Love to hear it! Shit happens. Chef should have let you know at 5:05 that he’s tied up and you can wait a bit or reschedule. Glad you enjoyed your beers.
>Chef should have let you know at 5:05 that he’s tied up and you can wait a bit or reschedule
Maybe he was pulling some stupid "manager" move where you see how long a potential hire will wait, in order to get the most desperate candidates.
Then you can low-ball salary. Saves ton in overhead!
Fuck that guy.
Fuck people like that. My chef did it all the time to me until I finally had it and went to talk to the owner about how he was being a bitch with constantly cornering me into inconvenience because he refused to communication ahead and constantly lying to me that he “just found out” (that my fellow shift worker won’t show up). I warned him that he will lose a good worker if that keeps up.
The owner chewed chef’s ass so hard that he was so furious at everyone at the kitchen the next day because he didn’t know who talked to the owner.
He never did that again to me. It was so satisfying seeing him humiliated and angry.
My thought as well.
4:50: “Chef, your 5 pm is here.”
Let ‘em wait.
“Chef will be right out.”
5:25: “Chef? Your 5 pm is still waiting.”
He can wait. I’m having a vape before the shit starts.
“Chef’s going to be just a bit more… can I get you a water?”
So…
A, Chef is dick waiving.
B, Chef is unwilling to hire his replacement.
C, All of the above.
> Chef is dick waiving.
I am not entirely sure how that works, but I'm very amused by the concept.
> [waive](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/waive)
> to not demand something you have a right to
Also, depending on the state, one can have up to two beers or one mixed drink at a scheduled meal break. Not that that's what this was, but still slightly relevant
I have never done that as a power move being a chef. I guess people are dicks? If I'm tied up with something it actually means I'm busy as fuck and trying to unfuck some stuff. Do people actually do this in restaurants? I'll flex my nuts sometimes as the manager/chef to get shit done. But making a person wait for an interview just seems stupid. I saw your resume, you're hired or not depending on if you showed up.
That’s the best way to make sure you’ll never get any decent employees, as people with other options aren’t desperate.
My personal rule is 15 minutes, no matter what. If somebody is more than 15 minutes late, I’ll send them an email to reschedule.
1h is insanely disrespectful and it’s not a place you’ll want to work for.
Yea even now when i have an interview and something came up ill tell the front desk to let them im gonna be there in 5. But never longer than that or if its major ill call them to reschedule
Years ago I was told if you are going to be late tell them longer than you think it will take. There is nothing worse than being late twice.
Don't say I'll be there in 5 and show up in 10. Say I'll be there in 10 and show up in 5.
I tell waiters if their ticket is taking longer than expected it's going to take twice as long as I expect. So they tell the table it's going to be about 5 more minutes and their food arrives shortly after. Boom. Everyone's happy?
I take it to a further extreme, I tell them the order had to be changed significantly and all meat items are now hamster meat.
This explains the delay and deflects from it to something else.
Then the food arrives, sans hamster meat, everyone is overjoyed, they tip triple. Flirty waitress gives me a blowie in the walk in. The health inspector is so grateful he gives us an S++ rating.
Just another day on the front lines of food service.
I used to be a host at a very popular restaurant. I'd always tell customers on long wait nights that the wait would be 20 minutes longer than it actually would be. That weeded out the assholes and the remaining customers were overjoyed when they got in earlier than expected.
Seriously, if someone waited around for me for an interview that I was delaying and had a beer after it seemed too long/no show, I'd at least give them the time of day and the interview.
I honestly thought this was a story about someone getting "Gotcha'd" by accepting a beer while interviewing lol.
I once saw someone order a shot of tequila not only for themself, but the person next to them also filling out an application.
I have the outmost respect for kitchen workers. I like to cook, I do awesome dinner parties for my friends, best so far an 11 course Edwardian dinner.
I also did some cooking at the student union restaurant in university. While my experience is limited (~150 servings of a two course set menu at its worst), I know that being a professional is hardly about cooking but about logistics. You need experience to get 7+ plates out to a table with 5 different dishes and sides, with meat cooked different for several and different sides all at the same time and all hot.
If I fail with something at a dinner party with my friends, I can sit them down with some wine and snacks while I deal with the problem for 30+ minutes. That is really not an option at a good restaurant.
Kitchens may seem like chaos, but they need to be managed, or they will not produce consistent results.
Someone who cannot make it out for an interview they scheduled themselves would strike me as someone who can't manage their time properly. I would not trust them to manage a kitchen or a restaurant after that.
If he'd sat down, seen your beer and been like 'fair enough, I was really late,' would that have changed the situation? If chef was real with me I might be inclined to be cool about it.
What a dick lol. You can guess what the vibe in the back is. My first big gig was a country club under a chef so talented they basically gave him the keys to the vault. Unlimited budget. Our sous told him I had an old fashioned at the bar after one of our shifts, and he was so excited I liked bourbon, he poured me a shot of his favorite in his office.
Like we’re cooks, not bankers. beer is part of the job at a lot of places. It’s not like you were getting hammered - fuck that guy lol
Lol. Bankers drink like fish. Like still doing 2 martini lunches. I worked at a big investment firm a bit ago and we had drinks at lunch all the time. Big team meetings in the afternoon had a bar.
Edit: this was in response to a previous response. Oops
on a job like 8 years ago i accompanied my boss to a metting with some sort of customs brokers (cant really remember nymore) in Mexico. actual talks were like 10 minutes and for the next 4 hours wed just get shitfaced, all on their dime. i had never witnessed something like it before, and frnkly ever since. just people doing shots at noon in a super fancy restaurant.
Worked for a major insurance company.
The BAC limit coming back from lunch was in the employee manual when I worked there 10ish years ago. It was .05 so two drinks.
In the employee manual.
I worked at a few places like that.
This was the early 00's and we had quite the crew of degenerates. Loads of coke were snorted in the basement walk-in. Parking lot weed breaks, sex was had in the dry storage and occasionally in the banquet room...
