I’m a 30 year old restaurant manager in a pretty small and rural tourist town and im once again feeling lost about what the hell I’m doing with my career. I keep thinking about if I have to go through these biannual breakdowns for the next five years and no retirement and no plan and then freaking out.
I’ve been with the same company for about 5 years. I started when they opened their first restaurant, helped them open their second, and have been officially managing for about a year and a half.
I’m currently at $18/hr with no benefits or bonus structure.
Right now, I manage FOH, scheduling, hiring/firing and HR, training, created all of our training materials and SOPs, do our liquor/beer ordering and vendor relationships with 6 distributors, inventory, menus and cocktail menus, social media, event menus, tasting dinners, and act as the middleman between the restaurant, hotel and catering when we have larger events in our event space coming through.
I’ve definitely kept the longest staff relationships either restaurant ever had, and revenue wise we’re already nearly 25% over our predicted annual revenue for this point in October.
I have a genuinely good relationship with the owners, especially the head chef that I work with in the current restaurant. However, there’s nobody above me managing me or helping me figure out what my role is supposed to be, exactly…. The only feedback I ever get is you’re so amazing! Keep doing what you’re doing! And then when I cry and freak out they talk me down and this is how I’ve gone from 13->15->18 in two years, hourly wise. The owners are currently buried in closing/renovating our first restaurant into an event venue, so I’ve basically just been figuring things out as I go.
And I feel like I’m constantly just fixing shit.
I have my weekly distributor orders/meetings, but beyond that I struggle to actually structure my week. It’s constantly employee issues, communication problems between departments, events, staffing, something somebody forgot, something that needs to be ordered, etc.
I also find myself shorting myself constantly to make sure my employees are taken care of and to keep labor where it needs to be. I can’t just cut half the staffs hours come the off season when we already lay off half the people so that I can make money. I can’t realistically cover the day server bartender and still meet with the people I need to meet with in the afternoons.
I just constantly feel that if I were to go anywhere with like 5,000 more people I’d be so clueless I’d have to just start over.
So I guess I’m looking for some perspective from people who have been doing this longer than me.
Is $18/hr completely insane for the scope of this job, or is this pretty normal for a hotel tourism spot semi upscale restaurant?
What would you even call this position? FOH manager? AGM? GM? Operations manager? Some weird combination?
My partner is a sous chef, and we’re talking about making a 2 year plan to eventually move somewhere with more opportunities for both of us. I just don’t want to spend the next two years being miserable and burned out at $18/hr without actually gaining the skills I’d need to move up.
I’d really appreciate advice from other managers who have been in this weird middle ground where you’re trusted with basically everything, but nobody is actually investing in YOUR growth and development. I feel like a big baby. :(

I attempted the frozen ice and stick and it didn't stick, as the pan created its own suction prevent water from entering. Had to have help squeezing the pot to free the lid

I work at an amusement park food court so it gets crazy busy. Like 15k people on a Saturday. So seeing them pack in I just can't unsee a wave of zombies. There's been a couple times we needed basically a bouncer on the other side of the pickup counter to protect the pickup person. If the ketchup runs out they turn violent.

Greetings everyone. I have a criminal record so I struggle to find decent jobs. I love working as a kitchen hand and I have done so many times in the past. After being homeless for a while, I found a place and a job as a kitchenhand and I have been here for a month. I have been exemplary at all my kitchen hand roles but this restaurant is super busy, I have been finishing 2 hours after rostered time and I don’t really feel like letting down the other kitchen hands and chefs. What should I do?

I didn’t realize this was a thing. I’m allergic to beef and anaphylactic to dairy (not alpha gal, just food allergies). I usually just call ahead and speak to the server. Would you prefer a card?

A few years ago I left a unicorn restaurant where I was the sous. I loved it there but we were in the middle of nowhere and I needed more than they could afford to support my family.

