Girl cook needs advice

in the food service industry you have two choices, work on the line like a dog with the Mexicans, or be the chef, whom gets off the line and directs the show. A chef said to me once, if you are going to succeed in this business, get out of the bucket…. What does this mean you ask? If one crab is in the bucket he can get out. if two or more crabs are in the bucket they pull each other down. get out of the bucket with the Mexicans. right out of high school i went to college , then at 22 i had my first chef job… yes 22. Now, mother of two, 30 and i am getting my ducks in order to open a cafe. It is an ugly fact 70 to 85 % of kitchens are Hispanic. The kitchen i am running now, the staff is awesome, they are teaching me Spanish. it is how you handle your situation that can help you good luck

This really young latino kid with whom I used to work overheard me and a female co-worker making plans to go have drinks after work. He approached me later and asked if our significant others would be joining us. I knew what he was getting at but thought it’d be fun to play a little. “I don’t know. Maybe. Why?” After he turned a beautiful shade of crimson, my co-worker/soon to be drinking companion gently explained to him that it was not only okay but also common for boys and girls to maintain platonic friendships. I’m pretty sure he thinks we screwed. Anyway, I loved to work with him. Very sweet little man. the whole point of the story is that my young and malleable latino friend had come here to live with his much older uncle who I’m sure has imparted some very primitive notions about the possibilities of relations between the sexes upon the poor kid. I had an uncle like that, too, but I also had the advantage (for lack of a better word) of taking a Women’s Studies course my first year in college. He’s nineteen with three jobs, a pregnant girlfriend, and a very questionable source of wisdom when it comes to interpersonal relationships. So, anyway, don’t take shit. From anybody. Kitchens are full of pigs, period. Let a bully bully and - you guessed it - they’ll bully. Set em’ straight.

A coupla suggestions:

1. Just call the INS, and say we’ve got a problem with drug dealing illegal aliens at this restaurant, and let the INS take care of it.

2. Tell us the name of the place and many of us will make a point of dropping by and telling the manager we overheard a latino guy making a rude and disparaging comment to a female co-worker, and that they better do something about it.

Thanks for all the wonderful (not to mention creative) advice. I think I needed some reassurance that this wasn’t “just me.” I really do love all but two of the Latino line cooks at my restaurant, unfortunately those two make work a living hell at times.
u guys are right,the biz is not well known for great employee relations tactics, and most of their managers are inclined to blame the victim rather than the as#%*e that is causing the problem. Fortunately,where I work has had to pay out on several harassment lawsuits .(. All a girl has to do is cry “I’m gonna sue,” and those guys start sweating bullets. I’m trying to take the high road in the mean time and solve my issues on my own without threats to management.

I will NOT “get out of the kitchen,” I just needed some advice on how to deal….buttering the reach-in handles is sounding pretty fuckin good right now….

-Wow out

I worked in a deli as my first job, the owner was a kind man from Lebanon,who made the best damn gyros in history…(layers of steak, and lamb, slow roasted on a spit.

well after having been there 1 year he suddenly died. Soon other family members came and did their best to restart the restaurant,Having worked their awhile, I knew backwards and forwards every recipe he had….

I was told by this man’s son that my job was to prepare the food not speak to a man; I was then told to go purchase a Hijab ( as in cover up my head) or I would be fired, he called me a “typical western slut” and that he had other people he wanted to do my job anyway, perhaps I should quit.

I was stunned, I had such a great working relationship, and all of a sudden, they are treating me like shit for being a woman.

I was told I was fired, but had to finish cleaning up the kitchen, or they would not pay me.

I called 911, as I was being threatend with violence (for standing up to a “man” (call him tiny penis)

The cops came, and apparently the new owner had many troubles with the police, including pedophilia….I wanted to puke at the thought of that—-F-ing disgusted….. so no prob out of there.

They tried to screw m e out of two weeks pay “since they had not been in in that time period, they had no proof I actually worked.

I sued this chemically castrated guy, they were the worst people I have ever encountered

A few observations from a restaurant lifer.

My first Chef was a women, God rest her kind soul. I have since worked for a couple of other well respected female chefs.

If it were not for the hardest working people on earth, Latins, we would have no restaurant business to whine about.

I got along best with those guys once I learned a bit of Kitchen Spanish which has helped me with the Latino workers just as I’ve picked up a bit of French too…best way to get over the old school macho BS artist was to respond in kind, preferably in SPANISH or Creole or French or whatever.

If you are to not just survive but excel you have to kick butt constantly all day everyday. Mise en place ready and perfect at all times, the cleanest station always. In other words be better then the riff raff who are dissing you. If that fails just shank the ass wipe after work in front of the other guys and call the punk out.

Good Luck and please post a response and let us know how it went.

I found that when I didn’t understand spanish the crew flipped me a lot more shit. Go to the book store and get a copy of Dirty Spanish for a quick lesson. They used to repeat shit to me over and over ’til it drove me crazy until the day one of them asked me “Comprende, Mommie?” and I could look him in the eyes and say “yes” and flip it back. They quieted down after that. Now when some newb comes in, the old guys wait as the newb flips me shit and I hand it back then they laugh at him.