# To Stay, or Not to Stay That is the Question



## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

Hi all,

Just joined because I have this dilemna that no one else would better understand than fellow cooks/chefs. I'd love any kind of feedback you can give me to make this decision easier for me. 

Culinary experience: less than 1 year. Started my first job as a fry cook 12 months ago and was let go after two weeks, from what the head chef told me it was because I wasnt able to keep up. However; the sous chef whom I got close to told me it was because during the interview, I had mentioned I wanted to open a restaurant one day and I shouldnt have said that. I figured something was up when I was supposed to make spicy mayo(this was a really popular sushi restaurant) and the owner said he would do it. They thought i was going to steal their recipes and open up a similar concept. It sounds, silly but I dont think he would lie to me. 

A month later I found myself as a line cook at an American Contemporary restaurant with Mediterranean influence. 

Started at garde manger and a couple of weeks moved to saute. Then the Head chef and CDC left to go to open a new restaurant and they asked me to come, they only asked me so i felt special. I told them I would follow them anywhere...

Of course, I had to stay a little longer to help the new chef with the inner workings of this place, we do a little under 2 million in sales. At this time, I had been cooking for about 3 months.New chef arrives and I tell him that I would like to give my 2 weeks. He replies with, there it is,I figured at least one of you would go with them. Over the next two weeks, I told him my one year goal is to become a sous chef, which we already had. He was very encouraging and was a great teacher and we got along really well. At the end of two weeks, he told me if I stayed he'd give me a dollar raise and groom me to be a great sous. 

I accepted and two months later, our sous left and I was offered sous chef and we negotiated a salary of 30k. I was ecstatic, to become a sous within 6 months and to be able to post it on social media,lol. I was speechless. Over the course of the next five months, things changed, his hours dwindled from 50-60 hrs/week to 30-40 hrs/week. Owners and managers weren't too concerned or even noticed because he never clocked in, nor did I. But when he was there, he answered all my questions and in a way became a great father figure. I remember I got frustrated and threw a quart of cream through our expo window, I got fired that night. 

I apologized a few days later and he told me to come in and offered me my job back. Two weeks ago, he told me he was leaving to open another restaurant. He wanted me to go and be his Jr Sous Chef right below his executive sous. I told him heck yea, every time someone leaves, they always want me to go with them. I felt great, but the managers knew this was going to happen and spoke to me. They offered me the head chef position. We haven't spoke about numbers, but I know what my chef is offering me at the other place. 

45k, one weeks paid vacation and insurance(fully paid) after six months, and a quarterly bonus which roughly translates to 4500 a person, plus I would continue my learning under this great chef who has 20 years experience and worked at some badass places in the DC area. 

What would be the minimum amount of money I should receive from current restaurant before it would be stupid to leave with my chef?

One hand, I would continue learning under my executive sous and my head chef, but on the other hand I can force myself to learn new things, get paid well, do what i want with the menu(almost).

I love every aspect of cooking professionally, but i just don't know. Will i ever get such an opportunity again in the next couple of years? My insecurity is that if I compare myself to every other head chef in the area, I would be considered under developed-- I learned so much from my chef--gastriques, demi-glace, flavor profiles and pairings I wouldn't even think of, but I also want to see if i can do it on my own as a head chef along with my line. 

Honestly, I'm just rambling at this point and it's because I'm so torn...any advice? Thanks in advance

P.S. I have till the 25th of January to come up with an answer. I will be getting an offer tomorrow after service from the current restaurant.


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## chefbuba (Feb 17, 2010)

Ok, I'm going to play Debbie Downer here..........

You have less than one year of cooking experience, what makes you think that you are ready for a head chef's position, let alone a sous chefs job?

A sous chef has to be the bad ass cook of the kitchen, out cook everyone else, jump in bail out the line, expo, hit the pit if things are going down the tubes on that side, be the mediator between the FOH and back, schedule, order, enforce the chef's vision, teach and on and on.

These people are fools if they going to offer you the head chef job. What exactly are your qualifications? Just because your Facebook status says that you are a "Professional Chef" does not make one a Professional Chef.

Take a step back and let your head deflate a bit. NO ONE is going to pay a "cook" with a combined year's worth of experience as a fry guy, salad spinner & line cook $63k to be a JR sous or an exec chef.

I have 30 years on you and have a decent pedigree, I would be hard pressed to find a job with that kind of money as would many of the chef's on this board.

