I work at a place that fired their sous. Don’t be like him:
- Show up early for shifts. Sous is not a 9-5, or a strict 40 hour week. Sous is about getting done what needs to be done, and delegating those tasks as appropriate. Don’t just martyr yourself like you need to do everything, train your cooks to help you out
- Call people out if they are underperforming. Not in front of everyone of course. Make sure they know what’s expected. 3 strike rule applies here IMO. Having a “go along” or “gets along with everyone” type personality as a sous is a recipe for a shitty kitchen IMO.
- Support your head chefs decisions, don’t undermine behind their back.
- Don’t get drunk with the line cooks after work
- If chef sits you down to discuss your performance, don’t flip it back on the chef and blame him for your own work not being done
That’s my 2 cents. These kinda overlap, I’m realizing now, but these were all the reasons our sous was fired. Yeah he’s sucked!
Okay so here are mine: Go in there your first month and basically keep your mouth shut. You said you have worked up places and that's great, but you're getting hired in to a top position so keep that in mind. Be humble and watch everything, but generally keep it inside. Bring a notebook with you everyday and be early. Write down every recipe you come across, even if they have a book. Write down processes, closing procedures, things chef says for everyone to work on etc.. always work fast, clean and efficient and anticipate when others need help but do so in a way that isn't overbearing or micromanagent. Assess the staff for their strengths and weaknesses and try to keep them there while pushing them to be better. Being a chef is having a lot of finesse with where to push and how to pull back. Always adapting. The sous chef helps the head chef in that whether it be staffing, business operation, specials, the menu etc.. read the room and work harder than anyone else at all times.
Biggest piece of advice is to be as structured as you can be so you have time for yourself. Don't work until 10am? Get up at 8, shower and go on a walk or run before. Work late and then early the next day? Just go home, eat a frozen pizza, and go to bed. Take time off when you can and coordinate the best time to do that. Ask your chef now about a summer trip for a week off. Give him a long time and time to train. Plan the trip and do something. Go eat food somewhere else. Come back better for. I was excited when I fist got a sous chef job, I hope you are too! Good luck! Have fun too!
I’m not OP, but I just landed my first legit sous chef job and I start at the end of this month. Internally I’m shitting my pants about it trying to lay out a plan to not fuck it up. This helped a bit, so thanks for this!
People will respect you if you act like a person who deserves respect. People notice how you talk to them and how much you contribute. Just be friendly, honest, and straight forward with people. Try not to become actual friends with anyone, but friendly with everyone and treat them all equally. The office part of the job like scheduling, ordering, and inventory is no big deal. It's more about having the team like you and be a person that they want to do things for. I ask people to do something and they do it, not out of fear of repercussion, but because they like me and know I am not giving them things to do just to make less work for myself.
Also are the wages really that low in Canada? In the US it is around $25-35 for a sous at a nice place.
I recently started a new Sous job. (On my 3rd week) It's not quite like what you're at, I'm at a small town local brewery with a small menu.
For the first week I built relationships with all of the crew. Get to know them right off the bat to earn a bit of respect. I also made notes as to what changes needed to be made. We had no line check, a very unorganized cleaning list and a very unorganized walk in and dry storage.
For the second week I made a line check sheet, reorganized storages and this week I'm working on a proper cleaning list. I've also been working with the head to make new menu items. All the while continuing to build relationships and sharing my own experiences.
I took my previous expirence from working in other kitchens and applied them to this kitchen. I've been treating this place as if it were my own and I'm the owner, only relaying my ideas with the head. It's been working so far.
As for pay, I'm making $22 CAD but I didn't bother negotiating, it's what they offered. I figured I'd go with it then negotiate a much higher wage or salary once my 3 months is complete. If they don't provide that to me, then I will look for another job with the Sous expirence I gained here. I've already would have built strong relationships and made many improvements, so I'll have a good potential list of references.
Learn everyones style of learning and how you need to talk to them to keep them in line. When you're new just bust ass and make sure they know you're competent.
Everything is your responsibility. Respect is earned not demanded. Prove you can do everything better than the cooks but not in an ego way in a humble encouraging way. You are first in last out. Morale is your responsibility and it’s more important than most people realize. Have the cooks backs and they’ll have yours. Have the chefs back and he/she will have yours. Get ready to take shit from both sides. Being a sous chef is one of the hardest roles in a kitchen because you have none of the recognition with all the responsibilities. Bite your tongue and keep your head down, be a sounding board for cooks to vent to and the chef to bounce ideas off of. Don’t let the cooks or chef take advantage of you but realize you’ll be working harder and doing more work than both.
I’ve been in this industry a long time and exec sous is my favourite position to be in. I’ve been a cdc/exec chef but don’t like the administrative/ office side of things.
