r/Chefit

Im looking to start getting in half hogs because ym restaurant uses a lot of pork. We go through about 2 shoulders a week, and a slab of bacon a week and near us we can get half a hog for about 500 plus shipping

Also side question, ive made bacon before but this restaurant doesnt have a smoker. Can i just use a hotel pan setup with a perf pan and woodchips in the bottom to smoke my bacon?

I imagine i can start running pork chops on the menu as well. We also use the trotters for a dish currently.

Basically I just want to know how you got where you are. I’m currently working at a chain restaurant as a line cook. My next steps are graduation, leaving my city, and hopefully becoming a private chef.

I would like to know a few things…. Was it something you always planned to do? What experiences do you think makes a well rounded private chef? Who was your first client? What made you decide it was the best career choice for you? Should I work under a few private chefs before becoming one alone?

North Carolina is where I plan to start.

Thanks in advance.

Hello! I'm a 22 yr F, I have been baking at home since I was in middle school, but have really been doing it non-stop for the past couple of years. Anywhere from cakes to sourdough bread, I really enjoy it and I think it's seriously what I want to do career wise. My problem is that I have been working since I was 18 (at restaurants mostly serving but always working closely with the kitchen) and never went to college for culinary classes or baking courses or anything else for that matter. I cannot afford to do more than a small online baking class which I'm seriously considering. What I'm here for is to see if there are any bakers out there who can give me any advice on how to get into a baking position. I am very persistent when it comes to job hunting and have never had a problem getting jobs in places I want but this is a completely new field for me and I guess I'm feeling out of depth :/. I'd appreciate any advice or encouragement anyone has to give! Not sure if this matters but I'm based in the Southern California. Thanks so much!

Edit: I should clarify that I have been applying to many jobs in bakeries, however I'm sure we all know that right now it feels so rare to hear back from any job you apply to. I have applied to several and written a well thought out cover letter explaining my position and do plan on keeping that up! Thanks!

Does anyone have any experience having store bought tortillas expiring?

I worked a catering kitchen that went through tons of tortillas, and when they expired we threw them out. However at home I will use tortillas until I run out even a month past expiration with no issues.

Do they eventually mold like bread? Or just get stale and lack quality with age?

I’m asking for advice in this post!

So a few months an ago I gave a verbal agreement to be the CDC to open a new restaurant. I haven’t signed anything yet but I have the contract.

For some background, most of my experience is in Michelin starred restaurants doing tasting menus. The restaurant I would be opening would be slightly more casual.

I asked the owners (who are nice and have good taste) what they want this restaurant to be. They basically said they are inspired by the “casual fine dining” type restaurants. Think fourhoursmen, Dorian, locust, ect. They told me they would want to operate in the realm of these 1 Michelin star places I just mentioned. That sounded great to me and I feel that I am capable of running a place of that caliber. So I have a verbal agreement.

Since then I have done a handful of pop ups for the restaurant where I have created and executed the menu by myself. These pop ups have been both financially and artistically successful.

So here is my problem. Over time they have revealed more and more things about the restaurant to me that have been concerning.

1. The restaurant will have a type 2 hood and therefore will only have 4 induction burners and 1 combi oven. No other cooking appliances are permitted.

2. The owners say they want to hire only 4 back of house staff that includes; Me, a Sous chef, one line cook, one porter. (The restaurant seats 45)

3. The owners have had a chef consultant who is based in another state creating menus for the restaurant when it opens. Menus that I still have no knowledge of their contents and I have not had any part in creating. This chef consultant has been on payroll long before I even met with the owners.

So I am looking for some advice/I want to know if I’m being overly worried. Points 2 and 3 are especially concerning to me if they want to operate at a Michelin level like they told me. The restaurant is almost done with construction and will be opening in 2 months. I still haven’t signed the contract. If I do sign the contract I’m going to commit myself to at least 3 years so I need to know if I should run away from this opportunity or attempt to take on these challenges and see what happens.

Any advice is appreciated thank you!

(It’s also worth noting because I know somebody will comment on this. I don’t actually care or base the success of a restaurant on Michelin stars. I only say Michelin when describing the quality of restaurants because I lack the vocabulary to otherwise explain the type of quality and standards I wish to uphold)

I'm very new to posting anything to culinary pages and am not sure the best way to ask this. I guess starting off just for some general info I've worked in varying restaurant and food businesses over the past 10 years. It's been on and off with also chipping away at school for STEM subjects. I've had less than a handful of employers tell me I was overqualified for standard prep cook and line cook positions and over the years been asked why I haven't moved into management. I started wondering myself this year, so I tried my hand at Sous Chef positions at different restaurants in the past few weeks. I recently did my first stage and it was really eye-opening. To be honest I was a bit scared even though the work was fulfilling. Everyone was passionate. I don't know if there's an overall baseline expected across the entire industry, but I could tell I had a lot to learn in terms of technical/practical knowledge and skill. I was wondering basically for people that moved from standard individual roles to more leader-ship and multi-faced roles such as Sous Chefs, what was it like for you? How did you prepare yourself before and/or after moving into such positions?

I don’t know what my job is haha!

I work in a care home

I make decisions on how to cook different meals, im not given any recipes or anything. I do the cooking and the preparation, I do all the paperwork etc

I’m second in charge of the kitchen:

Head chef ( works 4 days)
Me (3 days )
Then the kitchen assistants

So there’s only one person cooking each day, I do not work with the head chef.

Help ahahahaha.

Thanks