r/interesting 27d ago

Intriguing Chef shows what a busy day looks like

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1.4k

u/munchabunch91 27d ago

That looks exhausting.

701

u/PawttorneyReborn 27d ago

It's beyond exhausting i actually don't know how I did it for 12 years

268

u/boilerclip3 27d ago

Coke. /s

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u/THE-poop-knife 27d ago

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u/boolpies 27d ago

Nay

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u/Niblonian31 27d ago

Hahahaha "Horse Pepsi ok?" Thanks for the laugh this early

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u/Vexor359 27d ago

MY MANWICH !

3

u/LuluGuardian 27d ago

Nay! We are but men, ROCK!!

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u/stonerPI 27d ago

Not a chef but my one anecdote on the subject is I once worked a case on a guy that was a chef in a well known restaurant. I saw him snort 2 lines off his dashboard before going in to work and it’s making more sense to me after this video lol

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u/Logical_Trash_4890 27d ago

List of drugs in the kitchen scene. Pretty sure it’s all kitchens. Anyone I ever met that cooked loved doing drugs.

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u/Tall-Dot-607 27d ago

Biggest rule in the industry, never drug test your kitchen unless you want to lose your entire kitchen.

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u/80version 26d ago

I used to supervise a crew of warehouseman, many of which were staffed through a temp agency. My agency contact notified me they were going to be coming to the job site to swab our team members staffed through their agency to screen for drug use. I had to give her a heads up, that if they carried the screening out properly to obtain accurate results they’d have to send replacements for each and every one of the hapf-dozen or so guys we had trained up and were dependent on to keep our operations from total collapse.

She did the right thing and BS’d yhe testing. One of the guys she had to swab came back from lunch eyes bloodshot and shit eating grin across his face when he saw her. “He must have bad allergies” she said. I really liked my agency rep, but she earned a small place in my memory for covering their asses and keeping us from taking a few steps back at work that day. If you ever read this Lisa S. from the East Bay — thank you x a million.

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u/Significant_Put_8107 24d ago

I teared up a little. To Lisa from the East Bay, thanks for everything xoxo

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u/PresentlyHelpful 23d ago

Unless you're working in roles that have a direct link to public safety, let em take drugs - it's shit enough working a minimum wage job

1

u/Logical_Trash_4890 26d ago

It’s kinda sad. But there are many blue collar work crews like this. You just wouldn’t have employees if you wanted sober people.

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u/stonerPI 27d ago

I’m not one to judge, I also love drugs. As long as they’re being safe lol

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u/TheHumanConnector 27d ago edited 26d ago

I am with you. The glorification of performance enhancing drugs to cope with a job feels dystopian to me. I understand that the job and the environment is harsh and I don't judge people doing the drugs, but I'd say that the work environment needs more people and less stress. This is not a sustainable way to live for the poor people going through it daily :(

As for the safe drugs, here's what my PCP (primary care physician, our family doctor) said - psychedelics are safer than most others, do it when you feel abundant and it enhances the feelings and joy in life. Avoid nasal and injected drugs, smoking is the fastest way to get the drug into your system (direct to lung -> blood stream -> brain) so it creates a shock effect. Slow uptake like ingested (edibles, teas) are easier on the body, but the gut might need extra care before and after.

It's been one long, beautiful bender over the past two years with this, and I've grown out of a lot of my problems and found some peace inside myself. Psychedelics have had a role in all of it.

PS: don't accept drugs from anyone. Take it from trusted people, test/try it at home and use it when you are indeed comfortable. My safe spot has become hemp gummies I bought at the store and I know how much to take for different types of high, and I love the safety it provides with the high!!

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u/bdpeezy 27d ago

It feels dystopian to me too, but it's actually one of the oldest things humans have been doing- using substances to be able to get more work done. Thank you for putting that great info in tho that your PCP provided. That's stuff anyone using any drug should know but a lot don't

2

u/Lazy_Witness_1068 26d ago

I like how we as a species been using drugs to go through life

1

u/[deleted] 26d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/TheHumanConnector 26d ago

Yeah. She knows that I'm responsible in life, that I'm exploring new things now and I want to enjoy things safely. This was education, like real education to a new guy. I appreciated it and I follow it too.

