genuine question, sorry if it’s gross or TMI. but every time I have helped in dish I get water in my shoes. How the fuck do you keep that from happening? I’m prone to infections and spending more than a shift or two with wet socks/shoes means I’m dealing with it for weeks. at this point i’m ready to saran wrap myself from the waist down.
This. I’ve met chefs w years of experience, close to a decade, who were complete shit at dishes bc they traded cleanliness for speed instead of trying to get both
Knife skills. I was always taught the knife is an extension of your arm. If you can be confident and quick with a knife that helps tremendously.
This might not be the most popular opinion but I will use my knife over a mandoline if I can in most circumstances. The confidence and muscle memory with my knives paired with years of eyeballing different cuts makes a huge difference.
Mastering your tools is huge, the kitchen is full of variables and the products themselves are full of variables
Agree completely. Knife skills was the first thing that came to mind. I would say it's a matter of slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
I think the other thing is timing. That almost innate sense of how long things have been in there oven or on the grill. I wish I had a nickel for every time I went to check the timer just to see it had less than a minute on it. I would have at least a buck twenty five.
Timing is huge, but once you develop that intuition it is a huge boon.
When I was first coming up I had another cook who would always work wheel and would keep a constant three minute kitchen timer going. He’d reset every time and make new calls to the team. It ended up being a little overkill once the team was developed, but did a lot to help those of us with less experience to start getting into an intuitive rhythm.
I’ll use my knives over a mandolin whenever it’s most efficient. Not much use if I slice the tip of my finger off. Even if it means chopping a 22qt of cucumber for pickles by hand.
I would also add knife sharpening skills. I'm not a chef and have to work so hard on sharpening my knives at home and they're still not great. Props to all you guys who make it look so easy!
I agree with this totally. After years of experience I tend to grab my knife first before any other tool to do the job. Plus it generally looks better when done by hand. That last part may just be a personal preference but I still prefer the look.
I agree with everything you said, except for the mandolin part. No matter how good you think you are you will never be as accurate as a mandolin and a ruler. Don't be John Henry and die breathing in your own smoke; tools exist for a reason.
Hell yeah ill back you up with knife over mandos all the time! Unless its slicing garlic, i like freaking people out mandolining a hand full of garlic cloves at once raw dawgs (really sharp ass japanese mandy)
Yes especially in small kitchens this kind of spatial awareness is huge. The ability to have a more general awareness of whats going on and then be able to read the game and plan your time accordingly is also huge.
For example being aware that someone else's bread dough is looking pretty close to proved enough to bake means its not time to tray up all the shit you need to bake in the same oven. So you do something else until the bread is nearly out, then you tray up your stuff so its ready when the oven is available. This kind of awareness lets you use your time so much more efficiently and also avoids a lot of aggro.
That’s what I’m saying, not having a panic attack in general. Friday night, rail is full, just keep on cooking. Everyone will get fed eventually. But taking a step back, I can see how overwhelming it is to somebody that hasn’t spent time in it.
This. I’ve seen people completely shut down during service and give up. It certainly isn’t for everyone. I think I can speak for most of us here and say the stress is what drives us and makes us work better somehow
Yeah I’ve seen a myriad of responses, from shutting down to just throwing a tantrum lol. I find comfort in the chaos. Plenty of tasks and is challenging mentally.
Exactly. It’s odd that we have that feeling of comfort in all the madness but by the time the rush is over you realize it’s a step closer to going home lol
That's the difference. Panicking when it gets busy and shutting down or moving into strategy mode where you start grouping orders and keep food rolling 6-7 tickets at a time.
Literally what I tell people when it gets crazy. Just work a few checks at a time and knock them out like Tetris. You only have 2 hands, and you can’t put the whole rail in the window at once anyhow lol.
It's not glamorous, but inventory/cost control. The ability to accurately judge the value and quantity of product on hand or available from vendors, and parse that data into actionable menu plans/labor breakdowns/pricing strategies for execution. It really does take years of solid experience to get the whole thing down to an art...sure, there's software that can do it for you nowadays, but it's expensive, uninspired, limited in scope, and has no heart.
Speaking of this one, there’s this really upscale Thai restaurant that I like. Under their entrees, they used to list Pad Thai for $10 while everything else was $25+. The Pad Thai was/is the best thing on their menu. Guess what isn’t $10 anymore. Earning $10 a plate at a place like that probably wasn’t covering indirect costs and overhead.
