its simply money for me, rent is too high.
Thanks for sharing really awesome and informative blog especially for the food lovers and professional chef and of course those people who love travelling in their vacations. To visiting news places and taste the different variety food makes the life rocking.
I've worked in a few high end NYC restaurants & graduated culinary school, & don't feel that I was ever misled by any of my instructors in terms of the expectations of working in a restaurant. I agree with many of the comments that some of the owners of these restaurants are exploiting cooks & running people to the ground; for me that’s the bigger issue. My last restaurant was part of a Chef owned restaurant group in NY, that profited more than $50 million annually yet this particular kitchen had poor ventilation, the norm was a 6 day work week, some cooks were opening & closing the restaurant (breakfast, lunch, dinner) for days on end, offering very low wages, family meal was for the waitstaff not the cooks because we never had time to eat yet it's deducted from your check, & private dining parties got thrown onto the load of the already over worked line cooks. It became very clear that the head Chef’s/Owners were less concerned w/ the well-being of their cooks & more concerned with raking in every dime they could. A sous chef once suggested that I take a “boost” for energy, now I’m expected to pick up a drug habit just to keep up with the pace? I wasn’t willing to make those kinds of sacrifices. Cooking can be a labour of love and it was for me, however, I couldn’t sit around & be exploited in that way. The kitchen can be very unforgiving, & physically & mentally taxing. If Chef’s/Owner’s took a more wholistic approach towards their cooks, I think more would stick around.
4
I worked my way through college working in many fine eating establishments in the Washington DC. Back in the 80's I was pulling in close to $40K a year working as a waiter, most of it tax free in cash tips. The lobbying industry was very generous to me, not sure they showed that much generosity to their constituents. The kitchens were horrible places. Usually 100 degrees plus in summertime. Most of the professional staff were a mix of alcoholics, narcissists and masochists, rare was the man in charge of running the kitchen not demented. The squeeze was there. Even with the astronomical prices up front, kitchen staff for the most part were poorly paid and abused. Most establishments relied on undocumented workers to do about 80% of the work, from washing dishing to prepping. It is hilarious that while the subject of Immigration may have been the topic of discussion between legislators and lobbyists in the kitchen, their meal was being prepared by illegal immigrants.
2
"but many young cooks reject entry-level kitchen jobs — with their harsh conditions, low pay and long hours — where those skills are taught. And so, there are more stations in restaurant kitchens than there are bodies to stand in front of them. To hire, restaurateurs have been forced to lower their standards, or at least their expectations. And to effect change, they say, they will soon be forced to raise prices."
This right here received but a mention in the whole article when in fact maybe it should have been the focus. Maybe the kitchen should change the way they train...instead of treating people who have spent money, time and effort to become one of the bottom pics, like valuable contributors instead of annoying plebs at a frat house. I don't know why the "tradition" of verbal abuse, ridiculous hours and low pay has continued but it would seem that this new cohort of chefs/cooks aren't willing to tolerate it . Maybe the restaurant/chef/kitchen business should do some self-reflection instead of whining, "woe is me." IMO
This right here received but a mention in the whole article when in fact maybe it should have been the focus. Maybe the kitchen should change the way they train...instead of treating people who have spent money, time and effort to become one of the bottom pics, like valuable contributors instead of annoying plebs at a frat house. I don't know why the "tradition" of verbal abuse, ridiculous hours and low pay has continued but it would seem that this new cohort of chefs/cooks aren't willing to tolerate it . Maybe the restaurant/chef/kitchen business should do some self-reflection instead of whining, "woe is me." IMO
5
Because of this shortage I organized a crash course for Line Cooks. It's all unemployed people and it's free. We've had good success placing cooks at Spice Market, Momofuku, Catch, Empire Diner and Telepan to name a few. What we could use is some publicity to let everyone know about this. It's at www.thechefsconnection.com
3
Fantastic innovative thought! Will share
One of my temp jobs in college was as a cook in an upscale steak house. From the minute you punched in, to the minute you leave, it's a 10k race. Good luck learning anything. The experiments you try go out to the dinning room and you don't get any feedback.
Now that I am a engineer in computers and networks, I can relate a practise we have in Tech. At least in the better companies: give your staff 10% of their paid hours to experiment and learn. You don't have to raise their hourly salary, just let them have an extra hour a day to "play", before or after their shift.
I suspect what executive chefs describe as arrogant newcomers, are reasonably talented cooks that are just bored. In the Bay Area, you go to the California Culinary Academy, and you are learning, experimenting, and having teachers and students critique your work.
Then you go off to a stultifying job, and any creative urge is not allowed, and is in many cases crushed. Cooking is a creative profession. That has to be part of the workplace.
Now that I am a engineer in computers and networks, I can relate a practise we have in Tech. At least in the better companies: give your staff 10% of their paid hours to experiment and learn. You don't have to raise their hourly salary, just let them have an extra hour a day to "play", before or after their shift.
I suspect what executive chefs describe as arrogant newcomers, are reasonably talented cooks that are just bored. In the Bay Area, you go to the California Culinary Academy, and you are learning, experimenting, and having teachers and students critique your work.
Then you go off to a stultifying job, and any creative urge is not allowed, and is in many cases crushed. Cooking is a creative profession. That has to be part of the workplace.
6
The biggest problem facing the industry is the people coming out of culinary schools. The attitude is assumed that they should be executive chefs before they put any time in the trenches. They come into a kitchen with very little knowledge screw up whatever they touch, don't have any speed, get yelled at for not knowing, give up when they find out that the work is unrelenting, and just don't see the end product of doing a job where the rewards are a happy clients. I have worked with cooks that after years of doing the job, are no different than their first year on the job because it's just a job. Speed and skill comes with experience and many don't want to put in the time All the incentive doesn't bring in good, it brings in benefits looking applications, there are many rewards for those that bring in the passion and put in the time. There just isn'tenough of those type of people that want to do that. We live in a world of instant gratification.
1
Let me start with 3 words: undocumented worker exploitation.
I cooked professionally for over fifteen years and while in the nineties I was in kitchens surrounded by dedicated, well trained, ambitious professionals in a stimulating, enriching environment, by the mid 2000's I was heading kitchens surrounded by undocumented laborers who had little to no training, didn't have any particular ambition other than putting food on their family's table, and were usually burned out from the get go by tending to multiple jobs around town - all rigorously at minimum wage or little more. These workers deserve a living wage - that's the most important point - but to help explain the lack of trained professionals as bemoaned in this craftily deceitful article that shamefully pays lip-service to a sweat-shop culture in an over-hyped, highly profitable industry (among the least hard-hit by the recession, unlike the opening sentence would have you believe) that thrives on institutionalized discrimination made possible by this country's appalling double standards on the issues of immigration and human rights, consider being the only trained, experienced professional running a kitchen with a dozen apprentices who don't care whether they're cooking or car-washing to make a living and you should get an idea why food preparations have been simplified while chefs having been dropping out the industry left and right. To claim it's anything but this is just despicable.
I cooked professionally for over fifteen years and while in the nineties I was in kitchens surrounded by dedicated, well trained, ambitious professionals in a stimulating, enriching environment, by the mid 2000's I was heading kitchens surrounded by undocumented laborers who had little to no training, didn't have any particular ambition other than putting food on their family's table, and were usually burned out from the get go by tending to multiple jobs around town - all rigorously at minimum wage or little more. These workers deserve a living wage - that's the most important point - but to help explain the lack of trained professionals as bemoaned in this craftily deceitful article that shamefully pays lip-service to a sweat-shop culture in an over-hyped, highly profitable industry (among the least hard-hit by the recession, unlike the opening sentence would have you believe) that thrives on institutionalized discrimination made possible by this country's appalling double standards on the issues of immigration and human rights, consider being the only trained, experienced professional running a kitchen with a dozen apprentices who don't care whether they're cooking or car-washing to make a living and you should get an idea why food preparations have been simplified while chefs having been dropping out the industry left and right. To claim it's anything but this is just despicable.
7
Ms. Moskin, I'm surprised and dissapointed in this article, which appears just days after an op-ed from a female chef about the institutionalized harrassment of women in professional kitchens. You say in this article that women leave the kitchen to have children. This is true. What you don't even touch is the fact that women either don't enter the kitchen, or leave because of the rampant harassment perpetuated on them every single day by the men in the kitchen. As a former chef (female) I was subjected to this every day. All of my female cook/chef friends have had to endure the same. I suggest that if restaurants really want to fill those jobs, they work, from the top down to correct this sexism and harassment and make it just as comfortable for women to work in the professional kitchen as it is for men.
2
Friends have encouraged me for years to take my cooking to the retail level. But when I look at the kinds of money the typical chef makes in this country, it is of absolutely no interest as a career. Until restaurants and chefs are willing to pay decent wages to line/sous/whatever chefs, this shortage I suspect will continue. The skills required demand a salary that up until now, the market has been unwilling to pay. Unwillingness on the part of the labor market to work for slave wages will change the equation. And yes, that means prices customers pay will go up. So I eat out less often but know that the kitchen staff actually makes a living wage. Fair enough!
1
I've worked as a line cook in NYC fine dining scene for the last four years, and one of the clearest things I impart to those interested in cooking is they shouldn't. Not that cooking isn't a career to love, just that the logical needs most people seek, whether money, fame, or merely a supportive lifestyle are rarely if ever included. Instead the pleasure is didactic, knowing that everyone and their grandmother has a good recipe, and the techniques to master even the simplest of ingredients are endless. Not to mention the edible rewards... white truffle season. It is both gratifying and grueling. Just be prepared for the long commute since you won't be living in Manhattan. Learn to love getting the last seat on the subway, since you'll be standing all day. Get use to an endlessly postponed social life, normal people don't want to get a drink at 2 am on a Tuesday. Sleep on your days off, 15 hour days are not uncommon, as are the days you arrive home at 3am and groggily climb back into your chef whites only a few hours later. The realities are cruel and the pay often crueler.