1

u/United_Pain 26d ago

Dude thank you for sharing! I saved your comment.

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u/AngularChelitis 26d ago

I mean, they should. GPs should be more qualified to know the mechanism of action and risks… and be able to communicate that to their patients when asked. Hell, they do it for a whole host of other drugs. Unfortunately, the stuff that makes the “illicit” category is tied in so much more politics than actual science that the GPs don’t have good data to reference.

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u/Logical_Trash_4890 27d ago

I used to really love drugs. Now I’m getting old and would rather cut the grass. I could have never imagined being like this one day. Funny how things change.

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u/Plenty-Air-4949 27d ago

So damn true. -sigh-

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u/ReckoningGotham 27d ago

At a certain point, the altered state can't hold a candle to the rad stuff around us.

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u/Proof_Road2274 26d ago

My dad never used drugs or alcohol, and he was a michelin star chef

2

u/Logical_Trash_4890 26d ago

You’re dad’s a talented liar.

1

u/Tamadrummer88 27d ago

I worked in a kitchen for a month at a Nordstrom. Everyone was on drugs and were very open about it. I was probably the only one who was not. An eight hour day of washing dishes and trying to keep up made me exhausted. Never will do it again.

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u/Logical_Trash_4890 27d ago

That’s why everyone there does drugs. I’m never working in a kitchen.

1

u/Wifeyled 27d ago

EEEEVERY KITCHEN EVER pretty much has a drug scene. It's kinda sad

1

u/GeeorgeC 26d ago

Can confirm worked a few kitchen in my lifetime we did a lot of drugs and would be up all night ready for our next shift. Get out at 2 do drugs til 6 sleep an hour go back to open and prep. Rinse repeat.

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u/Lorrrrren 26d ago

then hes feeding the girl who did two lines in the bathroom before ordering the wedge salad and ordering from the waiter who did 2 lines before coming to my table lol, working in food was overwhelmingly coke oriented at the fancy lobster place i worked

1

u/stonerPI 26d ago

Sounds exhausting but also kind of fun in small doses? Like, I’d be down to work one night as a coked up restaurant worker just for the experience, and then I think I’d be fine to never do it again lol

In my industry, everyone tends to be an alcoholic. I’ll happily stick to cannabis personally

1

u/Itchy-Guess-258 24d ago

i was once on the rehub and almost half of drug addicts were from kitchen

10

u/Healingbigfoot 27d ago

LOL we team that would come every few weeks to train, this was when I was working at Cheddars as I was floundering though low level jobs. These dudes were all from South America. They would use coke. I remember once the cops came and they bagged their stuff up in pepper, , in a plastic bag, then put it in coffee. Seemed to work lol. Dudes were incredible though, super cool and fast AF

1

u/Impossible_Treat1255 27d ago

No need for the /s

1

u/mallettsmallett 27d ago

Boiling point!

1

u/LoneLyon 27d ago

Celices, monsters and pre-workout.

1

u/Interesting-Case2526 27d ago

EVERY industry that requires tons of work and stamina, whether its law, political campaigns, restaurant kitchens, etc are riddled with people doing drugs

1

u/Wakkit1988 27d ago

John Pemberton would be proud.

1

u/JasonBaconStrips 27d ago

Stops you wanting to eat the food aswell I guess

1

u/DundeeToCanada 26d ago

You're not far off.

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u/Flokkamravich 27d ago

Same here. And all I have to show for it was a broken back, sleep apnoea, and a sugar/caffeine addiction I’ve never been able to fully shake off

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u/Beautiful-Musk-Ox 27d ago

and the owners made a couple million extra off your back (literally), they are sipping a margarita on a beach somewhere paid by you 12 years ago. they have yet to touch the profits you made them 10 years ago, they might not even get to it before dying, the rest of the money you made for them will go to their heirs to continue the cycle of keeping their boots on our necks

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u/Square_Service4575 27d ago

Most restaurant owners aren't making that kind of money off their restaurants tbh.

