nah thats just shitty places your working at lol the knives the restaurant provide are very sharp and well balanced normally just the weight of the knife is all i need to finely slice my produce etc. the stage shifts are quite common in the culinary industry chefs/owners want to see what your capable of before they hire you on.up in canada we got a big chain of restaurants owned by company called cara. they own many chains, i worked in that company for over a decade before moving into a more professional environment its a totally different change of pace than what your probably used to aswell. do you have a recipe book? or are you capable of making some up? in the meantime i suggest you try experimenting and making your own menu up just for fun and really impress the shit out of them dont jump onto a food course yet they may pay for you to take it. the safe food handling course takes a day or 2 so thats np. In ontario if you have so many hours logged you can challenge the red seal exam if you know your shit and get it asap i dont know if its the same down there.

This post was edited by kalelvszod on Aug 26 2015 08:54pm

update for those who care:

Got a job in the kitchen of Bimini Boatyard they are starting me in the pantry.

The restaurant is 25 years old and it made 8 million its opening year, which in todays economy would be approximately 24 million in a year. That would make it the top earning restaurant in my area (Ft. Lauderdale)
It has been closed for a few months for a complete overhauling and renovation, it will be reopening in two weeks known as simply Boatyard. The team that is behind this restaurant seems to be great, I have been training along with 150 others to make sure we are prepare on opening night (approximately two weeks away oct 13-14)

Any tips for learning a new menu? I've been trying my best to memorize all the recipes/plating procedures but learning an entirely new menu will take me some time, and they already said that they plan to cut back the 150 people down to around 80 within the next month I really want to impress the higher ups so I don't have to worry about losing my job in the coming weeks.


I'm excited to work here, they have 4 walkins and 2 walk in freezers, by far the largest kitchen I have worked in.

update:
been working 12+ hour days all week, today was my 6th in arow... been doing soft openings all week of friends and family. today was the first night we went live to the public, service was a bit chaotic around 8:30pm when we were really geting slammed but it went relatively smoothly. been working the hot appetizer saute station, theyre looking for 8-10 min ticket times and today my longest one was around 12mins which is kinda meh but hey im learning and to be hoenst i was the smoothest station in the house other than desserts. Just so you guys have and idea we had 11 men on the grill side of the line (3 sous 8 line cooks) and on my side of the line (pantry and hot apps) we had 7 (1 sous 7 line cooks). hell of a lot of people on the line. i learned a new trick, in order to never lose your tongs in that chaos you always keep a pair on your arm, almost like a purse. I feel kinda dainty when i do it but hey, theyre always there. overall things are good and im thinking ill stay here for a while, maybe even try to move up



any advice?

aslong as you go in there show hard work and determination you should do fine. this kind of work is a high strung work environment so them seeing you can handle it is good. as long as your stations food is timed accordingly with the rest and not cold the extra 2 min chit time not big deal. iv worked in kitchens my whole life and rarely do things go according to plan hahaha. food cost is important so try to keep wastage to minimum and keep your station clean, head chefs atleast ones iv worked with very anal about that. your right about tongs they should never really leave your hand when sautee maybe even keep some in your apron or onside if you got spot for them.

This post was edited by kalelvszod on Oct 18 2015 11:39am

tongs - one on arm, one on apron, one in hand, one on head.

Lol on the line usually i always keep the thong in my hand... acts like an extension of my arm aha

Keep doing what you're doing. It's not about impressing the chef one week, it's about impressing the chef every week for months.

best way to find yourself in a quality kitchen is to let a woman guide you