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It was a chilly 75 in the kitchen all day today. I think I broke out in a sweat at some point, probably when I put away the meat order. 
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Jul 18, 2013 00:34
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 08:21 |
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We have a pastry position open. Clearly you should move to Austin, work 5a-1p, have insurance, PTO, etc, etc. and make ~12bux/hr. Did I mention Austin? Also, literally everyone at work is quitting. We have 6 positions open. Out of 20. Chef just told me to be prepared to be destroyed if we don't have anyone hired by the time we get back into the busy season, which is about 2 weeks away. I am going to be destroyed.
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Jul 18, 2013 02:20
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It really is nice to have a back of house person running front of house. Because most front of house people don't care about things dying in the window, and they'll blame everything on the cooks, etc. Grats on the new job Wrought!(should have come work in my banquet sweatshop!)
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Jul 18, 2013 02:24
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bowmore posted:I just realized I work in the industry. How's that alcoholism coming along?
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Jul 18, 2013 15:17
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Willie Tomg posted:I've been running through my lil' rolodex of people on the east side who would be a good fit/could maybe probably pass the background check and most of whose left get real real interested looking when I mention the compensation and bennies and then its like "oh btw you might have to wake up in the morning" and the look of horror and disgust on their faces my god Mornings aren't even that bad. I've done plenty of holiday shifts where you work 7a to 8p, go out for drinks immediately after, stay out way too late, and be back at work at 6a the next day, still kinda drunk, or really hungover. This is where it helps to know where room service keep the Red Bulls stashed.
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Jul 19, 2013 02:19
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No Wave posted:Instead, it's just about executing a series of discrete tasks as quickly and as effectively as possible while resetting your station back to its normal state. Cooking is just the execution of a series of tasks - you're not looking for new ways to do things, just to do things that you already know how to do. Speak for yourself, half of my responsibilities are recipe and cost refinement. The actual prep -> cook -> serve is brainless work for the most part that I can manage hungover and on 3 hours of sleep. I need to be awake and alert before I can do my actual job around here.
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Jul 20, 2013 21:38
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No Wave posted:Right, sorry - I didn't mean it offensively or anything, I was just talking about cooking. All I meant was that cooks are pretty much better than anyone at getting poo poo done and that those skills of organization are actual skills that are applicable to other task-oriented professions. Nah, it's fine. I just find issue with the line cook mentality. I'd like to think that that died a good 5-10 years ago. Now, more people are responsible for what they produce, and how they make it. Or maybe that's just what it's like where I work. ( Willie Tomg works here now too, and he can attest to this now!( Or maybe I'm too hungover at work everyday)) Splizwarf posted:Integrated task scheduling and the ubiquitous on-the-fly adjustment might be my favorite part of each gig. It's definitely the most satisfying part. I love it as hard as I do this Knob Creek Rye. Okay, maybe not as much, but really close. Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 02:36 on Jul 21, 2013 |
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Jul 21, 2013 02:33
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Waking up a little tipsy from last night and stumbling out the door to work is like one of my least favorite things.
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Jul 21, 2013 12:09
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Turkeybone posted:The joke around the kitchen was that I did my best work hungover; I think it was because I was always moving so as not to notice the room spinning. I just generally try to keep moving so I don't fall asleep.
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Jul 21, 2013 15:33
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I did that when I played WoW seriously. I had half the guild replying with 'heard' so I could guarantee they heard whatever I said.
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Jul 22, 2013 02:25
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Always thicken with corn starch, you can be gluten free, and it doesn't scorch like flour.
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Jul 23, 2013 20:50
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No Wave posted:Do you mean "xanthan gum"? I've had 3 people this year tell me they didn't want our cilantro oil that's thickened with xanthan because its derived from toxic mold.  As far as roux, yeah you can't toast corn starch like you can flour, but you could brown the butter you sauté your veg in. I personally just don't do roux anymore because every other drat person I get an order from is 'gluten free'
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Jul 23, 2013 21:10
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You can use iota carrageenan to get that velveeta texture with other cheeses. Nothing wrong with using a little velveeta for texture though.
