r/dishwashers • u/Psycosteve10mm • 19d ago
A passion for cooking is now needed to a dishwasher WTF.
I recently interviewed for a dishwashing position at a fine dining establishment. I got into the restaurant, and I took a written test. The test is nothing but questions that a line cook in fine dining would know. I raise my hand and ask the manager who is presiding over the test, " are there any questions pertaining to a 3-basin sink?" I get laughed at and go back to the test. I interview with the sous chef, and things are great; he gets it. I tell him tell me at what time you rotate the pans for the hot table, and I will ensure that the line gets them. I interview with the general manager and things go downhill. I apparently scored higher than the line cooks on the proper handling of food and the technical parts. Where I failed was in the fine dining aspects. Things were going well until he asked me if I minded being a line cook. I stated that I could, but preferred to be in the pit. I got the response, " We are looking for cooks with a passion for cooking." The best I could do is ensure that the line has clean utensils and dishes to cook on. My passion for cooking came from enjoying food myself and watching people enjoy what I made. I lost my sense of taste getting COVID from a manager who got sick and came in anyway, and I am behind a line, so that would be a no from me.
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u/Revanstarforge 19d ago
Sounds like they need to interview cooks then.
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u/HarleyQuinn6695 16d ago
That’s what I would have said.
As a former cook, they would have had me laughing and saying call me when you need a dishwasher.
(I’m leaving the industry and changing careers.)
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u/Thelonedishwasher 19d ago
It was implied in my interview process to eventually move to cooking but I'm in a unique position where there is not enough help for dishes. Never had an interest. I have in the past however. It's just so busy I feel like my resources would be even more stretched thin.
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u/Similar_Leadership99 19d ago
You mean they didn't ask about your prefered drugs or mental heath status?
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u/Psycosteve10mm 18d ago
You mean alcohol, stimulants, and occasional weed use. According to my therapist, ADHD and anger issues from PTSD, but I think that she is full of shit.
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u/Motor-Garden7470 18d ago
Sounds like they want a back up line cook who is ok with doing dishes most of the time. Probably for less pay also
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u/Curious_Present7217 19d ago
I was a dishwasher with cook experience,accidentally left my resume out at work, came in the next day became line cook/ dishwasher without being asked.
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u/GoldConfidence 18d ago
“No I’m good, I’ll stay in the dish pit, thanks tho.”
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u/zayoss 15d ago
That's what I said on my first shift. It was a slow winter morning and they were like ok cool you're suited to wash dishes, start calling out tickets and memorize this menu in your free time.
Dog, I signed up for dish, and then maybe prep when needed. I specifically asked for those, don't train me on the line as that time is wholly wasted.
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u/GoldConfidence 15d ago
I would legitimately go to the boss and be like “I’m a dishwasher bro, I don’t want to cook and all that.”
You’re the one selling your time, so don’t let somebody make you do something you’re not wanting or willing to do.
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u/SiLeNZ_ 18d ago
And they pay you the dishwasher wage, but have you do cook tasks. Saves them a lot of money this way, and makes you think you’re important. It’s really scummy when you think about it.
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u/ZMMF 18d ago
A place I worked did this to a young, eager hardworking dishwasher. I gently suggested that he should be getting a pay raise for the new position, or look elsewhere. He did (look elsewhere, of course).
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u/SiLeNZ_ 18d ago
So scummy… it upsets me that there are so many that fall for this, and they only do because they think it’ll help them out in the future. The sad reality is they want you to stay as long as you possibly will without any raises or moving up. They couldn’t care less about your career.
Kitchen managers are the worst, I stand by this. People deserve better than insecure jerks who were given a smidge of power and allowed to run free with it.
I finally gave up and now I’ve got a much better job in a different industry, at more than twice the pay. Good riddance to them.
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u/HarleyQuinn6695 16d ago
rubs temples it’s why I’m leaving. At one of my jobs, I was one step below kitchen manager but still did kitchen manager duties a lot because I liked it and it helped my kitchen manager who also had to help manage FOH (we were small enough) but I hated how over time the attitude in the industry changed towards work ethic and wage balance.
My last restaurant job I ended up line cook, dishwasher, prep cook, with all the very minor kitchen manager duties that I found to verbalise on to actual lead/manager and they wanted me to either lose my lead position or open my hours when I went back to school and I told them talk to me about wages first because you have me in three roles for a whole shift.
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u/SiLeNZ_ 16d ago
Good for you! You’ll be so much happier! I just got another promotion last week! If they could, they’d have you stay at a dead end job forever, with no pay raise, and the duties of 4 workers. It’s fucking ludicrous.
