep backwoods mexican music blasting. I guess teh best way to compare that music would be America's version of really bad country.

During rush hours I usually end up ripping the plug out of the wall in a violent rage. My old chef would do one better though, not once but twice he took a meat hammer to the radios. I never seen a radio get tenderized during rush.....hilarious!
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post #10 of 25
9/19/09 at 7:18am
music during prep, no music during service.
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post #11 of 25
9/19/09 at 8:45am
I allow it, but if I see it hampering communication I pull the plug.
A radio can be good for morale, but the more people you have in the kitchen the more diverse the tastes, so that can occasionally be an issue.
The things I hate most are people spending too much time tuning the radio instead of working, or worse, those that turn up the volume for a "good song".
The problem with turning up the volume is that they never return it to it's previous level after the song is over, so the next time a "good song" comes on, they turn it up further.

I can see both sides.
I do have to say though that if my crew led a rebellion over the radio I would allow the radio, to meet service needs, but those people would be replaced in short order.
We're not here to head bang, we're here to bang out the orders.
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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post #12 of 25
9/19/09 at 11:18am
We got one crappy radio in the kitchen, we put it at a reasonable level, just so it doesn't get too boring during deep prep time. Especially helps when you're peeling and deveining a ton of shrimp, making a million meatballs...
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post #13 of 25
9/19/09 at 12:03pm
yeah Eloki you are right,when it is time for concentration we can turn it off but when we are doing a redundant stuff then radio comes in handy to keep us working..I love to hear music no matter whatever I do:chef:
DriveSafe.ly
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post #14 of 25
9/19/09 at 8:27pm
Banged out a small banquet (50 ppl) and worked the line with the Sous again. Rocked out to Incubus, more Radiohead, and more System of a Down/Serj Tankian.

I let the Closing Cook/Dishwasher have their spanish music for most of the night after the sous left.
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post #15 of 25
9/20/09 at 6:11am
exactly, it breaks up the monotony of prep and wakes / picks up ppl to be in the right mood or 'in the zone' for service...
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post #16 of 25
9/20/09 at 7:19am
I love having music to work.
Rule number one never touch Chef's radio. He is working with many sharp tools. You might get cut.

peace of my need for music
tyler
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post #17 of 25
9/20/09 at 3:23pm
Radio. NO... Unless its to keep up with the state of the roads during bad weather.

CD, Tape deck definitely... Bring in your music and chef gets first call. Play genre and volume depending on how the kitchens going.

If you're away from the punters all the better. Abba can get you through monotony and Ac/dc can ping you through a shift. ...Each to his own
"If we're not supposed to eat animals, why are they made of meat?" Jo Brand
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post #18 of 25
9/20/09 at 4:40pm
i think in this thread the term 'radio' was just used generally for music not necessarily an actual radio station.
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post #19 of 25
9/21/09 at 8:51am
i work in an open kitchen so thats exactly how it is.
when i was doing some roomservice work the kitchen was away from customers so on quiet nights i would finish up by myself and crank some electro beats, nothing like cleaning the grill and getting pumped up fro a night out at the same time
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post #20 of 25
9/21/09 at 2:40pm
This is spot on advice. A great compromise that works. As far as music selection
I let the staff rotate there stuff depending on the mix of the crew. In most kitchens out west that means a lot of La Bamba. Thats OK though as I speak Spanglish;);)
The two most common things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity !
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post #21 of 25
9/22/09 at 2:19am
They can have the radio on as long as it doesn't interfere with communication or drive anyone nuts. When I'm on the line, it's classic rock. If I'm in the kitchen and Crazy B****h or Down with the Sickness comes on, they know to change the station right now, or I will kick the radio out the back door (I have done this) as I feel I don't get paid enough to listen to that s**t at work and they can listen to it on their own time. I have worked in kitchens where the (so called) music was blasting so loud no one could hear anyone and was so annoying I would have a head ache from it. So that's the deal. Not loud, not annoying to anybody, if so, off.
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post #22 of 25
9/26/09 at 7:57am
Choose one radio station that you can all agree on (yea, right!), keep the volume low(what!) and turn it off during service. Otherwise work without and chat between yourselves; learn about you fellow chef! LOL
UNDER PRESSURE AT PEMBROKE
Cooking sous vide at Cambridge's third oldest College
http://thepembrokekitchen.blogspot.com/
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post #23 of 25
9/26/09 at 8:39am
we have music (computer speakers with an ipod) during prep and while we break down, but it stays off for service. Makes the prep time seem to go by faster...it would be really awkwardly quiet I think without music for that.
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post #24 of 25
9/30/09 at 4:22am
Well listening to music while preparing, is really helpful for me. But it will works if you got few crews. And If it will suits with what they like. So for me having music on preparing helps. But on serving? It would probably lose your concentration.

nichole :chef:
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post #25 of 25
9/30/09 at 6:24am
I like metal during prep and opera or baroque classical during service. I feel that, as long as it's not distracting, it helps to establish a rhythm in the kitchen and also to keep spirits up.

I also keep the "no rap, no country" rule in effect although modern country is almost acceptable because it's basically classic rock with a corn fried crust.:D
Dammi un coltello affilato e vi mostrerò l'arte più belle del mondo.
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