Where did MY industry go?????
https://www.facebook.com/suicideboys/videos/593865387476089/
This Facebook page was brought to my attention on a page that I am actively involved with.
I have been invited to coach/mentor/gude 5200 women Chefs and Cooks (https://www.facebook.com/groups/613979072434796/) who are in the business. On a daily basis I am there for them for whatever it is that they need be it personal or professional. I found their site in passing because I was on another site that was totally abusive and full of really disturbing attitudes that were being exhibited by a primarily MALE site of cooks and some Chefs who are trying really hard to direct these kids to a better way of life. These women are my daughters that I never had. Me being the "elder" they are open to my suggestions and comments. I have learned as much from them as I hope they are learning from them. The one thing that I have come to understand is that after 40 years of being in this business......a LOT HAS NOT CHANGED. These women have confessed a lot of the crap that is going on in kitchens that even I didn't have to deal with because I was the only woman in a lot of the kitchens I came up in. They trust me because I don't judge and I don't condescend which is a lot more than I can say about my male counterparts. These gals want to learn and are totally invested in their craft and career choice. And yet....this post that I have posted here is letting them down.
I wanted to present this Facebook post to ALL of the CHEFS who are on LinkedIN because this is OUR responsibility. This video is a prime example of how our industry has taken a very seriously bad turn. Granted I came up "Old School" having graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1977 under the tutelage of Chef Instructors who ALL hailed from Europe and were/are the legacy of the "apprenticeship" system. For this I am so grateful because I was taught the RIGHT WAY to be a professional cook and progress to being a GREAT CHEF.
I am getting ready to exit this industry and this video is a great example of why. This comes on the heels of my having to walk away from a job for a company in Savannah Georgia at their new store in Beaufort SC. I REFUSED to be okay with changing day/date stickers on production food in order to stay compliant with food storage and expiration dates. I picked out food in the reach in that was made three weeks prior to my finding it and when I questioned my lead and then the co-manager about it I was told "it still tastes okay" or " just stir it" even though there is buttermilk and sour cream in this dressing for wings??????????
It is very difficult to be supportive of the NEW industry when everything that I know to be correct procedures and rules are thrown out the window. Why do we even bother to have NRA if they the alleged ruling body of the Restaurant industry don't do what it takes to step up and enforce the rules they have us go through hoops of fire to learn? I ask for a forgiveness on the costs to take the course and exams right now for the Managers Certification since there are over 3 million restaurant employees out of work....jobs lost and now with time on their hands they can take the course and be compliant if and when they return to their operations and yet I get nothing in response to my constant attempt at requesting this? When did it become okay for managers to put their BONUSES ahead of the safety of the public in procedures of food storage and production? When did it become okay to push a manager to the point of quitting a job when they find out that there are rules being broken that are clearly violations of what EVERYONE knows is wrong? Compliant Corporate Chefs who turn a blind eye to what is happening in their sites and ignoring the whistleblowers? When did it become okay for line cooks as seen in the above link to act like that while on the line at work....throwing ALL procedures out the window i.e., hair flying around, putting their hands on their heads, jumping around on the line with music blaring, FOOD DYING IN THE WINDOW????????? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?????
I am tired of the enabling and excuses that are becoming the new norm. I graduated from the BEST school in the world and now I see nothing but a bunch of combative and rebellious smart asses who think they are ALL THAT because everyone is afraid to hold their feet to the fire and bring back the professionalism that I came up with. I respected the authority of my Chefs throughout my career and I to this day will NOT allow anyone to diminish my title. If a "cook" and I use that term loosely wants to challenge me and whine...THERE IS THE DOOR. I don't have time to put up with anyone's bullshit attitude just because their parents felt that they couldn't enforce common everyday rules and now the rest of us have to pay for it? My teams who have worked WITH me and under my management will all agree that I am firm but fair. I pay you to do a job and that is what I expect. You bring me your "A" game we will be fine. IF you chose to challenge me....because I am a FEMALE or because I have an expectation that you choose to challenge.....well....there will be a problem.
What I see now....today in the industry, is a complete breakdown because MONEY and profits have become the ONLY focus. Craft and skill sets are totally lacking and THAT IS ON US. We choose to hire "bodies" rather than skills. We don't have time to teach because we are buried in paperwork and meetings. A "one and done" mentality has taken over the idea of building a clientele of loyalty and repeat business. Hell....I can't even find a pizzeria who knows what the correct temperature to cook pizza is because conveyor belt pizza "cookers" and the actual ART OF MAKING A REAL PIZZA has died with the old school ITALIANS who brought it to this country. Ask someone in a kitchen what the five Mother Sauces and you will get Ranch as one of them along with whatever else is in their heads.
Maybe this is all old school but it is the BUILDING BLOCKS of our business. These are the basic skill sets to teach those who want to be in this business where to start. Methods and why we do what we do and what happens when we do it. Now all I see is cheap bots running around collecting a check with NO PASSION.
How does someone such as myself with such passion that has been cultivated over my time in the business turn a blind eye to all of this? How am I expected to just "lighten" up????? What does that even mean? Either I have lost my mind and have become too set in my Culinary ways or there is a total disintegration of what I know to be the RIGHT WAY. I started my career in a 4 Star Mobil Guide Brigade kitchen learning the ways of a Tournant which then took me to do whatever it was I wanted in a time when there were NO WOMEN at all in kitchens especially brigade fine dining kitchens. From there I was able to work in all types of environments to include corporate i.e. T.G.I.Fridays, Specialty Restaurants Inc, as well as private Yachts, residences, catering houses as well as out of the country. My love for what it is that I do has never wavered. I have held the position of Chef Instructor and now I am prevented from doing that because I lack a Bachelor's degree which is another topic of discussion. All in all I bring a long list of great experiences to the table of my gals on "Lady Line Cooks" Facebook page.
So....where is the industry that I came up in??????