14
What is sorely missing from this article is the fact that many restaurant owners helped create this problem. They employ - and exploit - many aliens, whether documented or not. If you want good people, you have to pay them a LIVING wage and treat them with respect. Fortunately, this younger generation is not willing to accept anything less. It's time for this industry to step into the 21st century.
4
When I attended the Culinary Institute of America our instructors told us clearly that we could be victim to substance abuse, divorce and we would not be getting rich any time soon but we could eventually make a decent living.
They did not in any way try to convince us of the glamor of being a Chef, and we didn't expect it. We wanted to become masters of a craft that goes back centuries. I wonder if this hard truth is no longer being spoken in the zeal to pump out more cooks.
The other point I need to make is that food tv and media about food has convinced young people that everyone could be Cat Cora or Bobby Flay . Im sure that these two fine media celebrities worked very hard to get there but there are only one each of them.
The food service industry is hard and unless you truly enjoy it you should stay away. No matter how they improve conditions and eradicate sexism it will always be a job where you need to work when people are having fun (Plus nights and weekends) and where you do the same tasks over and over again or the restaurant would lose its customers.
They did not in any way try to convince us of the glamor of being a Chef, and we didn't expect it. We wanted to become masters of a craft that goes back centuries. I wonder if this hard truth is no longer being spoken in the zeal to pump out more cooks.
The other point I need to make is that food tv and media about food has convinced young people that everyone could be Cat Cora or Bobby Flay . Im sure that these two fine media celebrities worked very hard to get there but there are only one each of them.
The food service industry is hard and unless you truly enjoy it you should stay away. No matter how they improve conditions and eradicate sexism it will always be a job where you need to work when people are having fun (Plus nights and weekends) and where you do the same tasks over and over again or the restaurant would lose its customers.
9
I've been a caterer in Los Angeles for the last ten years. In 2009, most of my business evaporated, so I took a line cook job at a very well-known restaurant here in LA (I put myself through college working on the line). My starting wage was $11/hr., which was bumped to $12/hr. after six months (no restaurant in Los Angeles pays line cooks more than $13/hr). Baby-sitting in LA pays $20/hr., btw. Our world-famous owner-chef (he doesn't cook anymore), a self-proclaimed progressive, offered us health insurance, but only after we'd been there for a year. The work was brutal, 12-14 hour days were common, and the kitchen was a disaster - totally unorganized, filthy, under-equipped and illogically laid out. To save money, the owner under-hired on prep, assuming the line cooks would pick up the slack.
But the worst part was the chef(s). As in multiple chefs - the restaurant went through five of them in the 18 months I was there. Every single one looked like the goofballs in your photos - stupid haircuts, ironic glasses, hundreds of tattoos and piercings, and each one of them convinced they were some undiscovered genius, while none of them could cook nor more importantly manage a kitchen with 300 covers a night. The sales pitch to the line was always the "if you put in the work, you'll be the next Batali" B.S.
I'm back now catering, making $60/hr and setting my own schedule, cooking my own food. I'm sorry poor Dominique can't find more people to exploit.
But the worst part was the chef(s). As in multiple chefs - the restaurant went through five of them in the 18 months I was there. Every single one looked like the goofballs in your photos - stupid haircuts, ironic glasses, hundreds of tattoos and piercings, and each one of them convinced they were some undiscovered genius, while none of them could cook nor more importantly manage a kitchen with 300 covers a night. The sales pitch to the line was always the "if you put in the work, you'll be the next Batali" B.S.
I'm back now catering, making $60/hr and setting my own schedule, cooking my own food. I'm sorry poor Dominique can't find more people to exploit.
18
Ugh. This annoys me. I am a fairly recent graduate of culinary school-Le Cordon Bleu, 2009. However, I was in the industry long before I decided to take the plunge. Do you know why? Because I had a great mentor, a teacher, someone I could speak to about my daily culinary life, ask questions, actually learn from. This is the problem that I see so frequently in the industry. No one wants to TEACH! Yes, I think Generation Z might believe they can step out of culinary school and become an Executive Chef in one night. But guess what-we did that to them!! We created Super Famous Chefs overnight on television, but we aren't showing the dirty, sweaty, disgusting, and tiring side of the process. Anyone can start a food blog-website, or catering company. Hell! You can do it on your phone! Have you seen www.kitchit.com? You don't even know if these people are any good! You're betting on reviews, probably from friends! The reality of it all, is that you won't find any good cooks to stick around for $10 with no benefits when the chef is screaming profanities on a daily basis.
WHERE IS THE EDUCATION IN THIS?!
The only thing I learned by being screamed at everyday, what how NOT to treat others. Not everyone sees it this way, though.
I have seen so many problems brought to the table with this in the industry. Where are the solutions? If you have any ideas, I'd like to hear about them.
www.facebook.com/crockofshiitake
www.crockofshiitake.com
WHERE IS THE EDUCATION IN THIS?!
The only thing I learned by being screamed at everyday, what how NOT to treat others. Not everyone sees it this way, though.
I have seen so many problems brought to the table with this in the industry. Where are the solutions? If you have any ideas, I'd like to hear about them.
www.facebook.com/crockofshiitake
www.crockofshiitake.com
2
Sorry. I am not in the least bit surprised. All the chef and high end cooking shows have done untold damage to their own profession for years. The industry is it's own problem!
Let's see from a young cook's point of view:
Just because I love to cook and have a talent for it, I have to join a closed, grossly insular, almost military profession. The hierarchy is rigid, the standards and culture are unrelenting. I will work under conditions a slave would not tolerate, being screamed at by raging egomaniacs in love with their own power and sense of genius. Heat, rush, horrific hours, relentless pressure, and vicious endless criticism by my superiors who find it their sacred duty to grind my self esteem into dust for their own amusement... all these will be my working conditions. I will have to slave, endure, kiss up for YEARS, just to gain enough senority to start gaining a bit of professional respect. All of this, and I still may never get to cook what I WANT, or open my own place.
This is what the "Hell's Kitchen" type shows show over and over. Heck, I am supposed to feel blessed if I get to work for such an egomaniac! Yes Chef, no Chef, rught away Chef. Can I kiss your ring, Chef?
So... tell me again why Anyone is supposed to find this an attractive profession?
This truly is what it looks like. Americans now watch shows like this as if it's a blood sport. No surprise that some don't want to bleed just to cook anymore.
Let's see from a young cook's point of view:
Just because I love to cook and have a talent for it, I have to join a closed, grossly insular, almost military profession. The hierarchy is rigid, the standards and culture are unrelenting. I will work under conditions a slave would not tolerate, being screamed at by raging egomaniacs in love with their own power and sense of genius. Heat, rush, horrific hours, relentless pressure, and vicious endless criticism by my superiors who find it their sacred duty to grind my self esteem into dust for their own amusement... all these will be my working conditions. I will have to slave, endure, kiss up for YEARS, just to gain enough senority to start gaining a bit of professional respect. All of this, and I still may never get to cook what I WANT, or open my own place.
This is what the "Hell's Kitchen" type shows show over and over. Heck, I am supposed to feel blessed if I get to work for such an egomaniac! Yes Chef, no Chef, rught away Chef. Can I kiss your ring, Chef?
So... tell me again why Anyone is supposed to find this an attractive profession?
This truly is what it looks like. Americans now watch shows like this as if it's a blood sport. No surprise that some don't want to bleed just to cook anymore.
10
Another article where we listen to "top chefs" complaining about a "lack of good cooks". It's ridiculous. There is NOT a shortage of good cooks. There is NOT a shortage of people who want to learn, grow with a company/ restaurant, and work hard, long hours. There IS a lack of executive chefs and restaurant owners who are unwilling to pay a LIVABLE WAGE. A livable wage is NOT $12/ hr without benefits in a city like NYC or Washington DC.
How dare they think the answer is to stop tipping in restaurants. When will they look at their own egos and stop saying "Well, if I could live off $9 / hr in 1985 then everyone should have to experience what I did". This is 2015 and we are coming off one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression. Get a clue people.
How dare they think the answer is to stop tipping in restaurants. When will they look at their own egos and stop saying "Well, if I could live off $9 / hr in 1985 then everyone should have to experience what I did". This is 2015 and we are coming off one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression. Get a clue people.
27
That pretty much sums it up...
3
You are wrong. I am a chef in DC and we pay above city standard wages. There are NO cooks or CHEFS in this city. There are too many restaurants with more opening every day. We need to limit as an industry how many restaurants that can be in a square mile. It is so over saturated.
I fail to understand how anyone can afford to get into this business My husband is completely stressed out from 15 yrs of teaching and looked into culinary school. He's an excellent cook who already has most of the skills that they teach. Anyway, there is absolutely no way to afford tuition and being in debt for years to come seems like a bad idea. Sad, because a lot of us are convinced that's his true calling.
1
Don't give up!! This article might list the downsides of the business (but what industry doesn't have a downside). There many scholarships available. Start looking into schools you would consider. Ask them about their foundation scholarships. Also, check out websites like the James Beard Foundation: http://www.jamesbeard.org/education/scholarships-and-grants
Ask your school if they participate in a work-study program.
He CAN switch careers, just takes a little legwork!
Stay positive!
www.facebook.com/crockofshiitake
Ask your school if they participate in a work-study program.
He CAN switch careers, just takes a little legwork!
Stay positive!
www.facebook.com/crockofshiitake
Patty, no one needs to go to cooking school to work in & be sucessfull in the hospitality business. It's a whole other story but do not pay for a culinary education - pay for a management or a financial one but for god's sake, pay for someone to show you how to bone a salmon or bake 5 cakes at a time....really? One does need a complete advanced education to advance in the business but you don't need a school to get you into professional cooking. In fact, if less kids went to school and just went to work I do think kitchens would be in better shape....If your husband (at an advanced age for the business) wants to do this then bring it on. Find a place (a top catering kitchen is a great learning environment..) and ask for a way to learn on the job - every cook starts by peeling their personal tons of carrots and onions, so he may as well peel them in the best & most supportive place. Every successful (happy/proud/satisfied/poor..)cook knows there ARE better paying jobs, cushier environments but they're not food/hospitality. And there is something special (dysfunctional and self destructive too) about it.
