It was 1959 when the late great Miles Davis released “Kind of Blue” one of the great jazz albums of all time. Over his creative career – many of the most accomplished musicians of a generation got their start or at least their inspiration from playing with or listening to Miles – he was, to…
Tag: line cooks
WALK A MILE IN A RESTAURANT WORKER’S SHOES – PART ONE
Sure – every person’s job can be challenging at times and the good, the bad, and the ugly is a fair way to describe nearly every career choice, but looking in from the outside rarely gives and outsider a realistic view of another person’s challenges. As a whole – restaurant work is difficult. At times…
A LINE COOK’S VIEW OF SUMMER MONTHS
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…
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…
