CHEF’S PSA

THE

LINE COOK SURVIVAL

MANUAL

André Natera

Copyright © 2022 André Natera

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Line Cook Survival

Dedication

Show Up Early

Shake In and Shake Out

Set Your Station

The Worst Pen Is Better Than the Best Memory

If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail

How to Organize a Prep List

Never 86 Anything Without the Chef Knowing

Control All Temperatures

Use Your Voice

You Only Need to Do These Once

Fold Your Towels

Stack Your Dishes and Pans

Left-Handed Spatulas, Buckets of Steam, and Other Myths

Line Cook Water

Call Backs

Organize Your Orders

Work Clean

The Tickets Don’t Stop, and That Sound Will Haunt Your Dreams

Halloween Ninjas

Help the Team

Don’t Be That Person

Knife Etiquette

Take Care of That Cut/Burn

Kitchen Karate

It's Not the Service Team’s Fault the Guest Sent it Back

Set Boundaries

Cook Life

Full Hands in Full Hands Out

Nothing Says Lazy Like Gopher Holes

Iodized Salt and Table Ground Black Pepper Don’t Belong on Your Station

Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You

Moving to Sous Chef

Count Everything

Surround Yourself with Cooks and Chefs that are Better Than You

When the Chef is Correcting You Resist the Urge to Make Excuses and Listen

It’s Better to Practice Slow and Perfect Versus Fast and Sloppy

The Most Difficult Technique to Master Is the One You’re Afraid to Try

Don’t Plate Your Dish Before Your Partner is Ready

Learn to Sauté with Your Non-Dominant Hand

Don’t Sit on Work Surfaces

Walk in Rules

Don’t Change Recipes Without Permission

Chef’s do Talk to Each Other

Interview Advice

Attention to Detail

Go to the Off-Site Event

Work in Kitchens You Aspire to Run

Do it Right the First Time

Techniques Are Superior

Find a Mentor

Closing

The Most Important Chef’s PSA

About the Author

Introduction

Why a book for line cook survival? Of all the people that go to culinary school or work in the kitchen many don’t stay in our industry. Of those that stay even fewer become sous chefs and even fewer head chefs. It goes without saying that this industry is hard, and sometimes it can be shocking to new cooks who were inspired by a cooking show or a glamorous social media page. When you start cooking, you begin at the bottom and are expected to know all the ins and outs of working and behaving in a kitchen. To top it off, most cooks and chefs suffer from something called the “curse of knowledge.” This is where you assume because you know something that everyone else does as well.

Frustration and disappointment can set in for new cooks. This then leads to cooks leaving the industry because they seek a place where they belong and can succeed. I decided that if I wanted to help the industry, I needed to focus on where the future is, and the future is the young cooks and chefs in the kitchen. You all are the most important ones in the kitchen; you are the next generation of Top Chefs, Michelin Star chefs, restaurant owners, megastars, and mentors.

This book is intended to help you along your path and give you some cheat codes to hasten your knowledge in the kitchen. Not everything may apply to you, so as I say in all the other Chef’s PSA books, podcasts, and social, use what applies and discard what doesn’t. This is not the gospel; however, it is intended to give you a standard or some experience where it may not exist. My goal is that if you can survive the formidable years of being a line cook, you will be well prepared to move into the next stage of your career.

I consider book this a companion to my first book, “How to Not be The Biggest Idiot in the Kitchen.” The first book I wrote was intended for new cooks and experienced chefs. However, this one is for all cooks!

I attended culinary school and started working in kitchens when I was seventeen years old. I was the worst cook in the kitchen, constantly struggling to get better and failing daily. I worked in all positions as a cook, including on the line, grilling, sauté, pantry/garde manger, pastry, and prep. They are some of my best memories in the kitchen and looking back; I wish I had spent more time as a cook versus a chef. It’s not easy to go back when you start moving up.

I am going to share with you everything I wish was shared with me when I needed a survival guide.

Line Cook Survival

It will be the most fun you will have in your career; you will work with some of the most interesting people and go through daily battles with them. Days will be long and might never seem to end. Your feet will hurt, and I mean really hurt. I’m sorry, but that never goes away; at least, it hasn’t for me yet. Your fingers will constantly smell of onions and garlic, and no matter how many tricks you learn to remove the smell, they never work.

You’re going to cut or burn yourself and possibly slip and fall. It’s physical and akin to an athletic sport with lifting, turning, squatting, and reaching. Sometimes it is mentally exhausting; the sound of the ticket printer or the expeditor calling orders still haunts my nightmares.

On the toughest of days, you might feel like a failure, you have let your team down, that you’re not good enough, or that everyone is out to get you. You might break down in tears in the walk-in cooler; that is normal; we all have been there.

Even though some of this sounds terrible, you will keep coming back for more. You will love it, and you will miss it when you are not in the kitchen. It’s like your best friend you argue with but still loves being around because they are the only ones that understand you.

The team around you becomes your family or more like a group of pirates on a ship. You love them like no other because when you go through service with them, good or bad, you go through it together. You will all celebrate when one of your own gets promoted but then immediately curse them afterward because they changed.

Surviving as a line cook is a journey; it gets you to the destination. But as it is said, don’t throw away your maps when you arrive in case you need to find your way back if you don’t like it. One of the most difficult parts of becoming a head chef is how to remain a cook. It is something many struggle with.

Every line cook's goal is to become the sous chef one day. Take your time and enjoy the journey; it’s better to be a good sous chef later than a bad one today. There is a sweet spot that only you will recognize when you have been a cook for too long or not long enough.

Dedication

I want to dedicate this book to all the cooks out there in the world. You have one of the noblest jobs someone can do, and that is to feed people. If you are working in a cafeteria, fast food, or Michelin 3-star restaurant, you are feeding people and bringing them nourishment. This is an incredible act of kindness and generosity; cooks are the nourishers of the world. Thank you all for cooking for someone you may have never met and showing kindness.

Show Up Early

Don’t misunderstand what I am saying here when I say show up early. I mean, be at your station ready to work, on time, and as I like to say, “awake and ready.” I am not condoning working off the clock and not getting paid, an archaic practice of times past in the kitchen. This was something chefs and cooks of the prior generation were expected to do and not ask questions. During my first few years of cooking, I would come in 2-3 hours early so that I could get my prep list done. The alternative was staying late for a few hours, and I wanted to go home early. Those days are done in most places; however, I would be naive to say that they still don’t exist in some parts of the culinary world.

I am saying that as a cook, you are expected to be on your station, knives out, in uniform, and ready to work at the scheduled time. If you are the type of person, who needs to drink a coffee, say hi to everyone, go to the bathroom before you’re on station, do that before you start, and be “work ready’ at the scheduled time. If you need 10 minutes to get focused, then show up 10 minutes early, and so on. From the chef’s perspective, you don’t get paid to get ready to work; you get paid to work. This tells everyone you are focused, professional, and respectful of their time.

Keep in mind that if you are on the second shift, some cooks can’t leave until you arrive, so they are expecting you to be responsible. You may be the opening cook, and not being focused upon arrival can cause serious problems and delays for you and your team.

Shake In and Shake Out

If I could change the world as a chef, this would be my message to everyone. Shake in and shake out. Don’t get caught up in the fact you might fist bump or wave and say hi. What I am trying to focus on is the acknowledgment piece.

In a kitchen, this means when you arrive, you shake in with the chef and all the other members of the team. When you are leaving for the day, you do the same thing. It’s a sign of respect and professionalism and should be mandatory in kitchens, in my opinion.

Shaking in establishes equality and respect among you and everyone else in your kitchen. In the moment, you are saying that regardless of where you are in the hierarchy, we are equals, and I acknowledge you.

Additionally, what you will learn in the kitchen is there are good days and bad ones. Sometimes during the bad one’s things may be said or done that need to be let go of, forgiven, and moved on. Shaking in and out allows you to reset and move forward.

Shaking in and out ensures that you begin the day with respect and you close the day with respect regardless of what happens. 