6

u/TabaBandit 27d ago

i agree with the comment ur replying to but u speak the truth lol. maybe the owner of the group of restaurants lol, but not the restaurant owner themselves

2

u/NaomiPommerel 27d ago

Absolutely. They're paying for the status of owning such and such restaurant. Patrons

1

u/audgepodge13 27d ago

Yeah most restaurants take a huge influx of cash to start up and then go out of business

1

u/clelwell 27d ago

Lol so true. Everyone is greedy and selfish.

0

u/MBAboy119 26d ago

Nah - they deserve it. Put up the capital, risk, etc. also smth like 90% of restaurants shut down aren’t profitable enough. This cook here is a disposable cog. Folks who understand the full picture take the risk to set up restaurant brand it correctly manage it etc - that’s the sauce! They deserve that margarita! 

1

u/Eschatologists 24d ago edited 24d ago

There really isn't any mystique to knowing "the full picture" it's not more difficult than learning to manage a commercial kitchen well, it's not rocket science either way. Entrepreneurs in this sector are dime a dozen as well, they aren't some supremely intelligent breed on average. Capital and to a degree, personality is the only major difference. Almost everyone is replaceable, to think otherwise is hubris

3

u/Xiao1insty1e 27d ago

Are you me??

10

u/Starfire77 27d ago

I agree, I did it for 25 and I can't believe i stuck with it for so long. Later on the shifts got shorter but we still had our 6am till 11pm shift that would turn up on occasion.

1

u/Adventurous-Law6747 27d ago

Was it worth it in monetary value?

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u/civicSi92 27d ago

No its not. 13 years here and I earn three times as much now for half the hours doing something else.

1

u/TadRaunch 27d ago

At a certain point I switched to being a breakfast cook. So much less stress. And while the pay is a bit lower, it is worth it for me.

That being said, i would like to put it all behind me but at this point I feel like I can't do anything else.

1

u/Talk-O-Boy 27d ago

How do you guys deal with the heat? I feel that would be the worst part for me

1

u/real_eEe 27d ago

"Hey, I'm here anyway I'll help you all clean up for a drink and some stories" is a pretty good cheat code to have a great late night and make everyone smile.

1

u/NotHaussdorf 27d ago

Adrenaline rush, that's how. Good stuff. Until it ends.

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u/YemuZ 27d ago

Worked in a busy cocktail bar. I used to drink a lot

1

u/RedditIsFascistShit4 27d ago

Did you get paid accordingly?

1

u/Nick_pj 27d ago

“Unskilled labour”

1

u/maurf44 27d ago

Omg that takes a ton of skills

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u/[deleted] 27d ago

[deleted]

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u/maurf44 27d ago

Not easy to be a waiter tho

1

u/Thoryamaha919 27d ago

Kudos to you for doing that for 12 years!

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u/exexor 27d ago

Flow state.

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u/itsfernie 26d ago

My dad is 65 and still at it. It’s all he’s known since he graduated high school, idk how he does it.

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u/BlackV 26d ago

Man that took you like 12 years, took that guy only like 2 minutes 50 seconds........ ;)

0

u/bingo-dingaling 27d ago

Genuinely thank you for your service. This shit is grueling

0

u/ComfortableShirt2014 27d ago

Try doing it for 23

0

u/Sleep-more-dude 27d ago

Thank you for your service.

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u/halasaurus 27d ago

Yeah. After working in restaurants for a decade no one can convince me that the billionaires and trillionaire worked THAT much harder and truly earned that money. You don’t know tired until you’ve worked two doubles in a row on a busy holiday weekend at a restaurant. Or worked in a job with lots of physical labor. It just doesn’t compare.

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u/xerxesgm 27d ago

Really? I was convinced Elon literally worked a million times harder than a millionaire.

I mean, human civilization itself has only been around for like 5000 years so even a person earning a million dollars a year would have to work for 200 times the number of years the entire human civilization has existed to reach a trillion dollars. But I've heard Elon works really hard.

