Calling all Chefs and Line Cooks!!!

I have heard in my travels around different kitchens that being a cook is in the top 10 most stressful jobs, I have no idea if that is true. What I do know is when you take your family to restaurants the people working the hardest at that place is the cooks.

So I thought it would be fun to see how many ats'ers are fellow Chefs and share your stories, and what got you into cooking? Most people fall into it starting off as a dishwasher for a summer job,10 years later they are in charge of the kitchen.

This is funny!

50 Things they never told you about being a Chef

What you can expect from making a living in a professional kitchen:
1 You'll almost always have open wounds on your hands and arms.
2 You'll never meet new people because your social life deteriorates into non-existence.
3 You'll find it hard to start relationships because alone time will become a precious thing.
4 You'll lose your social skills.
5 Your sense of humour will degrade into the politically incorrect and socially unacceptable.
6 You'll eventually start swearing like a sailor and you won't even notice yourself doing it.
7 You'll turn into an anorak/monomaniac and always turn all conversations back to food.
8 You'll earn a pittance for years/decades.
9 You'll either lose a vast amount of weight or gain a vast amount of weight.
10 You'll never ever have a tan ever again.
11 You won't become famous.
12 You'll develop a habit, whether it be coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, gambling, cannabis,coc aine, or even red bull.
13 Your feet will get destroyed.
14 Your back will get destroyed.
15 Your hands will get destroyed.
16 You'll live in a constant state of sleep deprivation, indefinitely.
17 You'll have to ask your friends to plan everything around your schedule, which is incomplete opposition with their availability, because you never know your days off inadvance and you probably won't be able to change it.
18 You'll become of a very highly strung nature
19 You'll become more prone to temper flare ups
20 Your awareness of other people's lack of efficiency and common sense will increase andyour tolerance of it will decrease

The rest of them are here. They are true every damn one, doing this for 17 years trust me.

Another good read for cooks

A Day in the Life of a Line Cook By Michael Simpson Staff Writer Timers beep frantically, there’s a clamor of voices all speaking to me at once; “where’s the mushroom burger for table 12?” “Can I get more fries than this guys? I want to get a tip you know…” “The guy at table six says that you overcooked his steak-again!” “c’mon guys, this order has been waiting for that side salad for 15 minutes already!” I have been at work for twenty minutes. 7 hours to go.

So far I’ve only burned my hands once on a hot pan handle (why the whole thing is made of steel, I don’t know), and narrowly missed a spattering of hot grease from some calamari coming out of the deep fryer. I’ve been lucky so far. The restaurant gods will get me later on tonight I’m sure, however. Maybe I’ll slice my fingers open frantically trying to prep some lettuce because we ran out during the dinner rush, or maybe a dollop of hot tomato linguini sauce will bubble and pop in front of my face as I pile the pasta onto a plate. We’ll see…

Read more

You shouldn't get open wounds if you rest the knife against your knuckles while chopping and some become famous, but I would agree with most of the other points.

reply to post by lewman


Yes knife skills are important. New kids cut, stab themselves at least once a week were I work, its funny watching them freak out....unless its really bad and they need medical attention

i work for CARA, montanas cookhouse and we are in the top 5 in canada here in moncton,nb. i have been here for almost 2 years. i have been cooking for 15 years, have been all across canada banff, lakelouise, alaska highway cooking... i love it and its somthing i do a great job with... stress, is in the kitchen if you let it get to you, it will kill you and you will never be able to work in the kitchen,, when i get stressed i laugh and sing. what else can i do when everyhting is gone to S.H.I.T. ...... i love working in kithen, dirrty comments, and late night unwinding parties after work only just to start it again maybe 6 hrs after a 14 hr shift!!!! the life of a line cook/chef...... one love everyone!!!


best thing about being a chef/line cook.. if your good at it you will always have a job, people need to eat to survive. and we as cooks are here to cook!! win win situation....

i have gotten laid many of times for cooking a great date dinner!!! use it to my advantage why not!!

I've been a souz chef and chef on and off for seven years working for a chef and caterer who does huge functions. We have an annual gig where our crew of 100 cranks out approx 75,000 meals over the course of a week in Ukraine. Many of the things on the list are spot on. specially the tempers flaring. you stand in someones way in a busy kitchen, you're getting knocked down buddy. this chef I work for is also immune to burning. he pulls out sheet pans of chicken from the oven with no oven mitts. intruiged by this insanity i began emulating him, pulling stuff out of boiling water with bare hands, handling freezing things for long periods. still nowhere were he is. hes known round these parts as the mad chef.

reply to post by dashen


lol: I have seen a few crazy chefs in my day. I knew a pizza chef once big fat guy, had arms like cannons. He would reach right into the 600F oven grabbing the pizza pans with his "bear" hands.

No matter how much you take care of your kitchen, It will always attack you in some way or manner. But that's what us cooks get for always testing it's highest limits! All a part of the game. A Clean Kitchen is a Happy Kitchen. Yes, i used caps in that sentence. Cleaning as you go makes all the difference. This article couldn't be more spot on about a Cooks life.
Progressively over many years of cooking I have found myself able to grab very hot items from steam tables or burners. That is a part of being human, we adjust to our environment and surroundings, just like we adjust from Summer to Winter.

There are some days you feel like this




Because after working 12 days straight before Christmas your dumbass does this



But then

There are days you feel like this



Because you will always know how to do this



And this



And this

a reply to: Agent008

I really need to post more in this section. By trade, I did business development in the surgical industry. By pleasure, i cook. Given talent. And it is a talent. Been fortunate to have gotten connected with a few high level chefs (long story) and help cook at charity events. Love doing it till death, for a living......Tuff frickin job. Never. I saw the inside. Talented people. Tuff job.

Denny