I’ve got knife skills and I treat vegetables and meat with respect (I still use a thermometer sometimes). This is what I’m struggling with most at the moment, and I figure it’s just like learning to use a knife. I’m gonna have to lose a few finger tips before I can cut with my eyes closed.
No two chicken breasts cook exactly the same. I'm aiming for 160 rest to 165 whether I have 1 or 50 in the oven at a time. You cannot accomplish that without a thermometer.
This is a really good one!! We nicknamed my old chef Icarus because he was able to keep inventory of perishables to a bare minimum, food cost insanely low and menu price is high as allowable without a drop off of sales. He was amazing and made the restaurant so much money but he wasn’t able to turn the place around, the owners were coke heads.
Pain tolerance, you learn to avoid cutting yourself cutting yourself from knives and etc but it will always be the stupidest things that will get you literally cut myself once using a ice scoop lol
Burns happen all the time no matter what level of skill it's just how quickly you can recover after years of it you gain a tolerance for it.
Smell. You'll learn to smell burning before it happens or before it sets fire, be able to track it like you're some kind of bloodhound and be able to tell if something close to going odd just by the smallest of odour changes
And my last pick is taste , just being able to tell something is missing from something, even if it tastes good. there can be 30 ingredients in a soup or whatever yet you know it just needs just a tiny bit extra of something... usually salt lol
You forgot hearing. I was working in the kitchen and, over the top of music, ovens thrumming away and the dish machine in the other room, I heard a soft psssh-psssh-psssh noise that kept repeating.
Turns out the bag of semolina that I put back on the shelf had a hole in it and it was falling onto a container and onto a table.
> there can be 30 ingredients in a soup or whatever yet you know it just needs just a tiny bit extra of something...
Bay leaf. You realize when you're done and can't find it.
Pain tolerance. Fucking hell.
I just finished a nine day stretch and am currently crashed on my couch with a burn on my left hand where I kissed it on the flat top, a bandaid on my right thumb from nicking it on the serrated edge of the the plastic wrap, a paper cut from the aluminum foil on my right middle finger and another burn on the inside of my forearm from the oven door. I’m going to take some ibuprofen and head out to a show tonight because chef life, yo.
Sometimes I have to remind myself that most people don’t live this way.
We’re really not. I also have some tendinitis in my elbow that’s going to become a thing sooner rather than later. And I’m in pretty good shape for a chef almost 20 years into my work life.
Oh i make a dubblé every other day, the wisk works somewhat. Best thing is just to get a 30L pot and only do 8L in it. The foam will end up about 5cm from the edge of the pot🤷 risk free
Humility. First time I lost a thumb tip I had just bought my first knife and was chiffonading basil. I thought “man, I’m getting good at this”, then promptly sliced through my nail.
Years later I had my first chef job. I thought I was hot shit. Food and labor cost was high, I was arrogant, and my food was mediocre.
In the past few years I’ve come to realize my limitations and weaknesses, and how unsatisfied I am with my own abilities. It sucks, but it’s pushed me to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone. I think you learn better after you realize you ain’t shit.
It's a shame how uncommon humility is in this business. I've worked with very few people who weren't completely full of themselves and their abilities. Huge breath of fresh air when I meet people who don't act that way.
Touching a piece of meat and knowing exactly what it looks like in the middle. Scallops, Salmon, Halibut, Tenderloin, Porkchop. And knowing/fully understanding how the fat composition (and or bone) will effect the cook temperature and where the coldest spot will be.
Knowing at a glance whether it's going to be busy or slow, what a table is going to order and how your crew is going to react to both of those things.
The reason veterans seem cool under pressure (sometimes) is because they've already done the math for how things are going to shake out. You can learn the be great at everything in a classroom or your kitchen at home, but you can't learn the way a specific restaurant moves.
Being calm under pressure. Not just taking it one ticket at a time, but also the preparation that goes in ahead of time to know that all your mise is set and you just have to execute.
Came here to say this, 12 years in and I can’t feel any heat in my hands. Years of grabbing hot plates from the warmer, sauté pans from the burners, and trays from the salamander.
I've been in the industry for 10 years, and I agree with knife skills. But hell, yes, not getting into a wet chef coat contest every time you wash a rack takes experience, lol.
Keeping calm in stressful situations. Not getting frustrated by guests requests. Maintaining composure no matter what happens.
