Anyone cooked professionally that can give me some pointers?

sarah bennett said:

I have been working as a cook in the deli of a grocery store for about 5
months now. i am still not "organizingmy time well" as my boss puts it,
but she will not give me specifics, adn is hostile when i ask further. I
am at a loss at how to continue. I try to plan my day out, but i share
space with others, and often cannot prep things becazue others are using
the sink, or the steamer, etc. what kind of workload is acceptable for
this kind of job? i am working as hard as i possible can, and its just
not happening. i told them before they hire dme thta i had no
experience, and i do not undertsand why i am not recieving training. I
am at the end of my rope here; i hope someone here might have some advice?

You're not being appreciated, they're not paying you more money, and
you're not learning anything new... it's time to move on.

Sheldon

"sarah bennett" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall said:

"sarah bennett" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

<snippage>

You are talking too much.

Seriously. I'm not trying to be mean or judgemental. But, I can tell by
your post that you spend too much time thinking things out and talking. I
recognize it, cuz I do it too. Stay focused, just work, don't cause any
trouble (was in restaurant business for 9 years, now work in HR).

Fondly,
Elisa

"sarah bennett" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have been working as a cook in the deli of a grocery store for about 5
months now. i am still not "organizingmy time well" as my boss puts it, but
she will not give me specifics, adn is hostile when i ask further. I am at
a loss at how to continue.

Sounds like she is a [censored], has no clue how to help you so will just
continue harping. Have others had this job and failed? If so, she is the
reason. I'm sure you need a job, but it is time to plan your escape.

As a manager, it is her responsibility to see that you have the training to
do the job, give you guidance, allow you to be responsible for your actions.

OTOH, you can be the real [censored] and she just want to get rid of you. Step
back and look in as and outsider and see if it is a work problem or in
reality a personal compatibility problem.

In article <[email hidden]>, sarah

bennett said:

Sheldon said:

sarah bennett said:

I have been working as a cook in the deli of a grocery store for
about 5 months now. i am still not "organizingmy time well" as my
boss puts it, but she will not give me specifics, adn is hostile
when i ask further. I am at a loss at how to continue.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You're not being appreciated, they're not paying you more money, and
you're not learning anything new... it's time to move on.

Sheldon

Quoted message said:

they are paying me at leats 3 dollars more an hour than id earn as a
cashier. i am not appreciated because i cannot get the work done. i ask
what i can do to get more done, they say :"work more efficiently"
grrrrrr!. I cannot afford to take a pay cut, as my husband just took one.

I suggest you start recording incidents with times and personnel
involved. On your own time. When you get fired you may need to
prove something in order to collect unemployment. Three bucks an hour
is a big difference, but you're going to make everyone around you
miserable if you're not happy in your work. Unfortunately, I don't
have a solution to your question or how to organize things. In reply to
others' remarks you say you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Ask her which way it's to be -- because it can't be both ways. Good
luck to a workable solution.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> 5/8/05.
"Are we going to measure, or are we going to cook?" -Food Critic Mimi Sheraton

sarah bennett said:

Sheldon said:

sarah bennett said:

I have been working as a cook in the deli of a grocery store for
about 5 months now. i am still not "organizingmy time well" as my
boss puts it, but she will not give me specifics, adn is hostile
when i ask further. I am at a loss at how to continue. I try to
plan my day out, but i share space with others, and often cannot
prep things becazue others are using the sink, or the steamer, etc.
what kind of workload is acceptable for this kind of job? i am
working as hard as i possible can, and its just not happening. i
told them before they hire dme thta i had no
experience, and i do not undertsand why i am not recieving
training. I
am at the end of my rope here; i hope someone here might have some
advice?

You're not being appreciated, they're not paying you more money, and
you're not learning anything new... it's time to move on.

Sheldon

they are paying me at leats 3 dollars more an hour than id earn as a
cashier. i am not appreciated because i cannot get the work done. i
ask what i can do to get more done, they say :"work more efficiently"
grrrrrr!. I cannot afford to take a pay cut, as my husband just took
one.

Is this the only place in town where you can get a job? I'd be using
whatever time off I had to apply at other places. Can't hurt, might even
help. And, most places recognize when you apply for a new job you don't (or
won't) take a cut in pay. That's why there's a spot on the application to
indicate what your earnings are.