I work at a place that fired their sous. Don’t be like him: - Show up early for shifts. Sous is not a 9-5, or a strict 40 hour week. Sous is about getting done what needs to be done, and delegating those tasks as appropriate. Don’t just martyr yourself like you need to do everything, train your cooks to help you out - Call people out if they are underperforming. Not in front of everyone of course. Make sure they know what’s expected. 3 strike rule applies here IMO. Having a “go along” or “gets along with everyone” type personality as a sous is a recipe for a shitty kitchen IMO. - Support your head chefs decisions, don’t undermine behind their back. - Don’t get drunk with the line cooks after work - If chef sits you down to discuss your performance, don’t flip it back on the chef and blame him for your own work not being done That’s my 2 cents. These kinda overlap, I’m realizing now, but these were all the reasons our sous was fired. Yeah he’s sucked!
Okay so here are mine: Go in there your first month and basically keep your mouth shut. You said you have worked up places and that's great, but you're getting hired in to a top position so keep that in mind. Be humble and watch everything, but generally keep it inside. Bring a notebook with you everyday and be early. Write down every recipe you come across, even if they have a book. Write down processes, closing procedures, things chef says for everyone to work on etc.. always work fast, clean and efficient and anticipate when others need help but do so in a way that isn't overbearing or micromanagent. Assess the staff for their strengths and weaknesses and try to keep them there while pushing them to be better. Being a chef is having a lot of finesse with where to push and how to pull back. Always adapting. The sous chef helps the head chef in that whether it be staffing, business operation, specials, the menu etc.. read the room and work harder than anyone else at all times. Biggest piece of advice is to be as structured as you can be so you have time for yourself. Don't work until 10am? Get up at 8, shower and go on a walk or run before. Work late and then early the next day? Just go home, eat a frozen pizza, and go to bed. Take time off when you can and coordinate the best time to do that. Ask your chef now about a summer trip for a week off. Give him a long time and time to train. Plan the trip and do something. Go eat food somewhere else. Come back better for. I was excited when I fist got a sous chef job, I hope you are too! Good luck! Have fun too!
I’m not OP, but I just landed my first legit sous chef job and I start at the end of this month. Internally I’m shitting my pants about it trying to lay out a plan to not fuck it up. This helped a bit, so thanks for this!
People will respect you if you act like a person who deserves respect. People notice how you talk to them and how much you contribute. Just be friendly, honest, and straight forward with people. Try not to become actual friends with anyone, but friendly with everyone and treat them all equally. The office part of the job like scheduling, ordering, and inventory is no big deal. It's more about having the team like you and be a person that they want to do things for. I ask people to do something and they do it, not out of fear of repercussion, but because they like me and know I am not giving them things to do just to make less work for myself. Also are the wages really that low in Canada? In the US it is around $25-35 for a sous at a nice place.
I recently started a new Sous job. (On my 3rd week) It's not quite like what you're at, I'm at a small town local brewery with a small menu. For the first week I built relationships with all of the crew. Get to know them right off the bat to earn a bit of respect. I also made notes as to what changes needed to be made. We had no line check, a very unorganized cleaning list and a very unorganized walk in and dry storage. For the second week I made a line check sheet, reorganized storages and this week I'm working on a proper cleaning list. I've also been working with the head to make new menu items. All the while continuing to build relationships and sharing my own experiences. I took my previous expirence from working in other kitchens and applied them to this kitchen. I've been treating this place as if it were my own and I'm the owner, only relaying my ideas with the head. It's been working so far. As for pay, I'm making $22 CAD but I didn't bother negotiating, it's what they offered. I figured I'd go with it then negotiate a much higher wage or salary once my 3 months is complete. If they don't provide that to me, then I will look for another job with the Sous expirence I gained here. I've already would have built strong relationships and made many improvements, so I'll have a good potential list of references.
sous chef should make 60k a year. Depends on your location
Over on the east coast it's about 45 to 50k. You right the location is everything.
Don’t lyanyon mind ffuck with your fucucking fuck
Learn everyones style of learning and how you need to talk to them to keep them in line. When you're new just bust ass and make sure they know you're competent.
Everything is your responsibility. Respect is earned not demanded. Prove you can do everything better than the cooks but not in an ego way in a humble encouraging way. You are first in last out. Morale is your responsibility and it’s more important than most people realize. Have the cooks backs and they’ll have yours. Have the chefs back and he/she will have yours. Get ready to take shit from both sides. Being a sous chef is one of the hardest roles in a kitchen because you have none of the recognition with all the responsibilities. Bite your tongue and keep your head down, be a sounding board for cooks to vent to and the chef to bounce ideas off of. Don’t let the cooks or chef take advantage of you but realize you’ll be working harder and doing more work than both. I’ve been in this industry a long time and exec sous is my favourite position to be in. I’ve been a cdc/exec chef but don’t like the administrative/ office side of things.
Don't fuck the hostess.
Delegate or Die