Yeah.. I used to work in restaurants... by Jason King

If you have spent at least two presidential terms in a kitchen, likely you have heard "I used to work in restaurants" uttered by more than a dozen people now working quite different jobs. You know, jobs that pay well - have benefits. Fuck, these jobs may even  have normal hours and give you weekends and some holidays off.

Shut your damn face.

I hate hearing expatriates mention their former alliance to the industry I sweat and have become more than just "ok" at. Immediately I question their abilities from past stints on grill or whatever. Surely if they were talented, passionate, and not too much smarter than me, they would still be a chin gon', badass line cook or chef. What could steer a good standing member of the culinary labor pool astray?

Oh yeah, I had a brief moment of head trauma and forgot the sometimes deplorable conditions of being employed in the back of the house. If you are an hourly employee, the back bone of the production, chances are you make less than $350 a week. That is roughly $21,000 a year before taxes.

The old saying in the kitchen... If you wanna make a living with a line cook job, get two of them. It's a sad reality that one has to work 70-80 hours to live a grown up's life.

Your rebuttal may be to work hard and get a salary job, a sous or executive chef position one day. This path is a tried and true way to 40k a year or so to start. That is double a line cook wage! Now you can work one place, make a comfortable amount of money, and plan for your future. Psych!!!

With the exception of great employers, the unfortunate reality is the term salary may be French for "being in the state of indentured servitude, ultimately responsible for any issues." The kicker is that even good employers may want to wrest 60-70 hours a week out of a sous chef, if not more.

All of a sudden you are standing on the expo line looking at a good line cook, realizing he makes more an hour than you, as a salary worker. He comes from his day job making pizzas, earning the same $12 an hour there. Fuck, this guy works two jobs, no liability for orders, prep, or scheduling and might actually make more money than you.

This is a big reason it takes a lot to stay in this business. You hear your same aged friends  using strange vernacular like "paid time off" or "flex time"... What the fuck do you mean you can come to work when you want? The only flex time in a kitchen is called being unemployed.

To my lifers out their, keep banging. To the soldiers I know that fought the good fight, got an honorable discharge, and are on to some grown man job... My hats off. I regretfully understand why we do strive to move on in different directions professionally.

I swear to Jesus Almighty however... If I ever am asked about when I'm getting a real job, I am going to jab that person in the teeth with a Sharpie.