Set Your Station

Time to focus and get your station set. One of the most difficult things about being a cook is you have no idea what condition your station will be in when you arrive. Did the team before you get crushed for service and leave you with nothing? Is the kitchen clean or a disaster? Are you walking into a busy service, and your meat order has not arrived yet? You may or may not be facing these things as the day begins.

Make a quick visual assessment of the situation and then begin your plan of attack. Make sure you have everything you’re going to need to succeed in the day. If you are on the line, ensure you have enough pots and sauté pans. Ensure you have your knives and cutting board and that there is something to prevent them from slipping. I recommend you don’t over-clutter your station with tools you don’t need. If you are only going to use two knives, then only leave those out and store the rest. If you use a utensil bain for your spoons and other tools, ensure it is close to where you will be using them. Keep your towels folded and crisp; I keep one on my side and the others near my station.

Do you need pasta or blanching water? Get it now; water takes time to boil, and ensure it’s seasoned. Also, don’t forget to taste it; as they say, it should taste like the ocean.

Once your station is set and you have everything you need, start getting your prep list together and going after it relentlessly. 

The Worst Pen Is Better Than the Best Memory

One of the most valuable tools you need to have in the kitchen is a pen.   The expression is the worst pen is better than the best memory. Write it down and keep thorough notes.  I have been in the business for twenty-seven years, and I still have some of my notes, journals, recipes, and menu ideas back to culinary school. I lost many along the way and regret not being more careful with them. I can assure you that you will as well.

Take the time and create notes, start journaling, and write down recipes from the chefs and restaurants you will work at. I insisted that cooks that work for me carry a pen and pad as part of their uniform. Additionally, whenever I would give someone instructions or a list of things to do, I would always ensure that they were writing them down. Nothing is worse than a cook who keeps going back to the chef and asking what’s next because they forgot.

A good practice is to create diagrams of your stations and where everything goes if that doesn’t already exist. It will save you a lot of time until you memorize the location of everything.

Journal your experiences in the kitchen so you can have a reference point on critical learning, and so you can look back and see how far you have come. Even if you are not in a position where you can put items on the menu, keeping a journal of your menu ideas, and recipes will help keep your creative juices flowing. I have many stacks of notepads with dish ideas that never came to be. Sometimes that may have been a good thing. We all evolve and sometimes look back and wonder what we were thinking.

If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail

Make a plan and execute it with an unperturbed pace. When you arrive at work, there is always a bit of urgency to get ready in time for service. Head down, and focus is the key to success, not talking and goofing off. You can do that once your line is set up.

All kitchens have a different system for creating prep lists. In some places, the chef writes them for you; in others, you may do it yourself, and sometimes, someone from the shift prior will leave you one. In the worst-case scenario, there is no system for creating prep lists, and you are left to guess. If this is the case, figure it out and create one yourself. You will be more successful as a cook if you have a prep list and a plan to execute that list.

After you set your station with your tools to work, you need to be focused on creating or executing the prep list. In most cases, it is better to plan on being busy than slow. During the rush of service, if you plan on being slow, you will start to run out of products and send your station and the team down the slippery slope of a disastrous service. If it turns out to be slow in most cases, then you have left the station set up for the next busy day.

How to Organize a Prep List

I don’t understand why so many cooks start with the easy things on their prep lists and avoid the items which are the most important. I see them shaving radishes, snipping chives, and filling their pepper mills before making sure they have proteins ready.

The way I think about a prep list is like this. Let’s say, for example; you have a steak dish on the menu with potatoes, asparagus, herb butter, and chives. If you run out of chives, potatoes, asparagus, and herb butter, all items can possibly be removed or substituted, and you may still sell the dish in most cases. However, if the steak is unavailable, you cannot sell the dish; it will be 86’d.  You can’t tell the customer here we have the sides but no meat; please enjoy. But you can tell them we have the steak with different sides and still sell it. You can’t sell the cacio e pepe if you don’t have pasta prepped, regardless of how full your pepper mill is.

I always start my prep list with the items that are most important to sell the dish. Then I organize them in order of time and importance to the dish. Now I understand there will be exceptions to the rule for items requiring long cooking or prep time. However, I am hoping that you can recognize that those are unique to your specific kitchen, and you need to be able to adjust this as needed.

Never 86 Anything Without the Chef Knowing

This person exists in every kitchen, and we all have done this once in our careers. It is the unforgivable sin of 86’ing something for service after the fact, and the chef and service teams are unaware. When you should have counted prior and informed the team of quantities or 86’d items, but you chose to wait. Doing this not only pisses off the guest, chef, service team, and fellow cooks, but it quite possibly might send the entire team down the road of bad service.

As a responsible line cook, you need to count, count again, and maybe once more for good measure. Inform your chef of any potential shortages or items that you are completely out of ASAP. A grey area here is if there is also a risk of you not having enough time to prep something because you’re in the weeds. All kitchens handle this differently. In my kitchen, I always want to know if something is going to be an issue, even if I might not like it. I would rather try and figure out a solution with time versus after the fact. I will get you the help if you ask, but I need to know.

Take control of your station and mise en place! Know what you have and make sure everyone knows what you don’t have. Communication is key to a successful service, so be proactive.

Control All Temperatures

One of the things I notice that the better cooks do is understand temperature control on all things. Cooking is a nuanced game, and there is a constant balancing act between hot and cold food. Understanding how to manipulate temperature is a large part of what we do as cooks. It means you know how to keep your pans hot and know when they are too hot. A great example is when cooking eggs; one needs to master the temperature of the pan to make sure the omelet is browned or not, creamy, or fully cooked. The difference between a crispy fried egg and a soft runny over easy is all temperature control.

If you have tried to cook pasta in barely simmering water versus boiling water, you know the difference. One of the most important things to know is when to turn up or down the flame on your burner. Every line is different, and every kitchen has a different pace. I have seen cooks always keep all their pans on burners because they were cooking very fast.

On the other side, it is to make sure food is cold. That means refrigeration temperatures are regularly checked, plates for cold food are chilled, and oysters are served on ice. It is a disappointment for a guest who is expecting cold food yet receives it warm or hot.

Then there is warm, which may be the most nuanced of them all. Because it is easy to make something hot or cold, but warm is the Achilles heel for many chefs. It is the Hollandaise sauce on the line or temping your protein before cooking them. Letting the meat rest before cutting or serving so that it remains juicy. Mastering hot, cold, and warm might seem easy, but only high-level cooks can do it well.     

Use Your Voice

Someone once spilled a pot of scalding hot water on me because I didn’t know they were behind me, causing a pretty severe burn. I once accidentally stabbed a cook in the leg with a boning knife because he didn’t see me. Both times these accidents would have been prevented if we had used our voice and proper kitchen language.

HOT, BEHIND, CORNER, KNIFE!

These are words that imply danger and need to be communicated in a tone that implies that. It annoys me to no extent when someone accidentally bumps into me or another cook in the kitchen because they don’t use their voice. Don’t be shy, and make sure you say these words to prevent accidents and demonstrate that you know how kitchens work. When someone hears these words, regardless of where they are, they know not to move or move depending.

You can tell someone is new to the industry when they don’t use proper kitchen language. It comes from a lack of confidence or just not knowing each situation is unique. But rest assured, everyone would prefer you to loudly say “knife behind” versus getting a knife in the behind.

You Only Need to Do These Once

In kitchens, there are a few things that you only need to do once. You learn quickly never to do them again because the consequences leave a physical or emotional scar.

Using a wet towel to grab a hot pan.

Turn on the Vita-Mix without checking the dial.

Blending something hot without holding the top or pulsing first.

Not checking the valve on the fryer before draining or filling.

No label on items you are cooking overnight that says “do not discard” for the night cleaners.

Forgetting to set the timer on the bacon.

Setting off the fire suppression system.

Breaking a glass or plate over your mise en place.

Letting the new cook borrow your $1,000 Japanese knife.

Fold Your Towels

If you don’t fold your kitchen towels, start the practice ASAP. This is the sign not only of a professional but of a high-level cook who understands why this is important. In most kitchens, there is a towel rationing before service, where cooks typically get two or three each.  A lot of places will stash kitchen towels like buried treasure in secret locations requiring a map to find them.

