Burnt Hands Perspective
This is a raw and unfiltered look into the state of the restaurant industry as a whole, powered by longtime friends Chef/Owner Antonio Caruana and former bartender turned News Anchor/TV Host Kristen Crowley.
Representing all aspects of the industry from the front to the back of the house we will dig into the juiciest stories and pull from decades of experience in one of the sexiest and most exciting industries in the world...the food and beverage industry.
From international chefs, sommeliers, industry pros, and so much more, this show will cover all of it without a filter. You turn up the volume; we'll turn up the heat.
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Burnt Hands Perspective
5 Things You NEED to Know Before Your Chef Interview (Don't Embarrass Yourself!)
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
🔥 GAME-CHANGING Interview Advice! Chef Antonio Caruana drops TRUTH BOMBS about what it REALLY takes to get hired in a professional kitchen!
5 ESSENTIAL Tips:
✅ #1: DON'T BE LATE - "On time is late, 5 minutes early is on time!"
✅ #2: DRESS FOR THE ROLE - Show up looking like the chef you want to be
✅ #3: BRING YOUR KNIFE ROLL - Be ready to start RIGHT NOW
✅ #4: KNOW YOUR WORTH - Research salary ranges and have a number ready
✅ #5: DO YOUR RESEARCH - Know the restaurant, chef, and style of food
BRUTAL TRUTHS:
🔪 Why showing up without your tools is an instant NO
💰 How to negotiate salary without looking like a fool
📱 Why your social media WILL be stalked (clean it up!)
🚫 What NOT to say about previous employers
⚡ The magic words: "I can start right now"
From someone who's hired HUNDREDS of kitchen staff - this isn't theory, this is REAL advice from the trenches!
Whether you're fresh out of culinary school or a seasoned cook looking to level up, these tips will give you the edge you need to land that dream kitchen position.
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Listen up here. The restaurant industry is cruelly unpredictable. Just like this, Joe. From the front of the house to the back of the house and all in between. We will turn up the heat, you turn up the volume. I'm Jeff Antonio Carijuana. Welcome to the Tell All Podcast, the Burnt Hands Perspective. It's a burnt hands perspective coming back at you from the sports desk. It looks like we're at a sports desk.
SPEAKER_00:We're kind of at a it well, this would be like the kitchen, the kitchen desk.
SPEAKER_01:The kitchen desk, right from the heat of the moment.
SPEAKER_00:Breaking news, starting right now.
SPEAKER_01:What do we call it? Food sport. Food sport. But the food sport desk.
SPEAKER_00:This is kind of our new. Yeah. It's a new vibe, it's a new year.
SPEAKER_01:If anybody out there is looking for an announcement for your food sport goods, here we are.
SPEAKER_00:Here we are. Cool. Ta-da! We have all the voices. So we're gonna roll into a new topic today where we're gonna go over kind of five things you need to know before you walk into an interview as a chef. So this is something for like kind of any aspiring cook out there, anybody that's looking at going to culinary school, whatever. How many chefs have you hired in your time? Oh man, I don't know.
SPEAKER_01:How many uh good cooks, chefs, cooks, chefs, positions, all positions, kitchen, hundreds. Okay, I wouldn't say thousands, but I was I'll probably say hundreds.
SPEAKER_00:Lean on you as the master of this conversation to give people what they need to know before they walk into that interview so they don't embarrass themselves.
SPEAKER_01:Sounds good. Number one, don't be fucking late. Number one, don't be late. And what I mean by that is don't be on time because you're late.
SPEAKER_00:When you ever heard the saying five minutes is too early, or five minutes is late, well, is late, five minutes is on time, and like 15 minutes is early, something like that. It's one of the football coaches, right? Are we totally it's a football coach? It's it's something like that.
SPEAKER_01:Somebody said either either way. We'll look it up later. Yes, I think Lombardi.
SPEAKER_00:We didn't plan that.
SPEAKER_01:I think Lombardi, I think you're right. Okay. I think Vince Lombardi said that.
SPEAKER_00:I think it was that.
SPEAKER_01:Someone correct us in the comments. Who said that? I think it was Vince Lombardi.
SPEAKER_00:I think that was it.