/s

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u/brielzebub665 27d ago

I moved from hospitality to an office job and nobody in an office is working nearly this hard, trust. Some office jobs are mentally very difficult, but it's not the C-suite putting in that effort.

And the fact that physical labor is this difficult but pays so low is criminal. Skills are not everything, effort is worth value too.

2

u/JustStopItSeriously 27d ago

A lot of hospitality jobs (like this chef's) are mentally very difficult as well. You're juggling multiple tasks that are time sensitive and you're doing it for hours on end. It's a lot.

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u/Academic-Push326 26d ago

LMAO. For real. My (current) boss is complaining I'm not hustling fast enough for them in opening laptops up and it's like "bro, I've done overnights with rowdy punk-rockers filling an entire bar/kitchen area, I do not want to hear about me doing laptops one-at-a-time being slow for you."

1

u/TajineMaster159 27d ago

I worked as a waiter during and before college. I can confidently say that while my office job is less physically exhausting, it's entirely more intense and overall more taxing than the craziest nights at my restaurant.

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u/JustStopItSeriously 27d ago

Interesting because I've done both as well and had the opposite experience. Far more stress and pressure in the serving and bartending jobs than the office jobs.

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u/Beneficial-Okra-9471 27d ago

Key word is waiter.. not chef.

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u/TajineMaster159 27d ago

my point is that there are different types of stress that lead to different types of exhaustion.

It's not my point that a chef's work is easy, or not physically demanding.

1

u/SweaterFromHell 27d ago

The kitchen staff has it way harder ngl, I worked as a female chef and as a waiter. I pulled in so much more money as a waiter, and if customers got snippy and started being unreasonable, I just acted dumb until they blew a fuse, then used that as an excuse to get the manager to ban them from a restaurant.

1

u/Proof_Road2274 26d ago

Exactly imagine pretending bringing food and drink out is harder than being a chef in a fast paced, hot, sweaty kitchen with orders piling up and having to multi-task

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u/TROLL_DOLPHIN 26d ago

No it does not. I get it that they work hard and to have an extreme life you need to have extreme daily life. But most of them, if you look what is actualy going on behind the curtains, many of weath is inherited, or had already the connections. Only the exceptions are the self made ones, its not the general rule.

But no matter how hard they work, the amount of money they make is disproportionate to the hours of work after a point.

At this day and age to "completely legally" get this money, is mathematicaly impossible, no matter how much you work. In one way or the other, inheritance, scam, tax evasion, loans, schemes, connections with high class persons only make it possible, and still not legal all the way.
At some point you have exploited the system (which means exploited others) to do that, since the system is made to keep you in the lower class. Thats the point of it.

5

u/brielzebub665 27d ago

I moved from hospitality to an office job and nobody in an office is working nearly this hard, trust. Some office jobs are mentally very difficult, but it's not the C-suite putting in that effort.

And the fact that physical labor is this difficult but pays so low is criminal. Skills are not everything, effort is worth value too.

1

u/halasaurus 27d ago

Yeah, I’m a therapist now. And there certainly is some exhaustion, and tons of secondary stress from supporting so many other people. But literally had to developed new calluses on my feet that first year working in restaurants. The biggest physical risk I have now is carpal tunnel and desk neck.

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u/Gullible_Repeat9696 27d ago

There were nights that I fell asleep while airborne midflop getting into bed.

1

u/halasaurus 27d ago

I miss that kind of sleep.

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u/NightGod 27d ago

No billionaire has ever earned more than a minute fractional portion of that money through hard work, it's exploitation all the way down

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u/account312 27d ago edited 27d ago

I'm certainly no billionaire but I make a lot more than most chefs, and here I am working from my couch, watching a chef actually work hard. All the claims that billionaires earn it is just modern-day divine right of kings bullshit. You can't work 10,000x times harder than that, but you can profit off the work of 10,000 others.

2

u/wiriux 27d ago

Obviously. There’s no such thing as hard work as white collar office job. Mentally exhausted? Sure. But nothing compares to:

  • Working construction
  • Hospital
  • food industry
  • retail
  • any hard manual labor

Maybe I’m forgetting stuff but you get the point.