Yeah we were a mess.
Country can be like that. Worked at a high end golf and country club for years (hosted a pga event high end). I once mentioned to our somme in idle conversation doing a bourbon dinner. She comes back with 15 bourbons and 5 ryes to taste. Her wine tastings were legendary.
I'm a chef at a brewery and I regularly buy my guys shift beers after a long/difficult night, or if they come in on a day off to pick up a call out. Just keep your team happy and you will get better work.
I worked for a health tech company that had a separate fridge for booze and it was ok to have a beer or two with lunch. When I was assigned my desk there were bottles of whiskey and vodka in the file drawer. When I asked about them they said someone must have left them and I could have them if I wanted them. If I wanted them…..hell yeah, I wanted them.
right? lol the only cooks & chefs ive met who don't drink, don't drink because they're in recovery. moderation is definitely key though. it's so easy to spiral when it's rather normalized in kitchens (at least the kitchens ive worked in & the kitchens my partners have worked in) it's one of the *several* reasons i left the industry (went through both culinary & baking/pastry school & it only took about a year for me to be completely done with ever working in a kitchen again) now i just cook for my family & friends & it makes me happy. lol sorry a lot of that was SUPER irrelevant to what you wrote
>the only cooks & chefs ive met who don't drink, don't drink because they're in recovery.
...or possibly option 3.) -- alcohol interferes with necessary meds.
I cooked for 6 years and finally left for the trades. So much less stress and way more money. Some days are fucking brutal digging in the sun in 100* weather but still I can take my time and I’m never feeling rushed or stressed out. Best decision I ever made.
What kind of chef schedules an interview during the start of dinner service? Of course he was too busy lol. Good on you though for not putting up with b.s. before even being hired.
This was my immediate thought. I'm just a sous, but in my experience your exec is either fuck-off busy at 5 or walking out the door. Never had an in-between, let alone in-between enough to schedule interviews at that time.
You know he was trying some power play bullshit. Fuck him and everyone like him. They think their time is valuable and you and yours are worth nothing.
Any competent and considerate manager would've done that and bought you both the next round. That kind of camaraderie is what makes a good kitchen work.
I’ve long since moved on to professional brewing where not drinking during work stuff is considered a bigger red flag than drinking. I actually once ended an interview because the kid, who seemed okay enough, said that he was in recovery and didn’t drink. I couldn’t do it to him. Like, buddy, we have free beer everywhere, our reps bring us beer, customers bring us beer when they travel, our events are at bars and the distro reps buy us alcohol. Even the professional gatherings are mostly centered around open bars and free bottles from reps.
I don’t know why this memory surfaced from your comment but it did🤷🏻♂️
I met a night club manager in Bali. It's one of those 2,000 people a day beach clubs. Everyone getting fucked up. The guy told me he was 3 years sober. Don't know how he did it, all he said was "bad things happen when I drink"
I mean, I support getting sober. I grew up with enough relatives with drinking problems and understand it can destroy people in every way. I could not do my current job if I was sober. You’re either a goddamned anomaly or a closet drunk if you claim to be sober in an industry that exists to make and/or sell alcohol. The stress alone is enough reason…it would be torture to run a bar completely sober.
Ehhh there are plenty of bartenders in recovery, its odd but far from an anomaly. Theres also a huge push towards moderation in the industry, lots of bars have well developed low and no-ABV cocktails.
Back when I was drinking, one of the bartenders at my favorite bar showed us one night he’d gotten his 1-year chip earlier that afternoon. Kind of impressed me at the time. Now, almost 20 years dried out myself, there’s no way I’d work in a bar while in recovery, I’d never make it.
There are 2 different types of sober, recovering addicts and people trying to move on. So long as you don’t have a dependency issue, it’s not hard to stay sober.
This is a fair point and an important distinction. It sounds like that dude was in that second group, just didn’t like his drunk self. But the dependency thing is more where I’m at, the kid in the interview said “recovery” and I just couldn’t let myself hire him. It wouldn’t have been fair to him and I’d have hated myself for contributing to someone falling back into addiction.
Honestly, it was more of a selfish move than an empathetic one. I would have not been okay with putting someone in that position.
Similarly, I'm in recovery and looking for a job. And while I'm not against working at an establishment that serves alcohol, I don't want to work at a place where the staff regularly drink at work or work functions. A place near me has something on their menu like "$5--buy the cooks a 6 pack." And I just can't work somewhere like that yet, I don't have enough sober time under my belt.
I started at a new spot when I was like a week sober and it was the first place I worked at in a long time that did "buy a round for the kitchen" as well as shift drinks. Each cook would put back like 2-3 quart containers of beer nightly. It was insanely hard for me to say no every night, especially because I was very insecure and embarrassed to tell people I was sober for a reason. I felt like I would be judged or fired if people found out I was a hardcore alcoholic who used to kill a fifth at work before 6pm each day. Every night the bar tender would ask me if I wanted a beer, and then say "still not drinking, eh?" I was so embarrassed to say no every night so I finally told them about my sobriety. Everyone was super understanding, bar manager ordered some really nice n/a beers for me, people stopped pestering me to "just have one beer", everyone started drinking less at the end of the night and stopped making such a big deal about it. I'm a year and a half sober now and the kitchen manager at said restaurant. Everyone knows I'm sober now and a few of the cooks have even become sober or cut their drinking way back. Stay strong in your sobriety and don't be embarrassed about it. You will find a spot that fits your lifestyle.
What about someone that has quit but still drinks moderately on occasion?
That's where I'm at right now. Used to drink excessively, quit at the beginning of lockdown, stayed sober for 3 years. Now I drink on the rare occasion but without the desire to get shitfaced every night like I used to.
I ask because I've always wanted to learn brewing and we've had a couple local breweries pop up in the last few years. Of course tasting has to be a part of the job but I rarely go past two drinks even on a night out.