Jill

sarah bennett said:

I have been working as a cook in the deli of a grocery store for about 5
months now. i am still not "organizingmy time well" as my boss puts it,
but she will not give me specifics, adn is hostile when i ask further. I
am at a loss at how to continue. I try to plan my day out, but i share
space with others, and often cannot prep things becazue others are using
the sink, or the steamer, etc. what kind of workload is acceptable for
this kind of job? i am working as hard as i possible can, and its just
not happening. i told them before they hire dme thta i had no
experience, and i do not undertsand why i am not recieving training. I
am at the end of my rope here; i hope someone here might have some advice?

Look at Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook for a good discussion
of mise en place. It might help. Then again you might be in one of
those no-win job situations. I've been there and I sympathize.

modom

(sarah bennett)WROTE:
I have been working as a cook in the deli of a grocery store for about 5
months now. i am still not "organizingmy time well" as my boss puts it,
but she will not give me specifics, adn is hostile when i ask further. I
am at a loss at how to continue. I try to plan my day out, but i share
space with others, and often cannot prep things becazue others are using
the sink, or the steamer, etc. what kind of workload is acceptable for
this kind of job? i am working as hard as i possible can, and its just
not happening. i told them before they hire dme thta i had no
experience, and i do not undertsand why i am not recieving training. I
am at the end of my rope here; i hope someone here might have some
advice?--------------------------------------------
RESPONSE: Curious, Is this deli located in a nation wide grocery store
or private family owned?

modom said:

Look at Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook for a good discussion
of mise en place. It might help. Then again you might be in one of
those no-win job situations. I've been there and I sympathize.

Now that I have read through most of the posts on this issue, it seems clear
that no amount of organization toward mise en place will help. She *is* in a
no win situation, and Sheldon is correct: she needs to look elsewhere for
work.

I've worked for bosses/supervisors like hers. They tell you to learn as you
go but don't provide the information, the tools or the support for the
learning process. Then they put you into situations you're not prepared for,
deny that they have any responsibility for the situations you find yourself
in, allow you to be undercut and second-guessed by all and sundry, and as
you lie flat on your face harp that you're not progressing and make threats
toward your future.

Yup. It's a tough spot to be in. I feel badly for her, and I sympathize. I
know that she needs the money. But she also needs good self-esteem and the
opportunity to succeed. Staying where she is and making $3 more wont give
her that. It's time for her to cut and run.

sarah bennett said:

I have been working as a cook in the deli of a grocery store for about 5
months now. i am still not "organizingmy time well" as my boss puts it,
but she will not give me specifics, adn is hostile when i ask further. I
am at a loss at how to continue. I try to plan my day out, but i share
space with others, and often cannot prep things becazue others are using
the sink, or the steamer, etc. what kind of workload is acceptable for
this kind of job? i am working as hard as i possible can, and its just
not happening. i told them before they hire dme thta i had no
experience, and i do not undertsand why i am not recieving training. I
am at the end of my rope here; i hope someone here might have some advice?

It sounds more like the boss is disorganized than you. I had one boss who was
impossible to please. No matter what you did, it was wrong. I discovered that
the best thing to do was to suggest the opposite of what you wanted and he
would reject it and go for the other. On one occasion when I made committed a
major blunder near the end of an afternoon shift. I left a note to explain
what had happened and when in early the next day to explain it. I took full
responsibility for my bad judgement. My strategy worked like a charm. Thanks
to his impulse to disagree I had done nothing wrong. :-)

In you case, it seems there is something else going on that is bugging the
boss. If you are not reacting aggressively to her criticism there is
something else happening. If she had criticisms about the way you are
organizing your time there should be a way for her to explain what the problem
is and a suggestion for a way to improve it. If you cannot resolve it with
her, go over her head. Consider a complaint about harassment, because that is
what it is when a boss constantly picks at you with no real basis and no plan
for improvement.

Melba's Jammin said:

In article <[email hidden]>, sarah

bennett said:

Sheldon said:

sarah bennett wrote:

>I have been working as a cook in the deli of a grocery store for
>about 5 months now. i am still not "organizingmy time well" as my
>boss puts it, but she will not give me specifics, adn is hostile
>when i ask further. I am at a loss at how to continue.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You're not being appreciated, they're not paying you more money, and
you're not learning anything new... it's time to move on.

