Productive, fun entry-level work. Can fall behind if understaffed
Pros: free lunch if working a long enough shift, 10% discount on meals. generally friendly staff, fun cooking gear
Cons: demanding, entry level work and pay, manual work requires careful attention to hand care, prevention of injury
Keeping up in cooking, dishwashing, or food prep is demanding. Frequent handwashing, hands can go raw. Excellent equipment, sometimes the gear gets beat up, always a good day when new gear comes in. Going 110% all shift, every hour, no matter the duty, switching gears to the demand, still can fall behind. Difficult to handle regular loads when understaffed.
Learned
– more... to cook up batch after batch of up to 20lbs of food in front of a raging fire, use and clean industrial cookware, mix sauces, prep ingredients, wash trays effectively.
The management in my experience is fair, polite, but drives the team hard. The individual has the responsibility to check his ego at the door, especially when running ragged at 110%, under pressure to provide quick service as well as when the manager has the friendly reminder to step on the gas.
Co-workers generally friendly, polite, but high turnover. Have had the personal experience where someone else had to step up for another who had missed work, but fell behind on orders.
The hardest part of the job is running ragged and not taking anything personally. Under stress, an individual is expected to perform at their best, and even the slightest things can seem like personal jabs. After that, it's keeping up with orders, getting out on time, and preventing injuries.
The most enjoyable part of the job is working with all the cool equipment and noticing your own progress in cooking ability. Big fire, sharp knives, and sizzling meats in sauces. – less