This will always be my favorite place I have ever cooked at. Everything was done the correct way. Almost zero waste (we served fried chicken backs as family one night) I had farmers walking through the back door daily with choice produce. I knew the names of the pigs I would break down a few months later. It was the dream.

I got a big head and moved on to run a popular restaurant in the city, but I tried to hold on to what I had learned from my last job.

Now, years later I look at their menu and it is just so basic. There is not the love and respect for the food that we had. It makes me so sad to see my old "home" like that

Do y'all ever feel that way?

about a month ago one of our servers had her family visit from argentina. her sister fell in love with our chicken salad and wouldn't stop talking about it. later, when she got back home she tried to make it..in a blender!
😂😂😂

Owner bought a whole cow from a local farmer, so now our freezer is packed with incredible beef, I have bags of bones in the walk-in, and there are six or seven giant hunks of suet to be rendered.

Found my m&m cookies and Miami onion rolls like this today......I'll admit i laughed

I’ve been working the line off and on for 6 years and still don’t get it. My understanding has always been that heat from below is a grill; heat from above is a broiler. Yet, we call our grill upon which we grill many steaks a broiler while obviously the broiler is called a salamander…cause Pokémon?

So what’s the deal with this weird ass naming?

Okay, which one of you was this? Surely, it was someone here, right??

Anyway. Pour one out for OP, but also, I'm sure this is a lot more common than customers think, buuuut I'm guessing they never see it!

*KINDA LONG RANT*

For clearance average salary in my country is 660euros and I was making 750

Just looking for comments from people that work/have worked in fast food joints, restaurants and so on..

Well long story short I was working in subway wannabe fast food sandwich shop where I live for 2years before I quit, it was my first and only job for now so not sure how I stayed for that long and got adapted,maybe because it's my only job I have no expectations and know how really is in the kitchen world

Have heard that it's hectic on average but for example we only worked from 9 to 5 ( there was shift from 7 to 3 for 1 person to do all the prep which is fill all 40 sauce bottles which most of the time to be fair are half empty, cut all the veggies needed and pre cook chicken for the morning rush)

We had around 120 tickets on average day from local delivery apps (not counting there orders from out website which there weren't that many and in-person order which probably another 20ish so on top 140/150 orders per day)

Now each order for the most part let's say 85% had atleast 3 or more items ,some even 10 different and the other 15% were like single or double item orders

So around 450 to 550 different items had to be prepped just from the day to day orders that are coming

Now we also had options for catering that people order like upfront so we know what we had for that day,we had like catering style plates with wraps,burgers,toasts and club sandwiches, on average if we were under 10 plates per day we were happy (most days was 15+)

For example the burgers there were 15 per "plate" wraps were 20 and the club sandwiches and toasts 28

Even tho they were smaller then the average burgers and wraps u can order still, that's atleast another 200ish more items to be prepped but usually they were way more but for easy math I can do on top of my head let's say 200 and the 500 from before that's 700 separate items,not counting like 30 salad bowls per day which was like the least and easiest thing to do

So now counting we were 4 people 9 to 5.. 2 infront who were prepped the wraps, burgers, sandwiches and so on and 2 on the back who were cooking the meat and cutting veggies as needed plus everything else basically

On average we go thru 25ish kilos of chicken 4 to 5kilos of pork and beef patties around 8 to 10 kilos per day when it comes to meat

Now is this "normal" work for 4 people basically and average around the world or we were just special 💅

Sorry for the long rant,just curious how yall do and some comments on all this!

Have a nice weekend!

I retired 10 years ago after 40+ years in the industry. Started as a dishwasher at Rueben’s Plankhouse in Kirkland, WA in 1977. Did a lot of things in that time. Cooked for POTUS. Private viewings of Christie’s Art auctions. Met the Professor from Gilligan’s Island.