SPEAKER_01:Anyway, so so here's the deal. We got don't show up late, be there early, be there before ahead of time, be be there ready to fucking roll. That's number one rule if you want to get hired as a chef, especially if you're going for a position of managerial position, meaning a sous chef, chef de cuisine, executive chef, especially executive chef. You should be there well before your time to be there. 10, 15 minutes, 15 minutes really is where you should be seen outside. And I wouldn't even go knock on their door yet. Just make yourself known. Your presence. Put your presence out there, put yourself in visual. Make them wonder who's standing outside.
SPEAKER_00:Well, that part of it, yeah. I mean, I think, and then so that leads right into kind of the appearance when you're going into an interview. Because I know you've seen people that show up looking like total slobs, or you know, so what should you wear when you're going to an interview for a cook or a chef?
SPEAKER_01:Dress for the role.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Dress for what it is you're trying to be. If you're trying to be a chef, do you need to go there looking like a chef? Typically, for me, when I went to chef interviews, I would have my chef pants, my clogs on, a shirt. Typically, I'd I'd wear a um kitchen shirt, and then I would have my regular shirt, my chef coat, either rolled up with my chef roll or on a hanger. Because I'm not gonna wear my chef coat around. Don't walk in, you know, you can, but you don't want to go into the same kitchen you were out walking around. That'd be like a surgeon coming out to get a Pepsi out of the Coke machine and going back into surgery. Gotcha. You know what I mean? So you don't want to have your chef coat that you're gonna be wearing in the kitchen. So bring two chef coats. One that's rolled and clean and sanitized that you're gonna bring into the uh into the kitchen if you have to work, and the other one you can wear into the interview. But always dress in the uniform you're going there for.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Clean nails clean, fingernails clean, face shaven, women hair up, bun. You know what I mean? All that stuff.
SPEAKER_00:How you would be in the kitchen, how you would be in the kitchen, okay.
SPEAKER_01:Right, right out of the gate. First impression is a motherfucker, and it's true.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and you, you know, you've you kind of went through this when we talked about people showing up looking slobbish or whatever. Would you would you frown upon anyone showing up if they were wearing like a dress shirt and khakis type outfit? Wouldn't that be appropriate?
SPEAKER_01:That would be appropriate. If you're if you're dressed up for that role and that's how you're coming, always bring your stuff with you. You're not going to be a manager, you're not going to be a uh secretary, you're not going to be a personal assistant, you're going to be a chef. Okay? So always bring your stuff with you. So if you're gonna wear a button-up, khakis, whatever, that's great. But with you, you need to have your jacket. You need to have your jacket, your utensils, you need to be ready to go.
SPEAKER_00:Well, let's talk about the utensils. So, should you bring your knife roll to an Absolutely, absolutely. Why does that matter?
SPEAKER_01:What if they tell you they want to start right now? Gotcha. No, I don't. What the hell are you here for? Most kitchen people don't want to hire somebody unless it's right now. The kitchen works in a different way. Yes, we want to pre-plan. Somebody gave their two-week notice. We have two weeks to train. We you have to give your two-week notice.
SPEAKER_00:You could start training literally.
SPEAKER_01:If you want to start working right now, and I said to you, how would you feel about stodging? Which means you're gonna go in the kitchen, you're gonna work a day or two and see how you like it. I'm gonna watch and see if we like you, you're gonna see if you like us. That's very typical in our profession. And it's typically not paid, it's volunteer, right? You just want to see if you want to do it, let's do it. Let's see, let's see what you've got. You know what I mean? Or you can go home and wait for my phone call for free, too. Where do you want to be? You know what I mean? You can either come in here and show what you got, or you can go home and wait for the phone, alright.
SPEAKER_00:So hence the reason. Show up in your your full kitchen. Add your stuff.