If you don’t fold your towel and wipe something, you can only use it a few times before it is no longer usable because it’s too dirty. However, if you fold it, you will have exponential opportunities to use it. Let’s say, for example, you fold it six times (3x3); you will have 18 potential sides to use if refolded after each square gets dirty. So much more so than if not folded.

My personal rule is I have one towel on my side, one on my station, and one for wiping my board and tools.  This has worked not only for me but also in kitchens across the world. Challenge yourself to work with only three towels and keep them folded. I can guarantee you that once this becomes a habit, it will be like nails on a chalkboard to see an unfolded towel.

I did an experiment once in my kitchen where I left my towels on the table, unfolded and just haphazardly thrown. I did this in front of a group of my cooks.  Now in this kitchen, everyone folded towels on autopilot. When they saw me leave them on the counter unfolded, I could see a panic fall over many of their faces as they began to look at each other in a state of confusion.  Finally, one of the embarrassed cooks went over and folded them for me. I explained to them it was just a test, and they then all told me how relieved they were.  Like I said, nails on a chalkboard.

Stack Your Dishes and Pans

There is not enough discussion about doing things to take care of your kitchen porters and dish team.  A simple act of stacking your dishes, scraping out your pans, and removing tape and labels will go a long way in their world. It’s a professional courtesy to some of the hardest-working people on the team. 

Little things go a long way, and as a line cook, you need to build a great relationship with the dish team. Sneak them a meal if not already offered, and give them water when you can.  Mostly treat them like the kings and queens that they are. If you think that what they do is easy or not important, just try going one day without them and you will find a new respect for how hard they work.

It's not uncommon for the dish team to quit or not show up, and you must pull a shift in the dish station. If your chef never pulls you out, you have been demoted in case you’re oblivious. While we are on the subject, let’s start calling it a dish station versus a pit. Professionals work on stations, pits are for snakes. Using the term pit can be derogatory towards them and should be removed from a professional kitchen’s vocabulary.

Left-Handed Spatulas, Buckets of Steam, and Other Myths

Searching for left-handed spatulas, buckets of steam, and other myths are jokes that seniors play on the freshmen cooks. They want you to look like an idiot and send you searching for something that clearly doesn’t exist. It is amazing that the cook searching doesn’t figure out that it is a joke, and they are the punchline.

Here are a few other things that don’t exist and some other dirty tricks you need to be mindful of. By the way, bacon stretchers do exist, but they are hard to find.

Guacamole made of wasabi left out as a family meal

Chocolate-covered strawberries injected with hot sauce

Having someone taste a spoonful of fish sauce thinking its beef stock

Old fish water in the ladles and pans above your head, so when you grab one, you get spilled on.

Liquid ice is just water

Left-handed knives, tongs, and spoons

Nonstick salt

Line Cook Water

Honestly who doesn’t like cold water in a hot kitchen? Bubbles or not is the real question. There is universal kindness that someone can easily give one another in any kitchen, and that is a cold bottle or cup of water. The line is hot, and it’s easy to get dehydrated. As simple and obvious as this advice is, DRINK LOTS OF WATER. Additionally, when you have time, bring your fellow team members water. There is something honorable about giving a thirsty person water.

I used to work with someone that would sometimes screw up service and piss off the entire kitchen team. Then out of nowhere, during a brief period where we could catch our breath, they would show up with cold beverages for everyone. We would all quickly forgive them and welcome them back to the good side.

It’s amazing what a little kindness will do.

Also, a word of caution, sneaking drinks from the bar (or trading for food) and saying the brown liquid is apple juice or tea is fooling no one. This is a risky game to play.

Call Backs

First off, if you are not sure what a “call back” is, it’s when you repeat an order or acknowledge something your chef or person calling tickets had called. This is known as a call-back, and they are intended to be confirmation that you have your head in the game and are “awake and ready.”

Different places use different terms for call-backs. Some places say yes or oui chef, others say chef or just oui, and some say heard or heard chef. I talk about this in my first book, where I use the term chef, but ultimately, it’s whatever is being used in the kitchen where you work. I can’t state this enough, the right way to do something in your kitchen is the way your chef wants it.

You need to call back when called to; it is expected of a cook. It is the confidence given that you are in control of what you have on your station. Not doing so can imply that you are lost and not paying attention; in addition, it could just be disrespectful.

There are things that can be said during call-backs; for example, “all day” or “all in” each mean a different thing. “All day” is how many total of an item you have and “all in” means all orders are placed and accounted for. It’s a two-way street when it comes to call-backs. You may need a call back from the chef or expeditor on how many items you have on order.

When it comes to the call of “how long,” the only answer is a quantifiable unit of time. So that means 1, 2, 5, or 10 minutes 30 seconds or now. It does not mean you say, all most, working hard, hustling, or I’m trying. Those words mean nothing in terms of timing orders. It is important to use time because there is coordination going on for service and honest time helps others on the team speed up, slow down or send another table instead. Resist the urge to say those things and only use time. Professionals use time.

Organize Your Orders

There will inevitably be a time when you are deep in the weeds and realize that no one will save you. Sometimes the only way out is through. I have worked with some cooks that appear to be moving slowly, as if in quicksand, yet defy logic and get food out faster than others who move with intensity. The reason these people can do this has everything to do with how they batch their orders in action and their mental process.

For example, if you have an order of four fish, you might start them together versus in stages. Sometimes this is called a pick or batch system, where the expeditor will sell orders in groups. It can be overwhelming when orders come in, and there are various menu items in some random sequence that is hard to follow. If you can mentally say, I have four fish, two steaks, and one chicken you might not necessarily care in what random sequence they are listed on the ticket. Try to batch as much as possible, as it makes it much easier to concentrate.

Sometimes when the tickets are too much, and the printer paper is hanging to the floor with dupes, you might not know where to begin. The fact remains that only so many tickets can be called, and cooks can only remember so many tickets. The same principle applies here; only focus on what you and your team can handle and batch the orders. Eventually, you will get caught up and get back in rhythm.

Work Clean

I have said before that there are two things, I will never compliment a cook on, working too clean or too fast. A cook that works clean is a high-level cook. Learning how to work clean is something that will not only be respected by your chef and fellow cooks, but you will find that it is much more efficient and practical.

Keep your station organized; everything in the same place all the time helps with muscle memory when it's busy but will also be cleaner. Keep your towels folded and wipe down surfaces as often as possible. Hopefully, you use a sanitation solution in your kitchen and have a container or bucket of sanitizer within reach, so use it. I often would tell people I prefer to see sanitizer that needs changing versus one that is pristine. That is because if the sanitizer is pristine, then it hasn’t been used. The other one may be dirtier, but at least the person is using it.  I like the idea of keeping the damp towel on the piano of your hotline and constantly wiping it down throughout service.

If you have spare time, start tidying up your station so you can be ahead of the game when it is time to go. Flip your containers if you move prep from one day to the next, and ensure everything is tightly wrapped. If you are early in your career, clean work habits will stay with you forever, but unfortunately, so will dirty ones. Lastly, NEVER wipe your dirty hands on your clean apron, that’s a hack move.

The Tickets Don’t Stop, and That Sound Will Haunt Your Dreams

I to this day, I still have nightmares of the ticket machine printing endless tickets. This is a sound that will haunt you forever. The sound makes people curl into the fetal position and cry in the walk in. You think it will be slow, and boom, tickets to the floor. The service team never informed you that they just sat the entire restaurant, and you let your guard down. Now there are endless tickets, and the noise from the printer sounds like it’s laughing at you.

There are also the days when you just finished cleaning because service was slow, and you haven’t seen a table in a while. Then bam, tickets come in as you grabbed your knife roll and walked to clock out.  The ticket machine gives zero f**ks.  Say goodbye to your meet-up at the bar or getting a few extra hours of sleep.