One thing I get asked consistently is my recipe for Red Beans. They are in the crock today.
So here it is:

1.5# (24 oz) Small Red Beans, soaked in water overnight, drained
1.5# Smoked Ham Shank or Hock
1 medium Yellow Onion, diced
4-5 stalks Celery, diced
1-2 T diced Garlic, depending on your taste
2-3 Bay leaf, depending on size. This batch got 3 smaller leaves
1 T Dark Chili Powder
1 T Dry Mustard
2 T Ground Celery Seed
Water to cover

Crock is set to 10 hour. I don’t mess with it much.
After about 8 hours, I pull the bones and skin or fatty tissue that hasn’t broken down.

I’ll adjust the taste after I pull the shank bones out. So it gets subjective from here.

I’ll add Worcestershire, Soy and kosher salt to taste. Start small and taste a lot.
The longer it simmers, the better it gets. Throw some Hot Link sausages in there, yummy, yummy.

Serve over rice. I prefer brown basmati but you do you.

Good old comfort food.

Enjoy and stay safe out there. Get some quality comfortable shoes. Lift with your legs. Remember to breathe. You got this.

Available now.

Hi, so I am a kitchen porter and have been for a few months now (8-9 months) and I find the work alright and I am able to shut my brain off and get on at the work but I work shifts around 9-10 hours and get no break, no food and very little time to go to toilet during my shifts

Now there's 2 KPs on at a time so one is able to go on break but none of us do and it's starting to get on my nerves as it's the law to get your 30 mins break uninterrupted best I get is 5-10 mins sprinkled throughout the shift and that's it and don't get me started on no food, I got a plate the other day and all the chefs just giving me the look of disappointment as I'm eating. I'm 18 and need fuel to keep going and I'm working from just after lunch till 11-12am at night. So I don't get why I'm getting growled at.

So guys what should I do? Any advice is good advice.

Thanks!

Hi everyone, I’m not sure if this is the right subreddit. I’ve started a new baking role at a shop and I was clear to management that I have no baking experience and I have never worked with dough. My only experience is with specific sweets (no pastries). I’ve worked casually/part-time for a month and I’ve been told I’m too slow multiple times. When I speed it up and rush (to not be called slow), I make mistakes and I am corrected. I have also been told that management have told other staff that I’m slow. 2-3 times now they have said to me ‘maybe you’re finding this too hard.’ Now my question is: am I not suited for the job? When would I know?

Truthfully I’ve had success in previous jobs. When I was hired I said I learn and adapt quickly. While I have learnt and am adapting, I feel I sold a half-truth.

Over the years I've worked every shift possible. My favourite is the opening shift. Unlocking the doors, turning on the equipment, making the first pot of coffee, setting up the stations with only my music blaring from the bluetooth, not having to talk to anyone. The space is clean and peaceful. It's the Golden Hour for me until other staff arrive.

I work at one of the busiest Bracker Carrels in the country and normally everything's rocking and rolling from 5:30 to 8, but there was some fuckery going on tonight with large parties, everyone wanting long-cook items that monopolize the flattop, etc., hotbox running out of EVERYTHING. Anyways, at some point the speaker died and all you could hear were the stations stationing, fryers frying, and servers ~~bitching~~ servering. The manager came around the corner and said "Man, sure is quiet back here." Before they noticed Charlie in the bushes and jumped in to help expo.

MAY have eaten a frozen chocolate chip cookie in the freezer to reset afterwards.

I have worked at the same fine dining Italian restaurant for 7 years. I am a day one employee hired before they opened the restaurant, I was 21 years old. The only person hired before me was the chef's brother, they had both worked on and off together at different restaurants since they were teenagers and the chef's brother is a really good cook. I was new to fine dining but experienced in kitchens, working in a few different ones since I was 14.

When we first opened the restaurant it was a very small group in the kitchen. Chef, brother, myself, a friend of chef's, a private chef with no real kitchen experience, and a previous employee of chef's who was washing dishes. It was a rough start as stations and roles were still being figured out as we began soft opening, I showed willingness to learn, offered help whenever I could, and stayed focus. Chef settled on stations being pasta, entrees, and garde manger. Chef worked pasta, private chef and brother would work entrees different days, I would work garde manger. I showed interest in working entrees and was hands on a few occasions but there wasn't much time for instruction.