SPEAKER_01:If I would and that's the biggest thing, let's go to number two. If someone says to you, when can you start? You say right now.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:If you can't, you say this. I can start in two weeks. I'm gonna give loyalty and commitment to my other job, which is very admirable. Most people like that. However, I am prepared to go in your kitchen right now if that is what it takes. I will work when I can between now and when I quit or when that other job expires. So that's the biggest thing. If you're just gonna go from your job now, okay, this is what I look at, right? You have two weeks, you know the chef life, you know the world. How bad do you want it? There's five other applicants coming in here right now. How bad do you want it? Now, if your resume looks amazing, but yet you're willing to just say, I'll see you in two weeks. Well, there might be someone with half the resume that says, I'm I have a two-week notice, but I have Tuesday off and Wednesday off next week's within those two weeks. I can be here then and there. Um, I get off at I have to be there at four, but if I can come here for a lunch shift, I will to get familiar with your staff. And that person's probably gonna get hired. Over you, the one who has the better right. So, how bad do you want it? Okay, you know what I'm saying? No, I can't. It's two weeks of your life. You have to go through the transition. You have to learn, you have to cook. How bad do you want it?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Well, that's in most job interviews, you need to just show up for it. So the other thing we had was like understanding the numbers. So coming in, understanding salary expectations. Can you kind of set the tone of what people should expect for you know each stage in the kitchen, like where they're gonna be in a channel?
SPEAKER_01:You should come into a kitchen, you should come into a job interview with some sort of knowledge of what the place is. And we'll get that to a minute because I want that to be the next focal point. Okay. Is understanding that research. So you need to understand where it is your what you think you're worth may not be what the place is worth is is is worth, is willing to pay. Okay. So you gotta understand that. So if you're going to a very high-end restaurant that has very little openings, and there's a very uh popular chef there, executive place, where people understand the kitchen and a brigade, you're gonna you have the right to ask for that type of money. If you're coming from that type of situation and going to be a line cook now at another place because you want to slow it down, you don't have the right at all to ask for that kind of money. Yeah, you have to understand where it is you're going and what it is the place can pay. You know what I'm saying? So if you're going into a place that the menu items are, you know, it's a$30 check average, but you're asking for$30 an hour, you're out of your fucking mind. Yeah, it's not gonna happen because you'd have to sell you one check goes to you every friggin' hour. That that's not gonna happen, right? But if you go to a place that has an$80 to$100 check average, that$30 an hour makes more sense.
SPEAKER_00:It makes more sense.
SPEAKER_01:So you need to have the skills and be able to be in a place where it actually works.
SPEAKER_00:Gotta no, that makes sense. And I think for pay, like what people should expect because obviously inflation, things are going up, the pay scales have changed, but where should people expect, like, in ranges? Like I think.
SPEAKER_01:Right now, this depending on where you are, if you want to go from a if you're coming in as a uh from a as a line position, um, you know, if you're coming in at that place where you where you're just part of the uh the kitchen brigade, meaning you're a saute grill, it all depends on the location, but you're gonna go anywhere from$18 at the at the pantry level to coming in and learning that stuff. And it's gonna go all the way up to$25 an hour, man. I mean, it depends on where you are,$25,$26,$27, depending on what you're doing. The more value of the stuff you're responsible for, the more money that position's gonna pay.
SPEAKER_00:But let's also clarify that we're in Virginia, so again, New York City, LA, it's kind of the same, believe it. You're gonna get, is it that different? It's not it depends. Well, we're talking about I mean, there's a little bit for cost of living, like you're gonna get a little bit more.
SPEAKER_01:You know, a restaurant that's paying more than$25 to$30 an hour, now they're just putting you on salary, basically. So you're yeah, you know, it's it's it's a lot of money to be paying by the hour because you're gonna hit overtime and everything else, and the restaurant's gonna drain. It's just the way it is. Yeah, you know. So when you walk into a job, you need to understand what it is you're looking for, what you can actually accept, and then you have to put that out there to the person. Okay. You know, if you're looking, if you want to, if you're working at$18 an hour and you think you're worth$20, right? There's nothing wrong with that. But you need to go in there when they say, What do you think you're worth? I need to start at$20 an hour. That's where I would like to be.
SPEAKER_00:So have a number in your head. Have a number in your head. But not an outrageous number. Like you have to, and if you have no experience.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and it can't be outrageous, like I said, do your research. Yeah. You know, but you'd be yeah, I mean, I definitely go into a job with a number in your head, but don't expect that person to just tell you, okay, you're worth, I want$25 an hour. Okay, no one's gonna pay that in the restaurant industry without having a substantial resume or you saying, I will do it right now, and you walking in there like a fucking boss. You know what I'm saying? If you want to own that number, you need to come in and own that number. Don't make a fool of yourself.
SPEAKER_00:So be prepared. Like, right.