4
Food is hard work, no matter how you slice (or pick or butcher or bake or sauté or plate or serve) it. Bad food is hard work, and good food is harder work, requiring knowledge and creativity and and a developed palate and aesthetics and a passion for service. If you price food according to what it would actually cost to make it with quality ingredients, sanitary conditions, and workers being paid living wages for 40-hour weeks, it would be too expensive for anyone to buy. But we all need to eat, and our collective palates have developed along with our awareness of nutritional value, environmental issues and working conditions. At the same time our personal budgets are getting smaller as a result of increasing job insecurity and soaring housing costs. The result of all this is that the way we've been buying and selling food is unsustainable.
I don't have any answers to how it should change, but we need to be aware how deeply exploitative every aspect of the food industry is. There's a human cost at every level, from the farm workers all the way up to the consumer. Perhaps we've reached the endpoint of both capitalism and agricultural society - there's no way for any individual now to escape being part of the system. We can take steps to own more of the process by which we get food, but it takes re-distributing our time, money and brainspace, which not all of us can do. But it's evident that the restaurant business model, built on exploitation, cannot and should not endure.
I don't have any answers to how it should change, but we need to be aware how deeply exploitative every aspect of the food industry is. There's a human cost at every level, from the farm workers all the way up to the consumer. Perhaps we've reached the endpoint of both capitalism and agricultural society - there's no way for any individual now to escape being part of the system. We can take steps to own more of the process by which we get food, but it takes re-distributing our time, money and brainspace, which not all of us can do. But it's evident that the restaurant business model, built on exploitation, cannot and should not endure.
12
This article is the quintessential example of "first world problems." Sorry, I can't feel too bad for these ridiculously expensive restaurants that at most a tiny percentage of the population eats at. For what you pay for some of these meals, these restaurants should be able to pay a wage that will attract help. Simple supply and demand.
5
Only young people can stand so long, but young people now don't seem driven to work long hours, is how it seems to me.
And what's up with that weird music they listen to? Crazy jazz music, it angries up the blood, I tell ya what.
4
It is disturbing to see by this article that so many chef-owners complain about their crew being under skilled. Yet, they still charge prices that would make you believe that your meal has been prepared by the best cooks in the industry.
8
San Francisco, 1976 I started out as a pantry girl (?!, in a good & well known restaurant and was paid 9.00+ an hour (Union HOUSE!). I always worked extra/unpaid hours...I was a good thoughtful cook and moved up. I was never a fast cook so the hot line was not my place.....but I managed to work on Shattuck Ave and in North Beach and down an alley off Van Ness....in a lot of the best spots in the 70's & 80's. We all worked hard, we read about our thing, took every chance to do something different we were offered, we were insufferable critics of restaurants other than our own, we were always looking, wanting to learn and we were always just a little afraid we might lose our jobs.....we hustled and we were so in love with the hustle, the excitement of learning...it took a position in a bad house after 10 years of experience, for me to feel my work was drudgery...but I had put in 10 serious years.....
That's a long time ago and now, kind of by accident, I own a little lunch place, in a smallish town.....we pick up our food from the farmer, we buy beautiful meat, we soak the garbonzos for the hummus...we have a nice place, I pay more than the cafe can afford, we work M_F 7-3pm, but no one and I mean no one appears to be the least bit interested/curious about what they make or if there is an efficient way to make something just a little better..no one. Everything is just more work....This article makes me want to weep.....
That's a long time ago and now, kind of by accident, I own a little lunch place, in a smallish town.....we pick up our food from the farmer, we buy beautiful meat, we soak the garbonzos for the hummus...we have a nice place, I pay more than the cafe can afford, we work M_F 7-3pm, but no one and I mean no one appears to be the least bit interested/curious about what they make or if there is an efficient way to make something just a little better..no one. Everything is just more work....This article makes me want to weep.....
16
I'm struck be the similarity to young writers who believe that because they self-publish a blog they are going to immediately have fame - and, of course, fortune.
3
There's one simple solution for restaurateurs.
Better wage and working condition.
Cooking is a very hard job both physically and mentally that require cooks to work in odd hours and for very long time. And the pay is less than the front-end workers because they don't receive tip.
It's not rocket science to see why people don't want to work in this job. It's simple econ 101. You want better employee, pay them better, instead of just complaining.
Better wage and working condition.
Cooking is a very hard job both physically and mentally that require cooks to work in odd hours and for very long time. And the pay is less than the front-end workers because they don't receive tip.
It's not rocket science to see why people don't want to work in this job. It's simple econ 101. You want better employee, pay them better, instead of just complaining.
14
“They move away to Portland or Seattle; places where the lifestyle is more affordable.”
Affordable? Portland maybe; Seattle not so much.
Affordable? Portland maybe; Seattle not so much.
8
I live in Seattle and we have a shortage of cooks, too. Seattle has had explosive growth in high wage jobs, so rents have skyrocketed and cooks are leaving in droves because they can't live on $12.00/hr with no benefits.
I did a stint as a line cook in a trendy Italian restaurant across from Lincoln Center in the early 90s when I was considering becoming a professional cook. After that experience I decided I wanted nothing to do with a career that required long hours on your feet, low pay, high pressure, a boss that constantly berated you like a military drill-sergeant, and the constant risk of getting cut and burned. To expect that people would endure that in a first-world country is why I'm not at all surprised by the shortage of skilled professional cooks in America. Culinary school is expensive, and since the rise of the Internet there are much better, higher-paying jobs for young people to choose from.
Also, that kitchen I worked in was filled mostly with Mexican or black people who were hard-working but living on the edge of poverty with not many other opportunities available to them. The restaurants took advantage of those people, and now they are paying the piper with stricter immigration laws. No one really wants those miserable jobs unless desperate.
Thankfully I taught myself HTML and became a web designer instead of pursuing a career in a professional kitchen. I still love to cook, so now I just do it in my own kitchen. Frankly, my food tastes better than most of the restaurants I've been to lately. I think a return to home-cooking is the next culinary wave of the future. Eating out is expensive, especially for the quality of food being served in many of them.
Also, that kitchen I worked in was filled mostly with Mexican or black people who were hard-working but living on the edge of poverty with not many other opportunities available to them. The restaurants took advantage of those people, and now they are paying the piper with stricter immigration laws. No one really wants those miserable jobs unless desperate.
Thankfully I taught myself HTML and became a web designer instead of pursuing a career in a professional kitchen. I still love to cook, so now I just do it in my own kitchen. Frankly, my food tastes better than most of the restaurants I've been to lately. I think a return to home-cooking is the next culinary wave of the future. Eating out is expensive, especially for the quality of food being served in many of them.
22
I think you may be right about home cooking. I hardly ever eat out because my own cooking is the best I have found, I use the best ingredients, I have a fabulous kitchen, and I love to cook, while talking to my girlfriend and so on. The NYT cooking section is a phenomenal source for recipes and ideas, btw!
6
I'm sorry but if you want to attract or keep talent you need to offer better wages and work conditions, and most people in power positions in the industry do not want to do it. I was a successful Pastry cook and eventually Pastry Chef for 10 years in NYC, Miami the Caribbean and Europe. I worked for some of the top Restaurants in this country (including James Beard Winner outlets , and MIchelin star restaurants)I stopped working in the industry 4 years ago and now I own my own business in a non related industry.Hotels pay the same as I was making 10 years ago,(expecting you now to also do HR, Admin work, and over 60 hrs a week) I thought of getting a part time job as a pastry cook just because I really miss the creative side of it and they offered me $15.00 an hr. I was making $17.50 in 2002 in Manhattan in my first job. They can complain all they want but if owners do not want to share more of their profits they will keep running into this problem,
27
How did you get out of the business? I'm also a pastry chef and as I age I constantly worry that I do not have any skills to do anything different...lol. I'm concerned about what happens to aging chefs. Any advice?
3
Just one perspective:
My friend worked at a "progressive American" restaurant here in San Francisco where $10 dollars from every tasting menu is donated to a local charity. His starting pay was a notch above minimum wage and he was expected to come in 3 hours before his shift and work those hours pro bono. He was putting in 10-12 hour shifts and not getting paid for a chunk of it. The owners look humble and gracious for donating to local charities, while the workers are burnt out and bitter, being used for free labor.
My friend worked at a "progressive American" restaurant here in San Francisco where $10 dollars from every tasting menu is donated to a local charity. His starting pay was a notch above minimum wage and he was expected to come in 3 hours before his shift and work those hours pro bono. He was putting in 10-12 hour shifts and not getting paid for a chunk of it. The owners look humble and gracious for donating to local charities, while the workers are burnt out and bitter, being used for free labor.
26
Yes, this is the dirty little secret of fine dining. Working off the clock. That can't be legal, you say.
I rationalized it in hopes that the experience would pay off down the road. It can, but to expect people (mostly culinary school grads/non immigrants) to do this for more than a probationary period is too much.
Completely separate issue from the hazing, harassment, and perpetual short staff situations where one is expected to both "step up" and "stand there and take it."
I rationalized it in hopes that the experience would pay off down the road. It can, but to expect people (mostly culinary school grads/non immigrants) to do this for more than a probationary period is too much.
Completely separate issue from the hazing, harassment, and perpetual short staff situations where one is expected to both "step up" and "stand there and take it."
4
After reading a previous article about sexism in the kitchen, I would think that they could get more female cooks if the sexism was addressed.
7
Hmmmm....having just read another article regarding the terrible sexism and working conditions endured by people in this industry, perhaps these chefs and restaurants need to do some sole searching and figure out that lack of qualified personnel has something to do with the fact people aren't willing to be humiliated in order to work in the industry. I doubt there really is a shortage people who want to become chefs, or work in a professional kitchen. They just aren't willing to put up with the culture ingrained in the work place.