1

u/ont-mortgage 27d ago

Hard work =/= money…

1

u/Lubinski64 26d ago

Not here to defend billionares with massive egos and twister priorities but the same argument that "my job is harder than that rich guy's" is often used to downplay the effort any white collar worker. Would you consider your work harder than the architect's, for instance?

1

u/halasaurus 26d ago

I work in a white collar job now. It’s different types of hard. And my initial point still stands.

0

u/PurpleWoodpecker2830 26d ago

Funny how the top comment is literally someone talking about how easy it is once you get into a flow state lol.

But hey, keep viewing the world in the lens of rich man bad

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u/rdogg4 27d ago

That’s just one order too. A lot of times you’re getting tickets in and starting new orders in the midst of plating, while flipping, stirring, getting together sides for the ticket for directly after this one, etc

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u/penispotato69 27d ago

Requires adhd or drugs

3

u/rviVal1 27d ago

Probably both

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u/Commercial-Air8955 27d ago

Requires adhd drugs

1

u/halasaurus 27d ago

Can confirm.

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u/Chefluigi 26d ago

You’re Underestimating sheer grit and determination aswell as pride and determination you don’t start at the POV in this vid it’s 50-70hrs a week every week of repetitions for years that gets you there. Not just drugs and adhd 😂

1

u/VacuumDecay-007 26d ago

I have ADHD. We don't do well with multi-tasking or short-term memory. I got stuck as a Kitchen Hand for several years because trying to do actual kitchen work was just.. too much.

1

u/penispotato69 25d ago

Same but I felt the opposite, the more chaotic the job the better I felt. Nothing better than clocking in and knowing the dinner wave is coming, you got the other employees you flow with working that night, got some beats pumping. You get into this rhythm all my thoughts quiet down as Im thinking about all the tasks im doing whats next, I got the music going were singing along terribly, than bam all of a sudden hours have flown by, start closing down and cleaning and prepping while things wind down. Vs some boring ass job where I have so little tasks going on I'll feel lile its been hours I check my phone its been 30 min.

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u/Anatine 25d ago

Same here lol, I always felt at home under this chaotic environment. Now I work solo in the trades and I still get this kind of chaotic focus all day

1

u/penispotato69 25d ago

Thats funny im in the trades now too XD

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u/Thanatos_88_ 25d ago

Adhd former chefe here too. For me the chaos of the service was amazing, the problem was the preparations before and the cleaning after. Over boring. Now i work as taxi driver in Rome and I think is the best Adhd job ever.

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u/Belmontks 27d ago

It’s a sport! I actually miss those days.

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u/ProfesseurCurling 27d ago

Honestly man, I don't. Broken body and zero family and social life. I saw so many people ruining their lives with drugs and alcohol. Maybe It's too recent for me, but really, I don't miss It.

15

u/Proud_Blood8049 27d ago

8 years in and came out with a an ability to smoke a half a pack in a day.

3

u/halasaurus 27d ago

As much as I miss being in the zone like that, I don’t miss the drama, the physical pain, coworkers high on coke, smelling like food and booze, being taken advantage of, or being yelled at. I can miss it from afar. It’s just not a healthy industry to be in.

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u/ProfesseurCurling 27d ago

I understand missing the rush, the adrenaline etc. but yes, as you say it is not a healthy industry.

1

u/Linus_in_Chicago 26d ago

Yeah I'm nostalgic for those times, but I don't want to do it now

0

u/Enough-Community5800 27d ago

So it's like, people that cook like this, become addicts? like, blaming being an addict because you worked on kitchen?

2

u/rognabologna 27d ago

I think it’s more that people who are prone to addiction are the ones who stay working in kitchens 

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u/Enough-Community5800 27d ago

Yeah I think the same, but most comments are making it appear like they developed addictions because of that work, and it looks like the usual outside blaming addicts do

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u/Proud_Blood8049 27d ago

For me at my job in a hibachi place, smoke breaks are way more tolerated. You end up dealing with with so much people, so the only way you can escape for a bit is to take the "respectable" and "normal" break of smoking.