SPEAKER_01:So if you're gonna go in there and say, I need$25 an hour, oh do you? Where's your chef code? Where's your where's your knife roll?
SPEAKER_00:Where's your are you ready to go right now? Can you start right now?
SPEAKER_01:No, why can't you? Um, okay, well, then$25 an hour is a fucking joke. I will see you later. Now, if you walk in there all ready to rock and roll and you say$25 an hour, and I'm like, oh wow, okay. Are you ready to start right now? Absolutely. Fuck yeah. There's a good chance I might say, I'll see you at 26 an hour and let's talk, let's talk in six months. It just depends on where you are. Yeah, right? So there's that. Now, next thing you need to know going into a job interview is you need to do research on the place you're going.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:You have to understand where it is you're going to. So many times I ask people, do you know who I am as a chef? And they've I heard of you.
SPEAKER_00:They haven't even heard of you up.
SPEAKER_01:Well, do you have any? You've heard of me. I've heard of everyone else too. I mean, you're gonna go to a job, you're gonna leave your job. Do you know what style of food we are? Have you looked at our reviews? Have you looked at our um have you looked at anything? Have you looked at our write-ups? Have you checked out our awards? Have you seen anything about us? And if the answer is no, which happens a lot, you're probably not gonna get hired here because you are just job hopping. You have you're just shooting in the dark, and we don't have room for that in our type of kitchen. We we are a team that takes pride in it.
SPEAKER_00:You're better off at a chain somewhere that's you know right.
SPEAKER_01:You're better off at a place that doesn't really care. Right. You have to care about that stuff because you need to be part of a winning team. That's what we are. And and I want that atmosphere around me. So when you're gonna go to a job interview, do research on the place so you can ask them questions about them. That will impress them. Yep, yeah. I notice you I notice your food is Italian and it doesn't seem like it's typical Italian American. That's impressive. I really want to be part of that. Oh, what'd you say about that$25 an hour? Now you're making us interested. You have to sell us, you know, in a sense.
SPEAKER_00:Well, let's lead into one of the tips with the questions you do want to be asked as the chef or the manager who's interviewing. So these are good because I don't think people prepare their own questions. They plan to be questions.
SPEAKER_01:Two minutes of do's and don'ts. Ready? Two minutes of do's and do's and two minutes of do's and don'ts. Oh no. Do walk into a place asking what positions are available, because the answer should be anything. I'll take it. Okay. Do walk in there, uh, don't walk in there saying, I don't do this, I don't do that. No negative. No negative. Don't walk in there saying, well, I don't do this and I don't do that.
SPEAKER_00:I don't dare I don't work Monday through Friday.
SPEAKER_01:Do say I'm available whenever you need me. Don't say I'm available this day, but I gotta bring my mom to the doctor uh for her checkups on this day, and then I gotta do this on this day, and then Thursday I have to pick up my kid from preschool. Don't do that. Okay. Figure that out later. Yep. Do say I can work whenever I'm available and whenever whenever best fits, and hopefully I can fulfill your schedule. That's what you can say. Okay. You're not lying, you're not telling any shit, you're just saying I can do my best to fulfill your schedule and we can work together and hopefully everything works out. Great. That's what I'm willing to do. Say something like that.
SPEAKER_00:It's a good way to put up.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. Don't walk into a place looking like a scrub, walk into a place looking fucking great, on point, ready to rock and roll. Okay. Do walk in, I mean, don't walk into the place not knowing what's on the menu, what type of food they cook, or or what is going on there as an overall gig. Do walk in there with information and do say to them, I'm really impressed by your menu. I looked at it. Uh, your ingredients are a little different from what I'm used to, so I will definitely look forward to reading them. Don't say, I don't know what any of these ingredients are. I've never cooked Italian in my life. Do say, I don't really understand a lot of the ingredients on there, which really impress me, and I really can't wait to learn what they are. Do say that.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, I like that. Reframe it. That's one. That was a good one.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly. Don't walk in there talking about how you love alcohol and how much booze you love drinking and what whiskies you drink. Do walk in there and say, I noticed your alcohol and spirits match the quality of your menu. And I find that to be impressive. That means the front of the house and the back of the house are really working together, and that impresses me. And I want to be part of that team. Do say that. You're not gonna impress everybody by how much liquor you have in your house. I promise you, I have more. You got more.