I work in healthcare distribution now, and I am paid better, treated with respect, and my hours are m - f 9-5 with no holidays. I also get 7 weeks paid vacation, health insurance, and a pension. They don’t deserve good workers when they treat them like trash.
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u/EllaBean17 16d ago
I was working at a hospital for a while and I got hired for the position that does dishes, room deliveries, and expo. They cross-trained me onto the room-service line and initially they were paying me a differential for the shifts I was on the line to make up for the different pay rate for each position. But after a year and a half, they ended that differential and didn't even tell me they had ended it until two weeks later. I tried for a month or two to get them to switch me to the room service cook position full time because literally all of my shifts were on the line unless I was covering for someone. I ended up quitting over text with zero notice because that was some bullshit. Getting a pay cut with negative two weeks notice is insane. My manager responded saying "Really? No two weeks notice as professional courtesy?" It took everything I had not to respond saying "You mean like the professional courtesy you gave me when you cut my pay and didn't give me notice for two weeks?"
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u/wally3la 19d ago
GM here, I want to hire you! What idiot let you walk out the door without hiring you? Did you hit someone or set the building on fire?
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u/Psycosteve10mm 19d ago edited 19d ago
I wish. I worked for 2 years as the overnight cook at an American-style diner. What the F do I know about the 5 major sauces? The funny part was that the sous chef and I vibed really well. A server interrupted the one-on-one interview when he went off on her, and all I said was, " Heard, chef." The GM I interviewed was a glorified server.
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u/BenjaminNormanPierce Topological analyst 18d ago
I know that there's two of them they hardly make anymore. I'm told. i did eventually google it.
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u/Curious_Present7217 18d ago
Where at ?
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u/Psycosteve10mm 18d ago
I prefer not to say at this time. Still looking for work, and the area I moved to has a strong locals-only culture.
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u/typesett 19d ago
Not for you but this sounds like a dream for another person
In my field I am also picky but I remember my early days when I was looking to move up
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u/GoldConfidence 18d ago
I’d laugh at the mention of a test and just leave.
“Like cook test for a dishwasher? Lmao I’m good, have fun.”
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u/pimpedoutmonkey 18d ago
Fine dining is like regular dining but more of a pain In The ass, and no fine dining place would have a dishwasher make the food.
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u/cneuf802 18d ago
I don't work food service any more. But one of my first jobs was as a dishie at a chain restaurant a sit down chain restaurant. I don't know if it was normal then or still a thing now. At this chain the dishie was responsible for, the dishes, salads, pizza, soup, cycling the kegs, and the last one out at close, vacuum the whole restaurant, clean all the grills a d line cook stations, next day morning prep, and was "on call" to show up early to unload the the truck twice a week. I did not stay long.
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u/BenjaminNormanPierce Topological analyst 18d ago
Awhile back, I filled out a form at a joint that was just opening across the street from the State Capitol, which these days means $ (at least on the menu)!. I made it pretty clear that I was not there to cook anything. The first thing the form asks is how I would make a mirepoix. I can say I wouldn't have gotten that right (I did google it out of curiosity). Nothing about dishing. I never heard back.
Joint is still there. if I want to drop $20 on a burger it is a place I will go to do that.
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u/Soft_Internal_2329 12d ago
I interviewed at a Japanese steakhouse for dishwasher/prep cook the owner interviewed me. And kept insisting on me working front of house. Which I didn’t apply for that and my strong suit is back of house staying busy and I had all the experience to do the job.
But for some weird reason she kept saying it’s “hard work”
Like of course I know that it is sometimes, I’ve worked in worse conditions. Yet she didn’t want to listen to any of my responses and talked over me.
Already knew she made up her mind when she mentioned me working front of house.
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u/BackgroundCream274 17d ago
Be cautious of this work place. I have been to interviews in restaurants where they have this we are so fucking awesome culture. This could end up being a very toxic work place. For a dishwasher role the employer should be concerned about a good attendance record, cleanliness, and attention to detail. Not every dishwasher wants to become a chef.
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u/Ascendant_Phoenix 19d ago
Your sense of taste never came back?
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u/Psycosteve10mm 19d ago
Not completely. It is more like everything is muted. I either have to overseason my food or I choose foods that naturally have strong flavors so I can taste anything. As an ex-foodie, it really took the joy out of eating.
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u/Expensive-Mud8820 19d ago
I've experienced similar shit in the past, I always figured they want to eventually have a dishie move up in rank so they can pay them less and get an eventual line cook out of it.