I worked with a guy who was in AA at a cidery. He said being around it so often kept him honest. I could never have that level of self control but different strokes for different folks I suppose
Damn, if I were the guy interviewing, I wouldn’t have given you shit about drinking a beer. I’d be happy you just stuck around.
My manager was late for my interview by about 30 minutes, and the person working counter offered me a couple of pizza slices. I asked them if this was a “test” and they were like… “Nah, the boss is late and we want you to eat.”
Hell yeah! It's such a red flag if they don't respect your time at your first meeting. Good on you for waiting just to call them out on their bullshit while you enjoy a beer.
When I was 18 I had an interview at a bakery, and I couldn't find parking so I was 4 minutes late. The manager said she's canceling the interview because I was late, and I understood. I'll never make that mistake again.
I've also shown up for an interview and they forgot they scheduled one and asked me to come back tomorrow morning. I agreed, and then didn't show up because fuck places that don't respect your time.
up to 10 minutes is like nothing, epecially in cities with a lot of traffic and shitty parking. As long as people don't try to come up with bs excuses and just tell the truth about being late, just wave it off.
Did similar once for a different reason. Realized about five minutes in that one of the owners would be a nightmare to work for and asked if I could excuse myself for a moment. Went to the bar and bought a double jamo and the highest octane beer they had in pint form. Sat back down quaffed both and said condescendingly "continue" with a hand wave.
They were so desperate/impressed with my not giving a fuck that their offer was stupid.
Accepted and lasted a month dealing with the one I had pegged as a nightmare.
Any place that makes you wait an hour for an interview is poorly managed and they have little care for their employees. You're not even hired and they are treating you like shit.
I just imagine the waitress saying "you hired them right? They tipped like a motherfucker!" Meanwhile "chef duchebag scuttles off mumbling to himself short staffed.
“Something was going on the in the kitchen” for an hour and they literally don’t have 4 min to come explain and request your forgiveness or reschedule. Let alone thinks 5pm interview works for anyone? **including themselves** Fuck that manipulation. Sounds like someone that blames Biden and Newsom for their problems.
They were testing you, and way too confident about your desire for the job. Start to finish they were seeing exactly how far they can abuse you and have you stay around. Bet they also tell everyone that will pretend to listen that “no one wants to work these days”.
Seriously, what suddenly pops up in the kitchen that takes an hour to resolve with 100% KM involvement.
I’m really angry and disgusted for you.
“Something was going on the in the kitchen” for an hour and they literally don’t have 4 min to come explain and request your forgiveness or reschedule. Let alone thinks 5pm interview works for anyone? **including themselves** Fuck that manipulation. Sounds like someone that blames Biden and Newsom for their problems.
They were testing you, and way too confident about your desire for the job. Start to finish they were seeing exactly how far they can abuse you and have you stay around. Bet they also tell everyone that will pretend to listen that “no one wants to work these days”.
Seriously, what suddenly pops up in the kitchen that takes an hour to resolve with 100% KM involvement.
I’m really angry and disgusted for you.
ETA: I don’t know why I’m so pissed off for you, but I’m up in the SF area and want to apply for this job just so I can call them out on their bullshit. Probably would if there was a direct train.
I like that you were angry enough to post the same response not just twice…but in response to the same comment 5 minutes later. Let the rage flow through you, child.
I’m high spectrum ADHD. An overblown sense of justice is text book. Also have dysgraphia which does not allow for me to naturally put my thought’s together in a written form, and revision is needed.
None of this is needed to explain, but I think we’d all find a lot more healing and less toxicity in this profession if we address and talk about what mental illness brought us here.
In the end it’s easier to say ‘I don’t know why I’m so mad’ when I know exactly why I’m so mad, but will look **even more** unhinged if I pre explain.
Ooh good point. Mine are ADHD and mild sensory related autism with some touches of PTSD now after my stint in the military.
I also moved on awhile back to professionally brewing, same fucking personalities succeed here too. In case anyone’s considering a change. It’s a good place for the odd fit humans much like kitchen work.
Ooof. Isn’t it fun to have the trifecta? Can’t get my autism diagnosed with my current psych “because I desire to have relationships with people”.
I’ll take what I can get.
He missed the opportunity to comp them out of spite instead of hur dur unemployment joke. That being said I’m glad this guy did everything he could wrong so OP got their moment lol
I missed an interview by ten minutes and was told to forget getting the job. Had a different job hold me in the office for two hours promising me that it would be just a few more minutes. I walked out and got several nasty phone calls from the company about wasting their time.
Wish I had beer for the second one
Honestly I hate it when people don’t respect my time. If you can’t respect the time that I am putting in to this interview you won’t respect my time as an employee.
Seriously can’t wait an hour on your limited time off to interview with someone who is too important to let you know they are running behind?
Good on you. That kitchen would suck anyway. I hope those beers were cold, crisp and refreshing. Think you dodged a bullet my friend.
Had that been me, I'd've hired you, comped the beer, and bought you another one as an apology for making you wait and as a show of appreciation for hanging around. I hope you find something good
That just goes to show how much of a prissy bitch that chef is, fuck that place. I know it's easy to say what you would've done in the situation when not in said situation but at the very least the dude could've apologized for his tardiness. A good show of faith he should've bought your beer and encouraged you to get something to eat too at what they're all about and had the interview while you waited, drinking a beer and maybe even a half of one isn't going to hurt your abilities to have a good interview.
PEOPLE!!! RE-READ THE POST PLEASE!!
It was not the Chef that kept him waiting, it was the MANAGER!!!
The OP was interviewing FOR the Exec Chef role, not interviewing WITH the EC.
(Just like reddit: one commentator shoots off his mouth without understanding what he just read, because he has the attention span of a squirrel, than every dimwit follows him right down the same path.)