Sheldon

Quoted message said:

they are paying me at leats 3 dollars more an hour than id earn as a
cashier. i am not appreciated because i cannot get the work done. i ask
what i can do to get more done, they say :"work more efficiently"
grrrrrr!. I cannot afford to take a pay cut, as my husband just took one.

I suggest you start recording incidents with times and personnel
involved. On your own time. When you get fired you may need to
prove something in order to collect unemployment. Three bucks an hour
is a big difference, but you're going to make everyone around you
miserable if you're not happy in your work. Unfortunately, I don't
have a solution to your question or how to organize things. In reply to
others' remarks you say you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Ask her which way it's to be -- because it can't be both ways. Good
luck to a workable solution.

its not the work per se. i love what i do. Its just that its my first
cooking job, and I'm still not sure when to trust my instincts. today
went well. i just focused on the work and tried to not get frustrated.

--

saerah

aware of the manifold possibilities of the future

"I think there's a clause in the Shaman's and Jujumen's Local #57 Union
contract that they have to have reciprocity for each other's shop rules."
-König Prüß

jmcquown said:

sarah bennett said:

Sheldon said:

sarah bennett wrote:

>I have been working as a cook in the deli of a grocery store for
>about 5 months now. i am still not "organizingmy time well" as my
>boss puts it, but she will not give me specifics, adn is hostile
>when i ask further. I am at a loss at how to continue. I try to
>plan my day out, but i share space with others, and often cannot
>prep things becazue others are using the sink, or the steamer, etc.
>what kind of workload is acceptable for this kind of job? i am
>working as hard as i possible can, and its just not happening. i
>told them before they hire dme thta i had no
>experience, and i do not undertsand why i am not recieving
>training. I
>am at the end of my rope here; i hope someone here might have some
>advice?

You're not being appreciated, they're not paying you more money, and
you're not learning anything new... it's time to move on.

Sheldon

they are paying me at leats 3 dollars more an hour than id earn as a
cashier. i am not appreciated because i cannot get the work done. i
ask what i can do to get more done, they say :"work more efficiently"
grrrrrr!. I cannot afford to take a pay cut, as my husband just took
one.

Is this the only place in town where you can get a job? I'd be using
whatever time off I had to apply at other places. Can't hurt, might even
help. And, most places recognize when you apply for a new job you don't (or
won't) take a cut in pay. That's why there's a spot on the application to
indicate what your earnings are.

Jill

i really like the company i work for, and the people i work with. There
is alot of opportunity for advancement in a relatively short amount of
time. I started last november as a cashier, and after i transferred to
another department, one of the assistant managers came to *me* and asked
me if i would be interested in working in the kitchen. i think she has
more faith in me than I do 🙁

--

saerah

aware of the manifold possibilities of the future

"I think there's a clause in the Shaman's and Jujumen's Local #57 Union
contract that they have to have reciprocity for each other's shop rules."
-König Prüß

modom said:

sarah bennett said:

I have been working as a cook in the deli of a grocery store for about 5
months now. i am still not "organizingmy time well" as my boss puts it,
but she will not give me specifics, adn is hostile when i ask further. I
am at a loss at how to continue. I try to plan my day out, but i share
space with others, and often cannot prep things becazue others are using
the sink, or the steamer, etc. what kind of workload is acceptable for
this kind of job? i am working as hard as i possible can, and its just
not happening. i told them before they hire dme thta i had no
experience, and i do not undertsand why i am not recieving training. I
am at the end of my rope here; i hope someone here might have some advice?

Look at Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook for a good discussion
of mise en place. It might help. Then again you might be in one of
those no-win job situations. I've been there and I sympathize.

modom

oh, i understand mise en place. there are so many issues with inventory
that its hard to carry out. also, i get to work at 6 and right now,
since i am the only cook, i have to kick out a bunch of complete dishes
by 9. sometimes the salad bar people take my prep stuff, too. pisses me
off 🙂

--

saerah

aware of the manifold possibilities of the future

"I think there's a clause in the Shaman's and Jujumen's Local #57 Union
contract that they have to have reciprocity for each other's shop rules."
-König Prüß

modom said:

sarah bennett said:

I have been working as a cook in the deli of a grocery store for about 5
months now. i am still not "organizingmy time well" as my boss puts it,
but she will not give me specifics, adn is hostile when i ask further. I
am at a loss at how to continue. I try to plan my day out, but i share
space with others, and often cannot prep things becazue others are using
the sink, or the steamer, etc. what kind of workload is acceptable for
this kind of job? i am working as hard as i possible can, and its just
not happening. i told them before they hire dme thta i had no
experience, and i do not undertsand why i am not recieving training. I
am at the end of my rope here; i hope someone here might have some advice?

