I have worked as a line cook for many years and it's always different walking into a new kitchen. But, it's always the same practices and complaints from customers. So, as a line cook, I'm going to address some things that you might be wondering.
1: "Why is our food taking so long?" Well my little guys, it honestly depends. I have worked as an expo, so I am the last defense before the food gets to you. Does your order have countless mods? Does your order have countless items? Were you rude to your server? Well, I will break it down for you: If you have a well done burger or steak, it alone takes around 15 minutes for your piece of meat. We are not robots, your food is not precooked, we actually have to make your plate from sides to protein. If you were rude to your server and we find out about it, we'll tack on an extra 10 minutes for liability.
2: "This is cold, can you guys make me a new plate?" Someone is a comedian. Yes, in theory we can remake your plate.Will we? Most likely not. We will throw whatever was on that plate into a pan, on the flat top, or simply in the microwave. We introduce you to Chef Mic the microwave. We will serve it to you after that, you think that a burger was back at your table in under 10 minutes and think it's fresh? Think again. 3: "This is not what I ordered" Whoops4: That food has probably touched the floor: Now, before you just vomit all over yourself, we have morals and sanitation laws, so if it was a piece of meat or something we will toss it and start over. Now, if we were in a bind and you ordered something like a salad or burger and it so happened to fall on the floor, well your burger just got a little pizzazz added to your meal.
5: Line cooks and chefs talk a lot of shit about customers...a lot. Don't get your panties in a bunch, we talk shit behind closed doors. If a server comes into the kitchen complaining about you, we are all ears. Oh girl, tell us how the shitty bitch at table 7 demanded a refund because her soup was too hot. We love hearing about it, especially if it involves an order still on our board.
6: Line cooks are like one big family, and when we all have linked nights off shit gets crazy. I'm saying, lots and lots of drinking. It'd very rare for line cooks not to be working. For instance, my expo, me, and 3 other line cooks have the night off... What bar are we going to again?
7: You will say shit like "behind" and "around the corner" in the damn grocery store: I have caught myself doing it many times and people give you such a weird look. I will happily say these things at work where, if not spoken, things can go very wrong.
8: We are all tattoo having, coloring vocabulary spewing, pyro loving, sharp object wielding psychopaths. After a 10, 12, 14-hour shift, all you want is oblivion: beer, shots, and more. You wind down by chain smoking in basement apartments, grinding your teeth in between dipping your head for a rail as you re-hash the finer points of that night's service. We love to cuss, as a line cook, it's unheard of to go all shift without dropping 150+ F-bombs.
9: We have a "restaurant voice": In a kitchen you HAVE to be loud. You have to be able to be heard above fryers, ovens, saute pans, the servers, the other line cooks. I have came home yelling and I have to mentally turn off that switch to go down to a lower voice.
10: You always are super appreciative when you go to a restaurant you don't work at: We've been there, we know the struggle of a mid day rush, we know when things aren't prepped. We understand. We always tip more then 20% on the bill, we never complain when the food takes long, especially when the server apologizes.
11: We get injured way to much: Cuts and burns are apart of everyday life. Yesterday, I burned my thumb on the flat top, and 10 minutes later, I grabbed a handle and burned my palm and fingers. I have so many cuts from paring knives and peelers. After working in a kitchen you will either no longer be able to feel how hot something is, or just lose all feeling in your hands. It's fate.