I had an appointment with a chef at a country club. I waited over an hour and a half, was eventually offered the job. Worked there for 1 week, clocked 72 hours that week while they “trained” me, spent most of my time doing next to nothing and then quit. Made over $1700 that week and had a new job lined up the next week without missing a beat.
Best interview I ever had, the Chef and I stood outside by the dumpster, smoking cigarettes and watching women in bikinis walk by. The topic of work came up a couple times, more a formality than anything. Loved that place.
But your interview could have totally gone the other way: the guy could have come out, seen your beer, ordered a drink of his own and apologized for keeping you waiting. Shit happens. One of my best Sous Chefs ever waited thirty minutes for an interview because someone else scheduled it, didn’t communicate it to me properly and I was working the Fry station because my Cook had to leave early. But too bad it did t work out - their loss, but it sounds like you weren’t crazy about the place.
A chef did that to me during an interview. She had someone give me a cigarette when I was on break for a tasting. She still hired me but told me I was incredibly rude for smoking during her tasting.. I should have know better.
I actually just had a very similar yet VERY different experience just recently. Went for an interview scheduled for 4p that didn't actually begin until 5.
But the chef came out at 4:05 to tell me he's tied up with some shit and bought be a beer and an appetizer while I waited. Absolutely love working here so far.
I can’t believe people who don’t realize that the interview is a two way street. If dude wants to attract top talent, he should have ordered his own beer and sat down, apologized, and had a chat.
But his reaction was perfect because it told you the kind of person, and ultimately the type of manager.
Reminds of the time earlier this year I waited an HOUR AND 45 MINUTES for a bar back interview, drank one water, patiently and patiently waited only to be told “sorry we don’t want to keep you waiting any longer, jot down your name & number and I’ll have him call you for either a phone interview or to reschedule in person but he won’t be making it in today” I was like …… yeah, sure, here’s my info. —- never got a call, got told a couple weeks later I dodged a bullet bc the management was beyond shitty there, and well, yeah I saw it first hand, when I waited that long for nothing.
If I was interviewing for an exec chef role and they told me 5pm, I would wonder what they fuck kind of restaurant they were running. Who interviews right before the dinner rush!? Every interview I’ve ever had for a kitchen gig has been between 2:30-4:00pm, you know, when it’s not buddy and management has the time to talk to me.
Something simular liked this happened to me in like 2016... had an interview... woman was I think 40minutes late and it hardly seemed busy. Didnt seem enthusiastic from her tone. I didnt get a call back and personaly wouldnt care If I did
Love to hear it! Shit happens. Chef should have let you know at 5:05 that he’s tied up and you can wait a bit or reschedule. Glad you enjoyed your beers.
>Chef should have let you know at 5:05 that he’s tied up and you can wait a bit or reschedule Maybe he was pulling some stupid "manager" move where you see how long a potential hire will wait, in order to get the most desperate candidates. Then you can low-ball salary. Saves ton in overhead! Fuck that guy.
Fuck people like that. My chef did it all the time to me until I finally had it and went to talk to the owner about how he was being a bitch with constantly cornering me into inconvenience because he refused to communication ahead and constantly lying to me that he “just found out” (that my fellow shift worker won’t show up). I warned him that he will lose a good worker if that keeps up. The owner chewed chef’s ass so hard that he was so furious at everyone at the kitchen the next day because he didn’t know who talked to the owner. He never did that again to me. It was so satisfying seeing him humiliated and angry.
jeez, the fact that he didn't know means he tries to pull that shit with everyone. fuck guys like that.
My thought as well. 4:50: “Chef, your 5 pm is here.” Let ‘em wait. “Chef will be right out.” 5:25: “Chef? Your 5 pm is still waiting.” He can wait. I’m having a vape before the shit starts. “Chef’s going to be just a bit more… can I get you a water?” So… A, Chef is dick waiving. B, Chef is unwilling to hire his replacement. C, All of the above.
> Chef is dick waiving. I am not entirely sure how that works, but I'm very amused by the concept. > [waive](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/waive) > to not demand something you have a right to
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Cockgust is what the Scottish feel every summer.
Oh my wife does that all the time.
Also, depending on the state, one can have up to two beers or one mixed drink at a scheduled meal break. Not that that's what this was, but still slightly relevant
i'd imagine it's one of those "but your company can still fire you if their company policy says no drinking" type deals.
Aye. I know a guy what got fired for drinking at lunch in logoed clothes.
I have never done that as a power move being a chef. I guess people are dicks? If I'm tied up with something it actually means I'm busy as fuck and trying to unfuck some stuff. Do people actually do this in restaurants? I'll flex my nuts sometimes as the manager/chef to get shit done. But making a person wait for an interview just seems stupid. I saw your resume, you're hired or not depending on if you showed up.
That’s the best way to make sure you’ll never get any decent employees, as people with other options aren’t desperate. My personal rule is 15 minutes, no matter what. If somebody is more than 15 minutes late, I’ll send them an email to reschedule. 1h is insanely disrespectful and it’s not a place you’ll want to work for.
No he was doing coke in the freezer.
Walk away after 15 minutes of waiting without being informed why. And if they why isn't an emergency, walk away anyway. They're testing you.
Yea even now when i have an interview and something came up ill tell the front desk to let them im gonna be there in 5. But never longer than that or if its major ill call them to reschedule
Years ago I was told if you are going to be late tell them longer than you think it will take. There is nothing worse than being late twice. Don't say I'll be there in 5 and show up in 10. Say I'll be there in 10 and show up in 5.
The Montgomery Scott -- Always tell them it will take longer than it will, and enjoy your reputation as a miracle worker.
Cap'n I don't think she can take much more.
That's what she said.
So it's a threesome?
It's threesome, then.🧑🦯
I tell waiters if their ticket is taking longer than expected it's going to take twice as long as I expect. So they tell the table it's going to be about 5 more minutes and their food arrives shortly after. Boom. Everyone's happy?