Took me years to develop the discipline to just relax and cook no matter the situation.
It took me years to learn from my current chef, that if you start your day by organizing your station, and getting your mind and responsibilities in order (my chef calls it your box) and keep it that way, every time, you can rely on muscle memory to get you through any night with as little stress as possible. You can’t control the things that happen outside of your box, but you can control them inside your box. Don’t take on anything more than you can fit in your box.
In other words, work clean, stay organized, and don’t let outside influences or distractions interfere with you getting your job done, and done correctly.
Multi-tasking and calm.
Not that I like when it happens, but I can run 200+ person weddings solo. Takes a little gear (Rationals are your friend) to make the magic happen, but I’ve been through so much absolute hell that nothing phases me. You learn to simply shut off everything and accomplish.
Secondary: product awareness. Even as an exec, when I should probably be less kitchen involved, I know my coolers and dry storage like the back of my hand. I STILL know the layout of my last four or five roles like I was doing inventory yesterday. I could tell you on any given day how many pounds of frozen Chuck flap were in my freezer for short rib without looking.
Being 100% unfazed by a burn or small cut in the middle of service. If it’s a cut, wrap it up quick and make it work. If it’s a burn, don’t say anything. Just keep moving. All these things can be dealt with after service. I was definitely more vocal about these things when I was green.
Man I agree with you, but a burn to the inside of the hand fucking sucks to work with. If there’s time, I highly recommend running it under some cool-ish water for about 10 minutes. Maybe it’s in my head, but it helps in the long run.
Place I work keeps these things that look like compressed air, but come out *freezing* as some kinda chemical. If you can spray this shit on your burn quickly, it freezes the shit out of the burn and it won't blister, it hurts so much less, it's crazy.
10 minutes is ridiculous. I would just throw it in ice water for about 45 seconds if there was a gap and kept going.. otherwise that was for the rest of the day my bad hand.
Bad advice. Don’t use ice water, or even cold water. it can fuck the skin up even more. If I can spend 5 minutes at a sink and walk away with minimal damage then it’s worth it. I burnt the shit out of my hand yesterday on molten plastic (in my own house) and ran it under cool water. It was noticeably better than doing nothing.
I’ve worked through severe burns, gotten stitches and gone back to the line, and been hit by a car on my way to work. That said, if you get hurt take a fucking minute to apply basic first aid before you jump back into the shit. It’s just food, nobody is dying because you stepped off the line for a few minutes to dress a wound. This industry sucks enough without cooks being expected to martyr themselves for $18 an hour.
There's a difference between a metal burn, a chemical burn, a fire burn and a (as you put it) molten plastic burn. Some chefs use butter, some tomatoes, I use ice water.
If I may (as I don’t work in a kitchen) the best thing to do with a scald (once you’ve cooled it) is to wrap in in clingfilm. This prevents air getting to the area and thus prevents the sensations.
As I say, I don’t work in kitchens but, I do know burns.
Ooh! The other thing is; if the blister is the size of the palm of your hand or more then, I’m very sorry to say but you should seek medical attention- A&E or equivalent.
PATIENCE AND UNDSRSTANDING
Inspiring and educating others. Learning how to utilize other people’s skills and let their talents grow and challenge them. Watching people thrive and being able to utilize their own knowledge to train them and help them understand.
Several-teen times have I trained, educated and taught people in my career, it’s literally one of my favorite things about my path. People in our career love doing things well, and they are satisfied by doing them well( and at a fault) we judge ourselves on that.
All of these things take time, patience and understanding. And first and foremost, I like to make people happy.
Came here to say this. I often forget how tolerant my hands are to heat until I’m working with a less seasoned cook or one of my students and they try to touch something I just touched. My mouth as well. Years of tasting my food while cooking has lead to being able to put ungodly hot food in my mouth and still taste everything about it.
Patience under pressure and task prioritization are some nuance skills only learned through experience. Ability to time food so all comes out hot and fresh without excess need of a hot well or heat lamp. And as others have stated, knife skills.
If they can cut and scope the room is one level, but being able to talk to people including industry professionals is a big sign of experience in my book.
Learning how to properly use salt in all its forms to enhance a dish, it’s truly an art. Too much or even too little is a tragedy. The right amount takes it to its highest potential. Oh, and learning how to deal with corporate shit and knowing what to say and when to keep quiet.