SPEAKER_00:Nobody cares.
SPEAKER_01:Right. And I don't care how much you say, you drink this wine and that wine, I have a lot more. So, you what you have to say is how you're impressed by it. You're not gonna impress me by saying you can get drunk too. I don't care. You see what I'm saying? That's the last thing you want to say. Right? What else do you want to so do and don't?
SPEAKER_00:Okay, so do and don't. Um, let's see, some other fun ones that we had, um, bad mouthing. Bad mouthing previous employers.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, do not do that. Walk in and say, My last place didn't really work. Uh, I've kind of grew past it and and we kind of grew apart. Do say that. Yeah, do say it just wasn't uh after being there a while, I want to explore more avenues and learn more things. Do say that. Yep, that's a good one. Don't say, fuck that guy, he's an asshole. That chef sucks. Be careful. You guys chef could be one of my best friends.
SPEAKER_00:Because even if you have a chef that they're bad mouthing that you don't like, you and that chef will come together to talk about that person as an industry kind of loyalty over that person bad mouthing the person you don't like. Right. Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_01:Yes, of course. We have a standard, and each chef is going to, and you gotta be careful because some chefs compete too, and they don't want that guy to go to you because they may have been good, but they didn't get along. So they don't want him to go to your restaurant either. So he may clap back with some bullshit. So be careful what you say about that chef, right? So if you if you're gonna be bad mouthing other chefs or other kitchens or other restaurants, be careful because you don't know the relationship. It's a small world, it's a small community, and pretty much we're tight-knit.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you know, very tight knit.
SPEAKER_01:So we know that the we know we have to bounce.
SPEAKER_00:Obsestuous sometimes. Obsessuous, it's a little crazy.
SPEAKER_01:But sometimes, more than likely, a chef that's been here has been there, has been there, has been there. People are only have so many places to go when you're at the top level. Yep. There's only so many places that they can go. Yeah. So be careful on what you talk shit about because you don't know the relationships outside of that.
SPEAKER_00:And don't talk shit about yourself, like saying you have all this experience, I can do this, I can do that. Because what, hour one, you're gonna figure out what they can and can't do.
SPEAKER_01:That's one thing. Do walk in there saying, do what, huh? Another do. Another do. Got really excited about it. Do walk in there saying, I'm very eager to learn.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I have a lot of experience with a lot of different things, but I know from that experience that I can just keep gaining more and I'm excited about it. Do say that. That's a great way to do put your resume down and leave it alone. Yeah. Answer questions. Don't say, you can do this, you can do that. I'm fast on saute, I can take care of this, I can do this. All this is a breeze to me. Don't say that.
SPEAKER_00:You want to like more stay humble.
SPEAKER_01:Like stay humble because that's insulting.
SPEAKER_00:There's always something to learn. You're not the best, you're not the top.
SPEAKER_01:You may, you may not be, but it doesn't matter. You I'm not trying to hire someone better than me. I'm trying to hire someone who can make my position better. You see what I'm saying? No. If you're better than me at what we're doing, cool. That I may have had my break and you didn't. But we'll find that out in time. You know what I'm saying? But don't talk yourself out of that just by saying how much better than everything you are. You know, it's it's very hard to do that. So definitely talk about your um definitely talk about your experience in a way that makes you want to have more of it. Yeah, don't destroy, don't destroy your moment by trying to oversell your experience. This is a whole new experience. No matter what experience you have, I can cook my ass off, but I'm gonna walk into someone's kitchen and I'm not gonna know the recipes. I'm still gonna have to go through all their procedure, I'm still gonna have to go through how they break down their meats, how they label their stuff, how they uh first in, first out things, how they organize their walk-in, how they um season their pans. Everybody has their own little touch, right? Everybody has to go through it. No matter how good you are, you still have to gain their experience.
SPEAKER_00:Bingo! Bingo, but you also want them to follow your standards. So you have to be able to adapt. You can't be set in your ways either.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly. So that's why how much experience you have is only cool. Is any of that experience say I can adapt? I can do what you need me to do in your kitchen. So make sure you can adapt. Sell yourself as an adapter.
SPEAKER_00:Let's talk about back to the the kind of who you hire for your kitchen. Because I mean, you know, it's usually like the island of misfit toys kind of happens in the kitchens. But how much as a like chef owner, when you're interviewing people, do you go and does like their social media or how they present themselves online? How does that matter to you when you're hiring?