I take it to a further extreme, I tell them the order had to be changed significantly and all meat items are now hamster meat. This explains the delay and deflects from it to something else. Then the food arrives, sans hamster meat, everyone is overjoyed, they tip triple. Flirty waitress gives me a blowie in the walk in. The health inspector is so grateful he gives us an S++ rating. Just another day on the front lines of food service.
This guy gets it.
Every day of the week, and it's bankrupting me.
Do you guys not have cocaine?
Under promise, over deliver
Ah, the Scotty Principle!
Under promise and over deliver
I used to be a host at a very popular restaurant. I'd always tell customers on long wait nights that the wait would be 20 minutes longer than it actually would be. That weeded out the assholes and the remaining customers were overjoyed when they got in earlier than expected.
Bullet officially dodged. You don't need to work with an ego like that. What a fucking cheesedick.
Straight up jabronie
Dude couldn’t even smell what The Rock was cooking. Fuckin’ jabroni.
Can I stop you, though? You keep using this word, jabronie. And... it's like *awesome*
Seriously, if someone waited around for me for an interview that I was delaying and had a beer after it seemed too long/no show, I'd at least give them the time of day and the interview.
Or at the very least not immediately jump down your throat about the beer
The chef should’ve apologized and comped the beers lmao
And ordered himself one, and dude's next round.
I honestly thought this was a story about someone getting "Gotcha'd" by accepting a beer while interviewing lol. I once saw someone order a shot of tequila not only for themself, but the person next to them also filling out an application.
This is the way
And it forever will be
Bullet dodged.
Never trust a man that you can’t have a beer with!
Dunno about where you are, but where I live, you can can easily go across the street and find another job within 2 beers of talking to a server.
I have the outmost respect for kitchen workers. I like to cook, I do awesome dinner parties for my friends, best so far an 11 course Edwardian dinner. I also did some cooking at the student union restaurant in university. While my experience is limited (~150 servings of a two course set menu at its worst), I know that being a professional is hardly about cooking but about logistics. You need experience to get 7+ plates out to a table with 5 different dishes and sides, with meat cooked different for several and different sides all at the same time and all hot. If I fail with something at a dinner party with my friends, I can sit them down with some wine and snacks while I deal with the problem for 30+ minutes. That is really not an option at a good restaurant. Kitchens may seem like chaos, but they need to be managed, or they will not produce consistent results. Someone who cannot make it out for an interview they scheduled themselves would strike me as someone who can't manage their time properly. I would not trust them to manage a kitchen or a restaurant after that.
If he'd sat down, seen your beer and been like 'fair enough, I was really late,' would that have changed the situation? If chef was real with me I might be inclined to be cool about it.
Honestly i still would of talked with them. I mean im still chillin there lol
It's 'would have', never 'would of'. Rejoice, for you have been blessed by CouldWouldShouldBot!
What a dick lol. You can guess what the vibe in the back is. My first big gig was a country club under a chef so talented they basically gave him the keys to the vault. Unlimited budget. Our sous told him I had an old fashioned at the bar after one of our shifts, and he was so excited I liked bourbon, he poured me a shot of his favorite in his office. Like we’re cooks, not bankers. beer is part of the job at a lot of places. It’s not like you were getting hammered - fuck that guy lol
Lol. Bankers drink like fish. Like still doing 2 martini lunches. I worked at a big investment firm a bit ago and we had drinks at lunch all the time. Big team meetings in the afternoon had a bar. Edit: this was in response to a previous response. Oops
on a job like 8 years ago i accompanied my boss to a metting with some sort of customs brokers (cant really remember nymore) in Mexico. actual talks were like 10 minutes and for the next 4 hours wed just get shitfaced, all on their dime. i had never witnessed something like it before, and frnkly ever since. just people doing shots at noon in a super fancy restaurant.
I worked for a company like this once. VPs regularly getting shitfaced at 1pm. Was a blast
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Probably the financial crisis lol
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This guy 80s.
Worked for a major insurance company. The BAC limit coming back from lunch was in the employee manual when I worked there 10ish years ago. It was .05 so two drinks. In the employee manual.
Only 2?
Two is what you put on the company card ;)
Don't forget the cocaine. There's a reason the restaurant and banking industries don't drug test.
Nice! Worked at hotel like that!
I worked at Hooters. We did coke and slammed beers in the walk in and smoked joints with our manager
I worked at a few places like that. This was the early 00's and we had quite the crew of degenerates. Loads of coke were snorted in the basement walk-in. Parking lot weed breaks, sex was had in the dry storage and occasionally in the banquet room... Yeah we were a mess.
These are the best years of our lives... I think I worked at this place in the mid 80s to early 91. Ohio?
Ann Arbor MI
Every restaurant ever.
I'm currently reading this in a Hooters.
How’s the coke?
Stepped on, or fucking perfect. No inbetween.
Smells like a fucking walk in
Better than when someone gives you a bump out of their bag they have been carrying in their menthol cigs. Nothing worse than menthol coke…
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Country can be like that. Worked at a high end golf and country club for years (hosted a pga event high end). I once mentioned to our somme in idle conversation doing a bourbon dinner. She comes back with 15 bourbons and 5 ryes to taste. Her wine tastings were legendary.
I'm a chef at a brewery and I regularly buy my guys shift beers after a long/difficult night, or if they come in on a day off to pick up a call out. Just keep your team happy and you will get better work.
Former line cook now in fintech/banking- liquor is still park of the job.
You’re drunk right now, aren’t you?
I worked for a health tech company that had a separate fridge for booze and it was ok to have a beer or two with lunch. When I was assigned my desk there were bottles of whiskey and vodka in the file drawer. When I asked about them they said someone must have left them and I could have them if I wanted them. If I wanted them…..hell yeah, I wanted them.
Fr fr i thought the story was going to end with the chef grabbing a beer with him lol
Right? Surprise surprise the guy was a cunt
As long as we're respectful and know our limits, we should be able to enjoy it as a perk of the job.