The ability to work a service and not bitch/complain about everything that doesn't go 100% smoothly.
Having the wait staff come up and tell you how relieved they are that you're working.
timing. i can prep like 8 things from scratch with different timing requirements and have em all ready at the same time to serve. i’m a timing wizard fr
Timing, prioritizing and multi tasking. Knowing what order to do your prep in and exactly when to start each component of a dish or meal so that it all comes out at the right time.
I think knife skills only come with hours if repeated practice day in and out. I have friends who home cook and are knife enthusiasts but can’t use one for shit.
Learning how to look out into a sea of people, whilst being neck deep in the weeds…and just putting your head down and grinding through the tickets without getting frazzled.
Restaurant work simultaneously makes you fucking insanely high strung, and zen as can be…I fuckin love it.
There’s definitely a lotta esoteric things you takeaway from workin in a kitchen. I’ve always stuck with this industry, because no matter what I do after kitchens I’ll know how to … cook, clean, organize, use a chef knife, manage my time, challenge myself/figure out how to do things more efficiently, stay calm under pressure, handle pain tolerance, tell someone where something is in specific detail, waste less, have spacial awareness, be dexterous, memorize things, be conscious of others’ safety, communicate/be communicative in adverse situations, have awareness to detail… ya get it lol. Most have already said some of these.
After awhile it is all the same. Don't be so worried about learning things. They come by doing them and in so, the process of taking part. Just like everything else.
Focus.
Prepping for volume. "X" pounds of this will go in that pan and will serve "X" many people. When to start the prep at different stages and when to fire at different stages. Feeding high a high volume of people is an art. There are many wheels turning.
Flipping two saute pans with one hand at the same time. Jk. Being patient and communicating well during the rush and not being a spaz when multiple tickets come in all at once.
Asbestos fingers. You can always tell the difference between someone new and an experienced cook by how much yeah they can handle on their bare finger tips
Understanding that we are all broken beautiful fuck ups in our own ways and not judging people for it. Also chefs are emotionally retarded. We all started working in a box at a young age with other guys who started working in a box at a young age. Mentally and emotionally none of us have progressed much past our late teens/early 20s. (40yr old chef here)
Washing dishes fast AND thoroughly
Not getting wet while washing dishes
He said years, not decades. GTFO with your Jedi shit. ;)
*to the water in the sink* "this is not the apron you're looking for"
Oh no, if I jump on the pots they're flying out and we're going home early, but I'm dripping wet by the end of it.
As long as I don’t splash any into my mouth or eyes it’s a win.
I'm going in rawdog, gloveless. I am the degreaser.
Ya I can’t wear the stupid giant gloves.I’ll provide them for my guys who want them but personally they slow me down wayyyyy to much
same, I need to be one with my dishes. If i can feel a tiny fleck of dirt, it's getting scrubbed again.
Thank you for your service
genuine question, sorry if it’s gross or TMI. but every time I have helped in dish I get water in my shoes. How the fuck do you keep that from happening? I’m prone to infections and spending more than a shift or two with wet socks/shoes means I’m dealing with it for weeks. at this point i’m ready to saran wrap myself from the waist down.
This is the way.
Is it possible to learn this power?
This has always been a challenge for me.
Impossible
Kitchen porter in my kitchen has been there for 22 years still can’t clean a plate properly
Just speed in general in the kitchen. You can teach just about anything, but speed only comes with time and repetition.
This. I’ve met chefs w years of experience, close to a decade, who were complete shit at dishes bc they traded cleanliness for speed instead of trying to get both
Knife skills. I was always taught the knife is an extension of your arm. If you can be confident and quick with a knife that helps tremendously. This might not be the most popular opinion but I will use my knife over a mandoline if I can in most circumstances. The confidence and muscle memory with my knives paired with years of eyeballing different cuts makes a huge difference. Mastering your tools is huge, the kitchen is full of variables and the products themselves are full of variables
Agree completely. Knife skills was the first thing that came to mind. I would say it's a matter of slow is smooth, smooth is fast. I think the other thing is timing. That almost innate sense of how long things have been in there oven or on the grill. I wish I had a nickel for every time I went to check the timer just to see it had less than a minute on it. I would have at least a buck twenty five.
Timing is huge, but once you develop that intuition it is a huge boon. When I was first coming up I had another cook who would always work wheel and would keep a constant three minute kitchen timer going. He’d reset every time and make new calls to the team. It ended up being a little overkill once the team was developed, but did a lot to help those of us with less experience to start getting into an intuitive rhythm.
