r/linecooks

Pretty much the last 3 years I've been in the pipe trades with 1 year in welding school. I've done mainly plumbing though. Construction is a bust right now where I'm at and I need to move on from this career and go back to college.

I only have like 2 weeks of experience in the food industry when I was like 19 (I'm in my mid twenties), and only because it was a shady buisness paying me through cashapp.

How do I increase my chances? I got a plan for the future but need to pay my bills. I can't do customer service because of blue collar culture, I go insane trying to keep a smile. Figured line cook is as similiar as it gets.

Ok, so I moved from dish to line cook not too long ago. I'm full time and my hours changed from 10-3 or 8-3 depending on stock days for dish to 10:30-7 and I love the job. But fuck does it hurt to walk or stand on my feet after sitting or laying down for a bit. I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and could give me some advice. I know it's something I just have to get used to and with time I'm sure it won't be as bad/go away completely. But right now, I refuse to sit down because I have to prep myself to stand up. Like mentally preparing myself. I've experienced a lot of physical pain in my life and this has got to be by far the worst type. But other than that I love the job especially the baking and the cooking. Prepping is kind of boring lol and for context I do work a retirement home idk if that changes anything, just thought I'd share that detail in case it does.

Ive been using regular trainers and id love to know your favorites so I get a proper one

I just started this new job and not even a week into me starting this job they had me close alone. I’m not entirely alone because the cooks are always in the back still working but I’ve never closed front of house on my own before until this past week. This particular day i was told would be super busy, we have a drink special thats super popular and it gets super busy around this particular day. This is my first full week working this job and they decided to leave me working alone on a day that they knew would be super busy. I don’t know if I’m in the wrong for being upset or if this is just what it is for front of the house work?

What does everyone wear to keep sweat to a minimum. In other words how do YOU avoid swamp ass

I’ve started working a new job 2 weeks ago and I’ve been thinking about calling off for a day after my third week. But I worry that it might be too soon. I’m used to never calling off work so I don’t truly know the appropriate times to call off. Also I work as a cashier in a small restaurant.

Hey, I am an apprentice to become a chef and I am doing my second year of three to get my degree. I always enjoyed cooking, not even for the end product, but just the steps, consistency and how you can make a lot from barley anything. I work at a rather high end hotel and it was nice in the beginning. I learned a lot and I had fun, but now after two years it is just... exhausting to be there. I still like cooking, but just not in the restaurant. Its just dull now. Repetitive recipes, no one really teaches anything anymore. I am there to learn and I want to learn. I ask about stuff and get told I'm asking too much. It just kills the drive. But now its starting to affect my home life. I expected the job to be exhausting and time consuming (I like the company of books well enough so I had no real problem with my social life), but even on my days off I just dont want to put in the effort into cooking. Or recipes really. I used to love writing them down like an addict, I could do that for hours. Now I barley manage to motivate myself to do that once or twice a month. I loved to challenge myself to cook, hell even now I do that when I see something special ingredient I haven't used before, but its not as often. It's making me sad frankly. Has anyone else dealt with this? Just trying to learn, getting your drive killed and it creeping into your personal life?

I’ve been working as a cook for the past two years, and I’m making ~$600-$700 a week, for 36 hours of work per week. We get paid bi-weekly and not even on days where I can effectively pay rent on the little pay I do receive. I’ve cancelled all my subscriptions, and I still can’t seem to keep money in my bank account with the cost of living right now. Like god forbid I need gas and to pay my rent (on the last day of grace period) at the same time. I’ve burnt through all my savings, does anyone have any advice on becoming financially stable in this industry while working one job, or is it a pipe dream?

it was 120°F in the kitchen during dinner rush, we were a 3 man line with one of which working for 8 hours in the heat so he was quite faint.
called the owner as the ac was not working in the whole restaurant and it was 30°C+ outside
she brought us ice capps and said power through it and we’re being dramatic

fuck the owner
fuck the ac
fuck this job!!
all for minimum wage

genuinely horrible shift

clocked in 9 hours

Okay so I had an interview today at this restaurant and it went really well. She asked me to come in for a few days and train through the positions so she could gauge my skill level. That brings me to my question, to put it bluntly I'm a very attractive young women. I am no stranger to being hit on by men, especially older men. I do work in a restaurant and i know that back of house is predominantly male. I'm not looking to be treated differently or anything, I'm just genuinely asking what to expect? Also if you have any general advice when it comes to working in a kitchen for the first time, anything you guys wish you knew?