Look at Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook for a good discussion
of mise en place. It might help. Then again you might be in one of
those no-win job situations. I've been there and I sympathize.

modom

have you read his book 'kitchen confidential'? a friend of mine
reccomended it to me to persuade me not to go into the culinary arts.
didnt work 🙂

--

saerah

aware of the manifold possibilities of the future

"I think there's a clause in the Shaman's and Jujumen's Local #57 Union
contract that they have to have reciprocity for each other's shop rules."
-König Prüß

pennyaline said:

modom said:

Look at Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook for a good discussion
of mise en place. It might help. Then again you might be in one of
those no-win job situations. I've been there and I sympathize.

Now that I have read through most of the posts on this issue, it seems clear
that no amount of organization toward mise en place will help. She *is* in a
no win situation, and Sheldon is correct: she needs to look elsewhere for
work.

I've worked for bosses/supervisors like hers. They tell you to learn as you
go but don't provide the information, the tools or the support for the
learning process. Then they put you into situations you're not prepared for,
deny that they have any responsibility for the situations you find yourself
in, allow you to be undercut and second-guessed by all and sundry, and as
you lie flat on your face harp that you're not progressing and make threats
toward your future.

Yup. It's a tough spot to be in. I feel badly for her, and I sympathize. I
know that she needs the money. But she also needs good self-esteem and the
opportunity to succeed. Staying where she is and making $3 more wont give
her that. It's time for her to cut and run.

today was a turning point. yesterday i was reprimanded for asking too
many questions. my boss told me to make more decisions on my own. and
you know what? im gonna make the decisions i need to make to do my job
well, and if she doesnt like it, she can fix the problems that she's
caused so i wont have to. I noticed that when i stopped being so
frustrated about the situation, i was able to prep stuff much quicker. i
thought i was working tommorrow (simply because its a holiday weekend),
but she did not schedule me. so i had to get a bunch of salads ready for
monday, at the last minute. when i get back to work ill still have to
toss the veggies with the dressings i made (potatoes and corn werent
cooled yet), but that wont take but a minute. i really appreciate all
the advice you guys are giving me. i dont know anyone else who cooks for
aliving, or even knows much about cooking, so its hard to find folks to
talk to about this. (and my husband is getting tired of my whining lol)

--

saerah

aware of the manifold possibilities of the future

"I think there's a clause in the Shaman's and Jujumen's Local #57 Union
contract that they have to have reciprocity for each other's shop rules."
-König Prüß

ms. tonya said:

(sarah bennett)WROTE:
I have been working as a cook in the deli of a grocery store for about 5
months now. i am still not "organizingmy time well" as my boss puts it,
but she will not give me specifics, adn is hostile when i ask further. I
am at a loss at how to continue. I try to plan my day out, but i share
space with others, and often cannot prep things becazue others are using
the sink, or the steamer, etc. what kind of workload is acceptable for
this kind of job? i am working as hard as i possible can, and its just
not happening. i told them before they hire dme thta i had no
experience, and i do not undertsand why i am not recieving training. I
am at the end of my rope here; i hope someone here might have some
advice?--------------------------------------------
RESPONSE: Curious, Is this deli located in a nation wide grocery store
or private family owned?

national chain.

--

saerah

aware of the manifold possibilities of the future

"I think there's a clause in the Shaman's and Jujumen's Local #57 Union
contract that they have to have reciprocity for each other's shop rules."
-König Prüß

Dave Smith said:

sarah bennett said:

I have been working as a cook in the deli of a grocery store for about 5
months now. i am still not "organizingmy time well" as my boss puts it,
but she will not give me specifics, adn is hostile when i ask further. I
am at a loss at how to continue. I try to plan my day out, but i share
space with others, and often cannot prep things becazue others are using
the sink, or the steamer, etc. what kind of workload is acceptable for
this kind of job? i am working as hard as i possible can, and its just
not happening. i told them before they hire dme thta i had no
experience, and i do not undertsand why i am not recieving training. I
am at the end of my rope here; i hope someone here might have some advice?