It is as if the printer machine has a mind of its own and knows how to ruin your peace of mind. You can’t get caught slipping, or the printer wins. It’s best to always remain awake and ready. 

Halloween Ninjas

On Halloween, kids dress up as ninjas to go trick-or-treating for candy. They buy plastic swords, fake throwing stars, and a cool ninja costume. They look just like the real thing; the only difference is they are not real ninjas, just “Halloween ninjas.” There are a lot of cooks out there who are Halloween ninjas; they look the part but are just dressed up for pretend and don’t have the skills to back it up. They wear the coolest aprons and have the most expensive knives, but they wipe their hands on their apron and don’t know how to use a knife. They are Halloween ninjas (fake cooks), and they don’t have the respect of the team.

In the kitchen, you can’t buy culinary ability and respect; you can only earn or learn it. It’s the equivalent of buying expensive shoes, thinking you can run faster. Now don’t misunderstand what I am saying here; I do appreciate cool aprons and expensive knives. But I caution you to make sure you focus your efforts on the skills and abilities you need as a cook.

The thing about Halloween ninjas is they seem to be the first ones to quit when things get hard, or their station goes down when it gets busy. If you are going to look the part, ensure you can back it up too, especially if you are surrounded by cooks that don’t have expensive toys.

Help the Team

If you desire to be loved by the team and your chef and not be a terrible person, you need to help others. But first, make sure you are set for service; it will make things worse if you and your team member are now behind. Ensure that you are set and have everything for service; once that is completed, you can begin to assist others. If you’re ahead, don’t use this as an opportunity to disappear because you are good while someone else is crumbling. Also, don’t help people so that they can work slower or goof off.

You need to take on the mindset of being on a winning team. Win together and fail together is my mantra, and some kitchens won’t let anyone go on break or go home until everyone is done. This can create social pressure on underperformers to have a bit more hustle. Moreover, it makes sure that everyone understands that for one to succeed, all must.

When you move into the next role of sous chef or higher, you will soon find out that it’s all about helping and making sure that others don’t fail. There is a fine line between helping and enabling someone; hopefully, you can tell the difference. Now, as contradictory as this next statement may be, sometimes people need to fail to move ahead and learn. Failure is an important part of learning, and fear of failure is why some people will push to become better. It will be important to know if someone fails, will they learn the lesson and get better, or will they crash service? The nuance in the decision to help or not can’t be taught but only learned. I will never let anyone fail if it impacts service or the guest. The lesson can’t be at the expense of the kitchen.

The person who doesn’t help is usually not respected by their peers. The chef notices, and so does the team, so they will usually not be the person being considered for raises and promotions. The in it for #1 attitude can sometimes be a detriment when the success of others is tied to your unwillingness to help.

Even if people don’t help you, be the bigger person and set an example. That is what will make you better.

Don’t Be That Person

This person exists in every kitchen, and no one likes them. They always talk about how they did it at the other job, who they know, how they would do it better, and how no one else gets it but them. This person likes the sound of their voice and will let everyone around them know their opinion on everything that is wrong where they work. They bad mouth the chef and sous chef when they are not in the room and spread dissent amongst the team. They complain that they never get promoted because others don’t get it. Unfortunately, the person who doesn’t get it is them.

I can tell you that no one respects or likes this person. Additionally, the chefs always know you’re talking bad about them. No one is being fooled, yet they cling to the illusion that they are fooling everyone and have the upper hand.

At a moment’s notice, they usually get fired for something that other people may have gotten away with. It’s because they are bringing a negative vibe to the kitchen, and people don’t enjoy working with them. The team will celebrate their departure.

The interesting thing is that, they sometimes just don’t know better. No one is impressed that is above you, but people who don’t know better might be. A quiet assassin in the kitchen is the best way.

Knife Etiquette

Chef knives are a personal experience and, when used, become an extension of the user. My advice when you are new to cooking and still developing your knife skills is don’t go out and buy the most expensive Japanese knives you can find. You are most likely not ready to take care of them to prevent rust, chipping, or cutting fingertips. Not only that but knives do get stolen in the kitchen; in my career, I have probably had to replace my entire set 3x over due to loss or theft.

I recommend you start with something a little heavier that balances well in your hand. You can get comfortable with this and then graduate to something lighter and more expensive as you gain experience. Make sure that you take care of your knives, clean them by hand, keep them covered, and ensure you use honing steel and sharpen regularly. The old kitchen expression is; a sharp knife will cut you, and a dull knife will hurt you.

Respect this tool as it is not only dangerous but, if maintained, will make sure that your job is significantly easier.  Sharp knives make pristine cuts, and a good cook can tell the difference in the product if the knife is dull. In the old days, chefs would throw away your knife if it was dull, using an extreme example to prove a point.

In many kitchens, cooks are expected to bring their own knives, and in others, they are provided as community knife sets or a combination of the two. If you are bringing your knives and you have worked hard to keep them sharp, in addition to paying a lot of money for them, you won’t want anyone touching them without permission. It is the unwritten rule of kitchens that you never touch someone else’s knife without asking permission. Not only is it respectful, but as mentioned earlier, the knife becomes an extension of the cook. In today’s world, that might be analogous to someone taking your phone without asking and using it.

Take Care of That Cut/Burn

New to the kitchen? Well expect to cut the tip of your fingers and nails off a few times. You will have burns on your hands and forearms. There is no escaping it, and it happens to even the most seasoned chefs. No one is exempted from burns and cuts, and as soon as one starts to heal, another one appears.

We talked about using your voice to indicate “hot, behind, and knife” when in the kitchen. Doing so might help prevent some burns and cuts, but there is really no way to stop them fully. You work around fire, steam, and other hot things and sharp knives that are literally designed to cut flesh and bone.

Many cooks will cut themselves and tough it out to get through service. I have seen old-school tough line cooks sear their cuts on a flat top, and I once saw a dishwasher cut out a large piece of bloody flesh from his hand with scissors. He thought it was getting in the way of working. This old-school mentality was tough but stupid. It’s not worth being scarred for life, risk infection, or other permanent damage due to proving how tough you are for service.

If you need medical attention, go get it. I am going to be straight with you; no one is going to care about your health and well-being more than you do. If you are not willing to take care of yourself, do not expect others to do so. Nothing will happen to the restaurant if you leave to get some stitches or treat a serious burn.

Kitchen Karate

I want you to learn Kitchen Karate, and no, I am not talking about beating people up. I am talking about the martial art of kitchens, where you learn how to move around swiftly, efficiently, and with skill and finesse. When you watch a skilled chef or cook that has been doing it for a while, they move with such precision that they look like they are doing a choreographed fight scene. Like when Neo was dodging bullets in the Matrix, they just move differently.

They move pots and pans at the exact right moment only to turn around without looking and grab their palette knife out of their bain marie to plate something with finesse. They use plate wipes but never seem to need to because they don’t make a mess. They don’t have more tools on their station than they need, and when they slice, there are no serrations visible.

They are a black belt in Kitchen Karate, and everyone knows it. They are the best, and all the cooks secretly or openly fawn in awe over them. They know techniques that you don’t even know exist yet. They are so high level and have skills and finesse that you don’t notice, but they notice you lack.

Kitchen Karate is the unnamed skill and technique a cook and chef must have. I also use this term to refer to the mindset these cooks and chefs have. They maintain their disciple in the kitchen and always try to be better and reach for the elusive idea of perfection.

It's Not the Service Team’s Fault the Guest Sent it Back

Inevitably the service team will send back a plate from a guest that they didn’t like. It might be under or over-cooked, have a hair, or some other request. It happens often! It’s not going to stop if we are dealing with people, and until the robots take our jobs, it’s still our issue to deal with. However, for some reason, the cooks in the kitchen feel the need to give the server a hard time for something that is clearly out of their control and, at times, the cook's fault.

Don’t be that person in the kitchen, it’s a waste of energy for you and your service team. Ideally, in kitchens, the service team only speaks to the expeditor or chef about orders, and then it is communicated to the cook on the line. Yet, when that is not the case, cooks seem to want to argue, point fingers, and blame everyone for the guest's preference. It’s important that you don’t lose sight of why you are working at a restaurant to begin with, which is to feed people and stay in business.

