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What can you handle and how am I doing?

874 views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  nativecook93 
#1 ·
So I have been a Cook for 3 months now and typically I run dinner alone Monday and Tuesday meaning I am the only one in the back. Typically I may get ten tickets all night but at times I get 15 to 30 tickets over one hour. Now its not just simple salads or soup its anywhere from Apple Bruschetta, scallops or crab cakes. Every order comes out in fifteen minutes and usually 1/3 of my tickets are four tops but I still maintain 4-6 tickets going at once. I feel I am doing well god knows my boss loves me but I do not plan to stay there forever after culinary school I am moving to Denver and want to be ready. How do some of the more seasoned people feel about my progress? Am I on the right track or should I perhaps step it up a bit? 
 
#2 ·
It sounds like you're doing good, but that's not to say you shouldn't step it up too. The only way you get better is by always pushing yourself. Better consistency, better ticket times, better knife cuts. We all want to be the best overnight but the truth is it simply takes a lot of time and a lot of effort. One of the first things I heard in this industry is 'It takes five minutes to put on a chef coat, but it takes a lifetime to become one'. People often say work smart not hard, but in the kitchen you have to work smart and hard if you want to excel.
 
#4 ·
I love learning and in this business your never done.
Amen to that. When you are done...you are done. My love of learning is what has kept me in this business for 40 some years. I ain't even close to done yet. You are doing good but don't settle for that. There are always improvements that can be made, ways to step it up, and new things to explore.
 
#6 ·
So I have been a Cook for 3 months now and typically I run dinner alone Monday and Tuesday meaning I am the only one in the back. Typically I may get ten tickets all night but at times I get 15 to 30 tickets over one hour. Now its not just simple salads or soup its anywhere from Apple Bruschetta, scallops or crab cakes. Every order comes out in fifteen minutes and usually 1/3 of my tickets are four tops but I still maintain 4-6 tickets going at once. I feel I am doing well god knows my boss loves me but I do not plan to stay there forever after culinary school I am moving to Denver and want to be ready. How do some of the more seasoned people feel about my progress? Am I on the right track or should I perhaps step it up a bit?
First off welcome to ChefTalk.

We can only reply to the information you give us.

With only 3 months under your wing, and you run dinner service alone is great.

What you don't say paints a different picture so we can only assume or guess.

The way you describe your ticket times and the examples you gave could be taken as if those items were convenience products simply deep fried. You don't say if you scratch cook.

Can you give us a little more information please?
 
#7 · (Edited)
Everything we make is from scratch. Our stuffed mushrooms are assembled to order our crab cakes are not pre-formed we have to do that to order and every appetizer we have like the Apple bruschetta is done to order meaning I must dice the apple toast the bread and top with thyme. The only things that require no work are our sandwiches and our soups. Here is our page on facebook it should give a bit more understanding. https://www.facebook.com/CellarDoorTavern
 
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