Work some decent places as a line cook for a few years, get the experience, gain the knowledge. Stay at least one year at each, move up each time, weather it's better food or a bigger operation. I also suggest some hotel time or catering, learn how to cook for 1500 at a seating, it's a whole different animal than working the line of a contemporary place doing 100 covers on a week day night.

It's all life experience that will make you well rounded which is what you will need some day to actually take a "Chef's Position"

It's late, us old guys have to go to bed.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

The turnover rate is stupid at this place where you work.


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## grande (May 14, 2014)

You are, frankly, totally unqualified for a head chef job. No offense meant, but everything chefbuba said is right. If the old chef wants to take you, is offering a mgmt job, and is a good teacher, why would you stay?


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

Money is not everything. Titles are nothing.


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

I got offered 60k, which is similar to my chefs deal to a certain degree. On my plate I have restaurant week, bar menu, dinner, brunch, and valentines day. Not a clue what to do, but I love to hear the feedback. Perhaps, I'm not ready...


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

No insurance, no bonus, no guidance... I hope I'm making the right decision. I'm going to accept tomorrow and hopefully we'll be in business tomorrow


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

Cook1st said:


> no guidance


You will be chef, you are supposed to be the guide, not need guidance. Do your best, either it will work out or it won't. Either way, it should be a great learning experience. Remember that not all learning experiences are about what we should do, many times they are about learning what we shouldn't do. Give it hell!


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

You're right, I'm not turning down this.... This opportunity, this money, this experience. If and only if I fail, that's the only way I'm going out.


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

Wait, I don't mean that. People say don't rush it, my time will come. Nvm, I'm doing it?


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## phaedrus (Dec 23, 2004)

I guess I'll be the dissenting voice- I say go for it.  Are you ready for it?  Probably not.  Do you 'deserve' it?  Who the hell knows?  I will say though that there's nothing to lose by trying.  In a way a chef job is kind of like a head coaching job; there are so many people out there and only so many jobs.  Sometimes it feels like the only way to get a chef job is to already have one.  And once you get the job the next one is a lot easier to land.

Let me tell you a true story.  I used to work at a real nuthouse of a restaurant.  We had a guy that did dishes and part time salads.  Just through attrition because of how batshit crazy the owner was he wound up as kind of the temporary "exec chef" for a few weeks with pretty much just dish and salad experience.  He eventually left to go to an ethnic place working for an owner with more money than food sense.  Long and the short of it, after about three months of working the line enough guys left that he got bumped up to "Exec" there too (!).  Now he's a good guy, reasonably smart, but no real culinary knowledge at all.  Yet after a year he was making $70,000!  He ran that kitchen for several years, then left to take a really good job as a broker for a food company.  Stranger than fiction, right?

My point is, he probably wasn't "ready" and surely didn't "deserve" the job according to kitchen custom and tradition.  He didn't give a shit though- when opportunity knocked he darted through the door before someone could slam it in his face.

Go for it, Cook1st!  Take the money and the experience, and do your best.


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

I am and I did, the hardest part was telling my old chef. I was scared...I didn't want to burn any bridges and make him hate me, but he was totally understanding and congratulated me. Now to copy and paste some other people's dishes and pass them as my own. Is there such a thing as plagiarism when it comes to food?


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## phaedrus (Dec 23, 2004)

I think it was Anthony Bourdain that said, "_Good chefs borrow, great chefs steal._"


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

Walk like a Chef, talk like a Chef, act like a Chef, delegate like a Chef and you will be a Chef. Stay focused and for goodness sakes don't let the leaches latch on, most of them are conduits to upper management.,

The most important advice I have is don't ever put your business in the street. It can be a little lonely at the top. Have acquaintances and professional friends. Having close buddies or really good friends (brothers,sisters) will usually bite you in the ass at some time or other.

Just my 2 cents.


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## chefbillyb (Feb 8, 2009)

Cook1st said:


> I am and I did, the hardest part was telling my old chef. I was scared...I didn't want to burn any bridges and make him hate me, but he was totally understanding and congratulated me. Now to copy and paste some other people's dishes and pass them as my own. Is there such a thing as plagiarism when it comes to food?


I took bites and pieces of any menu I could find that fit my operation. I would be having dinner at another chefs restaurant, when he/she came over to the table I would tell them that the dish was great. I also told them it would be on my menu next week, it just won't look the same. You take a menu item put your spin on it and it's yours.