I like the rule of anything during service; it’s just yes chef, and you get it done. We can discuss the why later in a post-shift briefing. Regardless of blame, the dish will be corrected anyway, so why fight it?

Now I will say that sometimes the server does ring in items incorrectly or forgets items. This is the service teams’ fault clearly. But again, you are going to have to deal with it anyway, so take care of the guest who is paying everyone’s salary first and let the chef deal with the service team.

Set Boundaries

I think many of my chef friends might not agree with me on this subject because they are habitual line steppers. However, as a chef, I can tell you I will take everything you can give me, and I will still ask for more. I will push you to your limit and then let you recover; then, I will push a little further after you have built some resistance.  I am not alone in this; there are many chefs (not all) who will push you and still expect more.

I am going to arm you with the secret knowledge they don’t want you to know. If you establish boundaries early and hold true to them, they will respect them.  Let your chef know your boundaries as soon as you begin the job or as soon as one is crossed. It’s a slippery slope once you say yes just this one time because then it becomes two or three times.

If you need to go to school at a certain time, let them know. If you need a specific day off or work schedule, let them know. A lot of chefs will agree and work with you on this. However, many may not and let you know that if you desire to work there that they cannot compromise with you. This makes it a decision only you can make. Are you willing to flex on the boundaries you have created for the job, or are you willing to walk away for something else that may be a better fit? Only you can answer that question, but you need to ask because you have a shot at getting everything if you do. If you don’t, you will get zero.

Cook Life

The life of a cook is one of extreme highs and lows. There are intense periods of chaos and lulls in service where everyone gets bored. You have a big adrenaline spike when the restaurant fills up, and you perform at a superhuman level. There are moments when you feel immensely stressed and others when you have physical pain like you were in a fight. Reaching, running, squatting, turning, and lifting heavy things. It can all take a toll on your body and mental well-being.

But then the shift ends, and occasionally there may be an opportunity to go out and have a few drinks. A few turn into many and occasionally turn into always. There is a reason why substance abuse is high in this industry; the environment lends itself well to vices.

Then before you know it, your body feels older in the blink of an eye, your knees and backache, and you might be seriously damaged. All the years of partying have caught up to you, and your body is wrecked. As someone who has lived that life and seen many lose themselves to it, I am going to tell you what I wish someone had told me earlier. Take care of yourself and your body. Exercise, eat right, stay hydrated, go home, sleep some nights, meditate, and find hobbies outside of cooking. This industry can consume you and become your whole identity. I went through a phase where, if we weren’t talking about food, I couldn’t follow the conversation. I was a chef/cook 99% of the time. Luckily, I found other interests and started taking care of myself. Mental health is a real issue in this industry, and you need to make sure that you are doing everything you can for your well-being. Kitchens are much more improved today than they were even a short five years ago. Even some of the screaming TV chefs have softened their personalities.

You need to do everything you can to take care of your mental, physical, and emotional well-being because you are in charge of it and cannot expect others to accept responsibility for you. Take the lead and be the main character of your kitchen story.

Full Hands in Full Hands Out

Knowing how to move efficiently in the kitchen and not waste time is a good example of Kitchen Karate. The term FIFO means two different things in the kitchen. Beginning with “first in, first out” typically refers to the rotation of product in coolers, or prep that needs to be rotated and moved along. The second meaning is “full hands in, full hands out” this is when you are moving throughout the kitchen and staying productive to reduce to a fewer number of steps.

When you go to the walk-in cooler you go in with your hands full and put items away before coming out with new ones. When you are going to the dish station to get something, you can take dirty dishes, pots, and pans. Always moving efficiently between locations, minimizing the amount of work you will do later or that someone else will have to do.

Working in this manner will not only save you time cleaning up and prepping, but it will also show others that you know what you’re doing and possibly inspire them to do the same.

Nothing Says Lazy Like Gopher Holes

What’s a gopher hole? It’s when you wrap a container with plastic wrap, and someone decides to rip it open or poke a hole in it to retrieve the product instead of removing the plastic. It is the height of laziness and should be called out across all kitchens. It takes just a bit more effort to remove the plastic versus poking a hole, and someone is going to have to remove the plastic eventually, so why do it?

I find it strange when cooks set up their line and don’t remove lids and plastic wrap. It is as if they are thinking they can get out of cleaning up after service. Then the orders come in, and they just pop, pop, pop the plastic to grab what they need. Even worse is when they rewrap over the hole! I find this inexplicably stupid.

Other times the cook might just use one long piece of plastic wrap, so they get out faster.

I have a huge pet peeve in the kitchen, and that is when someone is passing me something I need to plate or cook, the lid needs to be removed. Usually, I am referring to deli containers, but this also applies to plastic. If someone asks you to pass them something next time, remove the lid and don’t make a gopher hole.

Iodized Salt and Table Ground Black Pepper Don’t Belong on Your Station

Maybe you’re new to the kitchen or have only cooked at home, so you don’t know any better. But if you are using iodized salt and table ground black pepper on your workstation, you’re in the wrong kitchen, or you need this book. There are of course, always exceptions to the rule in life, and this is no different; however, there is a 99% chance you are not working in one of them.

Table grind pepper and iodized salt belong in shakers on the café diner table. The industry standard is Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. I am a snob, so I use a Peugeot peppermill for my fresh ground pepper. People will argue about which is the right Kosher salt brand to use, Diamond Crystal or Morton’s. That’s a decision I will leave to your chef, it’s their kitchen, and as long as they don’t use iodized, I will respect their decision.

Keep your salt and pepper separate, as I have said on many occasions. They have different purposes and are not always needed together. Most food items need salt as a flavor enhancer, but not everything needs pepper. Therefore, you would never mix them, also, what is the recipe? Do not attempt to answer that, as you would be wrong and dumb.

Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You

Many cooks want to move up and into the next level of their career. It’s like martial arts aka Kitchen Karate.

Everyone works hard for the next belt in hopes of becoming a black belt. Cooking is no different; everyone starts as a cook and wants to become a chef. When you start out, there are many stations and positions you must go through first. You may start in the commis kitchen cleaning herbs and produce and doing simple knife work. Then you may move on the line or higher-level cooking positions. Depending on where you work, there may be a few layers before becoming sous chef.

The classic hierarchy in a kitchen begins at commis chef, then demi chef, and chef de partie. Many places use this or a simple cook 1-3 with the occasional lead cook title thrown in. Regardless, there is usually some sort of formal structure in a kitchen. As a cook, your job is to learn and become better daily. Be consistently good and push yourself to get noticed through your efforts and actions.

When it’s time for promotion, in most cases, the best person for the job gets it; putting aside kitchen politics which are a real thing, master every station in your kitchen and don’t skip any steps. When you are expected to lead a team, you will need to train others, and they need to know that you are competent in the skills you are training them on. Once you have demonstrated your work ethic, culinary mastery, and consistency, they will have no choice but to notice you. You must become so good that they can’t ignore you and they approach you for your next promotion.

Moving to Sous Chef

One of the most asked questions I get from cooks is how to move into the sous chef role. The answer I give always seems to come as a shock to people, “Be the best cook in the kitchen.” Many times, people think they need to focus on admin work, schedules, or ordering food. I can tell you although this is important, it is not the most important. You know who would be great at managing spreadsheets and systems? Accountants, but would you promote an accountant to a sous chef with zero cooking skills? Obviously, the answer is no; you would promote someone with skills in the kitchen.

Therefore, I will continue to reiterate that cooking is still number one. You can be taught the admin part in a much shorter period than the culinary part. If you need help, get my Culinary Leadership Fundamentals book, it is all about the things you need to know to be a chef leader.

Now how do you go about getting the job? Well as stated earlier, be the go-to person in the kitchen and be so good they can’t ignore you. Be a great cook, specifically at the food you cook in the restaurant you work at if you are applying there. But most importantly, let the person making the hiring decision know you are interested. One mind trick I use is to tell everyone that you are interested in the job that will listen. This may deter others from applying if they think you are getting it. Thinning out the competition is a good thing.