It sounds more like the boss is disorganized than you. I had one boss who was
impossible to please. No matter what you did, it was wrong. I discovered that
the best thing to do was to suggest the opposite of what you wanted and he
would reject it and go for the other. On one occasion when I made committed a
major blunder near the end of an afternoon shift. I left a note to explain
what had happened and when in early the next day to explain it. I took full
responsibility for my bad judgement. My strategy worked like a charm. Thanks
to his impulse to disagree I had done nothing wrong. :-)

In you case, it seems there is something else going on that is bugging the
boss. If you are not reacting aggressively to her criticism there is
something else happening. If she had criticisms about the way you are
organizing your time there should be a way for her to explain what the problem
is and a suggestion for a way to improve it. If you cannot resolve it with
her, go over her head. Consider a complaint about harassment, because that is
what it is when a boss constantly picks at you with no real basis and no plan
for improvement.

i think part of the problem is she sees my output, but is not in the
kicthen while i am working. so shes just assuming i slack off, i guess.
she totally wastes alot of my time, tho. if i were a manager worried
about someones productivity, i wouldnt make a point of wasting their
time....

--

saerah

aware of the manifold possibilities of the future

"I think there's a clause in the Shaman's and Jujumen's Local #57 Union
contract that they have to have reciprocity for each other's shop rules."
-König Prüß

"sarah bennett" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have been working as a cook in the deli of a grocery store for about 5
months now. i am still not "organizingmy time well" as my boss puts it, but
she will not give me specifics, adn is hostile when i ask further.

Quoted message said:

and i do not undertsand why i am not recieving training. I am at the end
of my rope here; i hope someone here might have some advice?

My advice: start seeking other employment. Not because these people might
fire you, but because they are crappy bosses and you can almost certainly do
better.
--
Chris Lemon
[email hidden]
http://fredsmythe.com
EFNet: FredSmyth

sarah bennett said:

Melba's Jammin said:

In article <[email hidden]>, sarah

bennett said:

Sheldon wrote:

> sarah bennett wrote:
>
>
>> I have been working as a cook in the deli of a grocery store for
>> about 5 months now. i am still not "organizingmy time well" as my
>> boss puts it, but she will not give me specifics, adn is hostile
>> when i ask further. I am at a loss at how to continue.

Quoted message said:

> You're not being appreciated, they're not paying you more money,
> and you're not learning anything new... it's time to move on.
>
> Sheldon

Quoted message said:

they are paying me at leats 3 dollars more an hour than id earn as a
cashier. i am not appreciated because i cannot get the work done. i
ask what i can do to get more done, they say :"work more
efficiently" grrrrrr!. I cannot afford to take a pay cut, as my
husband just took one.

I suggest you start recording incidents with times and personnel
involved. On your own time. When you get fired you may need to
prove something in order to collect unemployment. Three bucks an
hour is a big difference, but you're going to make everyone around
you miserable if you're not happy in your work. Unfortunately, I
don't have a solution to your question or how to organize things.
In reply to others' remarks you say you're damned if you do and
damned if you don't. Ask her which way it's to be -- because it
can't be both ways. Good luck to a workable solution.

its not the work per se. i love what i do. Its just that its my first
cooking job, and I'm still not sure when to trust my instincts. today
went well. i just focused on the work and tried to not get frustrated.

Frankly, this is not a "cooking job". Okay, you may roast some chicken or
whatever to put on salads. Mostly you're doing prep work (which is then
stolen by the salad bar department). You can probably get a job doing prep
at a restaurant. If you have to take a little aggravation, at least the
chef or someone working alongside will tell you what to prep and how much.
My experience in restaurants is that they plan out what to prep based on
patronage on various days. And there aren't other departments stealing what
you've done and then you being asked to account for it. If you really want
to cook, from there you might move up to line-cook or whatever.

I'd get the heck out of there but as Barb said, document all the stuff (on
your own time) first, just in case.

Jill

I think you should become a Personal Chef and work for yourself.
You'll make LOADS of money.