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## jimyra (Jun 23, 2015)

In 6 months how did you have time to learn inventory control, food costs, supervision, scheduling, ect. ect. ?


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## someday (Aug 15, 2003)

I'm calling BS on this. Lol, come on. 

"Now to copy and paste some other people's dishes and pass them as my own."

Come on, he's taking the piss. I know a lot of owner are crazy and stupid, but I don't think anyone would allow someone to be an exec chef for 60k a year without any knowledge of costing, menu development, etc. 

How would he even come up with new dishes!?!?!?!


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## welldonechef (Sep 28, 2008)

Someday said:


> I'm calling BS on this. Lol, come on.
> 
> "Now to copy and paste some other people's dishes and pass them as my own."
> 
> ...


well I replaced a "chef" that made 65k a year, didn't know how to use a computer, do inventory, menu engineering, none of it.

Made for great low hanging fruit for my first couple of months...


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## linecook854 (Feb 13, 2013)

I'm sorry but does anyone else think this thread is complete non-sense? Less than one year cooking experience and taking an executive chef position? You're not qualified to run a snack bar let alone a legitimate kitchen. I wouldn't trust you breaking down a chicken or cooking a scallop and I certainly wouldn't allow you to make a schedule, order food, write menus or make sound decisions based on "experience". This is either a fake thread or the kitchen is in complete shambles and the owners are clueless. I've seen some hugely stupid owners make terrible chef decisions but there's no way possible they would hire an entry level candidate as their salaried head chef.


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

linecook854 said:


> I'm sorry but does anyone else think this thread is complete non-sense? Less than one year cooking experience and taking an executive chef position? You're not qualified to run a snack bar let alone a legitimate kitchen. I wouldn't trust you breaking down a chicken or cooking a scallop and I certainly wouldn't allow you to make a schedule, order food, write menus or make sound decisions based on "experience". This is either a fake thread or the kitchen is in complete shambles and the owners are clueless. I've seen some hugely stupid owners make terrible chef decisions but there's no way possible they would hire an entry level candidate as their salaried head chef.


It happens more then you may even realize.


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## zeph zpiteri (Apr 13, 2015)

well i always worked in restaurants 8 years experience (started from peeling vegetables and cleaning deep fat fryers) including 3 running my own before being forced to sell up and move to a different country - after a year unable to find work, i then ended up in an exec. chef position in a preopening of a new resort.  i didn't know if i was able to execute the job as i had never worked in a hotel before but since i got the job i sure as hell wasn't gonna give up without a try.

one year later with a lot of hard graft, 80 hour weeks and a bit of luck, i can say proudly that i succeeded managing a kitchen team of 18 with a language barrier, meeting all targets and exceeding them now that we are fully open.

so it can be done, if your mind and heart are set to it.


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## frankie007 (Jan 17, 2015)

Hard work can compensate up to a point but that much responsibility after 1 year of experience? Come on, I wouldn't give someone like that a larder section to run never mind the kitchen. What can you teach people around you? I suspect this is a troll thread as well.....It did raise my blood pressure though, so my 20+ years of experience means nothing because anyone leaving a college can do it. [email protected]%k that


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## hookedcook (Feb 8, 2015)

Good you took it.  I believe a good life lesson is when opportunity presents it's self you should absolutely take it.  You never know when the next one will come.  The restaurant business is a business of chances anyway with an un seeable future most of the time. 

I can't tell you how many times I have started a new better job and thought "how did I get here?"  "Can I do this job?"  "Do I have enough experience?"  Short answer is you never know until you try, and it usually works out . It's been 16 years since I  graduated culinary school and still every job I take those thoughts still come into my head.  Absolut worst case scenario is you get fired or admit that you are over your head and quit.  Big deal.  So you take all the lessons and money (executive chef money, not line cook money!) you earned and move on to the next restaurant better than you were before.

I agree with paying your dues but anyone on here who thinks you need to be a line cook for 5 years and then a sous for 5 years then exec sous before finally one day when you have PAID YOUR DUES you apply for an exec job, at that point you are probably a jaded  broke chef who is already tired of the kitchen at that point? 

Soak up as much information as you can, be honest, work hard, DON'T complain, be humble, and be happy you got a SERIOUSLY LUCKY BREAK to move up the ladder fast.  Like the old saying  "FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT"  People really do that and a lot of them become very successful.