You may need to do a cooking demo or tasting for the next position, so be prepared in advance with what you will cook. Have a game plan and stick to it. A very important thing I tell people when going on cooking interviews is to make sure you do not cook something for the first time during the tasting. Something always goes wrong, and trust me, I have overseen hundreds of these. Inevitably a cook tries to impress with something they saw online but never actually did before, and it fails miserably.

I also advise people to ensure that they factor in time when cooking in a new location and under stress. If it takes you an hour to do something in a comfortable kitchen, it may take twice as long in a foreign one where you don’t know where anything is.

When you do become a sous chef, know that your life will change, and it might not be what you expected. Many people look at their boss and think they can do that job. Sous chef is no exception; the job may be much harder than you expected. On top of that, and at many times, the cooks will test you, as you were one of them not too long ago, and now, you’re the enemy. They may have expected that you might cut them some slack when they mess up and look the other way. They might be upset with you and say you’ve changed.

This is not uncommon, so prepare yourself for that; most people go through this. However, your ability to remain professional will determine your success. Maintain professionalism and ensure you make good decisions for the kitchen, team, and food, never your own ego.

Count Everything

There is an expression in the catering kitchen, the three most important rules are.

Count everything

Count everything

Count everything

I can’t teach you how to count, as I am assuming you know that, but I can tell you that when you don’t count, disaster inevitably arrives.  In the form of angry chefs, guests, and lots of running around and blaming. The first thing your chef will ask you is, “Did you count them?” How you answer this question will determine your punishment. If you say yes, at least you made a human error and will be scolded to double-check. However, if you say no, then you’re the biggest idiot in the kitchen.

In catering, you live and die daily based on counts. You need to count the proteins, and individual vegetables, weigh the bulk items, and ensure that you have the correct number of gallons or liters of soups and sauces. You will also ensure that everything is always the same amount. For example, the same number of steaks or chicken on a sheet pan every time, all time. The same number of counted asparagus on every tray and the plates in the hot boxes are always in the correct number per stack.

Basically, everything gets counted. Well, you didn’t say (insert item) this, so do I count it? I said count EVERYTHING! When in doubt, count.

Now ensuring correct counts doesn’t just apply to catering; it also applies to line cooking and prep kitchens. Before service, you need to know how many of each item you have available to sell. This can be counted when you’re prepping or writing your prep list. You then know what you need for service and how many backups you have.

A pro tip on the line is to always, ALWAYS ensure each container of prep is the same amount and know how many backs up you have. For example, if you have a pan with ten steaks and one back up in the cooler, you know, you have 20 steaks all day. If you have a busy service and you run out of the first pan and go for your backup, that is the time to inform the service team and chef you have ten steaks left. This ensures that you don’t sell something after it has been 86’d. This doesn’t just apply to steaks, COUNT EVERYTHING!

Surround Yourself with Cooks and Chefs that are Better Than You

You want to get better, learn faster and become a better cook? Then surround yourself with cooks and chefs better than you. That is the secret; it’s that simple. There are sharks and goldfish in the kitchen, and depending on your environment, you will become one. If you are a baby fish and you surround yourself with either one, you will become more like them. You can either be a baby shark or a baby goldfish.

Now just because they are better cooks or more experienced than you does not mean they will take the time and teach you. Your learning is always self-directed, and you must ensure you are doing your part. A misconception is that all good cooks and chefs are also good teachers and mentors. This is not true, and if you are fortunate to have both, great! However, if you don’t then there are things you need to do to learn from good cooks that they are not going to show you on their own.

Some great chef advice I heard was, “Just look up from the cutting board and look around”. That means paying attention to how people move, cut, organize themselves, set their stations, or make a sauce. There are a million small things happening in a kitchen all the time, and it’s your job to find the important things that make good cooks good. Take notes; as I said before, write it all down. Ensure to ask questions when you see something new or ask if you can shadow someone or if they can show you. Don’t be afraid to ask someone for feedback on what you can do better; even if you might not want to hear it, there may be some good insight on improvement.

Now one last piece of advice, occasionally, there are going to be good cooks that you personally don’t like for whatever reason. This might give you a mental block, not allowing you to see the skills or techniques you can learn. The expression is don’t dismiss the wisdom with the wise. Meaning, if a person you don’t like says the sky is blue, don’t disagree with the truth just because you don’t like them.  

When the Chef is Correcting You Resist the Urge to Make Excuses and Listen

When working in a kitchen, you are bound to get corrected for various things. Often, your instinct will be to make an excuse as to why you did it wrong. Your last job did it differently; your school taught you another way, someone gave you the wrong recipe, and so on.

Resist the urge to make excuses and listen; the person correcting you is not mad at you, nor do they usually care why you did it wrong. It is irrelevant to the issue most times. What they do care about is that you make it correctly and specifically how they want you to. Making an excuse is doing nothing for you and makes it worse in most cases.

If you have gone to culinary school, I will shatter a myth most cooks don’t realize when they get into the real world. Just because you did it a certain way in school does not mean it’s the right way to do it. The right way to do something is the way your chef wants it done, full stop.  The same applies to your last job, former chef, friends’ advice, and so on.

This is the one piece of advice most seem to learn too late.  If you want to infuriate a kitchen veteran, tell them you learned it differently in school.

It’s Better to Practice Slow and Perfect Versus Fast and Sloppy

Faster is not always better, especially when it comes to developing your skills as a cook. When you are just starting out, it is natural to want to get faster and become better. When you are slow in the kitchen, it can make others on the team fall behind. As I have said earlier, I will never compliment anyone for working too fast because you can always work faster.

Yet paradoxically, to get fast at something requires slow repetition and patience.  You need to make something several times before you understand how to do it, and you need to make something hundreds of times to be good at it.  Having a high-level technical ability is beautiful to see in a cook. But to be highly skilled, it will require a certain level of attention to detail and perfect practice.

Some things will build your skills to a high level, such as cutting brunoise, butchering, cooking fish, and doing small intricate garnish work. These things require focus, finesse, and discipline. When someone is proficient, it does not necessarily mean they are fast; it means they are precise. To be precise and fast requires practice, and you need to aim to be precise and fast if you want to be highly skilled.

The Most Difficult Technique to Master Is the One You’re Afraid to Try

If you are afraid to do something in the kitchen, that is what you need to work on the most. Most people reach a certain level of culinary proficiency and then let their ego get the better of them. They are afraid to not know something because they might feel like an inferior cook if they don’t know something.

All things in the kitchen are difficult to learn at first, but with practice, you get better. Your goal is to become a better cook, and that means being pushed out of your comfort zone. You are great at the grill station; perfect move to sauté. Great at breakfast, perfect move to dinner. Really good at cooking eggs, then learn how to cook steaks.

Can you remember how much fun cooking was when you didn’t know anything? When I was in culinary school, and I would go home during the break, I would cook for all my family and friends because I wanted to show off all the new skills I learned. It was the best because every day was new and interesting. When you start to get a little experience in the kitchen, you can forget how exciting it is to be a beginner.

In many kitchens it is customary to wear a blue apron, and that is to signify that one is still an apprentice and learning. It is a constant reminder that we need to be learning every day. There is an old expression that says, “When growth stops, decay begins.”  Don’t limit yourself by being reluctant to try new and more difficult techniques in the kitchen. Your success is also determined by your bravery.

Don’t Plate Your Dish Before Your Partner is Ready

Working in the kitchen is also being a member of a team. You work with others, and everyone relies on each other to be successful. One person can throw the entire kitchen into chaos if they don’t do their part and work in sync with the rest of the team. On the line, there are two ways that not being in sync can affect others on your team, which in turn affects the quality of food and guest experience.