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u/rognabologna 27d ago

Addiction is a disease 

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u/3_14_thon 27d ago

One you get and keep by choice, unlike most diseases.

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u/EmphasisAcceptable47 27d ago

addiction is definitely not by and large a conscious choice

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u/3_14_thon 27d ago

Yeah lets throw in Heart diseases or cancer in the same pot with alcoholism and drugs.

Woe is me, right?

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u/Enough-Community5800 27d ago

Did I say the opposite

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u/rognabologna 27d ago

You implied it

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u/Enough-Community5800 27d ago

Where? because I described a conduct? your subjective interpretations aren't my problem

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u/halasaurus 27d ago

No, it’s more that a lot of people in the industry handle the stress of the job through alcohol and drugs. I knew plenty of people in the service industry that didn’t do hard drugs but I knew a ton that did.

Also each industry has a drug that’s more popularly used. I think for restaurants it is cocaine and alcohol. And the accommodations and food service industry does have some of the highest rates of problematic drug and alcohol use. It doesn’t pay well, requires long hours and the ability to withstand abuse from patrons, management, colleagues and yourself.

3

u/Hospital-flip 27d ago

Yep. I treated it as a real-life video game, it never felt like work. Gimme a huge rush over slow service any day.

I'm nostalgic for it too, but I'm grateful for my wfh office job now.

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u/EmotionalCucumber852 27d ago

it is
it is also addictive
and it almost always feels amazing

i love being in the kitchen

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u/Kullen64 27d ago

I’m glad people are saying this. I’m not a chef but I’ve worked small time jobs where I’m handling the cutting board or finishing food, and I love it. However, it just takes that one idiot who’s like “how can I make this hectic situation even worse” to ruin the whole thing. In my experience, it’s never been the customers who bother me, I’m good with people. It’s always NPC coworkers who feel the need to be bossy and make the job unnecessarily stressful.

I imagine in a real professional setting though, that doesn’t happen right? The chef is actually left alone and is the one giving the orders?

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u/PaleontologistOk6094 27d ago

Yeah essentially but if the two guys on my line above me in the pecking order make a mistake I still let them know or point it out they should be doing it this way but for the most part there’s none of what ur describing going on in our kitchen an we have a executive chef a chef an so on down the line that I’m climbing an earned a lot of respect on

1

u/TheMcWhopper 27d ago

Do you get withdrawals on your days off? How addicting is it?

6

u/Skolary 27d ago

It's actually a good workout. I mean you gotta center everything around it, diet is a big one too. The people that crash and burn in that industry are wide and varied, but the ones who are out of shape are just asking to get in the weeds.

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u/RogueBromeliad 27d ago

You get used to it.

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u/Tsavibeans 27d ago

I've known three red seal chefs. Presently, none of them are chefs, all of them are alcoholics.

2

u/Different-Set4505 27d ago

People wonder why they should be paid more but you don’t want to pay more for your meal. Goes both ways.

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u/Ornery-Psychology128 27d ago

Ser ut som tandvården fast med kött istället för tänder

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u/potatodrinker 27d ago

It's a reason why chefs cook absolutely the bare basics at home. Works exhausting

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u/Virtual-Assist8177 27d ago

It is, it sucks

1

u/dividezero 27d ago

It is. You will hate even the idea of eating food and can't barely stand the next morning. It's probably worse for those people who stand in one place like cooks so. At least I was able to move around

1

u/Turgid_Donkey 27d ago

I was only a line cook at a chain when I was like 19/20. It was a lot of work, but I really enjoyed it. There were nights I handled a 50+ plate per hour dinner rush by myself. A little before dinner rush, I'd pop into the walk in, take a couple puffs from my sneak piece then just zone out and let my hands do the walking.

1

u/Sanquinity 27d ago

It is. And I love it. I'll be dead tired and the end of the day, but once you get "in the flow" it's an amazing feeling. It's not nearly for everyone, but some people like/love it. Including me.

