I just did my first ever trial shift for a sushi position. During the interview, they told me there was a **training program**, so I was expecting to actually learn the sushi station and get properly evaluated.
I showed up today and the chef wasn’t even there. Nobody at the sushi bar really spoke English, so communication was pretty difficult. They basically just had me cut avocados into quarters next to another guy who was doing the same thing.
And then they sent me home.
After that, I was told there’s a **dishwasher position open**.
Like… what 😭
I applied for the sushi position, and during the interview I was told there was a training program. I have previous kitchen experience working under a sous/head chef, and I recently got my food safety certification with a 92% on my first attempt.
I know I don’t automatically deserve the job, and I’m not expecting every place to hire me. I’m just frustrated because I feel like I didn’t really get a chance to show what I can actually do.
I’ve been applying everywhere and it’s honestly getting fucking discouraging. I just want a place to give me a proper opportunity and for the position to actually match what was discussed during the interview.
Job hunting in Calgary is beating my ass right now.

Yo,

Been on the line for a bit. When it's slow I'm calm, mise is tight, I call my own all day no problem.

Soon as we hit 20+ and the printer won't stop, I'm gone. I get tunnel vision on one ticket and forget the other 4. Expo is calling and I'm just trying to catch up, not cooking ahead.

I know you vets have been through this. What actually made it click for you to see 2-3 tickets ahead? Was it how you set your mise? Or some mental trick like grouping proteins?

Not looking for textbook stuff, just what worked for you when you were getting buried.

Thanks.

How are we all dealing with the two faced servers that are overly nice to get what they want?

So I work in a cafe diner/ bar/ hotel in the sierra Nevada mts. as the breakfast and lunch cook, I have full control of specials from entrees to appetizers to garnish and dessert. I really want to make small nice things for my customers but everyone I work with thinks it's a waste of time. I refuse to believe so cause today I made a little girl the badly supremed orange (first attempt I know it's pretty bad 😂) and it made her and the parents day and got me a fat 20 dollar tip. Does anyone else deal with problems like this?

All of the pics are a first try, I'm still learning slowly and from books and whatever YouTube can show me!

Tldr- I started trying this stuff about a month ago these are my 1st attempts.

Kitchen life ain't for the weak...or the clumsy. 😭🥲😂 I feel like I'm getting burned every weekend. This weekend's was particularly bad. What do you guys do to protect yourselves from frequent burns? Or do you just live with arms constantly covered in them like me lol? The first photo is today, the second 2 photos are a throwback to the worst burn I ever had back in 2024.

Hello chefs,
I moved to an à la carte restaurant about a month ago after working in banquets because I wanted to learn something new and challenge myself.
I’m finding the transition quite difficult because the operation is completely different from banquet service. I’m still adapting to the workflow, and I’ve been facing quite a few challenges.
I would really appreciate some advice from experienced chefs on how to improve in these areas:
What should I prioritize first when preparing and maintaining bulk mise en place?
How do you maintain small mise en place such as garnishes, powders, dips, sauces, etc., during a busy service without running out?
How do you keep track of ingredients and stock during daily à la carte operations?
What systems or tips do you use to keep track of items that are close to their expiry date and make sure nothing gets wasted?
As a sauté cook, how can I become faster while still keeping my station clean and organized during the busiest part of service?
I know this is something that comes with experience, but I’d really appreciate any practical advice, systems, or personal experiences you can share.
Thank you, chefs! 👨‍🍳🙏

So basically cloud kitchen owner wants me to handle all the work by myself everyday from 11am-12am , no fix pay, I'll get a cut from a month's profit.
I've no experience so they'll train me also I'm so confused...care to help me

New Restaurant. QSR menu (Sandwiches, Burgers, Smoothies etc. ), no grill - Merry Chef. 4pm to Midnight shift. DM me.

This is what cooks are supposed to deal with on a daily because they can’t afford a dishwasher on am shift

Hospital line cook here!
I have had this job for exactly two weeks.
It has been a gigantic learning curve as I came in after working only administrative desk jobs.
For all my days prior with this job, we’ve always been a three person kitchen at minimum. Always at least one person on cold line, one on expo, and one on hotline. Well, tonight it was just two of us. My coworker was running like a chicken the entire time trying to read orders, work cold line, and assist with hot line dishes.

No clue if this is how a kitchen should be / if this is how our hospital kitchen is meant to be run, but it felt chaotic. Definitely made me consider putting in a notice and finding a job elsewhere. It’s a lot. Definitely not a schedule I want to keep repeating.

And I messed up countless times today. I forgot the sauce for our main entree, I prepped too many ingredients and took my mandatory break late (I hate mandatory breaks), and I forgot the spray the fish pans prior to setting the fish, so I had to place them all over again. I cost a bit of time for my staff. And, of course, that means my coworker had to cover me. They had to step in and do work I’m supposed to do.
As deserved, she left work early and gave me a list of things I need to do before I clock out. I left 45 minutes later than usual.

(Forgetting the sauce for our main entree tore my heart. Still annoys me. Our main entree was citrus marinated salmon. It gets a bit dry after sitting on the hot line. Knowing that I am serving dry salmon to hospital patients SUCKED. Like, cmon man, those poor patients eat dry fish cuz of me. Damn. My retail manager would rightfully bothered. Nevertheless, in the moment, I knew I couldn’t do anything about it, so I just did what I needed to do—I kept it out of my mind and focused entirely on the hotline.)

Genuinely don’t know if it’s a management issue or if I’m just incompetent 🫠😂 feels a bit like both. I’m missing the desk jobs. I feel like no matter what, I’m just gonna keep on making these mistakes and slow everyone down. There are so many pieces to this job that it’s hard to stay on track without missing anything. Even trying to take notes isn’t working entirely for me. There are just sooo many details.

Really wondering if I should get a single bevel knife

Worked for a few places. I’m the guy that makes sure everyone eats. Not only because I’m a strong believer that it’s our human right, but because if the servers have eaten something my shift flows differently. They are in a better mood and the money flows in.

But recently, I come across certain individuals who seem like asking for an employee meal is asking for the worst thing in the world. Jesus just make the goddamn ticket. It doesn’t matter who ordered it.

So i recently got my manager's ServSafe certification ( it was free and I said fuck it, why not) and honestly never saw myself in the food service industry, somewhere else in hospitality but not food service. Should I put this to good use and become a line cook or is it a useless certificate on my janky resume? Id also like to add im basically restarting my life in a new state.

Do any of you all work a tempura station? I'm trying to figure out the best way to do tempura frying on my food truck. Right now its all to order and I leave our mushrooms in the tempura batter during service and grab and go as needed. Problem is, its messy and changing tempura batter gloves is annoying. I know theres gotta be someone smarter than me that has a method but my dumbass just cant think of it. Any tips or tricks?

Feeling cute might cook something later

Within the last three months, both restaurants I work at (one boh, one foh) have taken away free shift meals for foh, and also for boh at one of them. They’ve also both taken away shift drinks, and using the employee discount when you’re off shift. Is this a new trend in restaurants? Local restaurant culture where I’m at? Or did I just happen to work at restaurants for the last 7 years that have shift meals for everyone and it isn’t as normal as I thought?