I worked garde manger by myself for months until they hired another cook, an elder who would work with me on garde manger. He was a classic cook, asking questions and taking notes fastidiously, I showed him everything I knew about my station, he offered great ideas for improvement and he turned his attention to learning about entrees, in classic cook fashion. He asked question after question and showed a clear eagerness to work entrees. One day, after working there for nearly a year, the elder cook urned to me and said "I'm going to stop asking questions, it's clear I'm never going to work that station" I felt him, I had the same conclusion because like him I paid great attention to the techniques and dishes being prepared on entrees and it seemed like my effort was a waste of time. I had once gave a pan a stir in the middle of service trying to make an effort in helping the brother working entrées, he was upset with me by raising his voice and telling me "Fine, you do it then!" backing off the station and gesturing for me to work the station myself in that very moment. I learned that day that this was a different kind of restaurant.

I've dealt with chef's tantrums for years. Slamming, banging and shouting in the kitchen, beyond unprofessional. Once, the chef questioned why the tiramisu I had plated was looking so sloppy. I told him that the half pan of tiramisu was all loose and unlike the previous ones. He doubted me as he believed that I was simply being careless in how I cut the tiramisu and plated it, he grabbed the half pan and attempted it himself. After realizing I was telling the truth and struggling to plate the orders coming he threw the entire tray against the back door and made a huge mess everywhere. Chef works everyday alongside the rest of the kitchen and no one can ever have a conversation without him barging into it and derailing it and he loves to talk and is an awful listener. I've also dealt with the brother's tantrums, his passive aggressive frustration being imposed on the entire staff. When the brother is having a tantrum the chef is seemingly uncomfortable and unwilling to confront his younger brother, and allows him to rage. In all of my years there, they have only had one confrontation. The brother is also not held to the same expectations and standards as everyone else, for over five years he never helped during close, never sweeping mopping or helped out dish station, an expectation for everyone else. He only started helping consistently once the new young cook started working on entrée.

The wife of the chef, the owner of the restauraunt, would also participate in the unprofessional behavior. Shouting while arguing with chef and talking poorly about some FOH staff when in the kitchen. But when chef had his usual tantrums, she would stand by me at my station and would seem frightened and uncomfortable. I kept calm and was the voice of reason in the kitchen in most occasions, I would communicate clearly between BOH and FOH and remained professional. There was even a running joke that I was the chef manager, the one who managed the chef.

Fast forward to now, I still work garde manger as they hired a new young cook who they moved to entrees since the brother is now burnt out on working that station. Brother now works garde manger with me and is seemingly in a power struggle to be the performative lead cook on my station, not even an official role. Chef has settled down and has stopped his tantrums once the young cook was hired. Soon after young cook was hired, Brother's teenage son was hired as the dishwasher, his first job. The wife's teenage niece was re-hired as the food runner. I see similar negative behaviors that both the wife and brother exhibited and being unchecked in the younger generation. I recently gave the niece the right of way in the kitchen and she said to me "Go!...ahhhead."

There's so much toxicity that I can't even fully elaborate. But the cherry on top is that I've been complacent and aiding the situation for so many years that they think that I'm fine with the workplace when I'm not. They believe they know me and my behaviors and they actually think when I'm in bad mood they think that I'm the one that has some issue in my personal life. I want to leave and find a better job but my options are limited and I can't even afford to as I truly need a second job just to get by. Thanks for reading. I'm done bitching and will get back to work, chef.

Started a few weeks ago and have been deep cleaning stuff when I have time. Did the dish carts today, found an actual spider nest with eggs under one.

I have been doom scrolling webrestaurant for an hour trying to find one of those little aluminum pots you use to transfer sauce/stock out from the pot. Hollow handle, all aluminum, holds about a quart, WTF is the actual name of this thing? Used to just get them at Depot when I needed one and they havnt had them.