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## grande (May 14, 2014)

Having worked with & for people with no clue what they're doing, the OP will be a lucky bastard if the only bad thing that happens from the fake it until you make philisophy is that he loses his job. But not wishing ill on anyone; I have no idea what kind of work he's been doing already and there are exceptions to every rule. Godspeed.


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## linecook854 (Feb 13, 2013)

hookedcook said:


> Good you took it. I believe a good life lesson is when opportunity presents it's self you should absolutely take it. You never know when the next one will come. The restaurant business is a business of chances anyway with an un seeable future most of the time.
> 
> I can't tell you how many times I have started a new better job and thought "how did I get here?" "Can I do this job?" "Do I have enough experience?" Short answer is you never know until you try, and it usually works out . It's been 16 years since I graduated culinary school and still every job I take those thoughts still come into my head. Absolut worst case scenario is you get fired or admit that you are over your head and quit. Big deal. So you take all the lessons and money (executive chef money, not line cook money!) you earned and move on to the next restaurant better than you were before.
> 
> ...


hookedcook,

I respectfully disagree with the "Fake it til you make it" philosophy. It is the worst, most unsound way to work your way up the ladder. It totally disrespects the craft, tradition, yourself, kitchen staff and most importantly the ability of the kitchen to run successfully. Can an entry level cook with one year experience truly look himself in the mirror and call himself a "Chef" in every sense of the word? No, it's simply not possible. Gaining experience and money at the bane of the entire operation is completely self-fulfilling and makes yourself look stupid.

I have worked for two "fake it til you make it chefs" and I speak from a lot of experience. The second one was so in over her head it was pathetic. An executive chef making 50k plus bonuses and benefits a year and doesn't know how to place a produce order, work hot line, cook a piece of fish properly, make a schedule, do inventory, expedite, coordinate large functions or have a single dinner service go smoothly is an abomination. Over a very short time she completely lost the respect of all BOH staff, FOH management were breathing down her back constantly and ownership would eat her alive after menu tastings, poor service and rising food costs etc. Every single employee down to the dishwashers knew she was completely incompetent and was treated as such. She obviously left with poor references and track record and little to show for it other than some good paychecks. She took another executive position and was fired in 4 months. The other "fake it til you make it" chef I worked for constantly bounced from executive position to executive position and left as soon as everyone knew something was fishy in her performance. She's been doing that same scheme for the last 10 years. Both of these chefs started out with good intentions but were blinded by the money and position and forgot about everything else. In the process they hurt themselves the most but also the reputations of the businesses, drove away many talented sous chefs and messed around with FOH's tips. Everyone loses when you "fake it til you make it".


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## someday (Aug 15, 2003)

Not to mention that taking someone money to do a job you aren't anywhere near qualified for is a dick move too. Taking advantage of someone's hard earned money and time is borderline stealing in my book.


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

So i can steal as long as i return it to them. JK i copy and then add lemongrass or some asian herb spice and pair it with a different protein assuming I used their side recipe


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

Sad, but i think I'm more than qualified to do the work. I made a plan to reduce labor by 40% , this week i only achedived 26%, but I was also in the middle of a storm where i had to call in more expensive labor. I've also stopped ordering so much from our regular purveryors like fells, coastal, cardinal, IGF and gone to restaurant depot with my sous and another worker. While this did increase labor, it also decreased COGS by 37 percent from our average mondays.


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

Grande said:


> Having worked with & for people with no clue what they're doing, the OP will be a lucky bastard if the only bad thing that happens from the fake it until you make philisophy is that he loses his job. But not wishing ill on anyone; I have no idea what kind of work he's been doing already and there are exceptions to every rule. Godspeed.


I am the exception to the rule. I am a beast...my finance background allowed me to find a way to save costs, while my work ethic also allows me to come in an extra 3 hours to make up for their prep. The only issue i am having is with the patechoux which we use for our ghocchi. Well that and getting people to respect/listen to me, I used to be their peer and now I am their boss. They still talk to me as their peer ....whatever that means.


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

hookedcook said:


> Good you took it. I believe a good life lesson is when opportunity presents it's self you should absolutely take it. You never know when the next one will come. The restaurant business is a business of chances anyway with an un seeable future most of the time.
> 
> I can't tell you how many times I have started a new better job and thought "how did I get here?" "Can I do this job?" "Do I have enough experience?" Short answer is you never know until you try, and it usually works out . It's been 16 years since I graduated culinary school and still every job I take those thoughts still come into my head. Absolut worst case scenario is you get fired or admit that you are over your head and quit. Big deal. So you take all the lessons and money (executive chef money, not line cook money!) you earned and move on to the next restaurant better than you were before.
> 
> ...