16
OH, the pains of having fallen in love with my craft some 40+ years ago, lots of truth here, but a window of change peeking also... still, youngsters need to realize it is in loving what you do, no matter what the craft, that makes a difference... its called "living a living", not "making a living"...
3
Of course this "living" is within livable means and not meant to be anywhere near poverty level, although the profit margin in "median" restaurants is slimmer than most know, one gets out of it what one puts into it still applies. Agree, owners need to share the limited purse strings, but, employees should earn it too. Concerning the cost of operating, this day's "on the go" and upwardly mobile people will probably evolve to wanting fine food to go. Since '70's I watched the Old World Fine Dining in Restaurants develop into Fine Dining /Casual Atmosphere, demand became same food, less fussy atmosphere and quicker service. A new generation is here.... It is progress for sure, but to the "grizzled pros" who worked so hard to learn and practice the craft, the newer participants that haven't been on the same path are like "breaking in line".... The "elders" need to understand the youngsters, but then the youngsters need to understand the elders too.
Research, finer restaurant profit margins vary accordingly and are very difficult to discern a net from gross, my experience tells me owners, primarily chef owners, aren't in it to get "rich", but in it for the love of the craft and the type of business, and for some, the prestige I guess.
All aside, it'd be nice to see the industry work force see an easier path for a career.
Research, finer restaurant profit margins vary accordingly and are very difficult to discern a net from gross, my experience tells me owners, primarily chef owners, aren't in it to get "rich", but in it for the love of the craft and the type of business, and for some, the prestige I guess.
All aside, it'd be nice to see the industry work force see an easier path for a career.
2
The article ....unless I missed it fails to mention the percent of restaurants that go out of business. So 2004 to 2014 might of experienced a record number of new restaurants opening but I bet at least 50% didn't make it.
6
This follows yesterday's op-ed about rampant sexism and abuse in the kitchen. Might there be a connection?
8
Imagine, paid sick leave for cooks/kitchen staff. No instead in our country we allow and even encourage low wage restaurant workers to show up to their jobs sick. Think of this when you're eating out in ANY place. Sneezing and coughing upon your salad, soup or entrée. Happens more often than the customer would care to know.
13
So many commenters here talk about providing a living wage. In our area the minimum wage is over $12/hr and a nearby city pays $15/hr. It isn't unusual for us to pay $75-100 for lunch for two people after tipping. We can afford it, but I wonder...how many of these people protesting here, really are willing to pay such prices on a regular basis? Twice a week? Weekly? Once a month splurge?
Paying workers more (and I believe we should) means vastly increased costs. Don't kid yourself it doesn't. You need a lot of after-tax discretionary 'fun money' to eat out often. And our minimum wage isn't even adequate to the realities of living out here!
Paying workers more (and I believe we should) means vastly increased costs. Don't kid yourself it doesn't. You need a lot of after-tax discretionary 'fun money' to eat out often. And our minimum wage isn't even adequate to the realities of living out here!
5
I left the industry several years ago in part for personal reasons (I wanted to see my kids) and in part because I could never reconcile my social, aesthetic and environmental ideals with the systematic exploitation that the industry indulges in. Even working for a benevolent ownership group that provided reasonable wages and health insurance for all employees, was aware everyday that we were doing something that had many, many flaws...
But-- I also noticed how difficult it was becoming to hire good people for any position. Young cooks wanted to be chefs withing a year or two, young servers had no interest in the craft... and for all but a handful of us it was just a way pf paying bills, and that not even well. The time I spent working long shifts for (illegal) shift pay or even no pay was worth it to me, but I wonder how many of today's chefs, even the famous ones, know much of anything about the science, the history and the culture of food.
My advice? Avoid restaurants in general, but explore options (from a wide variety of cultures and ethical positions). Learn to cook a few dishes, then a few more. Spend time in markets. Read Marion Nestle, Dan Barber, and a few other writers. Expect to pay more, but know what you're paying for.
But-- I also noticed how difficult it was becoming to hire good people for any position. Young cooks wanted to be chefs withing a year or two, young servers had no interest in the craft... and for all but a handful of us it was just a way pf paying bills, and that not even well. The time I spent working long shifts for (illegal) shift pay or even no pay was worth it to me, but I wonder how many of today's chefs, even the famous ones, know much of anything about the science, the history and the culture of food.
My advice? Avoid restaurants in general, but explore options (from a wide variety of cultures and ethical positions). Learn to cook a few dishes, then a few more. Spend time in markets. Read Marion Nestle, Dan Barber, and a few other writers. Expect to pay more, but know what you're paying for.
9
Much to say here, but will limit my comments and refer to an editorial printed in this paper yesterday about sexual harassment in the kitchen. After quoting mostly men, and showing photos of mostly white men, the author of this piece barely mentioned the low numbers of women in professional kitchens. Women put up with long hours, low wages, in addition to being harassed. I, a woman, lasted 10 years in some of NYC's best kitchens before leaving the business to teach. I left, in part, because I was tired of being different, and treated as such. It had nothing to do with raising a family or spending more time at home.
23
Typical millennial issue: these young culinary school grads haven't the passion
that is s serious requisite for such s grueling, thankless, low paying and
honestly unglamorous job ( most of them, anyway). Like many their age, they've
grown up coddled, overly entitled, weaned on reality cooking shows -as stated,
they want the fame, money, glamour-without developing the skills and paying
their dues. The harsh reality snacks them in their little " is a winner" face
and they can't live up to the challenge.
that is s serious requisite for such s grueling, thankless, low paying and
honestly unglamorous job ( most of them, anyway). Like many their age, they've
grown up coddled, overly entitled, weaned on reality cooking shows -as stated,
they want the fame, money, glamour-without developing the skills and paying
their dues. The harsh reality snacks them in their little " is a winner" face
and they can't live up to the challenge.
10
patau, i think the more serious problem is that major cities are much more expensive than when you were the same age. This requires higher wages just to pay rent on smaller and worse apartments.
9
well this article could have been written about the construction industry
Americans are not interested in careers that pay on the low end of the scale, they are not interested in strenuous physical labor, and then on top of the labor you are expected to use your head, take time to learn and study working your way up the ranks. It's just not the 21st century american way. Instant gratification, money for nothing, and a job where you sit in front of a computer screen doing little to nothing is what people want.
Until wages rise and Americans embrace hard work, well, until then enjoy the shortage, The construction industry has given up on quality help so should the restaurant industry.
Americans are not interested in careers that pay on the low end of the scale, they are not interested in strenuous physical labor, and then on top of the labor you are expected to use your head, take time to learn and study working your way up the ranks. It's just not the 21st century american way. Instant gratification, money for nothing, and a job where you sit in front of a computer screen doing little to nothing is what people want.
Until wages rise and Americans embrace hard work, well, until then enjoy the shortage, The construction industry has given up on quality help so should the restaurant industry.
3
The construction industry has given up on quality help so should the restaurant industry.
if these industries, esp. restaurant, paid more the problem would be fixed. What most businessmen seem to, ironically, not understand is the adage " you get what you pay for?.
if these industries, esp. restaurant, paid more the problem would be fixed. What most businessmen seem to, ironically, not understand is the adage " you get what you pay for?.
6
It's the same issue in the landscape industry too. Even with better pay, few want to do manual labor.
2
In my opinion 'food' has gotten way too complicated: hence tweezers as a tool! It seems to be one restaurant competing with another for the most outlandish dishes/tasting menus! The idea of a delicious recognizable meal has almost disappeared!
19
A full 32 column inches before any one suggests that, if you have trouble retaining talented staff, maybe "overworking, underpaying, and hazing kitchen workers" isn't the way to go.
50
There is a lot that is true here, and a lot that is not telling the whole story. I worked as a chef/cook in NYC restaurants for nearly 30 years. It's a grueling job and life, and as pointed out, working conditions are not great. Hours are long, 6 day weeks are the norm, no benefits, no holidays, no breaks. You often have to eat while walking around, or not eat. Theres not even time to go to the bathroom. You have to be consistently "on". You can't not feel like it on any given day. As a chef, I found hiring young aspiring American cooks to be futile. They were always looking for something new, generally didn't have the energy or drive to keep coming back. It's a workaholics profession. I had better luck with immigrants who looked at it like a job they cherished and wanted to keep. The stress level is high enough without worrying that your cooks constantly need to be replaced. I am extremely proud of all the young immigrants cooks who worked their way up and all are still working in the business, some even own their own restaurants. Fortunately in my early 50s I found a different path and now cook privately for a lovely family. I'm too old to "work the line" in a restaurant anymore.
27
so you are saying this is a horrendous poorly paying job with no future for those who reach their 50s? Is is any wonder it is populated primarily by immigrants? Who would voluntarily enter this profession?
4
I worked in the industry and I am now retired - thankfully. Some questions for those of you who support our efforts, or walk a mile in my shoes. Would your family willingly accept your not being home for each and every holiday? When you get home in the middle of the night, who besides the family dog would happily greet you? Most hospitality positions are seasonal which in turn means your income will vary greatly depending on the demands of a flicked consumer. As a cook/chef the likelihood of you being injured is high, you will suffer multiple burns and/or cuts - how will your family react to this?
Being a cook is not glamorous, it is heavy hard physical labor first and foremost - only secondly is it creative.
Being a cook is not glamorous, it is heavy hard physical labor first and foremost - only secondly is it creative.
21
I never eat out. Too expensive. Cooking at home is simple.
Heat the food. If necessary add butter and salt to make it taste good.
Done.
Heat the food. If necessary add butter and salt to make it taste good.
Done.
1
If everyone who hired illegal aliens was fined, then wages would come up pretty quick and there would be no shortage of line cooks, but as long as they can pay cash under the table to people desperate to work for anything, they get what they deserve. I for one will pay higher prices if I know an American is being paid a decent wage. Perhaps there should be two categories of tips on the bill: wait staff and kitchen staff. Let's see how restaurants that have done away with tipping fare.
