Re: Workaholism in the food service industry.

Posted by Timothy Banning on January 06, 1999 at 19:26:08:

In Reply to: Workaholism in the food service industry. posted by Glenn Messick on January 05, 1999 at 23:04:49:

I've always worked harder and had less accomplished when My boss was a bean counter or a plate carrier. When I worked for people whose Knowledge of food came from some book or corporate manual it has always sucked. Constantly trying to make up for their misconceptions of the way things really are.
This lends its self to something that is constantly heard in these forums. 'Get some experience before School.' Of course Gerard would say forget school and that is really the point. Cuisine is like life itself. Could someone from another planet read a book, some great novel like "David Cooperfield" and know what life is. No it's impossible there are to many things that are implied. It is the same thing with Cuisine any cook book or primer or Class for that matter can only give a narrow view for a specific instance and condition.
Which somehow brings me back to being a workaholic. The Glen says he works 5 days and 60 hr. and we (us chefs) look at that a think 'that’s reasonable' any other industry would say 'that's crazy'. The bean counters and the plate carriers that I have worked for never worked more than forty. So why do we except 60 hours as something that is perfectly exceptable?
Really that is a rhetorical question because we all (chefs) know the answer; Our name is on every plate in the dinning room. Not Bean Counter Fred's or Plate Carrier Jim's, it's ours "The Chef".
Our chosen profession is a true VOCATION. Few of us get rich. Few of us make more than an average wage, yet still continue to do or work because there is nothing like that gratification of going out to the Dinning room a getting a standing ovation from the guests. For those few seconds your the ‘king of the world’.
TRB

Follow Ups:

• Re: Workaholism in the food service industry. Gerard 02:44:24 1/08/99 (0)