SPEAKER_01:You have to look, I have to look, you don't have to do shit. I have to look at you have a team, you have a unit, you have cohesiveness. You kind of have to make sure who you're bringing in is in that type of environment or at least fits in the team. If you have a kitchen full of sports people who are gonna be talking sports all the time, and they have been for years, or listening to one style of music, or and then you bring in someone totally different who likes to crochet, it's gonna be hard to bring that person in because there's always gonna be hurt feelings, there's gonna be something, and you don't want someone to leave because of somebody else. Yeah, because it costs money, it costs time. So you now that the picking pool has gotten smaller, it's really hard to do that.
SPEAKER_00:So But you still, I mean, you still try. There's a little cyber stalking. I mean, we go now, we have that.
SPEAKER_01:If you get a resume from somebody, right, and you're interested in hiring them, and you don't simply go to the most convenient, simple way of looking into something, looking on their social media, yeah, you're doing yourself an injustice. You you're not doing yourself the right thing. Yeah, as far as you know, who knows what's what they're posting, they're doing who knows.
SPEAKER_00:Well, they're also representing your business, right?
SPEAKER_01:Or you can learn some really cool shit about them. Meaning, wow, look at they cook. This they're wow, they really have awards. Look at this guy. So it can work both ways. So definitely be ready for that. When you're going into a job position, please understand that you've already been looked at, you've already been stalked, the managers have already all checked you out. We already did our looking and research before we called you because you seem to have fit just by a profile.
SPEAKER_00:Make sure your only fans is turned off.
SPEAKER_01:Turn us shit off, man. Yeah, man. Only pans. You can put that on.
SPEAKER_00:We should, it would be, yeah, instead of only chef network, only pans, it would be only pans. Only pans. That's your that's your your outside looking like pans and feet picks.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Put your foot in a pan.
SPEAKER_00:I'm sure somebody would pay for that.
SPEAKER_01:Pandemonium.
SPEAKER_00:Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01:So, yeah, so definitely make sure you understand that. When you're going to a job interview, make sure that you probably already looked at or you're going to be. So clean up your Facebook and your Instagram and your TikTok and your Snapchat and whatever the fuck else you got out there.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. We're gonna, we're gonna stalk you. It's totally fine. It's everybody's job. So, yeah, so those are all really good tips. So, for anybody that's coming out of school, you know, where where are you seeing, I guess, the most as new hires right now? Is it people who've been in the industry a certain amount of time, or are you still getting people coming out of cooking schools?
SPEAKER_01:Cook um cooking schools is on a big rise now because there's a lot more cooking schools out there. Ten years ago, I would have told you I don't like people from cooking school because of this, that, and the other. Now it's totally different. Now there's such a lack of commitment in everything. I look at chef school as your first commitment.
SPEAKER_00:Because they had to actually be there at the end of the day.
SPEAKER_01:So you chose to go to school, you had to pay for it, you had to choose to go to it, you had to study, you had to learn, you had to take tests. So there already is a two-year at this level of getting this type of degree at the starting level, is a uh two-year commitment. At least you've already committed to something. Okay. Whereas somebody who didn't go to school now, because the resumes are different, I don't see much commitment. I see job hopping. This, that, this, that, this, that. I see.
SPEAKER_00:Every three months, six months, whatever.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, right. And so there's but if you at least school now to me shows that you have the first things you need to know. A lot of people are. Aren't learning now when that's simple food handling procedure. At least you understand what temperatures are and know how to sanitize your damn cutting boards. That at least you're learning that. And I can prove that because you at least went to school. Now, a lot of people who don't go to school, it's opposite. 10 years ago, experience meant everything. Now, with the methods we have, the laws we have, the money it takes, the methods of cooking, the techniques, you almost have to learn it from somewhere. And I can't really guarantee you did just because you worked at 20 different places. You could have cooked chicken wings 20 different places, 20 different ways.
SPEAKER_00:And not had to be have any other responsibility.
SPEAKER_01:Right. So accountability, a lot more people are coming out of school. I'm doing a lot more intern, external stuff. Okay. Because I like to deal with them because these people are making a commitment that we didn't have to make 10, 20 years ago. It wasn't as accessible, accessible. We could just get in the kitchen and go.