6
Really?? Seems like chefs need a basic economics course in their training, especially now that the pool of low wage, exploitable immigrants has apparently dried up.
4
Read "Down and Out in Paris and London" (Orwell) to find out what really goes on in restaurant kitchens.
Hint: They spit in the soup.
Hint: They spit in the soup.
3
That book was written about a time ages ago before there was even a health department. And it takes place in Europe.
Yes, $5.00 per person would not affect the number of times my family goes out to eat. Workers should earn a living wage if they do their expected job.
10
At least some are recognizing that the industry (not to mention the ACF, Chamber of Commerce, and others) is killing itself. I officially quit the culinary world in 1998, making almost 30K as a sous chef in a country club. That job was 60-ish hours a week, chef provided me a couple coats, actually had fairly decent insurance. This was not the norm, yet it was actually a Good Job in comparison to what was the norm: 60+ hours a week, 6-8 dollars per hour (even jobs where I was the chef/top dog/head cook), no insurance whatsoever, no uniform allowance.
The culinary world is brutal and owned by those telling people that they can't be a good cooks, good chefs, that food cannot be their passion if one isn't willing to "do what the job required."
Perhaps it has changed. I doubt it. I'd wager the industry needs to suffer a bit more. Weed out some of those owners who know nothing about food, those CIA grads who believe that the certificate or degree constitutes the Chef designation (can't tell you how many culinary school grads I have put off the line because they could not cope with the pace, the memory demands, the chaos that Is Kitchen), those restaurants that simply should not be (too many, poorly designed, redundant, etc.).
Sorry, but I shed no tears. You guys have done it to yourselves. In those infamous words, That's How It Is. Deal with it or hit the door.
The culinary world is brutal and owned by those telling people that they can't be a good cooks, good chefs, that food cannot be their passion if one isn't willing to "do what the job required."
Perhaps it has changed. I doubt it. I'd wager the industry needs to suffer a bit more. Weed out some of those owners who know nothing about food, those CIA grads who believe that the certificate or degree constitutes the Chef designation (can't tell you how many culinary school grads I have put off the line because they could not cope with the pace, the memory demands, the chaos that Is Kitchen), those restaurants that simply should not be (too many, poorly designed, redundant, etc.).
Sorry, but I shed no tears. You guys have done it to yourselves. In those infamous words, That's How It Is. Deal with it or hit the door.
16
No surprises here. Rock stars and galley slaves. It's what happens when "dining" becomes an industrial enterprise driven by investors. Dining has become another area of social fetish driven by media celebritism and overgrown it's sustainability. That, and consumerist diners who follow that old irrational maxim of "something for nothing". That is why I only dine at small ethnic family restaurants today. Or maybe those small establishments driven by aspiring young chefs who cook with pride (forgiving an outsize ego). Those Millennials 'chefs' are reacting to an old craft business scaled to industrial heights by investors and attended by fetishistic consumers. Good luck with that!
22
Most of this article is accurate. However it does not adress the fundamental question ( in my opinion) of why are these "young chefs" not willing to put in the hours and exra work required for this profession. I believe the answer is simple: they are given such egos through both their school and work environment that they do not understand what the profession entails. I have been working front and back of house for over 10 years now, and have seen many different methods of management, from chefs to front of house managers. Part of the problem is that many chefs are now worried that being too "mean" or straightforward will make people quit, so they stay with their status quo and are happy to have enough hands to work their stations. The solution is to be tough while being fair, but this seems to be something chefs in many locations can no longer do due to the threat of lawsuits because of discrimination of one type or another. In addition to this, students (stagiaires) are often referred to as "chef" by front of house management and waitstaff, which contributes to the idea of entitlement, that "I am a chef". I repeatedly tell front of house team members that I am not a chef, that there is only one chef in the kitchen, and one sous chef, or two. A line cook is a line cook, but when the head chef ceases to explain and teach his line cooks how to cook properly, the chain of command and of respect slowly decomposes.
8
However it does not adress the fundamental question ( in my opinion) of why are these "young chefs" not willing to put in the hours and exra work required for this profession. I believe the answer is simple: they are given such egos through both their school and work
or it could be that wages and work conditions are so bad, relative to the alternatives, that only immigrants can be attracted?
or it could be that wages and work conditions are so bad, relative to the alternatives, that only immigrants can be attracted?
2
Poor working conditions and low pay are of course at the heart of the matter. Quality of life issues cannot be ignored. Chefs are expected to sacrifice family life for the sake of somebody else's restaurant. Why is it such a surprise that young good talent is hard to find?
That overwork and "hazing" are considered "tradition" shows why so many culinary graduates soon grow exhausted by the "professional" atmosphere of restaurant kitchens. Kitchens are the new factories in much of the country. Semi-skilled jobs for semi-skilled workers, inspired by TV images of celebrity chefs who made cooking seem fun and exciting. Most restaurants, after all, are not high end or elite establishments.
Many casual dining restaurant chains will hire prep cooks with no experience and line cooks with only a year's worth. I know this from my own back of the house experience. If a fine-dining restaurant pays less than Applebee's for a junior line cook, where do you think the new culinary grad will go, considering her student loan debt and other expenses? I've known graduates from prestigious culinary programs who took jobs at suburban and small town bistros and hotel restaurants for very good reasons- freedom to create the menu, less stress, affordable cost of living, and good coworker relations. Not everyone wants in on the "rat race."
That overwork and "hazing" are considered "tradition" shows why so many culinary graduates soon grow exhausted by the "professional" atmosphere of restaurant kitchens. Kitchens are the new factories in much of the country. Semi-skilled jobs for semi-skilled workers, inspired by TV images of celebrity chefs who made cooking seem fun and exciting. Most restaurants, after all, are not high end or elite establishments.
Many casual dining restaurant chains will hire prep cooks with no experience and line cooks with only a year's worth. I know this from my own back of the house experience. If a fine-dining restaurant pays less than Applebee's for a junior line cook, where do you think the new culinary grad will go, considering her student loan debt and other expenses? I've known graduates from prestigious culinary programs who took jobs at suburban and small town bistros and hotel restaurants for very good reasons- freedom to create the menu, less stress, affordable cost of living, and good coworker relations. Not everyone wants in on the "rat race."
28
Lot of professions now aspire for million dollar lifestyles and hence sell their profession that way. Many professionals, including doctors, engineers, lawyers, etc., who used to aspire for a decent middle class life, are now in their jobs or actual profession for "wealth and/or money". The definition of what is middle class has shifted. People think middle class is "two car, three car garage with a five bedroom and a swimming pool house". That used to be upper class or wealthy living. I do not begrudge that living as long as people have worked for it, and earned it (through their education, hard work, creativity, innovation and ethical useful contribution to society).
Because definition of middle class has been distorted, definition of wealth and wealthy people have also been distorted. Only in America do people with several million dollars in assets or savings think they are poor. And some want government to provide them with social security, medicare, etc. as they age or transition into another lifestyle even if they are rich. If we think "a plane and a yacht are a necessity to keep up with the Joneses, Changs and Sanjays", we are never going to know how to alleviate poverty, how to mobilize the working class and how to create a large thriving mobile middle class, where there is lower middle class, middle middle class, upper middle class...many kinds of middle classes. Right now we only have a struggling middle class. And many people are not middle class - they are poor!
Because definition of middle class has been distorted, definition of wealth and wealthy people have also been distorted. Only in America do people with several million dollars in assets or savings think they are poor. And some want government to provide them with social security, medicare, etc. as they age or transition into another lifestyle even if they are rich. If we think "a plane and a yacht are a necessity to keep up with the Joneses, Changs and Sanjays", we are never going to know how to alleviate poverty, how to mobilize the working class and how to create a large thriving mobile middle class, where there is lower middle class, middle middle class, upper middle class...many kinds of middle classes. Right now we only have a struggling middle class. And many people are not middle class - they are poor!
10
You certainly know a different group of middle class people than I do. No one thinks the way you describe--no one. As for high income people thinking they are "poor" or struggling, there's nothing new there.
Why is this surprising? Who wants to work 6 to 7 days a week, all holidays, nights and weekends, and get paid less than most service or retail jobs. Add the fact that many kitchens are too small and often windowless.
41
It will be interesting to see what happens in the no tipping restaurants. If you think chefs are abusive, in some cases, the general public can be worse.
13
Immigration law is responsible for most of this. Wages for cooks have only gone up 25% because business owners were hiring people who would work under the table for long hours and have no where else to go. Waiters income increased 200% because you can't put someone in the front of the house that can't speak English or communicate well. Cheap, illegal labor has allowed restaurants with bad food and bad management to survive and that is hurting the restaurants who charge more for better food.
31
Solicit Bourdain's response to this article. He knows how tough the back of the house is for the workers. Drug use is common because of unreasonable expectations, high pressure, and grueling and long hours.
I'm willing to pay more if tipping is eliminated and the line cooks do better. But I can turn out fine dining in my kitchen or grill when the occasion arises, so we don't go out that much. That said, we live in a summer tourist town, and we frequent favorite restaurants much more in the off-season in hopes that they will survive until the next visitor happy trips (invasions) here resume.
I'm willing to pay more if tipping is eliminated and the line cooks do better. But I can turn out fine dining in my kitchen or grill when the occasion arises, so we don't go out that much. That said, we live in a summer tourist town, and we frequent favorite restaurants much more in the off-season in hopes that they will survive until the next visitor happy trips (invasions) here resume.
9
The truth is that this industry is incredibly exploitative, paying less than liveable wages for overlong hours with often abusive supervisors running the kitchens.
These media chefs are to blame along with their investors.
Solutions:
1. a reasonable minimum wage so that we can
2 abolish tipping
3. unionize restaurant staffs nationwide
4. confront abusive restaurant owners and boycott their establishments
This can be done if people of good will act together.
These media chefs are to blame along with their investors.
Solutions:
1. a reasonable minimum wage so that we can
2 abolish tipping
3. unionize restaurant staffs nationwide
4. confront abusive restaurant owners and boycott their establishments
This can be done if people of good will act together.
