It’s pushing 10 a.m. when an evening line cook finally rolls out of bed. The July sun is starting to really show its ability to bear down with penetrating heat and the humidity is bringing those first beads of sweat to the cook’s forehead. Ah…the start of another summer day. The primary role of the…
Tag: line cooks
WHEN LINE COOKS ARE IN THE ZONE
On November 16, 1962 Wilt Chamberlain – center for the Warriors, scored 73 points against the New York Knicks and 78 points in 1961 against the Lakers. But, it was the Warriors game against the Knicks earlier in 1962 that stands out above all others. Chamberlain scored 100 individual points cementing a win – he…
THE LINE COOK COUNTERCULTURE
From that first job as a dishwasher in 1966 when I was 16 years old – I knew I was part of something interesting. Who knows what struck a chord – it might have been the pace, the banter between employees, the time spent helping out the breakfast cook during a rush, or even the…
DAY ONE IN THE KITCHEN – WHAT TO EXPECT
Starting a new job is always un-nerving – even more so in a kitchen where production is expected, even on day one. Whether you are totally green and walking into a kitchen environment for the first time, transitioning from culinary school to a live kitchen environment, or simply moving as a cook from one restaurant…
CHEFS PLANTING SEEDS – THE RETURN OF TRAINING ON THE JOB
Here we are – seven or eight years into a steady economic recovery in the U.S. leading to the admirable statistic of a 3.9% unemployment rate (granted this is not qualified with regard to those who have stopped looking or those who are working at less than full time) – a figure that a decade…
THAT’S HOW COOKS ROLL IN THE KITCHEN
Many have written about the make-up of line cooks– what makes them tick? What is evident is that the best cooks are complicated characters, yet fairly easy to generalize. Having worked with a wide array of individuals filling the ranks of cooks I feel comfortable making some generalizations. This does not attempt to look at…
LINE COOKS GOING THE DISTANCE
Jake woke up with a pounding headache. It was only 7 a.m. and he was already sweating from the July humidity or maybe it was from those last two shots of tequila just a few hours ago. As was the case on most nights after a busy service – he found his way to the…
OWNERS/OPERATORS – VALUING COOKS AND CHEFS
It is certainly true that those who work in the kitchen are not the only reason why a restaurant may be successful, but it is certain that if the back-of-the-house team is not competent, is unable to function as a cohesive unit, or lacks the passion to take pride in their work then the restaurant…
QUOTES TO LIVE BY FOR LINE COOKS
Well-crafted thoughts and words are, at least to me, fuel for the soul, energy for the body, and thought provoking for the mind. I often find that certain quotes from people who have attained a level of success in life can have meaning for others and as such serve to help “self-motivate”. As 2017 comes…
MacGyver SURVIVAL SKILLS FOR LINE COOKS
Many of us remember the original MacGyver series in the 80’s where Angus MacGyver, a rogue scientist who worked for a fictitious government agency, used his uncanny problem solving skills to get him out of some pretty hairy situations. Sometimes with a paper clip and gum wrapper he was able to disarm nuclear weapons or…