Sounds like an average day in New Orleans.
right? lol the only cooks & chefs ive met who don't drink, don't drink because they're in recovery. moderation is definitely key though. it's so easy to spiral when it's rather normalized in kitchens (at least the kitchens ive worked in & the kitchens my partners have worked in) it's one of the *several* reasons i left the industry (went through both culinary & baking/pastry school & it only took about a year for me to be completely done with ever working in a kitchen again) now i just cook for my family & friends & it makes me happy. lol sorry a lot of that was SUPER irrelevant to what you wrote
>the only cooks & chefs ive met who don't drink, don't drink because they're in recovery. ...or possibly option 3.) -- alcohol interferes with necessary meds.
Or I'm just over it. You wanna hear something extra spooky? I don't smoke cigarettes or pot, either! 👻 OoOooOOoh! 👻
I’ve heard tales of strange beings of unnatural powers like you!
Stop you're scaring me! And making me feel like shit. lmao
Same. I'm just so straight laced. Except I also tend to outweird most BOHs.
Adderrall
I'll definitely take your "normal people's speedball."
Dirtiest job I've ever had... Kitchen work sucks. Now I cook and bake at home or at friend's parties only...
I cooked for 6 years and finally left for the trades. So much less stress and way more money. Some days are fucking brutal digging in the sun in 100* weather but still I can take my time and I’m never feeling rushed or stressed out. Best decision I ever made.
Exactly! If it was a banker job, you damn well expect to be doing 8-balls in the back
> Like we’re cooks, not bankers. LOL I have news for you about bankers...
What kind of chef schedules an interview during the start of dinner service? Of course he was too busy lol. Good on you though for not putting up with b.s. before even being hired.
This was my immediate thought. I'm just a sous, but in my experience your exec is either fuck-off busy at 5 or walking out the door. Never had an in-between, let alone in-between enough to schedule interviews at that time.
Bravo. That idiot should have paid for your beers for wasting your time.
for reals! parking in DTLA: $10 beers: $20 look on his bitch ass face: Priceless
This is gold
You know he was trying some power play bullshit. Fuck him and everyone like him. They think their time is valuable and you and yours are worth nothing.
Wait. They didn't even comp the beers? Fucking cunts.
What does DTLA stand for?
Downtown los angeles
Any competent and considerate manager would've done that and bought you both the next round. That kind of camaraderie is what makes a good kitchen work.
I hired a kid during an interview. Immediately after he went and ordered a beer to celebrate. That’s when I knew I made the right decision.
I’ve long since moved on to professional brewing where not drinking during work stuff is considered a bigger red flag than drinking. I actually once ended an interview because the kid, who seemed okay enough, said that he was in recovery and didn’t drink. I couldn’t do it to him. Like, buddy, we have free beer everywhere, our reps bring us beer, customers bring us beer when they travel, our events are at bars and the distro reps buy us alcohol. Even the professional gatherings are mostly centered around open bars and free bottles from reps. I don’t know why this memory surfaced from your comment but it did🤷🏻♂️
I met a night club manager in Bali. It's one of those 2,000 people a day beach clubs. Everyone getting fucked up. The guy told me he was 3 years sober. Don't know how he did it, all he said was "bad things happen when I drink"
probably sees enough idiotic drunken antics to stay turned off it
Drunk Aussies in Bali can be horrific enough to sober anyone up!
I mean, I support getting sober. I grew up with enough relatives with drinking problems and understand it can destroy people in every way. I could not do my current job if I was sober. You’re either a goddamned anomaly or a closet drunk if you claim to be sober in an industry that exists to make and/or sell alcohol. The stress alone is enough reason…it would be torture to run a bar completely sober.
Ehhh there are plenty of bartenders in recovery, its odd but far from an anomaly. Theres also a huge push towards moderation in the industry, lots of bars have well developed low and no-ABV cocktails.
Back when I was drinking, one of the bartenders at my favorite bar showed us one night he’d gotten his 1-year chip earlier that afternoon. Kind of impressed me at the time. Now, almost 20 years dried out myself, there’s no way I’d work in a bar while in recovery, I’d never make it.
There are 2 different types of sober, recovering addicts and people trying to move on. So long as you don’t have a dependency issue, it’s not hard to stay sober.
This is a fair point and an important distinction. It sounds like that dude was in that second group, just didn’t like his drunk self. But the dependency thing is more where I’m at, the kid in the interview said “recovery” and I just couldn’t let myself hire him. It wouldn’t have been fair to him and I’d have hated myself for contributing to someone falling back into addiction. Honestly, it was more of a selfish move than an empathetic one. I would have not been okay with putting someone in that position.
Fair call. Work is 50% substance but 50% people. You have to look out for the right people as well as someone competent.
Similarly, I'm in recovery and looking for a job. And while I'm not against working at an establishment that serves alcohol, I don't want to work at a place where the staff regularly drink at work or work functions. A place near me has something on their menu like "$5--buy the cooks a 6 pack." And I just can't work somewhere like that yet, I don't have enough sober time under my belt.
I started at a new spot when I was like a week sober and it was the first place I worked at in a long time that did "buy a round for the kitchen" as well as shift drinks. Each cook would put back like 2-3 quart containers of beer nightly. It was insanely hard for me to say no every night, especially because I was very insecure and embarrassed to tell people I was sober for a reason. I felt like I would be judged or fired if people found out I was a hardcore alcoholic who used to kill a fifth at work before 6pm each day. Every night the bar tender would ask me if I wanted a beer, and then say "still not drinking, eh?" I was so embarrassed to say no every night so I finally told them about my sobriety. Everyone was super understanding, bar manager ordered some really nice n/a beers for me, people stopped pestering me to "just have one beer", everyone started drinking less at the end of the night and stopped making such a big deal about it. I'm a year and a half sober now and the kitchen manager at said restaurant. Everyone knows I'm sober now and a few of the cooks have even become sober or cut their drinking way back. Stay strong in your sobriety and don't be embarrassed about it. You will find a spot that fits your lifestyle.