When you oversee a specific station on the line, you might have dishes that are easier or faster to prepare than the other stations. It’s great that you can make your food faster, but if you put up your food faster than the person who also has dishes going to the same table, it can make things chaotic. Just because your dishes are faster or you are, does not mean you should be. Do your best to time the food so that it goes to the pass simultaneously with the other people on the line selling the dishes. The reason is that with many dishes, there is a ticking clock of quality that decreases the longer it stays in the window without being run. A good example, and one that seems to come up a lot in kitchens, is salad. You toss it with dressing and put it out in less than a minute, yet it is going with a well-done steak which takes 25 mins to be ready. By the time the steak is done, the salad is trash.

The second example is when cooks work in unison to complete a certain dish. An example would be if you oversee vegetables or garnish on a plate and someone else does the protein. If you cook the vegetables and garnish then send them to be plated much sooner than the protein is ready, then they might not look as fresh, appetizing, or hot.

Timing your food with your team will be universally appreciated by all and will make for a successful service and positively affect food quality. 

Learn to Sauté with Your NON- DOMINANT HAND

As simple and common as this advice is, it always surprises me when I tell this to people, and they have not heard it before. This is something known as the curse of knowledge when it comes to cooks and chefs. They seem to know this, and it’s on autopilot, so they assume everyone knows it and don’t notice people that are not doing it.

Learning how to use your non-dominant hand to sauté allows you to use your dominant hand to use the tools to assist you. Using tools requires more coordination than the act of moving a pan. That is assuming you have mastered the skill of sautéing with both hands already. Using tongs or a fish turner requires a bit more dexterity, and so does basting a piece of meat with butter and spoon. Lifting a pan and spooning out the items is also much easier. You need your dominant hand to handle the finer details of cooking.

As simple as this tip is if you are not doing this already, prepare to become immediately more efficient once incorporated into your movements.

Side note if you have not mastered flipping and the sauté motion, a good way to practice is flipping dried beans in a pan or a piece of toast. 

Don’t Sit on Work Surfaces

Why? Because your ass is not sanitary. Nothing infuriates me more than seeing people sit on a work surface. That is where food is prepped, and food is sacred when you work in a kitchen. Putting anything other than food on a work surface is a no go in most kitchens. That includes ass, feet, boxes, and bags. The same rule applies to cutting boards too; years ago, on Iron Chef, Bobby Flay was called out by Iron Chef Morimoto for standing on a cutting board. This was considered very disrespectful; cutting boards are sacred.

I am going to sit here on my high horse and act like I’ve never done this. But the truth is I did it once after my shift; I was done cleaning and just hanging out talking with the cooks. My chef walked around the corner and saw me, and immediately yelled at me and said, “Get your ass off the table.” I was embarrassed because I had never thought of it before, and it’s gross. Never again did I make that mistake, and I want to make sure that you never do as well.

It's ok not to know something and get corrected for it, but now you know better. Treat all work surfaces as sacred and remember.

Counters are for glasses, not asses.

Walk in Rules

Walk in coolers are not just for storing food; they are also a good place to cry in, forget things, cool off, and disappear. But they must be treated with respect because without a walk-in, things can get really ugly. Nothing is worse than an out-of-order cooler, or a cooler so packed you can’t find anything. Treat your walk-in like a sacred place because it is.

Put things back where they belong and consolidate.

If you spill something, clean it up, don’t pretend you didn’t do it.

Keep it clean and orderly, it will not get bigger.

Sweep it, organize it, and mop it as much as possible.

Change the containers, clean the racks, and dust the fans.

Don’t store things on the floor, and try to avoid boxes if possible.

Don’t slam the door or kick it open.

Own it.

Don’t Change Recipes Without Permission

Ok, this might be one of those things that can get you fired in many kitchens, and that is to do things wrong or in a different way deliberately. If you decide to change something and make it differently without asking permission, first, that is one of the most disrespectful things that can be done in a kitchen. Rest assured, there may be a very good reason that things are done a certain way, and it is not your place to change anything without a prior conversation.

Recipes are personal to many people, and changing them is like telling someone that you don’t like something about them and have decided to change it for them. It is something that is a huge insult even if you have a better way. The right thing to do if you have a different recipe or method is to ask if you can show it to them and let them decide if they would like to change it. I would caution you from saying the reason you want to change something is that you think your recipe is better. Remember, food is subjective, and it’s not better or worse; it’s just different.

Many people think they have a better recipe because it is all they know. Maybe your school instructor showed you a different way or another chef from a previous job. But asking someone to change a recipe because you don’t like it is like asking your current partner to look and dress like your old partner because you liked how they looked better. You wouldn’t do that because you’d quickly be single again, the same principle applies.

Some chefs make decisions on recipes due to costs, allergens, local ingredients, or personal connection. So, before you change something, understand it may impact things that you may be unaware of. It’s best to approach things with an open mind and learn a new or different way of doing something. 

Chef’s do Talk to Each Other

Whatever you do, don’t lie on your resume and think you won’t get caught. When you are new in the industry, your circle of influence might be your schoolmates if you went to a culinary school or your jobs if you have had a few. That might not be many people, so you may be naive to the fact that others have more connections than you. If you have been in the business for twenty years, you might possibly have 20x more connections than this. Many chefs have worked across the globe and in multiple kitchens, and if they have been doing it long enough, many of their friends are also chefs who run kitchens. When they get a resume, the first thing most of them do is see who they might know.

People will lie and say they worked at places longer, had a higher title, or had more responsibility than is accurate. You may be lucky and sneak one by a chef who did not do their due diligence, but why risk it. Whether it’s something you agree with or is ethical or not, I can assure you that it happens. The phone rings, and you get the good, the bad, and the ugly from previous coworkers and bosses. People might not admit they do this but trust me, they do.

Be careful not to burn bridges; I have been in groups of chefs that will tell you never to hire someone who they worked with. I also highly encourage you to be aware of applying for a job at another place if they are a friend or colleague of your current chef. I have had friends that have called and said before I hire this person, are you cool with it. Now in my case I am, I always encourage people to find the right place for themselves, which might be somewhere else. However, others might not be as open-minded, and now you are out of two jobs.

Something I have seen lately in kitchen culture is that many don’t want to give a minimum of two weeks’ notice at jobs. This has always been an industry standard, and in today’s job market, where cooks are in high demand, some kitchens may ask you to start right away, or you may make yourself available immediately. Some people have pushed back and said they won’t get a notice when fired, or they don’t want to be treated poorly for two weeks while working out the notice. These are valid points, but as discussed earlier, you must be mindful of your professional reputation in the chef community. If you are known as a person who doesn’t give notice, many people won’t risk hiring you as they know you will do the same to them. I strongly caution people against this as it is short-sighted, and being early in your career; you need to play the long game. The exception would be a place that is clearly abusive and damaging to your mental and physical health. Just make sure that it is a legit reason and that you are not just trying to get out easy.

Interview Advice

When you are applying for a new position in the kitchen, you will likely need to prepare for an interview. In my other book “Culinary Leadership Fundamentals” I go in-depth on how to interview someone and how to prepare for an interview for chef positions. However, I want to take the opportunity to share with you some best practices for cooks when you are about to go for an interview.

Be early or on time for your interview; if you are late, your chances of getting the job are substantially lower, regardless of the reason. Be dressed appropriately for the interview and consider where you are applying. If you are going to a luxury hotel, look polished; if you are going to a casual spot, you can dress a bit more casual. However, you should always dress appropriately; what you wear can make an impression, so look your best.

Be prepared to cook if needed; many places ask you to cook during interviews, so be ready if asked. If you need to reschedule the interview because you are not prepared, that is not a good look. It is the kitchen, so be ready.

Bring your resume, even if you emailed it. Chefs get plenty of emails and resumes, and they may not have it directly in front of them. Best to bring it, so you look like a professional.

Rehearse the interview with a friend and record yourself if possible so you can hear how your answers sound and adjust, in addition to seeing your body language.

Know the person you are interviewing with. Google them and know their name and history. If you want to work somewhere, it is important that you do your homework.

Ask questions! It surprises me how many times I interview people, and they don’t have questions prepared. They usually say something like no, you have answered all my questions. Always have questions ready. Pro-tip, ask them questions about themselves; people love talking about themselves.