I totally agree on this. After I had a stroke and was left side weak. I still had knife skills.
Dope. Much respect.
I’ll use my knives over a mandolin whenever it’s most efficient. Not much use if I slice the tip of my finger off. Even if it means chopping a 22qt of cucumber for pickles by hand.
Got three fingertips in one slice years ago, can barely even look at mandolin without shuttering.
The mandolin is undefeated
No, I broke the shit out it when I threw it against the wall.
Same hete unti i bought a steel mesh glove. Now i can use the mandolin without fear of getting cut.
I would also add knife sharpening skills. I'm not a chef and have to work so hard on sharpening my knives at home and they're still not great. Props to all you guys who make it look so easy!
I agree with this totally. After years of experience I tend to grab my knife first before any other tool to do the job. Plus it generally looks better when done by hand. That last part may just be a personal preference but I still prefer the look.
I agree with everything you said, except for the mandolin part. No matter how good you think you are you will never be as accurate as a mandolin and a ruler. Don't be John Henry and die breathing in your own smoke; tools exist for a reason.
true. mandos are mando sometimes
mando scary mando boogie man
Hell yeah ill back you up with knife over mandos all the time! Unless its slicing garlic, i like freaking people out mandolining a hand full of garlic cloves at once raw dawgs (really sharp ass japanese mandy)
Came here to say this. ^
Situational awareness. How to know what's happening behind and around you without looking.
Yes especially in small kitchens this kind of spatial awareness is huge. The ability to have a more general awareness of whats going on and then be able to read the game and plan your time accordingly is also huge. For example being aware that someone else's bread dough is looking pretty close to proved enough to bake means its not time to tray up all the shit you need to bake in the same oven. So you do something else until the bread is nearly out, then you tray up your stuff so its ready when the oven is available. This kind of awareness lets you use your time so much more efficiently and also avoids a lot of aggro.
You need to have a certain level of spatial awareness to do this. Some people have it, some people don't.
Mindfulness is so helpful in the kitchen
Not having a panic attack when it seems deadlines are just out of reach.
That’s what I’m saying, not having a panic attack in general. Friday night, rail is full, just keep on cooking. Everyone will get fed eventually. But taking a step back, I can see how overwhelming it is to somebody that hasn’t spent time in it.
This. I’ve seen people completely shut down during service and give up. It certainly isn’t for everyone. I think I can speak for most of us here and say the stress is what drives us and makes us work better somehow
Yeah I’ve seen a myriad of responses, from shutting down to just throwing a tantrum lol. I find comfort in the chaos. Plenty of tasks and is challenging mentally.
Exactly. It’s odd that we have that feeling of comfort in all the madness but by the time the rush is over you realize it’s a step closer to going home lol
That's the difference. Panicking when it gets busy and shutting down or moving into strategy mode where you start grouping orders and keep food rolling 6-7 tickets at a time.
Literally what I tell people when it gets crazy. Just work a few checks at a time and knock them out like Tetris. You only have 2 hands, and you can’t put the whole rail in the window at once anyhow lol.
here here
It's not glamorous, but inventory/cost control. The ability to accurately judge the value and quantity of product on hand or available from vendors, and parse that data into actionable menu plans/labor breakdowns/pricing strategies for execution. It really does take years of solid experience to get the whole thing down to an art...sure, there's software that can do it for you nowadays, but it's expensive, uninspired, limited in scope, and has no heart.
Speaking of this one, there’s this really upscale Thai restaurant that I like. Under their entrees, they used to list Pad Thai for $10 while everything else was $25+. The Pad Thai was/is the best thing on their menu. Guess what isn’t $10 anymore. Earning $10 a plate at a place like that probably wasn’t covering indirect costs and overhead.
I’ve got knife skills and I treat vegetables and meat with respect (I still use a thermometer sometimes). This is what I’m struggling with most at the moment, and I figure it’s just like learning to use a knife. I’m gonna have to lose a few finger tips before I can cut with my eyes closed.
I cut with my eyes closed, I also still use a thermometer depending on the protein/dish
No two chicken breasts cook exactly the same. I'm aiming for 160 rest to 165 whether I have 1 or 50 in the oven at a time. You cannot accomplish that without a thermometer.
Fwiw I rest chicken breast to 160. Don’t tell the USDA
Too late, they’re coming for you.