28
Jeez loueez, everyone. It's just food. Eat to live.
7
In high school and college, I worked in my fair share of restaurants; mostly front of the house, but I often spent time filling in on the line when folks would bang out sick. Too be honest, it's fun when you're young, but as you get to your mid-twenties, it's the last thing you want to be doing.
The pay is ridiculously low, the work environment is usually borderline abusive, and the opportunity for higher wages after 5 to 10 years is essentially non-existent.
Stay in school, learn Excel, SQL, basic accounting, and have a solid understanding of the time value of money. Study accounting, finance, and data management. I'd much rather work 40 to 60 hours a week making 100k a year, rather than doing 90 hour weeks making 50k.
Very few people become head chefs, and the ones that do, they don't make a lot of money either. It;s a hard life. Much like being a doctor (factoring in the cost of medical school and the time it takes), it has to be something you love to do. Otherwise, they money isn't there for the commitment.
The pay is ridiculously low, the work environment is usually borderline abusive, and the opportunity for higher wages after 5 to 10 years is essentially non-existent.
Stay in school, learn Excel, SQL, basic accounting, and have a solid understanding of the time value of money. Study accounting, finance, and data management. I'd much rather work 40 to 60 hours a week making 100k a year, rather than doing 90 hour weeks making 50k.
Very few people become head chefs, and the ones that do, they don't make a lot of money either. It;s a hard life. Much like being a doctor (factoring in the cost of medical school and the time it takes), it has to be something you love to do. Otherwise, they money isn't there for the commitment.
46
This impatience is in every industry - it took me 5 years to reach a certain level now it takes one year and they ask for more money so the more junior jobs are harder to fill. There's a pretty big sense of entitlement that hadn't come across moving up the ranks.
4
it could also be that the job market has vastly improved and that the alternatives permit these type of demand. What type of fool works for peanuts when he can make more elsewhere (i.e., in another industry).
Sounds like a classic supply/demand issue. Too many restaurants and not enough demand for them. Has nothing to do with cooks. Raise the wage and you'll fill the jobs. But if raising the wage means you'll have to raise prices, and in doing so means you'll get less clientele, then you really shouldn't be there to begin with. Sorry, just the facts.
I used to enjoy nicer restaurants with my wife, and from time to time still do, but for the most part I can get the same ingredients at Safeway and produce the same good at home, all for a fraction of the price. I also get to feed my dog the leftovers while they're still warm, and I don't have to tip the valet.
It's not a cook supply issue, it's an industry value prop issue.
I used to enjoy nicer restaurants with my wife, and from time to time still do, but for the most part I can get the same ingredients at Safeway and produce the same good at home, all for a fraction of the price. I also get to feed my dog the leftovers while they're still warm, and I don't have to tip the valet.
It's not a cook supply issue, it's an industry value prop issue.
17
Spot on: “Until we determine a fair and equitable way to provide greater compensation for restaurant cooks, we will continue spinning our wheels as an industry,” said Mr. Himmel, a longtime operator of successful restaurants like Grill 23 and Harvest in the Boston area.
9
I find it curious that E-Verify wasn't mentioned at all in this article. It has had a huge impact on restaurant staffing in my market (Atlanta).
11
I worked as a chef for two years after college. Never have I worked a job that demanded so much of an investment, yet gave so little in return. Being a chef requires every single iota of your energy.
The restaurant where I worked as a Commis Chef had us on a 6 day per week split shift schedule. We started at 9:30 AM and worked until 3:30, and then came back at 5:00 PM for evening service, which finished anywhere from 10-11:30 pm that night. If you were on breakfast that day, you came in at 6:30 AM and worked the same split shift schedule. So on a good day, we worked only 12 hours, which we didn't get paid for.
All of the chefs where I worked were on "salary", which is basically just a contract that we signed stating that any hours we worked above 40 per week would not be compensated. We were all presented with this contract at the time of hire, and told that if we didn't like it, we could find another job. The salary amounted to appr. $1200 per month, $900 less than we should have been getting paid.
Within about a month of working these hours I was contemplating suicide on a regular basis. Every day the pressure and fatigue multiplies without letting up. Managers couldn't care less. People wonder why so many chefs quit and walk out. I don't. Pretty soon I was thinking that exact same thing.
Eventually I did find a decent job, one that treats me with some level of respect, and lets me enjoy my life instead of working myself to death for nothing.
The restaurant where I worked as a Commis Chef had us on a 6 day per week split shift schedule. We started at 9:30 AM and worked until 3:30, and then came back at 5:00 PM for evening service, which finished anywhere from 10-11:30 pm that night. If you were on breakfast that day, you came in at 6:30 AM and worked the same split shift schedule. So on a good day, we worked only 12 hours, which we didn't get paid for.
All of the chefs where I worked were on "salary", which is basically just a contract that we signed stating that any hours we worked above 40 per week would not be compensated. We were all presented with this contract at the time of hire, and told that if we didn't like it, we could find another job. The salary amounted to appr. $1200 per month, $900 less than we should have been getting paid.
Within about a month of working these hours I was contemplating suicide on a regular basis. Every day the pressure and fatigue multiplies without letting up. Managers couldn't care less. People wonder why so many chefs quit and walk out. I don't. Pretty soon I was thinking that exact same thing.
Eventually I did find a decent job, one that treats me with some level of respect, and lets me enjoy my life instead of working myself to death for nothing.
55
How is it possible that 39 comments ahead of me ignored this sentence:
Women, especially, tend to abandon the culinary work force before they can rise, partly because most restaurants demand work hours that are inflexible and incompatible with raising children.
I wasn't aware that only women could raise children? This mindset is, frankly, exhausting.
Women, especially, tend to abandon the culinary work force before they can rise, partly because most restaurants demand work hours that are inflexible and incompatible with raising children.
I wasn't aware that only women could raise children? This mindset is, frankly, exhausting.
42
I agree. The kitchen in the modern American restaurant system is built and maintained by human abuse in the service of ridiculous dreams on the backs of 99% of the workforce without a living wage (unless your definition of living is a 80- 90 hour minding numbing and body bruising work week without benefits or overtime pay)
I left the industry 10 years ago and never looked back. I'd rather work in a coal mine.
I left the industry 10 years ago and never looked back. I'd rather work in a coal mine.
12
Most women who have children do so with the intention of being the one who primarily raises them. It's not a matter of men not doing half the work. It a matter of wanting to see your child when they are awake and for more than one, maybe two days a week.
5
I was looking for such a comment. There were some interesting articles recently in this publication about the male chauvinism in the kitchens, and the kind of abuse women have to go through to work there. I think that's silly to cut yourself off from 50% of your potential workforce and then complain you have a shortage!
3
I hope that guy who loves 90 hour weeks (for his staff) is paying them for all 90 hours, including overtime for the last 50 of those. Somehow I doubt it.
63
Apart from the poor working conditions, such as sexual harassment of women employees mentioned in other articles and in some of the comments here: when an industry faces a human-power shortage, it resorts to imported labor.
All it would take is the restaurant industry to convince the government to add kitchen workers to such professions important to the national economy as rocket scientists, medical practitioners, and perhaps fortune tellers.
All it would take is the restaurant industry to convince the government to add kitchen workers to such professions important to the national economy as rocket scientists, medical practitioners, and perhaps fortune tellers.
15
All it would take is the restaurant industry to convince the government to add kitchen workers to such professions important to the national economy as rocket scientists, medical practitioners, and perhaps fortune tellers.
the us association of restaurantuers has already tried this. it has failed (at least for now).
the us association of restaurantuers has already tried this. it has failed (at least for now).
Given the NYT's recent story about brutal sexual harassment in commercial kitchens, I think I see a solution to the problem. Stop driving women out and you'll have all the prep cooks, line cooks, and chiefs you need.
35
Too bad they're so proud of abusive conditions and traditions. In the end, these
mean so much that they become inseparable from the provisioning of good cooking. No reason, really, except that those who have been thru it want it that way.
mean so much that they become inseparable from the provisioning of good cooking. No reason, really, except that those who have been thru it want it that way.
5
A long time ago in my own "profession" we were challenged on whether we were actually a profession. The measures used were:
1. Was there a body of research upon which all could rely?
2. Did practitioners, knowledgeable of the research, use discretion, creativity, and other high-level mental functions to apply solutions?
It seems like the title "chef", in its many varieties counters the idea of professional because it means something different to everyone.
1. Was there a body of research upon which all could rely?
2. Did practitioners, knowledgeable of the research, use discretion, creativity, and other high-level mental functions to apply solutions?
It seems like the title "chef", in its many varieties counters the idea of professional because it means something different to everyone.
5
This is why they rely on hazing and overwork. It's a definition of "professional" that makes the old hands feel proud, even if it means nothing to the quality of the work done. As in many another line of work, the esprit de corps is so important to these guys, they'll tell every lie in the book to preserve it.
6
Really good article, but how can it be that the pictures are almost all white people, but the cooking staff at kitchens I know about are primarily Latino? Makes it look like cooking is a WASP profession.
64
I hear what your saying, but just to be clear, only one person pictured had an English surname, so it is incorrect to infer that it is a WASP profession. There was actually quite a bit of surname diversity and for all we know, given the diversity of Latin American, they may all be Latino/a.
This is indirect proof of one of my pet beliefs, which is that there is so much money in America, that many of us choose not to work even when there are jobs available, ones without many entrance requirements. I saw a ranking of topics in political discussions on Facebook, and the economy was 3rd on the list. Shouldn't it be the number one topic of political discussion if we go by the amount of complaining people do about the lack of a real recovery regarding jobs, after the Great Recession of 2008?
On the other side of the ledger, I've worked in restaurants as a cook when I was a younger man, and it is not great work. If the head chef is a jerk, and many are, the work can be unpleasant and difficult. This article may focus on the more high end restaurants, but most restaurants aren't in this category. You are a grunt with lousy hours, working everybody else's party. When somebody else doesn't show up, you have to do their job as well, all for low pay and evening and weekend hours.
9
In reply to Robin Little:
This is proof of your pet belief only if the hiring problems are because people are not working at all. An alternative explanation is that the no-shows have found a better job elsewhere. If restaurants are finding it hard to recruit and keep workers, they will simply have to start paying them more or give them better working conditions. This is the "invisible hand" of the marketplace at work.
This is proof of your pet belief only if the hiring problems are because people are not working at all. An alternative explanation is that the no-shows have found a better job elsewhere. If restaurants are finding it hard to recruit and keep workers, they will simply have to start paying them more or give them better working conditions. This is the "invisible hand" of the marketplace at work.
19
For some of us, the "invisible hand" only slaps us silly... Capitalism is all about winners and losers. The system is predicated on those at the bottom being exploited. What's the old saying? "Under capitalism, Man exploits Man. Under Communism, it's the other ways around."
1
When I was a restaurant cook the words celebrity and chef never appeared together in a sentence. I knew what the life was, long hours, short pay and short tempers. Every dish had to be prepared exactly the same way every time because sense memory is so strong. Only the executive chef could experiment and even he had to make sure he knew how to replicate the dish if it was a hit. I changed career paths despite liking cooking which I now do for my wife and me.
Despite the celebrity status of some chefs, the work of the rest of the staff hasn't changed neither have the long hours, short pay or short tempers. I get the occasional offer of a job when restaurant owners learn that I'm an ex-professional - no thanks, I'm retired from a different career and would never work in a professional kitchen again.
Few people want the life of a restaurant cook. Most want the status and job of a Food Network Celebrity Chef and that doesn't come easily - long hours, short pay, and short tempers are the prerequisite.
Despite the celebrity status of some chefs, the work of the rest of the staff hasn't changed neither have the long hours, short pay or short tempers. I get the occasional offer of a job when restaurant owners learn that I'm an ex-professional - no thanks, I'm retired from a different career and would never work in a professional kitchen again.
Few people want the life of a restaurant cook. Most want the status and job of a Food Network Celebrity Chef and that doesn't come easily - long hours, short pay, and short tempers are the prerequisite.
24
Talk about your classic business/econ 101 problem!
The solution's simple, when the market for an "X" is underserved, the price of "X" increases. The "hiring" problem is in fact not a "hiring" problem it's a compensation problem. In this case, "X" requires those in need of the "X-ness" to pay them more!
Allow or even encourage unionization! Profit sharing. Or simply make the wage higher!
This has been simple solutions to simple problems.
The solution's simple, when the market for an "X" is underserved, the price of "X" increases. The "hiring" problem is in fact not a "hiring" problem it's a compensation problem. In this case, "X" requires those in need of the "X-ness" to pay them more!
Allow or even encourage unionization! Profit sharing. Or simply make the wage higher!
This has been simple solutions to simple problems.
40
Problem with your theory is the customers' expectations of what a meal costs. I don't eat at Danny Meyer's restaurant's, but I suspect he just raised his prices in the neighborhood of 20-25% in order to legally redistribute the tips he now forbids. Some places can take that, but I suspect most can't, even if all restaurants do it together.
The industry average profit of a restaurant is 3-5%, with franchises being the most profitable. Restaurants are complex businesses with notoriously high failure rates— there just isn't much left over to give raises.
The common rule of thumb is about a third for labor. If you raise wages 25%, you add 8% to the prices. Would you go out as much if your $55 dinner now cost $60?
The industry average profit of a restaurant is 3-5%, with franchises being the most profitable. Restaurants are complex businesses with notoriously high failure rates— there just isn't much left over to give raises.
The common rule of thumb is about a third for labor. If you raise wages 25%, you add 8% to the prices. Would you go out as much if your $55 dinner now cost $60?
4
Which would naturally weed out which restaurants should stay in business and those that should close. What's the problem again?
5
Ugh.
Back in the 1980s I worked for a corporate public relations firm that was approached by the National Restaurant Association about this very problem: they were having trouble attracting employees and predicted a huge shorted of kitchen staff in the future.
Well, here we are.
At that time we looked at some statistics and noticed that the restaurant industry paid far lower than most other fields -- could that be the reason they couldn't attract talent? "Naw... that's not it," said the restaurant association folks, "It must be something else."
Similarly, years back the NYT had a nice article about students graduating from the finest culinary schools and then headed to work at the best restaurants... for $10 an hour with no benefits.
I thought for years about culinary school but it sure looked to me like to be a chef you had to love it so much that you didn't care that you worked insane hours six or seven days a week, never saw your friends or family, had lousy or no benefits, and didn't make any money until you had your own line of frozen pizzas. I still love cooking, but I'll pass on that lifestyle unless it changes.
Back in the 1980s I worked for a corporate public relations firm that was approached by the National Restaurant Association about this very problem: they were having trouble attracting employees and predicted a huge shorted of kitchen staff in the future.
Well, here we are.
At that time we looked at some statistics and noticed that the restaurant industry paid far lower than most other fields -- could that be the reason they couldn't attract talent? "Naw... that's not it," said the restaurant association folks, "It must be something else."
Similarly, years back the NYT had a nice article about students graduating from the finest culinary schools and then headed to work at the best restaurants... for $10 an hour with no benefits.
I thought for years about culinary school but it sure looked to me like to be a chef you had to love it so much that you didn't care that you worked insane hours six or seven days a week, never saw your friends or family, had lousy or no benefits, and didn't make any money until you had your own line of frozen pizzas. I still love cooking, but I'll pass on that lifestyle unless it changes.
73
Want to understand the education, work ethic and eventual success of a great chef and teacher? Read Jacques Pepin's "The Apprentice." Or, watch his video with Julia Child
There's a reason so many people refer to him as kind and decent in the same breath as an inspiring teacher.
There's a reason so many people refer to him as kind and decent in the same breath as an inspiring teacher.
8
I would really like to hear from Pepin about this subject. He first learned to cook from his mother and worked in the family restaurant. In Paris he trained at top restaurants and was chef to three French heads of state, including DeGaulle. In the US he worked at La Pavillon, then developed food lines for the Howard Johnson chain(!). So he's seen and done it all. His many TV series surely have had real kitchens off-camera.
He is widely regarded as a kind person. What were his employee experiences? How was he to work for?
He is widely regarded as a kind person. What were his employee experiences? How was he to work for?
6
Isn't classical economics working in the restaurant business? Labor shortage = increased salaries = higher prices = fewer customers = restaurant closings = available labor...what's the problem? Yes, reality TV has probably abetted a certain irrational exuberance for high-end dining, but eventually we'll end up with the amount of tables the public is willing to pay for. And by the way, Un, who thinks cooking isn't all that hard, remind me not to eat in your restaurant. I was on the line in half a dozen starred NY restos in the 70's and 80's, and putting out 300 covers on a Saturday night and making them consistently delicious and beautiful is the hardest work I've ever done. And bo, it's not mostly restaurant owners who are taking the money home--it's landlords.
12
I've been a chef in high end restaurants over 20 yrs. I've run quiet, respectful and appropriate kitchen for that entire time; and for the most part have manged to recruit and maintain a great staff throughout. I also do not staff my kitchen with only culinary graduates as some chef do; I have a mix of culinary students, older workers, Latinos, high school students and woman. Its not easy to keep a good staff but it is not impossible. All employees want to work in a respectful environment and it is us mid level managers responsibility to ensure that happens.
26
Remember that one time when we were told that in a market economy prices adjust to equalize supply and demand? Like when we just have to pay a CEO 20 million a year or a university president 800k or a college football coach 3 million because they are so much in demand? Or when we can't raise the minimum wage because that is a market distortion and the market price for baristas is just below $9 an hour? Those were the times. in those mites, instead of whining, employers who "can't" fill a job would raise the wage offer.
48
My youngest son is an executive chef. Although he enjoys what he does, my own advice is "don't let your babies grow up to be chefs..." Bad pay, bad working conditions, no benefits--the litany continues. It isn't just the personalities that drive the excessive behaviors in kitchens.
45
I've been in food for over 30 years. My take is that most of the people who have entered the field in the last 15 years did so with the idea that it was artistic, glamorous and paid well. The truth is its blue collar work that when done well is more craft (think cabinet maker) than art and your never going to make that much money (especially if you break it down to hourly) I wonder what the drop out rates are after cooking school at the 1 thru 5 year marks.
41
Note to prima donna chefs: Perhaps you should try not screaming and throwing things. Just a thought.
17
Or, if you've GOT to throw things, throw some $20 bills our way.
12
Worked in a small restaurant in Colorado years ago. Hired by the owner to assist in the kitchen. Being a good cook I moved up fast. Waiters/waitresses liked me, diners enjoyed their meals (and made it a point to tell me) but the owner...he would constantly nickel and dime me (playing games with my time sheets), change my shifts at the last minute, call me for favors (and arguing when I asked to be paid for them), and yelling at me when I threw away questionable food. On more than one occasion I thought about punching him in the face. But I enjoyed the cooking so much I rationalized it all. In the end it was a turn off. Owners only care about making money - lots of it. They belittle stiff the wait staff, the cooks, even the delivery people. I quit and moved on to a another profession.
45
Could it be possible that this shortage is linked to the rampant sexism and harassment in the kitchen covered by the NYT very recently? If half of the population is excluded, and the working conditions are overall hostile, a solution to this problem seems rather obvious.
16
Why is everyone so afraid to mention Gordon "F. Word" Whatshisname?
Sexism, racism, homophobia, ageism. It's all there.
1
Lack of healthcare in those southern kitchens may reduce their number and ability to recruit chefs. My neighbor is a superb chef with great kitchen management skills but has kids. He needed healthcare so moved to a restaurant that under uses his skills but...it has better healthcare.
17
As a cook with 3 decades in the business, I can say with some authority that a very important thing cooks must learn how to make is a living. I have managed to do that in many different places around the country, to varying degrees of success, Currently I live in a very expensive metropolitan area, and without the benefit of collective bargaining, i would either have to move away, have 8 roomies or 3 jobs (or all of the above). The career never looked glamorous to me, but I have seen that trend in younger people new to professional cooking. Perhaps the hype of tv shows has created a myth of what it means to prepare food for other people for a living. My suggestion is: Manage your expectations and keep an open mind about other opportunities for work. To break out the old saw, If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen
7
The often boorish, meat-headed, macho cult of insecure chefs who cook for the camera and celebrity may be to blame. They desperately chase fame and style, rather than discipline and substance. Too many tattoos as a means of credibility and fetishistic work ethics under the guise of "artists" doing what grandmothers did less than a century ago. Cooking is a trade or consistent repetition (albeit with varying ingredients), and should be treated as such with fundamental theory, practice and technique; not the firebrand flavor of masochistic hours/pay and military inspired motivation. Compounded by the generally miserable pay, it is not a life worth living.
Once cooks understand and appreciate the time and commitment it takes to reach the level of culinary knowledge and experience befitting of a "chef" title, they will invest more in dedicated tutelage, not a résumé padding collection of stints picking herbs at NOMA and the like, which have become the formality of what going to college to get a job used to be.
Perhaps the US needs more specialized food stores where cooks can focus on the specifics of a sub-trade (baker, butcher. fishmonger), work better hours, and fulfill a more fundamental food need for consumers rather than fulfilling a chef's "rockstar" ego and an increasingly entitled dining community.
Once cooks understand and appreciate the time and commitment it takes to reach the level of culinary knowledge and experience befitting of a "chef" title, they will invest more in dedicated tutelage, not a résumé padding collection of stints picking herbs at NOMA and the like, which have become the formality of what going to college to get a job used to be.
Perhaps the US needs more specialized food stores where cooks can focus on the specifics of a sub-trade (baker, butcher. fishmonger), work better hours, and fulfill a more fundamental food need for consumers rather than fulfilling a chef's "rockstar" ego and an increasingly entitled dining community.
19
Amen. Perfectly stated. When I read about a...forgive me for saying this..."hipster chef" in a local publication elaborating on how he butchers a whole pig's head and prepares his own authentic head cheese, I kept thinking about my grandfather and uncle eating that awful stuff. And the blood sausage and pickled pigs parts and other delicacies from the old neighborhood. And some tattooed twenty-somethings discovered this as a hip new thing. No thanks. The foodies can have that junk.
2
I was fascinated by all the pictures of the "chefs" even though the article was about cooks. Anyone who has ever worked in a kitchen knows that the pay is lousy, hours just as lousy and, while the waitstaff marches off with their mountains of money (that you helped them make and don't get to share), you also have to endure the megalomania that hangs like a stench around the chef. I remember some great times as a cook and, indeed, cooking high-quality food and doing a good job can be fun. Most of the time;however, it's not pleasant. In the end, the world could live with fewer restaurants. People should learn how to cook again and quit spending their grand children's inheritance at places where the food is overpriced, over-hyped and unmemorable. Really, is it that important to patronize fancy restaurants (or any restaurants) as much as we do?
115
No more comments necessary, folks. We have a winner!
17
Yes, well stated. Time to start cooking (a lot) in our homes again, making real food.
1
This is a silly article. As silly as those articles saying there aren't enough skilled Americans to fill that huge pile of high tech jobs out there cause too many of us only have a third grade education. Line cooks do the drudge work of kitchens in hot, fast-paced, typically unglamorous environments... and on top of all that they are typically low-paid. Come up with the money and I'm sure there will be a line forming at the kitchen door. Too often employers think that miserable economic conditions are going to last forever and they will be able to get away with low pay and no job training forever as well. This is unrealistic. Provide adequate training and pay and we third grade over achievers suddenly look pretty good.
95
Interesting, the lack of diversity in the photo illustrations. Certainly not an accurate reflection of the back of the house in the industry.
40
Not enough cooks in the kitchen? Perhaps a large part of the "why" can be read in Jen Agg's Op-Ed piece on sexism in the kitchen.
56
Sandy, true that. And that piece disappeared off the Opinion Pages faster than an undercapitalized NYC restaurant.
7
You cannot pay for culinary school with a cook's wages.
Even for a cook supported by a significant other who pays the rent and other bills, the loan payments are a burden. It's not surprising that the better trained workers would depart for more lucrative work.
Pay for on the job training and things may change. It's no longer feasible for a young person to work for free for six months or a year, especially if living quarters are not provided. Internships and stages need to be paid.
Even for a cook supported by a significant other who pays the rent and other bills, the loan payments are a burden. It's not surprising that the better trained workers would depart for more lucrative work.
Pay for on the job training and things may change. It's no longer feasible for a young person to work for free for six months or a year, especially if living quarters are not provided. Internships and stages need to be paid.
57
This is a problem created by the media. Cooking is not that difficult. However, there is a mindset now that the skills required of cooks is comparable to that of a cardiac surgeon, a corporate lawyer, or an engineer. It ain't. It takes little skills to scramble eggs, drop toast in a toaster or grill and season a salmon. This reminds me of the claimed doorman shortage which resulted in doorman making 100g a year and expecting 200 in cash at Christmas. I mean, difficult is it to open a door. We all do it. Eat at home. Go to Grandma's. Both are better than most of these NY restaurants who charge a fortune. Learn to cook, save money. And for you singles out there: when you make a meal at home for your date, the bedroom is close by.
38
Ya, years ago I burned hamburger helper I was so nervous. The woman I was trying to impress did not seem to mind (there was a lot of ketchup on hand).
The condiments a side it was a good night for both of us.
The condiments a side it was a good night for both of us.
3
Have been a passionate home cook for 30 years. Cooking at home is lots of fun, much cheaper than eating out, and your friends can come over and eat for free.
I've found that unless I'm at a very upscale restaurant, most of the food served to me at mid-range houses is a very poor second to what I can do in my small apartment galley kitchen.
Don't get me started on the countless of strip-mall Chinese and Thai places that should be arrested for "Felony Simulated Asian Cuisine" for the glop they serve. Well. . .maybe it's a just misdemeanor, but still Yuk! Buy a Fuschia Dunlop or Andrea Nguyen cookbook, stock your pantry, and you can do much better.
I've found that unless I'm at a very upscale restaurant, most of the food served to me at mid-range houses is a very poor second to what I can do in my small apartment galley kitchen.
Don't get me started on the countless of strip-mall Chinese and Thai places that should be arrested for "Felony Simulated Asian Cuisine" for the glop they serve. Well. . .maybe it's a just misdemeanor, but still Yuk! Buy a Fuschia Dunlop or Andrea Nguyen cookbook, stock your pantry, and you can do much better.
7
Silly advice. If something floats your boat, that's fine for you. However, many of us are good cooks and can prepare wonderful meals at home, but we ALSO like to go out to eat at good restaurants where we can try new dishes, eat things we just would never make ourselves no matter how good we are, get together with friends without all the work of prep and clean up, and simply take a night off from spending time in the kitchen. And when we travel we look for good places to eat. Your answer works for you--that doesn't mean it applies to everyone--or anyone--else.
1
Right up front: I have never worked in a restaurant kitchen. From the little I know I can't imagine why ANYONE would put themselves through what I imagine it's like to work in these kitchens. Lousy pay, lousy hours, treated lousily. Why?
This article doesn't surprise me in the least bit.
This article doesn't surprise me in the least bit.
28
Like a second marriage, it is the triumph of hope over experience.
3
I worked in a restaurant. It was because it was what was available. And, yes, it had lousy pay, lousy hours, and I was treated lousily. Why did I stay? It was what was available. Why did I go? Because something else opened up. Walked out the door and never looked back
9
Canlis has it right. I used to work in restaurants and all the moaning from chef's about the "new generation" in this article really gets to me. The shortage of cooks is a self inflicted wound that chefs made for themselves. You can blame the internet, TV, Wholefoods, or whoever else you want, (and surely these factors contribute to the shortage) but at the end of the day there are too many egomaniacal chefs out there abusing their underpaid and overworked staff. Don't give me the whole "this is how its always been" line either. Just because there is a history of abuse and burnout in the industry doesn't make it right. The model may still work at Per Se but the rest of the industry is going to have to revaluate it's culture if it wants to solve this issue.
113
This is absolutely true. Slave wages equals no workers. The fact is that when the economy was down restaurants abused cooks - low wages or unpaid internships. Now they have a shortage and no loyalty. I wonder why?
17
The headline should read "Not Enough Cooks in the Restaurant Kitchen---who are willing to work for the low-ball pay and conditions offered by management"
Restaurants want more chefs? Pay better.
Oh wait.....that cuts into profits for the owners.
Restaurants want more chefs? Pay better.
Oh wait.....that cuts into profits for the owners.
146
"Oh wait.....that cuts into profits for the owners."
And the landlords.
And the landlords.
11
As a former/retired chef, It is painful to go out to eat now when I travel to cities
like, Miami, Boston, Las Vegas, L.A. and San Francicco.
Last week in Wahington DC I went to an upscale Italian joint and ordered
a cocktail, (a Manhattan) It was $18.00, not counting tax and tip.
I ordered an appetizer and an entrée, no desert, coffe etc.
The food was good as was the entire Central American staff.
With two glasses of wine this cost me $140. including tax and tip....ouch!
Unless you got to a nice ethnic restaurant, this is the new norm.
like, Miami, Boston, Las Vegas, L.A. and San Francicco.
Last week in Wahington DC I went to an upscale Italian joint and ordered
a cocktail, (a Manhattan) It was $18.00, not counting tax and tip.
I ordered an appetizer and an entrée, no desert, coffe etc.
The food was good as was the entire Central American staff.
With two glasses of wine this cost me $140. including tax and tip....ouch!
Unless you got to a nice ethnic restaurant, this is the new norm.
55
The best way to change that is to simply not go. So long as people are willing to pay $140 for what you've described then there will always be someone willing to provide it.
7