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Jul 23, 2013 21:31
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Also, those coats go down to your wrists for a reason. They're heat guards and oil guard. That said, us badasses roll them the gently caress up or wear short sleeves.
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Jul 24, 2013 03:19
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mindphlux posted:
Sysco veggie base is awesome :shh:
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Jul 24, 2013 04:24
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Soaking and freezing the FoH management's ties is hilarious.
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Jul 26, 2013 19:37
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It's totally E, going from personal experience. e: supply me with Red Bull and you can do whatever the gently caress.
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Jul 28, 2013 12:30
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Aesirstorm posted:Speaking of people looking for jobs, how come I can't find any line cooks in Chicago? You couldn't pay me enough to work in Chicago.
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Jul 29, 2013 03:57
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Turkeybone posted:What's wrong with Chicago? It seems like a great "2nd tier, if not 1st tier" food city? I make more in Austin than I would in Chicago, the rent's cheaper, and Austin's food scene is growing.
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Jul 29, 2013 05:03
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I put in my resume to be promoted to sous today. Here's hoping I beat out any outside apps!
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Jul 30, 2013 23:39
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Chef's having me run the night line this week, looks like I'm being tested for sous.
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Aug 2, 2013 14:27
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Go for the hotel. You can slowly move away from most of the frozen food. When I started at my hotel, even some of the banquet food was out of the box. We make almost everything now, save for things like cheese and deli meats.
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Aug 10, 2013 06:44
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I can do all of that here in Austin, and not be broke. Austin's a pretty good place to be in food right now. It's not NYC, but I like my paid vacation and corporate kitchen that lets me gently caress around and just decide to do some charcuterie because why not.
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Aug 11, 2013 03:19
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Wroughtirony posted:"this" is not where you are going to start. If you are lucky, in five years you will work for a chef who cares enough about the plates that go out of her kitchen that she'll yell at you like that. Most likely, you'll end up trying to "up the standards" at a failing gastropub who buys half their poo poo from Sysco and takes shortcuts on the other half. Get out while you can still finish your degree. I started working for James Beard award winning chef, and I work at a reasonable high-end hotel now. It's not impossible, but if you don't know your basics, then yeah, you'll probably start at some shithole. If you really want to get into this industry(don't), start in a hotel. You'll get some decent training, lots more leniency, and decent pay.
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Aug 14, 2013 05:11
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Your tables seem so low. Apparently I'm doing some kind of catering convention tonight, so I've got to make 250 crab tostadas when I get in later today.
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Aug 15, 2013 15:03
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They were probably kosher meals. We have them on hand for banquets. If a group notifies us at least a day in advance, we can get a meal made by a kosher kitchen. Usually we don't and we have to give them SYSCO's finest frozen kosher meals.
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Aug 15, 2013 16:25
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I had 2 pairs of Red Wings split horizontally on the bottom. I would say not worth the price. Crocs are treating me well atm.
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Aug 18, 2013 04:11
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Liquid Communism posted:And you didn't just take 'em over to the Redwing store and have them fixed? Those guys are serious about their warranty. The 2nd pair that split were the replacement for the 1st. But the warranty wasn't reset for the 2nd pair, so when those split, they wouldn't replace them.
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Aug 18, 2013 18:54
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Guys, I drink 2-3 Red Bulls daily, even when I'm off. WHAT. DO. I. DO!?
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Aug 23, 2013 02:22
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I don't do drugs, except for all these painkillers I have prescriptions for!  Also, I am currently top contender for restaurant sous 
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Aug 24, 2013 14:18
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I'm already doing a great job running the restaurant line, just get this promotion going already.  I spent last night reworking all of the line's sauce recipes, because our previous sous decided that the only good sauces were demi reduced so far down that it was black and would probably set into jello before someone even finished their plate. Apple demi is gone, now it's carm apple bourbon glace. Pepper gravy now actually has cream in it! I swear, it's like our previous restaurant sous literally never looked at the dinner menu.
