How to deal with kitchen a******* - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocktrns 

One of the line cooks that has been there for a long time would tell me to do one thing,and then when the executive chef gets on the line he would tell me to to another.  So then I ask my self  "Who do I listen to?"  I personally listen to the Executive Chef because hes my boss then when I listen to him about how to make a certain dish they say i'm a suck up.  

Don't listen to them. I'm serious ....bring a pen and paper every day and get your directions specifically dictated from him, and him alone. If he tells you to talk to sous, then talk to the sous ...calling you a suck-up is part of their shtick unfortunately. I'd just respond by saying that, 'I like to be 100% assured that i'm not wasting time doing something useless... not for me or for you'.

hey kid quit now become a eletricican or something i dont think you will last.  

Don't hate on the kid for asking questions, unless he's offended you in some way.  We're here to help.

your a kid your supposed to be treated like this. the kitchen is a  bitch. either get better faster cleaner or die. guys have been doing this for years, its our life our job and if your not good its obvious. sorry. but life sucks.

Dude really?  No idea how you made it to sous, you've obviously got not interpersonal skills whatsoever.  I'd fire you for gross ignorance.  HELP the kid, don't debase him.  Jesus.

that better?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dizzle 

 Thicker skin is needed

      yes

thank you chef,

Your the guy with the same I worked my way up in this crappy job, it sucks, Im hardcore with my team of pirates blah blah blah every station blah blah 100 degree heat blah blah blah this station blah blah. You probably get paid crap still and aren't smart enough to figure out a way to make good money in the field and once you are given any power in the kitchen you will abuse it and treat people bellow you like crap and then pay them crap too continuing the cycle of a**holes in the kitchen. You are tough guy, pickin on a teenager in a kitchen with grown men, any one else that was too is also as tough and as hardcore him, I got tired of reading all this kitchen bravado crap. I know it it can be tough on the line on a Friday night at the Red Lobster but lighten up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dizzle 

dont bash me, guy, i was trying to say its a tough job and you need to prove yourself and grow in everyway or your not gonna make it. Ill show someone the menu, the plating, the prep the clean up, then do it. holding your hand and is not what im here for. Thicker skin is needed, and if your not getting along with the other guys, maybe you need to move on. I build my team and the good guys who can do what needs to be done, those guys you wanna help grow. I have worked with too many kids who have no buisness in the kitchen. everyone watches food network and wants to be a star, noone wants to sog it out in the trenches for 12 hours doing 400 covers a nite in 110 degree heat for years mastering every station every recipie anymore. Thats where i came from and still am. Thats all i was saying. Until I proved i should be their noone taught me anything. and I started at the bottom and through hard work and dedication made it. not with a cia degree. Work hard, be on time, and youll be fine.

 

that better?

Nobody taught you anything until you proved you belonged? sounds like someone I wouldn't want to work for in the first place.

BTW, it's a good thing basic writing and grammar aren't a necessary skill in a kitchen, boss.

I read through the first 22 posts so if this was mentioned already sorry ahead of time.

Personally keep your head up and keep trying harder. Ive went through sooo much shit i could write a novel on it. In my experiences however i do know that the best thing you can do is "what your told" go into work every day do your best. Strive to be better and always work harder to be better every single day

When i go into work now on the line and im doing 150 covers on a busy night, and i have a full board and i screw up a pasta on a 6 top. I have my sous chef going up one side of me and down the other because i just killed the entire table because of a pasta that i forgot to take off the heat while i was doing 20 other things. But i dont dwell on it. even while hes ... as some people will put "picking on me". I keep my mouth closed, because first and foremost during service your sous chef or executive chef the last thing theyre going to want to hear is excuses or reasons, they want results and i always provide them. And at the end of the day we all laugh it off give credit to each other and have a beer or so to relax afterwards.

What i lack in the kitchen with my knowledge of theory i more then compensate for with my work ethic. i bust my balls and give 110percent every day. I dont care if people talk about me when im not there because its a job i know im doing better then most people there. The management and people who matter recognize that and ive moved from second cook too Chef de Partie, because i know how to take criticism and turn it into results. I take insults on the chin like a man, i dont start confrontations, i get along with everyone i work with and when people do give me shit that i feel is un deserved i dont hesitate to call them out on it. And i dont mean like " hey man whats your fu**king problem" i mean "hey man, i dont think i deserved to be spoken too like that is there something im doing wrong that you feel the need to talk to me that way, or should we just both go into the executive chefs office and i can tell him what you just said" I know how to ignore and keep my mouth shut as too not get involved with "kitchen politics" and always strive to always be better.