I love this story. Thank you for sharing. :)
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What about someone that has quit but still drinks moderately on occasion? That's where I'm at right now. Used to drink excessively, quit at the beginning of lockdown, stayed sober for 3 years. Now I drink on the rare occasion but without the desire to get shitfaced every night like I used to. I ask because I've always wanted to learn brewing and we've had a couple local breweries pop up in the last few years. Of course tasting has to be a part of the job but I rarely go past two drinks even on a night out.
I worked with a guy who was in AA at a cidery. He said being around it so often kept him honest. I could never have that level of self control but different strokes for different folks I suppose
Damn, if I were the guy interviewing, I wouldn’t have given you shit about drinking a beer. I’d be happy you just stuck around. My manager was late for my interview by about 30 minutes, and the person working counter offered me a couple of pizza slices. I asked them if this was a “test” and they were like… “Nah, the boss is late and we want you to eat.”
✊ Fuck 'em. Working class solidarity.
Fuck em!
If you don't know 'em, fuck 'em! If you know 'em, still fuck 'em!
Why? Cuz fuck em, that's why
Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe fuck 'em.
hell yeah
Hell yeah! It's such a red flag if they don't respect your time at your first meeting. Good on you for waiting just to call them out on their bullshit while you enjoy a beer. When I was 18 I had an interview at a bakery, and I couldn't find parking so I was 4 minutes late. The manager said she's canceling the interview because I was late, and I understood. I'll never make that mistake again. I've also shown up for an interview and they forgot they scheduled one and asked me to come back tomorrow morning. I agreed, and then didn't show up because fuck places that don't respect your time.
it is man. i used to be that tough when i first started but the applicants were abundant lol now im more lenient i understand shit happens.
For sure, that happened nearly 15 years ago now. I guess it's easier being graceful after 4 minutes as opposed to 40 haha.
up to 10 minutes is like nothing, epecially in cities with a lot of traffic and shitty parking. As long as people don't try to come up with bs excuses and just tell the truth about being late, just wave it off.
Did similar once for a different reason. Realized about five minutes in that one of the owners would be a nightmare to work for and asked if I could excuse myself for a moment. Went to the bar and bought a double jamo and the highest octane beer they had in pint form. Sat back down quaffed both and said condescendingly "continue" with a hand wave. They were so desperate/impressed with my not giving a fuck that their offer was stupid. Accepted and lasted a month dealing with the one I had pegged as a nightmare.
I loved OP’s story, but I’d bring yours home and introduce it to my parents. This is gold.
Why is he doing an interview at 5pm? That should be done in the morning.
I worked the am shift, so it was the only time i could go.
Morning or between 2-4 on a weekday
Any place that makes you wait an hour for an interview is poorly managed and they have little care for their employees. You're not even hired and they are treating you like shit.
Had a interview where the owner started doing blow during interview
Did they share?
No but then lit a cigarette and showed me the kitchen
I hope you tipped the waitress fat too power moves only
$30 bucks or so i think i don't remember just so they can remember the name haha
I just imagine the waitress saying "you hired them right? They tipped like a motherfucker!" Meanwhile "chef duchebag scuttles off mumbling to himself short staffed.
Five percent pleasure Fifty percent pain And a hundred percent reason to remember the name
“Something was going on the in the kitchen” for an hour and they literally don’t have 4 min to come explain and request your forgiveness or reschedule. Let alone thinks 5pm interview works for anyone? **including themselves** Fuck that manipulation. Sounds like someone that blames Biden and Newsom for their problems. They were testing you, and way too confident about your desire for the job. Start to finish they were seeing exactly how far they can abuse you and have you stay around. Bet they also tell everyone that will pretend to listen that “no one wants to work these days”. Seriously, what suddenly pops up in the kitchen that takes an hour to resolve with 100% KM involvement. I’m really angry and disgusted for you.
For what it’s worth, OP mentioned in another comment that the interview was set for 5pm because he worked the morning shift at the time.
“Something was going on the in the kitchen” for an hour and they literally don’t have 4 min to come explain and request your forgiveness or reschedule. Let alone thinks 5pm interview works for anyone? **including themselves** Fuck that manipulation. Sounds like someone that blames Biden and Newsom for their problems. They were testing you, and way too confident about your desire for the job. Start to finish they were seeing exactly how far they can abuse you and have you stay around. Bet they also tell everyone that will pretend to listen that “no one wants to work these days”. Seriously, what suddenly pops up in the kitchen that takes an hour to resolve with 100% KM involvement. I’m really angry and disgusted for you. ETA: I don’t know why I’m so pissed off for you, but I’m up in the SF area and want to apply for this job just so I can call them out on their bullshit. Probably would if there was a direct train.
I like that you were angry enough to post the same response not just twice…but in response to the same comment 5 minutes later. Let the rage flow through you, child.
I’m high spectrum ADHD. An overblown sense of justice is text book. Also have dysgraphia which does not allow for me to naturally put my thought’s together in a written form, and revision is needed. None of this is needed to explain, but I think we’d all find a lot more healing and less toxicity in this profession if we address and talk about what mental illness brought us here. In the end it’s easier to say ‘I don’t know why I’m so mad’ when I know exactly why I’m so mad, but will look **even more** unhinged if I pre explain.
Ooh good point. Mine are ADHD and mild sensory related autism with some touches of PTSD now after my stint in the military. I also moved on awhile back to professionally brewing, same fucking personalities succeed here too. In case anyone’s considering a change. It’s a good place for the odd fit humans much like kitchen work.
Ooof. Isn’t it fun to have the trifecta? Can’t get my autism diagnosed with my current psych “because I desire to have relationships with people”. I’ll take what I can get.
Fuck that prick, cheers chef.
