Feeling Unprepared for Kitchen Stage?

Kid ... as a stage you're not really expected to be all that prepared for much. The more of course the better though. If you worry about things you will have lots more problems than if you don't. Go in and do the best that you can do. Nobody will ask for or expect more than that. Pay attention and be ambitious, look for stuff to do before being told. You'll be fine.

 

Bring a pocket notebook with a waterproof cover (like a moleskin) and something to write with. Trim your nails. Be polite to everyone. When you finish a task, don't wait for someone to ask you to do the next thing - ask them, "What's next?" Clean up as you go. Do the things they tell you to do with your absolute best attitude and you'll be fine - everyone starts at the beginning.

 

As long as you listen completely and do what you are asked you will be fine. Yes, definitely clean as you go. They are looking for someone who is trainable and happy to be there. Skills come with time.

 

Don't do it! if you have nothing to show then you can't do anything. Call them up and tell them your a hard worker and welling to learn. This would be like getting your drivers license and applying to be a Nascar driver.

 

It is the lure of working for a great Chef that keeps those kids choosing the higher end restaurants.

"If I clean those heads of lettuce or peel those onions, maybe Chef will notice me......"

 

The lesson is much deeper than just the surface skill of cleaning snow peas.

 

Mindfulness and focus. There is value in any task. A career in this business, is built with time, dedication, and focus. How we perform simple, repetitive, banal tasks can provide much feedback for growth and insight into our mindset.

How can I better organize my efforts and work area? Were my middle results at the same level as my first and last or did my focus lag? How can I be more efficient and minimize wasted motions? Am I willing to participate and excel in the mundane (which the industry is built upon), as well as the instant gratification aspects?

Wax on. Wax off. A large part of a career is snow peas, only a small part is uni.

 

You'll only be in a position to be important in any kitchen after you show your important. I worked in a multi complex in Hawaii. I remember telling the person training me that I didn't have to wash 1000 potatoes in order to know what a washed potato looks like. The ladder to meaningful learning in a high end restaurant could take a long time. If someone wants to have a fast track of missing all the bullshit (7 Cases of snow peas) it's not going to happen in a high end atmosphere. I wouldn't pick a high end restaurant to learn either. I would get my skills in a kitchen that I could learn and practice technique. Be trained and Work on my skills, speed and confidence of working each station. The only thing someone gets in a high end kitchen is the pleasure of ridding on the back of someone else's coattails.

 

I totally understand your point of view as well, and can't say that I disagree with it either.

However, that being said, I look at life as a school with lots of classes. Some required, some electives. One particular class that I had to take repeatedly until I finally got a passing grade, was the one that taught me, if after taking a class, in hindsight the curriculum and lesson plan did not meet my standards, it was my fault for not doing my research and due diligence prior to joining the class.

 

I would imagine the experience gained encompassed much more than the skill of cleaning snow peas.

I have learned from similar experiences how not to treat people. I remember the first time in a restaurant that I found out that I had to work on Xmas day. From that experience, what I took away was that when I opened my own restaurant, we would be closed on Xmas day because that is the way I want to be treated. One of my first chefs was a total bully, I learned much from his treatment of people.

Not all lessons are warm and fuzzy, but they still can be valuable if you make lemonade (tongue in cheek twist on an a old cliche).

 

I definitely do not wish to compare myself to the venerable chefs in this post, but I'm the only one in my family who is not and has never been in the restaurant business, yet I can cook better than any of them. That's not saying much because these are not high-end restaurants (by any stretch), and anyways they hire professional help to cook (and from all appearances, I still do better in good part, and I'm good with a knife, and can move pretty well in general). But could I bring in 4 million/year in sales? NO! Do I care for the business end? NO!

My point? You can do whatever you want to do kid, so long as it is what you can clearly SEE yourself doing. As Joe Namath said, "I can't wait till tomorrow, because I LOOK better every day." What do you think he actually meant by that?

You got a lot of positive advice here from some "real" professionals, take it, for all that it is worth to you at this moment.

In addition, here's some visuals of a guy who really sees well what it is he wants to do, and he applies it to every aspect of being a chef: