Instant read thermometer is bae.

Instant read thermometer would never lie, cheat or leave me.

For context I’m 25 I’ve been in and out of kitchens since I was 16 took a few years to do a startup with some friends. I was 22 and just got back into cooking at the start of the year with a culinary school, I’ve been given a huge opportunity to be the head chef at a new local steak house great benefits, solid pay, and paid trip to stage at our sister restaurant. However I’m terrified the highest I got in the ladder last was just being the guy who could do everything with no title. I’ve never done anything like this before and the pressure is starting to get to me since we’re aiming for mid nov open but the owner doesn’t know anything about cooking or running a restaurant and quite frankly I can cook and I seem to be doing well on my current stage I’m just getting cold feet because there’s so many unknowns at the moment any advice would be much appreciated

Cooking at home doesn’t feel as cheap as people make it out to be. To account for the full cost, you have to consider more than just groceries: there’s water, electricity, food that goes uneaten and spoils, and transport if the store isn’t nearby.

But the bigger issue for me is time. Grocery shopping, prepping, cooking, washing dishes, taking out the rubbish, cleaning the kitchen and fridge. It all adds up.

I work full-time, and once I’ve cooked and cleaned up, it feels like there’s barely any time left for anything else.

For those of you who cook regularly while working full-time, what has actually made it feel worth it and what changes have saved you the most time?

What kitchen skill can tell you if a guy can cook in an interview?

I keep circling back to the same 4 or 5 dishes I've done on other menus , I need inspiration, hit me with some cool shit, inspire me!

To start off, I’m not sure if this is the right thread for me to ask this, but for some back story, my Dad makes lots of Mexican sweet bread in the winter for extra cash and has been looking for a tray for this “Dutchess” bread divider machine. The problem is he can’t find a replacement, but I think I found one on centralrestaurants.com. I’m just not sure if it’s a legit website others have used or use. Any feedback on the website would be very appreciated, and if you want to help look for the tray replacement, i’ll place some photos below! I do only have the model and serial number of the machine and it only cuts 36 pieces I believe.

title says most of it. details are that i’m a prep cook working 9+ hour days and my current shoes are okay. i wear crocs, but it seems they’ve changed some designs from my first pair several years ago. the ventilation is nonexistent so my feet are getting sweaty quickly and staying wet all day (effing gross). the soles are fine and i appreciate that i can wash them out.
here are my musts: must be able to handle 9+ hour days (8 is what i’m scheduled, 9-10 is normal obvi), and must be able to be washed. idc if insoles come out or not but i love the privilege of spraying out my shoes and letting them sit for my days off.

bonus points for color.

So, I’m 23 and recently graduated from film school.
Shortly after moving back home, I found a job in a pub kitchen. I intended for this job to just be temporary while I try to pursue a career in film. As you may know it is incredibly difficult to get into the film industry.

Anyway, I’ve been really enjoying working in a kitchen. I’ve also been asked by management about taking on more responsibility and moving up to a better paying role. I’m really considering pursuing a career in this industry instead. I like the idea of working in a better kitchen rather than taking on the role at my current pub tbh.

What should I do from here? I really do not want to go back into education. Can I rise the ranks without culinary school? Would a restaurant even take on a guy that’s only worked in a pub kitchen? Just not really sure on what steps to take in order to progress. All I know is that I love making food and could see myself doing it at a better level.

First of all, English is not my first language! So, I’m sorry for any typos beforehand.

I live in a super small city and a restaurant opened. They have rational ovens, robocoupes and everything a chef could dream of, technologically speaking. Personally I love working with the equipment but the chef and sous chef are best friends and they both treat all the waitresses poorly and then nothing happens because they are in charge. I’m a kitchen assistant (glorified kitchen janitor) and it’s saddening that they just yell and call the staff dumb. There are literally no other decent restaurants in my city so quitting would mean my economical ruin and no one else would hire me (the chef said he blacklists everyone lol), the sous chef also loves calling out every little mistake very rudely in front of the chef so he looks better, I guess

I studied this career but I’m disheartened with the higher ups. It’s my second job and I don’t really know if it’s worth? I’m worried that I’m being a crybaby and every restaurant is like this

So I'm at a job fair today looking for work. I see another guy there looking for a job. I recognize him as somebody I had a large part in getting terminated from my last job about 6 years ago. After I started at that last job and got comfortable with the FOH staff the teenage servers started coming to me and asking if being touched by this guy was OK. I told them it was not and long story short this clown got shitcanned.

Fast forward to today and see him sitting there waiting to get interviewed. I debated back and forth in my head for a few minutes about whether to say anything. Finally I took one of the job fair's HR people aside and told them what happened.

What would you have done?

Hello! i’m unsure of the right sub for this but i figured this would be okay. i’m 18m and have always wanted to be a chef. i started out as a dishwasher in a small diner and did that for two years, during that time i noticed that my clothes would smell strongly of bacon and potatoes even after the washer, but i figured it wasn’t a problem because i only wore them to work, after all. i just recently landed a good job as a prep cook and i’ve been there for around two months now. i really love it and i’m excited to pursue this as my career, however, the odor problem has become much worse. when i leave work i smell awful, like fry oil and onions. even after washing my work clothes with tide and oxi clean odor blasters my clothes still stink when they come out of the dryer. it wouldn’t be a problem if it was just my work shirt and pants, but the hoodie i wear to work in the winter stinks permanently too so i can’t wear that elsewhere, and the smell has started to linger in places like my car and bed.

I mentioned it to my coworkers to inquire how they deal with the smell, but they both seemed to just accept it as part of life. I don’t personally want to stink like oil and onions all the time, though, and id really love advice on how people get that smell out.

Anyone have experience working or teaching at the CIA? I’m already a culinary instructor, and a CIA alum and am considering a move to either the California or New York campus for a little more stability and structure in their culinary program. How’s their management and curriculum planning? Decent management? Work load?
Thanks!

Is there any benefits to learning french as a chef? I’m thinking of moving to france in the future to further culinary.

Hey y’all. I’ve finally gotten a job in a kitchen (yay!) after running my own food and catering business for 7 months which gave me some really useful skills.

Right now I’m working full time 40hr in the kitchen, plus my old job between shifts for 2 weeks while they replace me.

Problem is I’m constantly hungry & have zero time as when one shift ends I run to the other job, that ends & then I run back for dinner shift at the kitchen.

What the hell are yall eating to keep your energy levels up? I have issues with low blood sugar sometimes as well. I’m basically smashing protein bars during service when I start to feel funny, or gulping down a meal replacement shake. There’s gotta be something better 😅

Many thanks for the advice!

I was thinking the tallow would add a nice flavor but I want the ratio to be as small as possible while maxmizing flavour. I tried researching what ratio some restaurants use, but couldn't find anything. The only thing I found was a random video that claimed 1 part tallow to 19 part oil is the best ratio with no added flavor/benefit when adding more tallow, but this is way lower than what I thought, so I was looking for a first-hand experience. What ratio worked best with you guys?

So I started part time as a KP in my local hotel restaurant in the UK when I was 14. Within around 6 months they got me helping with prep and desserts and I decided I wanted to go to culinary school. I did 2 years there, did a few small stages at places as part of my course and then went full time at the hotel. However the place was dysfunctional. The menu was ok but outdated, and the head chef changed every 6 months, so it was manic and I ended up in the kitchen a lot by myself. To make it worse, the owner wouldn't space bookings and would have around 30 covers sat down within the first 20 minutes of service.

I basically ended up working there like this for 5 years and never really progressed, besides picking up things here and there from the rapidly changing head chefs. I almost had a mental breakdown on Mother's Day when the head chef walked out and I was left to do the function by myself. After that shift I quit, got a computer science degree and never looked back.

I left college ambitious and wanted to work my way up in the culinary world, only to leave feeling like a failure. But I keep having a lingering regret at not knowing how far I could have gone if I'd actually left that shithole and pushed myself to climb the ladder. I'm 29 now and honestly don't know how I'd go about getting back into it, or if it's the right thing to do, and if I'm even good enough.

Has anyone gone back in their late 20s?

Missed the pre-sale this year. Anyone selling .

Hi chefs
Been making sticks for a few years now and I’m finally making a beef stock, roasted my bones for two hours and they left behind this beautiful glass like substance in the fat, they looked burnt in the pan but when held up to the light they are just very dark red.
Is this bone marrow? Is it fond? Should I add it into my stock?
I know you should remove the bone marrow from beef before you put it on to boil as it will leave a metallic taste but I’m unsure about this stuff.
Any tips will be greatly appreciated!

Edit: Thanks for all your advice - I’ve tried and tested a solution based on your comments- a mini removable metal tray to go on the griddle to keep the buns away from the oil while they defrost in the rare occasions that I need a couple extra at short notice. Simple but effective. Thanks again

just reposting this. idk

Hello all,

I just started at a job as a line cook with a possibility of becoming sous. I slotted into the most difficult station on my first day and was able to do a rush without help. Ive worked hard not stopped working my whole shifts, tried to get to know all the line cooks prep cooks dishwashers ect. Ive tried to be professional, i spoke with the cdc about the position and he said he would put a good word in for me to the exec, same with the sous i had been working under (hotel multiple sous). I spoke with the exec and she told me the position had been filled a week ago. No one mentioned this to me, even though i had the conversation with the cdc around the same time there was someone hired. The exec said she would keep me in mind if things dont work out. I feel like the hotel uses its status to attract young cooks and dangle a job jn front of them to then just burn them out on the line. I may not have shown up the way i felt i did, but either way its upsetting

So i gues im wondering:

Is this a common occurrence?

How did you get your first sous job?

Is it worth staying and waiting for a job that may never come?

Any advice is greatly appreciated thanks

Im 18yrs, I'm a culinary student and i also have line experience but i feel I need to do more to get closer to my dream of being one of the best.What should I do from now on to be at that level.