SPEAKER_00:And you also tap into a pool of people that way, too, that are already in or willing to be in the industry and hopefully they like your place enough to come back.
SPEAKER_01:Right. And if you and if they stage or if they work with you there and they do a little intern with you, they may want to continue on with you or at least they'll carry you on later on in life. Okay. Then you stay into the chef world.
SPEAKER_00:Final little, because that just spurred me for people who are in school, should they be seeking internship opportunities? Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01:You have to, anyway, yes. Yes. So it's part of the program.
SPEAKER_00:Would they be able to do that with you? Like you do have that. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, you do. So I do, as long as they understand that they're starting at the bottom. When you're coming in from school, you're literally getting a feel and taste of what the restaurant world is. You're not going to go in there from your school and start being right on the line chefing and uh you know, you know, garnishing and all that stuff. You're going to be on Museum Plause, you're going to be uh starting at the prep level, you'll be doing some garmies, you'll be doing uh cold salads, and you'll be doing things like that to get yourself ready to get into the flow of ticket times, production times, um, and and pacing yourself more so than you are the technical stuff. That comes years later.
SPEAKER_00:So, yeah, it's a long haul. The plan for the long term is a lot of it. It's a long haul.
SPEAKER_01:So when you're when you're on the line for 20 years, uh then you can start questioning why you're not doing that yet. But if you're in there for a year, if you're coming out of school and you want to go right from that to running the expo and doing garnishes and finishing the plate off, it's not happening. Not happening. Not happening.
SPEAKER_00:Not happening.
SPEAKER_01:Not today.
SPEAKER_00:Not today, son. All right. These are all really good tips. So I think that anybody that is coming into, you know, these kind of positions need to know these things from someone who's not bullshitting them. Or even an instructor who's saying, go in and shake hands, like very robotic. Like it's, you know, be yourself, look good, all the things, and check the boxes. So I think is there we could open it up if anybody else has questions about this or anything you've experienced in a job interview, they can pop it below. You'll answer those.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, of course I will. I love answering questions. So and the other thing I could say is this a lot of people don't do this. They don't, even chefs today, they don't take advantage of what's out there and what has been out there, and it's time they start doing that because our community needs to form bigger. So, people who are coming into the industry, the ACF, the American Color Navy Fund uh Foundation, all these um things are a factual thing. They work. And if you want to go be a chef, hang out with chefs. Mingle with chefs, go to chef events, go to food shows, go to wine tastings, go to these things where restaurant people are. And if you go to work and you slap the pans around and you go, fuck that, I ain't go, I've been cooking all day. You're always gonna be a cook. If you're going to, if you're gonna be a chef or you wanna be a chef and you want to go get a job as a chef, involve yourself in the network outside of work. It's a great community, it's a great network, and that's where you're going to grow. You have to fucking network. You know what I'm saying? There are farm to table farms out there. There are people out there that have uh food, food meets, food shows. If there's a food truck rally going on, go there.
SPEAKER_00:Round up.
SPEAKER_01:Go over there and say hello, introduce yourself to people. You're going to need these people someday. Yep. It's a small world, get involved with it, get into it, and that's how you're gonna succeed in the chef world. The more you put yourself out there, if there's a seafood festival, go there. If there's something in your town in your area that has to do with food at all, go there. Introduce yourself. You're gonna be surprised how many times you go to these things and you're gonna be saying hello to the same people. Then one day you're gonna need that person, or that person's gonna need you. All right. Now your services become, you now you become a you're a uh what is it the you're sought after?
SPEAKER_00:Uh commodity.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, go.
SPEAKER_00:Again, big words.
SPEAKER_01:Big words, man. This cooking stuff.
SPEAKER_00:Cooking, commodity.
SPEAKER_01:But yeah, that those are some tips for you. If you want to become a chef, those are five or six or seven tips for you to do what you gotta do to be to go to a job interview when you want to get hired as a chef. Show up, mean business, act like you know. Fucking act like you know. Put your shit together.
SPEAKER_00:Like you actually want a career in this, not just a job. It's a career, not a job.
SPEAKER_01:That's it. Any more tips or anything? Hey, if you want to say something or if you want to correct anything, put it down below. Let's just say lights are out, scene cut, ciao for now.