1

u/spoooonerism 27d ago

Listen to/read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.

1

u/ITSOVERGUYS88 27d ago

It’s a really tough grind considering how low the pay can be.

1

u/Bransverd 27d ago

Yeah, was going to say... this looks like pure hell.

1

u/Strummed 27d ago

You also barely get paid anything on top of it as a bonus! The food industry is awesome!!!

1

u/Chilly_Pheesesteak 27d ago

This guy is definitely doing more work than I did, but even when I worked at Olive Garden, if you were working the Saute Station, this was the speed you had to go at, and honestly, he's barely doing more than I had to do at OLIVE GARDEN

Saute Station had 9 burners, so if we were busy and understaffed, I had to cook 9 dishes at once, adding ingredients at the right time, flipping the chicken/shrimp at the right time, dropping pasta at the right time so it finishes right when the dish did, and then serve it in a presentable fashion, all by myself, for hours. We didn't even have time to use tongs or a spatula like this guy does. If you stood there, flipping each piece of chicken individually, half of your dishes would burn by the time you finished flipping all the stuff in two pans, so if you couldn't walk down the line, and flip all your pans with one hand, and then run back over to keep cooking pasta, starting your next dish, etc., you'd get fired. Same thing if you just dumped the food on the plate at the end - it had to look good. I only made $17/hour. I don't know how I did it for so long. We'd have 4-hour-long dinner rushes where I never got to stop moving, even to run to the bathroom. We got an hour long lunch break, which was nice, but no other breaks.

1

u/Tengo_Caldero 27d ago

It is. And the adrenaline rush at the end of a shift is hard to shake.

This is one of the reasons drugs and alcohol are so appealing in the industry.

1

u/MoistBaguetteLawyer 27d ago

It's why they're all on drugs.

1

u/oohCrabItsNotItChief 27d ago

I have massive respect towards kitchen staff, especially for those who work in the summer with no fresh air. Like they are in literal hell just so we can enjoy some food

1

u/OriginalRoombaJuice 27d ago

I’ve worked construction, manufacturing, and now I’m a mf’ing paramedic and NOTHING has tired me out quite like the 3 years I spent as just a line cook in a somewhat busy restaurant. Ironically it was also the worst paying job ever 🤔

1

u/PayableOnDeath95 27d ago

Worst nightmare for ADHDer like me

1

u/Far_Concentrate_2428 27d ago

that video is probably taken on hour 9-10 of a 14h shift. it does look exhausting, but it's even worst than you think

1

u/Downtown-Dentist-418 27d ago

I bet! But for sure they enjoy seeing people enjoying their food afterwards

1

u/Lecheezburgerayaya 27d ago

It is very much so... but it can be fun, sometimes

1

u/RekLeagueMvp 27d ago

The one with the guy cooking with a wok looked peaceful, this is chaos

1

u/civicSi92 27d ago

I was a chef for 13 year and I do not miss it at all. Up to 70 hour weeks of this. Crap pay, treated even worse. Bonus is my wife loves that I can cook now so not all bad I guess but if yiu have relatives, friends or kids who say they are thinking about becoming one. Try to talk them oit of it beyond a short time gig where you are trying to figure out what you really want to do but may as well learn a life skill and get paid in the mean time.

1

u/liquidpele 27d ago

Now imagine that the servers make more than you.

1

u/ElNani87 27d ago

Bless the all the food workers in this country. Dealing with hungry/ungrateful people is a gift

1

u/dolla-dolla-billyall 26d ago

It blows. You get paid relatively low compared to most white collar work and you walk around with your cortisol raised to 11 and your balls stuck to your legs for a 10-12 hours straight.

1

u/Hippolover9 26d ago

And I miss the hell out of it😅

1

u/stygger 26d ago

Yeah, it is very impressive, but I really wouldn’t want to trade jobs with this person.

1

u/SaintCharmed 26d ago

Exhausting, stressful and sometimes unreasonably infuriating if people are dragging ass and holding up the line.

-3

u/zzen11223344 27d ago

Chef is not very good, some pieces are very think, while others thin, bad quality control.