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Make sure that when you are the executive Chef of a kitchen that you have 90 % control.

post #1 of 5
11/19/11 at 1:26pm
Thread Starter 

I was hired as a sous chef for an assisted living establishment.  That is a place that caters to the retired community whether their own choice, or due to memory issues.  This was a fully equipt kitchen where the menu changed every week.  A few month's down the road I was promoted to the executive chef position.  At the same time we got a new director for the business. His field was nursing care, but was still the boss.  This person would on a continuous effort find something wrong with the kitchen. Almost as if he had OCD.  As most cooks due as they did in my establishment clean as they go.  Cooks are not perfect. Some forget to label things, but at the end of the day the supervisor sign off on labels.  Don't come in my kitchen when everyone is busy doing their job and finding little issues. It almost became a witch hunt.  One particular day a pill was found underneath a table. Apparently the nurse didn't witness the resident consuming the pill. I was told my staff wasn't doing their job.  Being the chef I am, I took up for my staff. My reply was how is my kitchen responsible for not covering your nurses mishaps. Let me say that was one burnt brulee.  Anyways 3 weeks later I was released. So see what I mean about having control over your kitchen.  I just recently heard the residency was inspected by the state. Found 5 violations.  Maybe if he wasn't so worried about the kitchen he would of corrected his other faults.

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post #2 of 5
11/19/11 at 3:41pm

Physch 101.  The new boss didn't hire you personally, and was constantly trying to find dirt on you. All he wanted was control--and maybe your nose up his butt.

 

If you figure you could have fought him, you should have recorded the incident about the pill, sent both him and HR a copy and then wait for him to find even more dirt on your, invent dirt, or try to find dirt on your staff, or failing that, dirt on your staff's cat or dog.

 

Some people are just toxic s.o.b.'s, usually very afraid and best left alone.

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post #3 of 5
11/19/11 at 3:44pm

P.S. I got one heckuva royal sh*t kicking from and assistant F&B who blamed me for not informing him about some kind of a scam the waiters were pulling with coffee tickets.  Mind you, if I even set foot out of the dining room he would have had me in his office.

 

I featured him as the ultra-evil villian in my kid's bed time stories..........

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post #4 of 5
12/3/11 at 3:15pm

If I were working at an assisted living I would be more concerned with the bottom line to have a leg to stand on with the boss. I took a job with a high end retirement home in New Jersey years ago to get out of the restaurant gig for awhile and everything went well until they moved a dietician into the kitchen and that was it for me. Unfortunately, institutional jobs often see us as "the help" and it took more humility than I was able to muster and I don't deal well with resentment. Good luck.

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post #5 of 5
12/4/11 at 3:33am

that is really typical.

 

in my past I have worked as an extra in a private Clinic in Lonon. the head surgeon was the owner. it could tell you anything and he knew how to run a kitchen. you should have see how I found the kitchen at he start. to make you  shiver.

he certainly knew where to put his hand that is true! always came in when back turned and open fridges, the nurses I had to throw them out and make rules and regulations.

 

he best that he knew that head surgeon was where to place his hand on the Matrone.

 

 

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