For the most part, most people who try this will fail. I am not most people, me even posting about this and trying to absorb the info puts me in 22 percentile of cooks and then add my skill set and other characteristics that are relevant in this field I also have... So far I am killing it.... this may not last. My last menu,...which is the dinner menu will make or break me. However, my restaurant menu also posed a problem because of our doughnuts...we have a 4 slot fryer with 4 baskets... one of our most popular dishes, not even desserts required another basket to drown the balls. The fryer has a limit of how many they can do and now is restaurant week and we are giving them normal portions and the guest is already asking for to go boxes halfway through the 2nd out of the third entree. so we reduce, take off prices the menu, use the smaller plate. its about adapting...


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

hookedcook said:


> Good you took it. I believe a good life lesson is when opportunity presents it's self you should absolutely take it. You never know when the next one will come. The restaurant business is a business of chances anyway with an un seeable future most of the time.
> 
> I can't tell you how many times I have started a new better job and thought "how did I get here?" "Can I do this job?" "Do I have enough experience?" Short answer is you never know until you try, and it usually works out . It's been 16 years since I graduated culinary school and still every job I take those thoughts still come into my head. Absolut worst case scenario is you get fired or admit that you are over your head and quit. Big deal. So you take all the lessons and money (executive chef money, not line cook money!) you earned and move on to the next restaurant better than you were before.
> 
> ...


For the most part, most people who try this will fail. I am not most people, me even posting about this and trying to absorb the info puts me in 22 percentile of cooks and then add my skill set and other characteristics that are relevant in this field I also have... So far I am killing it.... this may not last. My last menu,...which is the dinner menu will make or break me. However, my restaurant menu also posed a problem because of our doughnuts...we have a 4 slot fryer with 4 baskets... one of our most popular dishes, not even desserts required another basket to drown the balls. The fryer has a limit of how many they can do and now is restaurant week and we are giving them normal portions and the guest is already asking for to go boxes halfway through the 2nd out of the third entree. so we reduce, take off prices the menu, use the smaller plate. its about adapting...


kuan said:


> The turnover rate is stupid at this place where you work.


I agree, we also pay minimum wage for EVERYONE in the kitchen except sous and head chef


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## phaedrus (Dec 23, 2004)

Cook1st said:


> I agree, we also pay minimum wage for EVERYONE in the kitchen except sous and head chef


That sounds like a recipe for disaster. The best way to guarantee poor performance is not to reward good performance. You either need to have a menu so simple that a monkey could cook (eg McDonalds, BK) or have a deep bench to replace those who quit when they realize the job isn't worth the effort. No good, skilled cook will work long for minimum wage- they don't have to. In most markets good help is hard to find and harder to keep. You must be pretty lucky...or you're setting yourself up for a fall.


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

Phaedrus said:


> That sounds like a recipe for disaster. The best way to guarantee poor performance is not to reward good performance. You either need to have a menu so simple that a monkey could cook (eg McDonalds, BK) or have a deep bench to replace those who quit when they realize the job isn't worth the effort. No good, skilled cook will work long for minimum wage- they don't have to. In most markets good help is hard to find and harder to keep. You must be pretty lucky...or you're setting yourself up for a fall.


Weve been open for 14 months, we havent had the time to reward people with raises bc most people do not stay there long enough.


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## chefbuba (Feb 17, 2010)

Most people don't stay because they are being paid shit, a high turnover rate will kill you. Our min wage is $9.47 and a line cook with no special skill set makes $12-15 hr around here. Why would they work for min wage for you?


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

Cook1st said:


> Weve been open for 14 months, we havent had the time to reward people with raises bc most people do not stay there long enough.


So you want people to work for pitiful pay now for potential better pay later on? How much later?... See any flaws in this line of thinking.


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

cheflayne said:


> So you want people to work for pitiful pay now for potential better pay later on? How much later?... See any flaws in this line of thinking.


I do, but I haven't been there as a boss long enough to make that decision. I started there roughly 11 months ago with min. wage. As the head chef now, I can start making some changes and I'll definitely ask for a raise for my guys, atleast two of them. I figured it was customary to give raises after 6 months...Lots of people in our area start off at min. wage, I know i did and I'm awesome. Is that how I want to continue with hiring? I have no idea, i want to say no, but that may be how it goes. How do you arrange your payment structure?