Stephen

Don't let any of the above stop you from doing what you like. As you age you will mellow and get better. Also learn from some of the above what you should  not do in dealing with others. A good chef cooks well a great chef not only cooks well but is a mentor and example to his staff.

wow.

One mistake I've made was becoming friends with people on the outside of work. Things really backfired when the best friend back-stabbed me and I have to see him and a few others every other day when they come in. Now I'm seen as the asshole. Why? Because I do every thing the way it's supposed to and they don't and I don't tolerate it. They want to make mistakes that beginners make when they are the ones who went to school for this and should know better. They want to call me out on things that's not even my job to do, but their own. Why do they single me out? Because I'm not one of them anymore. 

What do I do? I come into work every day with a smile laughing and joking with everyone including the ones who don't like me. 99% of the time, they ignore me and try to hold in their laughter. I do this though because it makes the job easier. They can't see me as a threat if I'm including them in everything I do. Only if I ignore them and do my own thing. They'll see me as someone who can easily run circles around them and it makes for competition. 

Keep work and life separated. As soon as you walk through the door, remove your attitude and get in a good mood. It's hard, but just do it. Get rid of the competition so none of them will perceive you as a threat. As crazy as this sounds, if you did something better than one of them, it would ruin them I'll bet and that's what they are afraid of so they don't want to show you anything. Ask them for help. It doesn't matter if you don't need help, just ask and include them in your project and give them credit for it. 

At the end of the day, they are the ones feeding off of a title. If they want to take credit for something, let them. What matters most is what you know and if you know you're good, that's all that matters. However one has to wonder how good they actually are. This is where your final product showcases your skills and you will be ripped to pieces with either good or bad results. In the end if you get fired or receive bad results, you weren't good enough so you get back out there and keep at it or find something you think you may be better at. If he gives you more responsibility, that's when you really know you're getting there. Once you walk out that door, get a new attitude. You're no longer at work. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dizzle 

wow.

So....

Think you can do it? 

I mean, be an example and mentor to your staff?

Lizzle, Dizzle.  I'm not bashing you outright, but as a working chef, still in the trenches I'll laugh at your 400 covers and question your motivational ways.  I've always been more of an educator than a hard@ss.  I had to work my way up, probably the way you did.  It doesn't give me the right to talk down to even my dishwasher.  It's a work of love.  When we lose that love...what do we really have?

When I was younger I was like that . However when I took teacher training classes, it gave me a wholr new outlook and insight on how people think and  on handeling a staff. You truly earn respect by showing respect, never down anyone if possible and if you have to , do it in private. Choose your words carefully and think before you say something  sought of like Marriage ncounter ask yourself "How will my response or answer make you feel?"You truly get more Bees with H.oney

Exactly, Ed.

Listen, Kid.  You're in the middle of a process.  Let's say you're young, intelligent, a "good worker", have a good attitude, realize you know very little but are very eager to learn. You're working in the field, you're going to culinary school.  And let's say you're not sporting an unrealistic or disillusioned view of yourself.

That's all good.  Don't worry about the guys giving you crap and bullying you.  There's possibly some jealousy going on, and maybe you come from the "other side of the tracks".  Maybe being arrested has been in their past, but it's not in your future.  You're clean-cut, responsible, ambitious and have a future with a high ceiling.  That's something none of these bullies can claim, and picking on you helps them feel better about their own shiiitty lives.

Keep your nose to the grind (cliche, sorry), and do everything you can to improve and self-educate outside of work and outside the confines of school.  Read, experiment, practice on your own time.  Have failures on your own time, and learn from them.

I'm going through the same issues as everyone right now, its hard working in a kitchen especially when ur told you are slow and stuff.Im a apprentice right now,

Any tips someone would like to share with me?

do the right thing

It just sounds like these guys don't respect you whatsoever, but like someone already said you have to earn that respect.  Take the negative s$%# they say and turn it into something positive. Do your job and there's better than them.  But all in all you have to stand up for yourself or they are going to keep on doing what they already have been..