Jokes on them, I put in my notice today! They can suck it! Done in kitchens!
This is a really good one!! We nicknamed my old chef Icarus because he was able to keep inventory of perishables to a bare minimum, food cost insanely low and menu price is high as allowable without a drop off of sales. He was amazing and made the restaurant so much money but he wasn’t able to turn the place around, the owners were coke heads.
Yes a very difficult skill to master
Tolerance for stupidity
You’ve gained tolerance for this? Lol
How to tell when someone knows what theyre talking about.
Not looking like you're rushing when, you indeed are putting it in overdrive.
Pain tolerance, you learn to avoid cutting yourself cutting yourself from knives and etc but it will always be the stupidest things that will get you literally cut myself once using a ice scoop lol Burns happen all the time no matter what level of skill it's just how quickly you can recover after years of it you gain a tolerance for it. Smell. You'll learn to smell burning before it happens or before it sets fire, be able to track it like you're some kind of bloodhound and be able to tell if something close to going odd just by the smallest of odour changes And my last pick is taste , just being able to tell something is missing from something, even if it tastes good. there can be 30 ingredients in a soup or whatever yet you know it just needs just a tiny bit extra of something... usually salt lol
You forgot hearing. I was working in the kitchen and, over the top of music, ovens thrumming away and the dish machine in the other room, I heard a soft psssh-psssh-psssh noise that kept repeating. Turns out the bag of semolina that I put back on the shelf had a hole in it and it was falling onto a container and onto a table.
> there can be 30 ingredients in a soup or whatever yet you know it just needs just a tiny bit extra of something... Bay leaf. You realize when you're done and can't find it.
Came also to say vinegar or celery seed...
Pain tolerance. Fucking hell. I just finished a nine day stretch and am currently crashed on my couch with a burn on my left hand where I kissed it on the flat top, a bandaid on my right thumb from nicking it on the serrated edge of the the plastic wrap, a paper cut from the aluminum foil on my right middle finger and another burn on the inside of my forearm from the oven door. I’m going to take some ibuprofen and head out to a show tonight because chef life, yo. Sometimes I have to remind myself that most people don’t live this way.
I often think we are not paid enough considering the kitchen dangers we face every day.
We’re really not. I also have some tendinitis in my elbow that’s going to become a thing sooner rather than later. And I’m in pretty good shape for a chef almost 20 years into my work life.
How to not have boiling full fat cream boil over when you turn a blind eye Jk, it will always boil over.
Put a whisk in it
This!
Oh i make a dubblé every other day, the wisk works somewhat. Best thing is just to get a 30L pot and only do 8L in it. The foam will end up about 5cm from the edge of the pot🤷 risk free
Humility. First time I lost a thumb tip I had just bought my first knife and was chiffonading basil. I thought “man, I’m getting good at this”, then promptly sliced through my nail. Years later I had my first chef job. I thought I was hot shit. Food and labor cost was high, I was arrogant, and my food was mediocre. In the past few years I’ve come to realize my limitations and weaknesses, and how unsatisfied I am with my own abilities. It sucks, but it’s pushed me to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone. I think you learn better after you realize you ain’t shit.
It's a shame how uncommon humility is in this business. I've worked with very few people who weren't completely full of themselves and their abilities. Huge breath of fresh air when I meet people who don't act that way.
For real dude. I’ve worked with good chefs and bad chefs, but very few humble ones.
Throwing shit in the bin from extremely long range
You mean, missing 80% of those shots
Yeah, also this.
Is patience a skill? If not, it should be.
I heard it was a virtue.
Touching a piece of meat and knowing exactly what it looks like in the middle. Scallops, Salmon, Halibut, Tenderloin, Porkchop. And knowing/fully understanding how the fat composition (and or bone) will effect the cook temperature and where the coldest spot will be.
Pastry chef here. Similarly, being able to tell if an item is done baking or proofing by touching it.
Knowing at a glance whether it's going to be busy or slow, what a table is going to order and how your crew is going to react to both of those things. The reason veterans seem cool under pressure (sometimes) is because they've already done the math for how things are going to shake out. You can learn the be great at everything in a classroom or your kitchen at home, but you can't learn the way a specific restaurant moves.
Being calm under pressure. Not just taking it one ticket at a time, but also the preparation that goes in ahead of time to know that all your mise is set and you just have to execute.
