# Personalities?



## elfin (Oct 29, 2007)

I am a culinary student in baking/pastry arts and I am finding myself bemused by the type of personalities that seem to be drawn to this field... it is an odd mix of the very quiet/shy and the very outgoing/boisterous. Is this typical? If so, how does it tend to play out in terms of the type of work each personality ultimately ends up in?

If I'm crazy, go ahead and say so :talk: But I've never been around so many quiet, shy people in my life... it's made me so curious, I have to ask...


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## oldschool1982 (Jun 27, 2006)

Yup!!!! It's typical alright! And you'll find out sooner or later that some of us have 5-6 personalities all to ourselves.:lol:

BTW welcome to the club.


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## elfin (Oct 29, 2007)

Thanks for the welcome! So I'm not crazy :smiles: How odd it is, I feel like I am d-r-a-g-g-i-n-g conversation and audible vocal levels out of many of my fellow students... yet the skills and drive are there. I'm more of the outgoing type yet I find myself drawn to the quiet folks as they keep their heads down and work hard and well.


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## shoemaker (Sep 20, 2007)

LOL Heh...me too !!! (and me !!!... and me !!! and me !!! and don't forget me !!!)  :lol:


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## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

Is this different from any other field of business or education?

In my experience, it's not. Workers seems to fall into a few select categories, the majority being those who apply themselves well, work hard and don't involve themselves in a lot of idle chatter-about 70% of the crew.

The next group is those who work well, enjoy the social nature of the workplace, and manage to keep the workplace a lively, enjoyable place-about 20%.

Then there are those who talk, talk, talk, let everyone know how great a job they do, but only really deliver about 20% of the time-about 7%.

Then the last group are those I affectionately  call "deadwood". They originally talked a good game, but when the rubber meets the road, they try their best to do the least and seem to just squeak by-thankfully, only about 3%. I include the perpetual whiners in this group. 

Unfortunately, for whatever reason (usually poor management and recruiting), some workplaces seem to be heavily weighted with the great talkers and deadwood which ultimately discourages and drives away those willing to make a quality contribution to the operation.
It's too bad that most hiring is done just to put warm bodies in vacant positions without much attention given to screening out those who put a drag on the most effective people.


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## breton beats (Feb 21, 2007)

You posted this in the Pastry section. Pastry work often requires more delicate concentration work, fine motor skills, and intense focus. Very often the station is in the cellar, or some other cool place. They can be the last on the line, or shoved into a corner, and the last to go home. All their stuff and ingredients are stored in different places than the line cooks. I think quieter people tend to gravitate towards pastries because they love food and the business but aren't so down with the fast paced, machismo of the line. Not to say that either personality couldn't work in either place.)

Bakers on the other hand often have to produce large amounts of product in short amount of time. It is heavy physical work. It often starts Late at night or early morning (translate their sleeping when the rest of the people are up). More often then not alone. 

But these are just gross generalizations.

Meh!


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## elfin (Oct 29, 2007)

Thanks for the interesting answers, everyone. Although I am new to culinary school I am in my 40s and have been around a wide range of folks in the workplace... but the only other profession I've ever been in that had such a curious mix of personalities was high tech. But there, there are few big personalities... mostly just a bunch of mouse-quiet intellectuals. 

Thanks for shedding some light on it all!


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## bonbini (Feb 18, 2007)

foodnfoto...i love your opinion...


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## risque cakes (Apr 20, 2007)

but your generalizations are about 99.9% accurate.

They treat Pastry Chefs like mushrooms..keep us in the dark and feed us...well, ya know.

I've heard that we are on the bottom of the pile because there is not the same return per dollar invested in pastries..

What say you guys?


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## oldschool1982 (Jun 27, 2006)

I don't know how it was for most of ya'll out there but for me there was a fork in the road. One path led to Pastries and the other to the rest of the kitchen. Pastries are intense none the less and it's like we've discussed here in the past. Very few Exec's make great pastries yet we still have to hold our own when it comes to desserts. I do prefer having a Pastry Chef on staff but sometimes budgets and ownership expectations won't allow it. 

I for one have a great respect for the Pastry Chef. I've shared the menu with them every chance I got. In fact I'm more than willing to offer credit where credit is due. It may have been my kitchen(s) but if even the Broiler cook came up with something that the guest liked.... It was that cook I praised. Especially since my success was direcly affected by those around me. (For some reason most of the backstabbing mucks around me never could grasp this concept but they all seem to have gotten exactly what they deserved.

As far as personalities go, it's a mix throughout it all and it takes all kinds to pull things together. Granted the Squeeky mouse of an Exec's are very few and far between but they exist. Just as the loud and boysterous Pastry Chef. For some it's ego or insecurities for others it's just a way of copeing with everything around them.:bounce:


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## risque cakes (Apr 20, 2007)

Well, since I love to share my passion ..I do find that I chatter as I go along..but only if I'm asked..lol

I can be quite annoying and moody when pissed..lol and cannot even torte a cake when super upset...

I guess that I can churn out great stuff when I'm appreciated...mellow and happy even...but when my boss accuses me of stuff ( like calling in an assistant that she decided was fired , that I don't even have a number to or of being incompetent when I can't get into a LOCKED kitchen at 6 am, when they have the only key!! ) I tend to butcher my work! lol 

Especially evil chocolate cake from a COMMERCIAL MIX..bwaaaaaaaaahahahaaaa


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