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Aug 29, 2013 15:21
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Aye-Aye posted:Has anyone ever filled up their fryer with duck fat? Am I going to have to strain and throw it in the fridge every night? Can it last a full week? Yes, Yes, HA. Don't fill up your fryer with duck fat. Just don't.
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Aug 29, 2013 17:51
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Aye-Aye posted:What's the best way to do duck fat fries to order without setting of my anasul system? Blanch in duck fat, finish in whatever your standard oil is. Frying in duck fat can get stupid expensive. A jug of Mazola soy select is like 35bux. An equivalent amount of duck fat is around 120. We do duck fat hollandaise and bicuits, but that's about it. e: If you're totally set on doing duck fries, a tabletop fryer that is literally only for fries could last a week. Or if you have 4 fryers like I do, you could wing it, but there's still the cost issue. Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 19:43 on Aug 29, 2013 |
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Aug 29, 2013 19:41
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Aye-Aye posted:I can get a gallon of duck fat for about 51 bucks from Hudson valley off amazon. While that's very expensive I think I'm going to sell a lot of those fries. A Wolf brand fryer takes 7 gallons of oil to fill. That's 350 bux, a week, if you have a duck fat fries only fryer. The second anything with flour or corn meal goes in there, your fat is going to degrade quickly. Better find a way to charge ~10-12bux for an order of fries. e2: Don't buy duck fat through amazon, don't you have access to a commercial supplier? I can get it through Ben E. Keith for 30/gal.
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Aug 29, 2013 20:51
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 Had some bone in prime filets leftover from a banquet, so I ran a special. Smoked cream corn, broccolini, and apple bourbon glacé.
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Sep 1, 2013 01:42
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So many jäger bombs. Last December we had a holiday party, kitchen staff goes out and gets shots of Wild Turkey 101 and comes back significantly tipsier. I like to think we were the life of that party. Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Sep 3, 2013 |
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Sep 3, 2013 20:14
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infiniteguest posted:Who wrapped that third pan? We keep the linguini wrapped until there's an order, since it's hardly ever ordered. As for everything else, that used to be a steam well that we fill with ice 3 times a day because this place is too drat cheap to just put in a fridge =/
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Sep 8, 2013 15:25
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We turn 4-5mil profit a year, we can afford a new line. They just don't want to close the restaurant for a week.
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Sep 8, 2013 16:16
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Liquid Communism posted:You know, at that level of profit, I'd be hard pressed to close the place for a week too, until something major like a new hood needed to go in. Most of that comes from banquets, the restaurant has a line to itself, and there's a deadline we could use in theory for a week or so, and another kitchen upstairs that hasn't been used in at least a decade. I honestly have no idea why this place has 5 kitchens total, with only 350 rooms and banquet space for 1500. But the restaurant makes something like 400k a year, we can easily take a 10-15k hit on a slow week for some upgrades, which could come out of capital.
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Sep 8, 2013 18:39
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 08:21 |
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Turkeybone posted:Yeah, why don't the cooks offer to take a pay cut this year to pay for it? Profit or not, it's always like squeezing blood from a stone sometimes. We wouldn't actually have to close the restaurant. There's an entire unused line that has 12 burners, 2 ovens, a grill, and a flat top. Which is ironically better designed than the current line because the fryers are actually on it, and not a 5sec walk away from grill/sauté. I'd use that dead line in a heartbeat if it actually had room for cold prep.
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Sep 9, 2013 11:54
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, or maybe 
. But really I think it was pride from the one owner who was also the brewmaster and resident handyman. He was a great guy, just really intense while working. I respect him totally, and understand the reasons for his ire, because he never had much time to give, so if he had to waste it on "stupid poo poo" like something we broke or THAT MOTHERFUCKING FRYER AGAIN???, he let everyone know. I mean, he must've changed that thermostat 20 times. But he'd still rather fix it than by new ones.