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

chefbuba said:


> Most people don't stay because they are being paid shit, a high turnover rate will kill you. Our min wage is $9.47 and a line cook with no special skill set makes $12-15 hr around here. Why would they work for min wage for you?


I dont know...my sous started as dishwasher two doors down and one day got up and quit bc he was tired of not becoming a line cook even though they promised to move him up...He stayed there 8 months with no improvement on him being a line cook so he left. He came to us and my old chef hired him at minimum wage about 7 months ago. When I got promoted I made him and this girl who was there earlier than me co sous and both got a bump...I tried to get one of them on salary, but they had seen how many hours I worked and after everything I made roughly 25% less than minimum wage. They both took wage increases... one makes 12 and other makes 13. Others on the line who have been less than 6 months all make 10.50(min wage) and they seem happy. At 6 months, well have a review and bump them up accordingly. I have no idea what I am doing and i'm willing to admit that, but i also have a great GM with 15 + years experience who I rely on and consult with everyday.

We truly work together because he knows how new I am to this, so he still has the chance to mold me how he wants. I meet all my menu deadlines, I'm a monster cook with even a more killer work ethic. I do not expect perfection from my team, but I do expect improvement. For my sous, I give .50 cents per hour to get the 12 he wanted, company only wanted to give him 11.50, so I told the GM i would cover the rest as along as they didnt tell them. Of course i got mad one day and told him, but he said he knew. I can only do so much and yes you will nitpick everything I say, but I am just learning and going with it.


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## rbrad (Apr 29, 2011)

Is this in a very small town......I originally thought Peter Principal but you don't even have enough experience to qualify for that.


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

rbrad said:


> Is this in a very small town......I originally thought Peter Principal but you don't even have enough experience to qualify for that.


District of Columbia...so it is fairly big market.


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## rbrad (Apr 29, 2011)

Yeah that's a pretty big market.........I said small town because it seemed like there weren't many qualified people around.I think this early in your career you are doing yourself a disservice by taking a head chef job.You should be learning the basics right now instead of taking on way too much responsibility.Even if you do well this time if you walk into another head chef job in the future it might not go so well.At this point you are already commited and need to start staying at jobs longer.......early on it can be exciting when someone feels you are good enough to want to bring you with them to a new place but future employers are going to look at time spent at one job.......for a head chef you should spend at least two years.My advice is to save as much of that money as you can and the next time around take a cooking job at a much better place and start learning.You said you want to open your own place so make that your goal.......not moving up at an unrealistic and unsustainable rate.As a business owner would you hire someone with your resume?


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

rbrad said:


> Yeah that's a pretty big market.........I said small town because it seemed like there weren't many qualified people around.I think this early in your career you are doing yourself a disservice by taking a head chef job.You should be learning the basics right now instead of taking on way too much responsibility.Even if you do well this time if you walk into another head chef job in the future it might not go so well.At this point you are already commited and need to start staying at jobs longer.......early on it can be exciting when someone feels you are good enough to want to bring you with them to a new place but future employers are going to look at time spent at one job.......for a head chef you should spend at least two years.My advice is to save as much of that money as you can and the next time around take a cooking job at a much better place and start learning.You said you want to open your own place so make that your goal.......not moving up at an unrealistic and unsustainable rate.As a business owner would you hire someone with your resume?


That's what everyone seems to be saying, yet I still went against what they all said. Even when I became Sous Chef, I had expressed my frustration to my old chef that I was underdeveloped...underdeveloped in the sense that if i went up against other sous chefs in a cooking show(just for example's sake), I would get demolished. Like you said, I don't have the basics down, like making basic doughs, sauces, protein preparations, flavor profiles, cooking techniques---you name it and I guarantee my peers will know more than me. However; I know this and I spend most of my free time watching videos and trying it out for family meal or specials that FOH never vocalizes.

I have been cooking for almost 12 months and I have been at this restaurant for 11 months and I don't plan on leaving. I always wanted to stay here for at least 1-2 years before I moved onto my next one to learn more or go to a restaurant that cooks food that I am interested in. I will save very aggressively because I know the next job I take will be for a sous chef, even a line cook with my the year(s) i have under my belt. However; for the moment, I will make the most of this opportunity and try my best to succeed regardless of the overwhelming odds of failure. As a business owner, I would definitely hire me....but someone else just did... They own 3 other successful restaurants, so I feel slightly validated for the time being. As of right now, I can only focus on now and put the future aside, no matter how illogical that sounds.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

You keep trying to validate your hiring to responders on here, there is no need. You have the job, _*focus on it*_; rather than on trying to validate the fact to other people, which only takes time and focus away from where it should be.