Don’t forget to follow up! Write a thank you card, send an email, text… whatever! Thank them and let them know you’re interested. Being respectful and polite goes a long way.

Attention to Detail

Attention to detail is something that is always sought out in a cook. Someone who can see the smallest details can find the slightest errors and can ensure that the food is made correctly, all the time. You need to become a cook who pays attention to details. These are the cooks that excel in their careers because everything is important to them. Many chefs and cooks sometimes wonder why certain kitchens worry about cutting the tape straight, labeling something a very specific way, or ensuring towels are folded correctly. If you do all these small things, it means you like orderliness and pay attention to detail.

When I was a chef, I insisted all my cooks do things in a very specific way. What I noticed was that those who did, got better faster and made fewer mistakes in the kitchen. When you do all things with attention you turn down the noise and bring your focus and attention to what is in front of you. In most cases, those cooks who do this are the cooks that make the fewest mistakes and deliver consistently good food.

Learn to pay attention to everything around you. When you go to the cooler to get something, look around and see where everything is and ask why it is there. When someone shows you a new way to do something, take notes or make a video, so you don’t forget. When you are done for the day, write in your journal; what you learned so you can commit it to memory. Attention to detail will always serve you well.

Go to the Off-Site Event

Occasionally your chef is going to invite you to go to an off-site event. This might be a local food and wine festival, catering at someone’s house, or a demo they are putting on. Whenever you are presented with the opportunity to go, take it.  Spending time with the chef is good for your career; it allows you to get to know them and help them with something that is important. At food festivals, you can also meet other chefs, try different food, and sometimes sneak a beverage.

The price you will pay for going to these events usually is that you do most or sometimes all the clean-up. Yes, I know that sucks, but it’s the price you pay at times. If you are selected to go with your chef, it usually means they think highly enough of you that they asked. So don’t make it the last time you get invited.

Getting to know your chef might be good for your career. Who knows, you might find out that chefs are just normal people and you have something in common. You always want to position yourself as the go-to person in the kitchen; this person usually gets more money and a promotion.

Work in Kitchens You Aspire to Run

I have seen many cooks and chefs spend most of their careers working in kitchens that they do not aspire to run because they want to transition to another style of kitchen one day. Unfortunately, it doesn’t usually work that way, and relevant experience matters. If you want to be the best barbecue chef one day, working at a hotel might not help; you should be working in a barbecue joint.

I once had a cook that kept talking about wanting to one day work for Gordon Ramsay, who was his hero. I told him he should go and apply or try to work for him? He said that he wasn’t good enough and that one day when he was ready, he would go. That was fifteen years ago, and he never did.

When it comes to kitchen experience, they are not all the same. Casual kitchens don’t run like Michelin Star places, and a 1-star place runs very differently from a 3-star place.  If you want to one day, be the chef of a Michelin Star restaurant, you must work in them. If you want to run a large hotel or food truck same thing. Those skills are not transferable in every case.  Don’t be afraid to try to get into the kitchens you aspire to be in. Many people are afraid because they think that they are not good enough. Well, the truth is you will never be good enough if you don’t try. So go after it and work in the places where you see yourself as the chef one day.

Do it Right the First Time

For some reason, people working in kitchens will take a shortcut if they think no one is looking. The funny thing is someone is always watching, the chefs, cooks, service team, and guests. If you take a shortcut and do it incorrectly, when someone notices it, you will have to do it again. Why risk it?

In kitchens, there is usually a pace and intensity needed to get ready for service. If you decide to make something incorrectly, you will have to do it again, so why not do it right the first time? Trust me, you will not have the time to do it twice, and it will put all your other work behind.

The expression is to do it correctly the first time or do it again. This is a universal rule in the kitchen. Train yourself to always do things correctly in the kitchen and if you realize that you have made a mistake and it is not servable, then start over. Mistakes are ok but trying to pass them off is not.

Techniques Are Superior

People always seem to debate technique versus creativity or technique versus recipes. I will always stand with technique over both. Early on in your career, you need to practice your techniques as much as possible before you start to develop recipes and get creative. I am not saying you can’t play occasionally but spend most of your time on technique.

I once went to a seminar with a master chef, and he explained how when you have mastery of technique, you can learn all international cuisines much faster once you understand their ingredients and flavor profiles. Because anywhere in the world, sauté, braise, dice, roast, or grill doesn’t really change in most cases; what changes are the ingredients and flavor profiles.

Today’s trends are lightning fast with the internet and social media. If you look at a trendy creative dish today, chances are in 5 – 10 years, it will no longer be interesting or relevant and will look dated. However, kitchen techniques will still be as useful today or 10, 15, or 20 years from now.

Mastering technique also allows you to master all the variations of the technique. Therefore, techniques are greater than recipes. For example, if you learn a recipe for mushroom risotto, you now have gained one recipe, but if you master the technique of risotto, you can master its 1,000 variations. I am channeling my inner Miyamoto Musashi with that one. 

Find a Mentor

Working in kitchens and being a cook and chef is difficult; everyone has good and bad days. Knowing that there are people out there that have been there and done that should not be taken for granted. It’s important that you find a mentor, someone who has more experience and wisdom than you and willing to give you time and attention.

I have been lucky to have many mentors throughout my career that have helped me become the chef I am. A mentor can be your sounding board and advise when the challenge in front of you seems unbeatable. Mentors offer different perspectives and can help you with potential blind spots.

My advice when selecting a mentor is to find someone who is successful in the position you aspire to have. If your goal is to be a head chef, then that is what you should be looking for in a mentor. I have seen people take on the disgruntled sous chef as a mentor who has been passed on promotions. This is a bad idea because as much as this person thinks they know all the answers, they usually don’t and lack experience and perspective. They probably haven’t been promoted for a reason.

The person who truly knows how to get to the place where you aspire to be is already there. People think that others just get lucky and fall into position, but that is never true in most cases. Everything must be earned; you pay now, or you pay later. A good mentor is like having a cheat code on your career; take full advantage.

Closing

This book is not the gospel, and not everything will apply to you or your kitchen. You may find or know a better way that works for you. The kitchen you work in might disagree with what I am saying and want you to do it another way. Take what is useful to you and discard the rest. But as you continue to grow as a cook and chef, come back to this book when you’re stuck or need a refresher. You might find some things didn’t fit earlier yet make sense later.

Work under different chefs, listen to different perspectives, cook different types of cuisines. You learn a lot about community, humanity, and compassion through cooking, eating, and sharing food with others.

Enjoy the journey as a cook; you may work on the line in a Michelin Star restaurant, prep in a cafeteria, or the room service hotline; understand that being a cook in its simplest form is one of the noblest things a person can do, and that’s feed people.

The Most Important Chef’s PSA

When in doubt, the correct way to do it is the way you do it in your kitchen! For some reason, there is a need for people to want to do things differently. Maybe they learned differently in school, a different chef showed them, or you read one of my books. The golden rule in the kitchen for years has always been the chef is always right even when they are wrong. Now in today’s world, that defiantly does not apply to everything; unethical behavior and kitchen mental and physical abuse are not what I am talking about. What I am referring to is how the chef wants recipes made, how they expect things to be plated, and how to work with products or set a station.

The head chef in the kitchen is the decider of the standard. If anything I have written here or what someone else has said contradicts this, you should do it the way they want you to do it where you work. Even if you think you have a better way. As I have said, there is often a reason why things are done a certain way even if you don’t know the why. If you think a different way to do something would be better or more efficient, ask, and things might change. However, as I have said before, don’t change it without asking.

About the Author

André Natera worked in professional kitchens for twenty-seven years and as an executive chef for seventeen. He currently sits on several boards and councils of culinary and food & beverage organizations, in addition to being a member of the Epicurean World Master Chef Society, inducted in 2011. He has received numerous accolades and recognition as a chef, including Best Chef, according to the Dallas Morning News in 2011 and 2012. At the beginning of 2022, Andre left running professional kitchens to focus on mentoring future chefs, including writing this book and running the Chef’s PSA

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