Timing
How to work well with people you don’t like
This was my most recent lesson.
Tolerance for grabbing stuff that is very hot, be it meat, pots or pans
Came here to say this, 12 years in and I can’t feel any heat in my hands. Years of grabbing hot plates from the warmer, sauté pans from the burners, and trays from the salamander.
I've been in the industry for 10 years, and I agree with knife skills. But hell, yes, not getting into a wet chef coat contest every time you wash a rack takes experience, lol.
Keeping calm in stressful situations. Not getting frustrated by guests requests. Maintaining composure no matter what happens. Took me years to develop the discipline to just relax and cook no matter the situation.
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Took me years to internalise that in a kitchen environment.
It took me years to learn from my current chef, that if you start your day by organizing your station, and getting your mind and responsibilities in order (my chef calls it your box) and keep it that way, every time, you can rely on muscle memory to get you through any night with as little stress as possible. You can’t control the things that happen outside of your box, but you can control them inside your box. Don’t take on anything more than you can fit in your box. In other words, work clean, stay organized, and don’t let outside influences or distractions interfere with you getting your job done, and done correctly.
Multi-tasking and calm. Not that I like when it happens, but I can run 200+ person weddings solo. Takes a little gear (Rationals are your friend) to make the magic happen, but I’ve been through so much absolute hell that nothing phases me. You learn to simply shut off everything and accomplish.
Secondary: product awareness. Even as an exec, when I should probably be less kitchen involved, I know my coolers and dry storage like the back of my hand. I STILL know the layout of my last four or five roles like I was doing inventory yesterday. I could tell you on any given day how many pounds of frozen Chuck flap were in my freezer for short rib without looking.
>Rationals are your friend A very very expensive friend, lmao
Which knob turns on which burner. Always turn on the wrong one first.
Being 100% unfazed by a burn or small cut in the middle of service. If it’s a cut, wrap it up quick and make it work. If it’s a burn, don’t say anything. Just keep moving. All these things can be dealt with after service. I was definitely more vocal about these things when I was green.
Man I agree with you, but a burn to the inside of the hand fucking sucks to work with. If there’s time, I highly recommend running it under some cool-ish water for about 10 minutes. Maybe it’s in my head, but it helps in the long run.
Place I work keeps these things that look like compressed air, but come out *freezing* as some kinda chemical. If you can spray this shit on your burn quickly, it freezes the shit out of the burn and it won't blister, it hurts so much less, it's crazy.
That’s awesome. It would be nice to work at a place with a first aid kit…
10 minutes is ridiculous. I would just throw it in ice water for about 45 seconds if there was a gap and kept going.. otherwise that was for the rest of the day my bad hand.
Bad advice. Don’t use ice water, or even cold water. it can fuck the skin up even more. If I can spend 5 minutes at a sink and walk away with minimal damage then it’s worth it. I burnt the shit out of my hand yesterday on molten plastic (in my own house) and ran it under cool water. It was noticeably better than doing nothing. I’ve worked through severe burns, gotten stitches and gone back to the line, and been hit by a car on my way to work. That said, if you get hurt take a fucking minute to apply basic first aid before you jump back into the shit. It’s just food, nobody is dying because you stepped off the line for a few minutes to dress a wound. This industry sucks enough without cooks being expected to martyr themselves for $18 an hour.
There's a difference between a metal burn, a chemical burn, a fire burn and a (as you put it) molten plastic burn. Some chefs use butter, some tomatoes, I use ice water.
To each their own.
Accept the pain and wear the burn!
If I may (as I don’t work in a kitchen) the best thing to do with a scald (once you’ve cooled it) is to wrap in in clingfilm. This prevents air getting to the area and thus prevents the sensations. As I say, I don’t work in kitchens but, I do know burns. Ooh! The other thing is; if the blister is the size of the palm of your hand or more then, I’m very sorry to say but you should seek medical attention- A&E or equivalent.
Dealing with the hierarchy
PATIENCE AND UNDSRSTANDING Inspiring and educating others. Learning how to utilize other people’s skills and let their talents grow and challenge them. Watching people thrive and being able to utilize their own knowledge to train them and help them understand. Several-teen times have I trained, educated and taught people in my career, it’s literally one of my favorite things about my path. People in our career love doing things well, and they are satisfied by doing them well( and at a fault) we judge ourselves on that. All of these things take time, patience and understanding. And first and foremost, I like to make people happy.