Trying to change other people's opinions in the present, is an exercise in futility because it generally only happens in the future,


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## rbrad (Apr 29, 2011)

I agree with cheflayne.....you have the job so do it to the best of your abilities.What I suggest is getting everything you can out of this experience and seriously plan your next move because that could be the real start to your learning.Out of curiosity I'm wondering if this is your second or third career.


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## chefgraz (May 23, 2015)

[/quote]


Cook1st said:


> Sad, but i think I'm more than qualified to do the work. I made a plan to reduce labor by 40% , this week i only achedived 26%, but I was also in the middle of a storm where i had to call in more expensive labor. I've also stopped ordering so much from our regular purveryors like fells, coastal, cardinal, IGF and gone to restaurant depot with my sous and another worker. While this did increase labor, it also decreased COGS by 37 percent from our average mondays.


Not going to lie. Reading this just really bothered me. First of all, if you plan to reduce labor by 40% and you ran a 26, that means your labor was at 66 percent! Which means that if you do 100,000 dollars in food sales, that week you spent 66,000 dollars to do it. And if going to depot reduced your COGS by 37% before you paid a utility bill your entire p/l was absorbed by food purchasing and inventory control leaving you very little room to make a salary like that and absolutely no room for the restaurant to stay open longer then 6 months unless Donald trump owns it. Food cost is controlled by portioning, waste ELIMINATION and smart ordering. The most expensive thing on your menu is what winds up in your garbage can. The last fluid ounces of a quart of heavy cream! The scraps from the PISMO that you throw away, the cents that add up over and over again through out the course of a week, month, year to equate to dollars lost. Your schedule has to reflect your business. Write your schedule from the busiest day to your slowest. These are the management aspects of being a chef it is vital to learn before you assume the position. Because with your bounce around resume already one year in, and potential to get fired for not meeting profit demand for your salary at your location you will make your self a tough sell going forward.


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

Not going to lie. Reading this just really bothered me. First of all, if you plan to reduce labor by 40% and you ran a 26, that means your labor was at 66 percent! Which means that if you do 100,000 dollars in food sales, that week you spent 66,000 dollars to do it. And if going to depot reduced your COGS by 37% before you paid a utility bill your entire p/l was absorbed by food purchasing and inventory control leaving you very little room to make a salary like that and absolutely no room for the restaurant to stay open longer then 6 months unless Donald trump owns it. Food cost is controlled by portioning, waste ELIMINATION and smart ordering. The most expensive thing on your menu is what winds up in your garbage can. The last fluid ounces of a quart of heavy cream! The scraps from the PISMO that you throw away, the cents that add up over and over again through out the course of a week, month, year to equate to dollars lost. Your schedule has to reflect your business. Write your schedule from the busiest day to your slowest. These are the management aspects of being a chef it is vital to learn before you assume the position. Because with your bounce around resume already one year in, and potential to get fired for not meeting profit demand for your salary at your location you will make your self a tough sell going forward.[/quote]
Hmmm, perhaps my math is off or I overpromised on something I can not do. I have much to learn, but I love the advice of writing my schedule from busiest to slowest. This week I blundered the schedule by putting only two people for Valentines day--- I hadnt realized it was this sunday and normally we do a three person line with a dishwasher, but since I promised cost cutting I only scheduled two person line where I am working a double(brunch and dinner service with a pre fixe menu for v-day). On top of that I also did a two person line for super bowl, but lucked out because we only 32 covers not including bar. May i ask what PISMO is?


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## cook1st (Jan 19, 2016)

cheflayne said:


> You keep trying to validate your hiring to responders on here, there is no need. You have the job, _*focus on it*_; rather than on trying to validate the fact to other people, which only takes time and focus away from where it should be.
> 
> Trying to change other people's opinions in the present, is an exercise in futility because it generally only happens in the future,


This post really got to me... I was on the train to work and I got an email saying someone responded and I open the email to read this post. So for the next few days, I didn't go on cheftalk and do exactly what you said I did...which was validating my situation. I focused on work and it really put things into perspective... Thanks Cheflayne.


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