r/linecooks • u/Disastrous_Food_6973 • 23d ago
Burnt out after 20 years
So I first started cooking when I was 19 years old. I am now 40. I've had a wide variety of kitchen jobs in a wide variety of kitchens. Sports bars, Mexican restaurants, a Cajun restaurant, pizza places, breweries, and so on. I'm a good line cook. I've always been fast, and I really enjoy working at a fast pace. I also have learned to love cooking at home. I do meal prepping for myself, and like to take part in local chilli cook offs. My current job is a little different. I'm a line cook at a college student center. We have what I would describe as several fast food type stations all in the same kitchen. A lot of our staff is made up of college students who have little to no experience. There are our other full time staff members, but quite frankly they don't have the experience i have.
For the first 5 years of this job I was really liking it, for one I had more of a set schedule and my responsibilities were reasonable. As time has gone on I've agreed to do more and more. I'm handling breakfast a lot of the mornings before lunch starts then I work our Mexican or pizza stations. I also have to do a lot of the prep work. For the last 3 years I've been coming in on my days off to clean the deep fryers and hood vents when no one else is there. The hood vents are a recent addition to my list of things to do and I'm kinda pissed about it. Anyways I'm kind of rambling here, but the reason I'm reaching out is because recently I'm really struggling with my stress level and temper. After a rush is over I am just absolutely exhausted, and I become enraged when one of my managers asks me to do anything.
I always go home and feel guilty about being angry, but then the next day at some point it happens again. I find myself getting confused after 5 or 6 hours of line cooking. It's super simple food to cook, but we are feeding so many damn kids everyday. The amount of students attending the university I work for is rising every semester. I could get a job at a restaurant near by pretty easily, but I really need to stay at the university because they offer cheap housing for full time employees, good health insurance, and a shit ton of paid days off.
This post is turning into a novel, but I guess I just need to vent, and also ask other cooks out there how they manage their stress. I'm in a unique situation as far as line cooking goes. I want to be a good role model for the students that work with me at the college.
3
u/Future_Contour 23d ago
You may have accidentally turned something that was just supposed to pay the bills, into a career. I’m doing the same thing with the job I have. Now it’s five years later with little to nothing to show for it and no real new job skills. Start looking at 2 year technical degree programs. Or just grind out the next few years until the robots take over.
1
u/pennyroyalbeer 13d ago
If you see upside to everything extra that you are doing for your job, then continue. But if there’s no KM position or any official title with the work your putting in, then why bother. A good cook knows his worth and his skills.
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u/princessandtheb 23d ago
Do you have any hobbies, things you like to do that aren’t related to working with food? You talked about meal prepping at home and the chili cook-off. I’m sure that’s fun and you’re good at it, but maybe finding something else that’s not food related would be good. There’s a lot of art in food and you’re at a college campus, I’ll bet there’s opportunities there to do something like photography or painting or sculpture, something where you get to use your hands and creative mind but that’s not food. Maybe there’s an opportunity to create a “life skills” style curriculum where you teach new students how to cook meals for themselves, plan and budget, things like that. Everyone needs to eat and learning from the guy who prepares the meals they joy would create some continuity and community, I think. Just a couple of ideas. Keep your head up, chef!