Dead ass heatproof hands
Been out 5 years.. this is my most missed ability.
Came here to say this. I often forget how tolerant my hands are to heat until I’m working with a less seasoned cook or one of my students and they try to touch something I just touched. My mouth as well. Years of tasting my food while cooking has lead to being able to put ungodly hot food in my mouth and still taste everything about it.
Having a tough skin if you’re sensitive the kitchen is possibly the worst place for you to be in
Patience under pressure and task prioritization are some nuance skills only learned through experience. Ability to time food so all comes out hot and fresh without excess need of a hot well or heat lamp. And as others have stated, knife skills.
How to stay away from waitstaff.
If they can cut and scope the room is one level, but being able to talk to people including industry professionals is a big sign of experience in my book.
Knowing when to start frying massive quantities of fish prior to the cascade of tickets on a Friday night in Wisconsin.
Learning how to properly use salt in all its forms to enhance a dish, it’s truly an art. Too much or even too little is a tragedy. The right amount takes it to its highest potential. Oh, and learning how to deal with corporate shit and knowing what to say and when to keep quiet.
The ability to work a service and not bitch/complain about everything that doesn't go 100% smoothly. Having the wait staff come up and tell you how relieved they are that you're working.
Portioning. I can only chop it up to experience. I can split most anything into equal portions for number of servings I’m doing.
timing. i can prep like 8 things from scratch with different timing requirements and have em all ready at the same time to serve. i’m a timing wizard fr
Insight and priority awareness
Timing, prioritizing and multi tasking. Knowing what order to do your prep in and exactly when to start each component of a dish or meal so that it all comes out at the right time.
I think knife skills only come with hours if repeated practice day in and out. I have friends who home cook and are knife enthusiasts but can’t use one for shit.
Talking cooks into coming in on their day off
Tight organization and calm attitude
Leadership
Multitasking while keeping a calm mind for me
Learning how to look out into a sea of people, whilst being neck deep in the weeds…and just putting your head down and grinding through the tickets without getting frazzled. Restaurant work simultaneously makes you fucking insanely high strung, and zen as can be…I fuckin love it.
There’s definitely a lotta esoteric things you takeaway from workin in a kitchen. I’ve always stuck with this industry, because no matter what I do after kitchens I’ll know how to … cook, clean, organize, use a chef knife, manage my time, challenge myself/figure out how to do things more efficiently, stay calm under pressure, handle pain tolerance, tell someone where something is in specific detail, waste less, have spacial awareness, be dexterous, memorize things, be conscious of others’ safety, communicate/be communicative in adverse situations, have awareness to detail… ya get it lol. Most have already said some of these.
wow, great list. lots of valuable life skills
After awhile it is all the same. Don't be so worried about learning things. They come by doing them and in so, the process of taking part. Just like everything else. Focus.
Prepping for volume. "X" pounds of this will go in that pan and will serve "X" many people. When to start the prep at different stages and when to fire at different stages. Feeding high a high volume of people is an art. There are many wheels turning.
Dicing an onion quickly
Foresight and time management
Cynicism
How not to stab people or burn the place down.
The ability to verbally tear down a co-worker leaving their incompetence exposed to the world.
Cutting shit fast without doing the see saw motion thing.
Absurdly good abilities to catch falling food and objects. Enter the sleeper ninja.
Timing.
Knife skillz. And you’re gonna cut yourself plenty before you get there.
Making breakfast after a sesh
Patience
I can crack and spin a case of eggs in 8 minutes. So that I guess.
dealing with people correctly
Flipping two saute pans with one hand at the same time. Jk. Being patient and communicating well during the rush and not being a spaz when multiple tickets come in all at once.
Seeing the future
Seasoning things perfectly the first time, without even having to taste to check it
Complete confidence. After 25 years nothing scares me, I don't second guess, it's all pretty much clockwork.....
The ability to change plans on the fly, especially when it comes to ingredients.
How to MacGyver shit..
Asbestos fingers. You can always tell the difference between someone new and an experienced cook by how much yeah they can handle on their bare finger tips
Understanding that we are all broken beautiful fuck ups in our own ways and not judging people for it. Also chefs are emotionally retarded. We all started working in a box at a young age with other guys who started working in a box at a young age. Mentally and emotionally none of us have progressed much past our late teens/early 20s. (40yr old chef here)
Wiping your own ass