Best things about the industry to you.

lol, OP you sound young, and still extremely enthusiastic about being on the line. . . give it a decade or two, lol. Enjoy it while you can. It's only a matter of time before you end the shift, and unwind with your buddies over multiple beverages, and bitch about everything you are loving now.

 

I will never go hungry. I can work, and have worked all over the world. It's a fantastic creative outlet, and really satisfies my "instant gratification" side, even if getting all of the components together for the dish may take 8 hours. Running into people I cooked for 15 years ago, and they still talk about it.

      """"   YOU WILL NEVER STARVE"""""""

Being able to share my heart and soul with everyone who has my plate put in front of them. Creative freedom is cathartic.

Clean stainless steel and clean boards always make me happy. Taking the extra time with my knife work because I know it will elevate the final product makes me happy. Ignoring the silly idea my sous offers (sweeten the rilleno filling by adding dried cranberries, Mexican style) and coming up with the perfect solution (grilled corn puree). I love what I do in spite of all the negatives out there.

P.S. Nothing makes me happier than a perfect plate.

 

See this worries me. Its the burnout rate which is experienced by the industry which I hope to avoid. I am keeping a journal of my enthusiasm I have right now. Writing about things I've discovered and experienced I've enjoyed. My goal is to revisit my journal when I burnout like so many Chef's do. Maybe the words of a young enthusiastic me will uplift my worn spirits and help me remember why I fell in love with cooking in the first place. It is just an idea I have, maybe it will work, maybe it wont, but its worth a shot.

Being a part of the last profession that is still ultimately judged by their everyday performance and ability to get things done.

 

No excuses, No extensions, No Updates, No Spin - just "Here try this... what do you think?"

 

"@*$%#  that's good"

 

"Thanks" (insert grin)

 

When you get burnt out, the best thing to do is to go to another kitchen and work for a day or just go to a market. You're not really getting burnt out from cooking or food. It's the people you see and deal with every day. Any time I get burnt out, I lose all motivation. I won't do anything new or interesting. Then a week later, I'll take a day off and just go. Then I come home and open some books. Seeing and doing new things will motivate you to walk back in that kitchen and bring things to a whole new level. 

Why worry about potential burnout? If it occurs it is happening for a reason and you need to listen to what it is telling you and take appropriate actions.If it doesn't happen, then you spent time worrying about something for nothing.

 

For what it is worth, I haven't experienced it in my 38 year career so far. Enthusiasm can occasionally be lost, but I can always easily find it again by looking. It is right there for the taking.

sharp knives oh yeah, working with a team who can flow very well with each with minimal talk(sounds crazy i know), seasonal menus, progression, meeting other chefs, ppl enjoying what you have created, i can go on for days.....if your getting burned out, I think you need to reevaluate yourself and the people who are working with or for you.

 

 

INDEED!

 

Inspiration is only a special ingredient, a new book, a new recipe, a new creation, a new special away. 

 

While I have certainly had days where I didn't feel like dealing with the BS parts of it, I have never really been "burned out", per se. Getting jazzed again normally happens pretty quickly. 

By far, my favorite thing about the industry is that, for the most part, it's put up or shut up. After being in the corporate world for a decade, where competence always took a back seat to nepotism and loyalty, I LOVE being in an industry (at least fine dining) where the people that can't produce are weeded out instead of promoted.

 

I also LOVE being in an industry where my foul mouth and endless sarcasm are a virtue :) 

 

I whole heartedly agree with everything you just said.

 

Receiving this ^^^ from a table

I like the fact of it being like an oiled machine. One servers runs tickets before salads, one after, another puts in apps as she takes out drinks, puts in mains on her way back

I also am very fond of the way the kitchen's ran in a brigade. You report to your superior, he knows more and better ways of doing basically everything. He will not let you sink because his as is on the line to. Fry cooks report to line cooks who report to line lead who reports to sous who reports directly with the chief. There's something I find fascinating how that works

I'm 2-0 vs. the Exec in our fantasy football league this season.  That's about as good as it gets in a restaurant kitchen!

As in every industry there are burnouts . For every burnout there is a person who does not.

Cookers, you make an excellent point - changing not only one's scenery but the pace is just as important when we spend so much time in confined spaces with the sames faces. When you have a day off, make sure it's a TRUE DAY OFF where you have absolutely nothing to do with work or cooking.  A breath of fresh air can be most invigorating.

I don't know if I would call it burnout.  On the one hand I love cooking.  I study it as a hobby, I do it for a living, I write about it, research it, and promote it.  On the other hand almost no amount of wages or bennies could get me to work in front of a @#&%%$**! ticket machine ever again.  Line cooking is awesome, behind the line is where every great chef is forged.  But it's a proving ground, a stepping stone to bigger and better things.  The line is for debutantes with its high stress high demands and low pay.  Latter, the debutantes who don't burnout from the horrors of ticket machines and B@%#^* wait staff will find a way to do whatever it is they love about cooking easier and for more money and better quality of life.  

 

What I love about cooking for a living is that it has allowed me to transcend social, political, economic and cultural barriers.  I also love that a good cook and baker is never without work.  I love how there is always always ALWAYS something new to learn - I learn stuff form "amateur home cooks" all the time, there are endless fields to break out into or specilize in.  I love how you can do anything in this field;  there are people who earn 70K just to taste chocolate, others who make their living just tasting cheese, you can have a nice nine-to-fiver eating out and then writing about your experiences, or you can open up a cart on paradise beach - the possibilities are endless. I love how once you get good enough at your specialty you no longer have to look for work because people are already looking for you.  And I especially love that I don't have student loans to pay off - I got paid to learn my trade, I educated myself with books, and no one ever asks me for certificates and diplomas just for the right to apply.  What other trade can you happily travel around the world as a self made man?

 

CDF