I've worked at a middle eastern restaurant for almost 4 years now. It's been a more prominent chain over the past 30-ish years. Has a pretty strong legacy and a dedicated clientele (for better or worse.) We do a lot of vegetarian & vegan food but we have a lot of chicken options for meat lovers as well.

Recently two new chicken restaurants opened up pretty much right next door to us. We (line cooks) didn't really give it much thought. Nice to see something new at least in an area devoid of business post covid. Some of us decided to go to those places and right off the bat we noticed they had: larger portions than us, about 1/2 the price of our food, and at least 10 people on the line.

Now to put it in perspective: We have a grand total of 6 cooks, running a restaurant open 11-11, 7 days a week. We can't hire anyone because corporate dropped the starting pay from 16 an hour down to 13. We get constantly chastised for getting over time pay but we mathematically don't have the staff to not work 50+ hours a week. When I started the regional manager was going to start firing people for adding to much cheese to salads. Today the GM tried to fine one of our seasonal cooks for adding 3 slices of cucumber to his salad because that's lost revenue. We can't get raises because cost of goods is too high, but we're 1/2 the staff of other places that sell double the profit for 1/2 the value.

This new revelation already has 2 of our people are jumping ship over this new revelation. I feel like a moron that's been taken advantage of, having to do all the night time cleaning, and occasionally dinner rushes single handedly, while other places not only have double our staff, but put them all on for one shift.

Venting obviously, but I'm at the point where I really want to leave. I'm tired of doing 300% of the work so that the GM and regional manager can get a bonus for staying within the margin. This place has lost the plot of being a healthy scratch kitchen and are just going purely for profit now. And restaurants that do that typically don't stay in business long.

Turned my back for quick shot with party at in laws. For the record I insisted on not turning away. "Join us!! How hard can it be??". Cream reduction went volcano on glass top stove.

So question. How many pro cooks just hang out in the kitchen no matter what the party is?

And fill in the blank for glass tops.

First post here, so bear with me.

I’ve been at my current restaurant for a little over two years. It’s a higher end restaurant, but on the smaller side in terms of volume. Around 100 covers on weekdays and 200 on weekends. I originally started as a busser and eventually trained in every FOH position.

About a year ago, I decided to bite the bullet and join BOH. It changed the way I look at cooking. I’d always enjoyed cooking at home, but I never seriously considered it as a life long career until I got into the kitchen.

I spent my first few months on garmo before moving around the line, and I’ve now settled on the entrée station. During that year I’ve gone from line cook to lead cook, then to sous, and I’m still in the process of getting a hang of that role.

I know that kind of progression is maybe a bit fast, and I understand some people will assume it’s because my kitchen isn’t very strong. In reality, I work with an incredibly talented team. I was so afraid to drag them down I just kept working until I could keep the pace. My chef has been very open about the possibility of me becoming the CDC within the next year or two if I stay on this path.

So should I stay where I am and potentially step into an executive role relatively early? Or is this the point where I should leave to diversify my experience before I become too comfortable in one kitchen?

some more context:

I’m in my early 20s

The restaurant group owns several concepts, and it’s common for chefs within the company to move into leadership positions at sister restaurants before hiring externally.

My current restaurant is widely considered one of the best in my area. If I wanted to challenge myself more i’d have to relocate.

I wouldn’t say im unhappy or think the job has become easy I just don’t want to regret not getting more experience while im young.

For those of you who’ve been in the industry longer than I have, when did you know it was time to leave your first kitchen? Is it better to chase experience early, or is there value in staying put if you’re still advancing?

I somehow find a way to hurt myself like every other shift. My forearms have a bunch of burns from splashing oil, accidentally touching hot pans/hot parts of the ovens, and other random things. I nick myself with the knives sometimes and i cut myself on those goddamn metal railings to hold cambros like all the time. Im at my second kitchen job, third year working as a line cook but i wasnt getting hurt this often nearly as much at my last restaurant. Ik its normal to get burns and cuts n shit but i feel like the amount im getting them is ridiculous and idek what im doing wrong for this to keep happening

Hello. I've been working in kitchens since I was 16 as a dishwasher and have worked in a few kitchens but nothing special. I have a stage tomorrow night at a fine dining restaurant and I am a little nervous. I don't NEED the job but would really like to break into the fine dining side of things for once and was hoping I could get some tips from anyone. Anything would help, whether it be cooking techniques, cutting techniques, general knowledge of that side of the industry, or even just kitchen lingo you might not hear in a more basic run of the mill kitchen. Anything helps and I appreciate whatever you can give me. Thanks.