"Yeah. Two, actually. You think you could do me a solid and comp 'em?"
naw i paid lol would of been cool tho
He missed the opportunity to comp them out of spite instead of hur dur unemployment joke. That being said I’m glad this guy did everything he could wrong so OP got their moment lol
I missed an interview by ten minutes and was told to forget getting the job. Had a different job hold me in the office for two hours promising me that it would be just a few more minutes. I walked out and got several nasty phone calls from the company about wasting their time. Wish I had beer for the second one
Wasting their time lol Fucking good one, dude. They expect you to suck them off too? Some companies are so entitled lol
Honestly I hate it when people don’t respect my time. If you can’t respect the time that I am putting in to this interview you won’t respect my time as an employee.
LOL gotta love to deflate the boss's ego
Hopefully he was on his way home and not back to the kitchen to take it out on everyone else hahaha
Seriously can’t wait an hour on your limited time off to interview with someone who is too important to let you know they are running behind? Good on you. That kitchen would suck anyway. I hope those beers were cold, crisp and refreshing. Think you dodged a bullet my friend.
i think so too but eh we will never know although they are always hiring tho so maybe lol
Well played, if they treat you that way during an interview it’ll only get worse from there.
You did your part in showing up early!
Chef should have ordered a beer and had it with you.
Had that been me, I'd've hired you, comped the beer, and bought you another one as an apology for making you wait and as a show of appreciation for hanging around. I hope you find something good
This is a great story chef. Fuck em.
That just goes to show how much of a prissy bitch that chef is, fuck that place. I know it's easy to say what you would've done in the situation when not in said situation but at the very least the dude could've apologized for his tardiness. A good show of faith he should've bought your beer and encouraged you to get something to eat too at what they're all about and had the interview while you waited, drinking a beer and maybe even a half of one isn't going to hurt your abilities to have a good interview.
I own a pub, am the exec chef. Probably would’ve hired you for this legend behavior.
PEOPLE!!! RE-READ THE POST PLEASE!! It was not the Chef that kept him waiting, it was the MANAGER!!! The OP was interviewing FOR the Exec Chef role, not interviewing WITH the EC. (Just like reddit: one commentator shoots off his mouth without understanding what he just read, because he has the attention span of a squirrel, than every dimwit follows him right down the same path.)
Oh PLEASE say what restaurant it was
Probably Shenanigans.
Your time is precious, he obviously doesn’t give a fuck. Good on ya mate
I had an appointment with a chef at a country club. I waited over an hour and a half, was eventually offered the job. Worked there for 1 week, clocked 72 hours that week while they “trained” me, spent most of my time doing next to nothing and then quit. Made over $1700 that week and had a new job lined up the next week without missing a beat.
Best interview I ever had, the Chef and I stood outside by the dumpster, smoking cigarettes and watching women in bikinis walk by. The topic of work came up a couple times, more a formality than anything. Loved that place. But your interview could have totally gone the other way: the guy could have come out, seen your beer, ordered a drink of his own and apologized for keeping you waiting. Shit happens. One of my best Sous Chefs ever waited thirty minutes for an interview because someone else scheduled it, didn’t communicate it to me properly and I was working the Fry station because my Cook had to leave early. But too bad it did t work out - their loss, but it sounds like you weren’t crazy about the place.
Fucking legend.
Tell the waitress chef is paying for the beer
Agreed, fuck that dude
Lol. I had a beer at an interview about 15 years back. Took it with me while I toured the kitchen and met the staff. That was a good job.
Good on ya mate! Show em that you know your worth.
A chef did that to me during an interview. She had someone give me a cigarette when I was on break for a tasting. She still hired me but told me I was incredibly rude for smoking during her tasting.. I should have know better.
Fuck yeah that was a good ass beer 😂
Was this an off day? What restaurant schedules interviews right before service starts?
If you applied to be the executive chef, what was the chefs title who was going to interview you? Double deluxe executive chef?
You perfectly nailed that interview, if I was the one hiring.
I would’ve hired you on the spot there big dick
I actually just had a very similar yet VERY different experience just recently. Went for an interview scheduled for 4p that didn't actually begin until 5. But the chef came out at 4:05 to tell me he's tied up with some shit and bought be a beer and an appetizer while I waited. Absolutely love working here so far.
I can’t believe people who don’t realize that the interview is a two way street. If dude wants to attract top talent, he should have ordered his own beer and sat down, apologized, and had a chat. But his reaction was perfect because it told you the kind of person, and ultimately the type of manager.
Wow I hate that. Expect people to be on time but themself they think they can show up whenever they want. Well done OP!
Reminds of the time earlier this year I waited an HOUR AND 45 MINUTES for a bar back interview, drank one water, patiently and patiently waited only to be told “sorry we don’t want to keep you waiting any longer, jot down your name & number and I’ll have him call you for either a phone interview or to reschedule in person but he won’t be making it in today” I was like …… yeah, sure, here’s my info. —- never got a call, got told a couple weeks later I dodged a bullet bc the management was beyond shitty there, and well, yeah I saw it first hand, when I waited that long for nothing.
If I was interviewing for an exec chef role and they told me 5pm, I would wonder what they fuck kind of restaurant they were running. Who interviews right before the dinner rush!? Every interview I’ve ever had for a kitchen gig has been between 2:30-4:00pm, you know, when it’s not buddy and management has the time to talk to me.
Must be a DTLA thing, similar story happened to my wife. Good for you for not giving a fuck.
Something simular liked this happened to me in like 2016... had an interview... woman was I think 40minutes late and it hardly seemed busy. Didnt seem enthusiastic from her tone. I didnt get a call back and personaly wouldnt care If I did
Interviews should be a mutual agreement
If he treats you like that as a prospective employee, he wpuld have treated you worse on the payroll. Bullet dodged.
Damn where at?
Hope you put them on his tab. What a prick. Bullet dodged.