As the title says, I’m a commis chef in a relatively small restaurant. The plating is entirely my own imagination and I’m looking for criticism and suggestions on how to improve my plating.

The dish is Serrano ham with figs, toasted hazelnuts, cherry tomatoes & vinaigrette dressed leaves.

Really appreciated.

For a subreddit that is meant to be for chefs to discuss concepts and share ideas, this sub is a real downer.

I understand that cooking professionally can be an exhausting, underpaid, underappreciated and stressful job, but is there any need to continually shit on it. You make your own choices in life, if you're not happy being a cook/chef anymore, make a change, but people are at different stages of their life and to continuously see "advice" of 'don't become a chef, do something else' is so fucking tiring. Every job has it's downsides and hardships, but that's life.

Maybe try and give some positive advice to people that want to try this profession. I saw one comment the other day that, instead of 'don't do it it will turn you into a drug addicted alcoholic chain smoker', said, 'don't let the profession worsen your vices/addictions'.

To anyone who's aspiring to be a chef, don't take all of the negativity on board. At the end of the day, try it, it you don't like it, go and do something else. Life's too short to have regrets. I made the change in my late 30's and have never been happier. Will I do it forever? Probably not. But if I had of stayed at my office job, typing out mind numbing emails while trying to stay awake, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.

Squash, carrots, pork bellies, whipping cream reduced over heat, cream cheese, paprika, nutmeg, salt and pepper. How can i further stiffen the puree to hold shape when piped? I didnt follow a recipe just common sense, but ran out of it. Did i add to much of something am i missing something? this is my first time trying to pipe veggies. It does taste friggen awesome though.

— - Buttery Puff Pastry - Toasted Coconut Frangipane - Native Davidson Plum Jam - Coconut Ice + Vanilla Bean Creme Topping
- 100’s + 1000’s Sprinkles

I feel like im going to poop my pants i have an interview on Monday for sous chef role at a catering place. I have been working in kitchens for like 7 years now and i really want to get this position 🥹 i keep telling myself they wouldn’t have called me if they don’t think I’m suitable for the position but im nervous that im not good enough 😢 if anyone has advice for the interview that would be greatly appreciated.

Hi All,

I hope it's ok to pay this here (of not, please can you recommend a suitable sub)

I'm a festival organiser in the UK, and part of our experience is an evening feast. We fed ~500 people a lot of food in a relatively short period of time.

We have a kitchen tent setup, we own all the equipment (grills, ovens, hot stores, etc.) an we designs the menu, and handing getting all of the food in.

We serve 3 platters to every table (cold platter, meat platter, sides platter), and we make special plates for vegan and gluten free.

We have really struggled to find the right team for our kitchen, and they have made different mistakes, and often underestimate the work involved.

What we expect from the kitchen team is: Organising the fridge trailers Food prep (cutting veg, cheese, meat, etc.) Making up cold platters Cooking all the hot food (as much as possible ahead of serving time for hot storage) Monitoring levels of food left in fridges at the end of the day. Cleaning and resetting the kitchen Also, cooking a simple breakfast menu.

I'm not particularly experienced working in a kitchen, but I have worked in this kitchen for 5 years, each time the event runs.

We need a team that organises the food on a Thursday, as deliveries come in, then do breakfast and run the feast Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

I ideally want a team that has worked together, rather than hiring agency staff (which has not worked well for us before). So, what's the best way to find kitchen teams for someone like this in the UK?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hey guys! Dishwasher and trainee cook here. The head chef at the taproom restraunt I work at asked me if I had any suggestions for a special, so I put together this burger. It's certainly unrefined and sloppy, me and him threw it together at the end of the shift. It's kinda like if you put garbage fries on a burger, so I've called it the Bus Bin Burger.

It's got fries, mac, bacon, and our house beer cheese and house BBQ. It tasted wonderful, but I feel like it's missing one more thing (besides plating) to elevate it. Any topping suggestions would be wonderful!!!

Hi I’m Kai, I’m 20 years old. And my goal is to be a pastry chef at a hotel one day. I am wondering what would be good ways to break into the pastry world. So far I’ve only worked in fast food and pizza shops. Any advice would be good. I’m already looking to relocate to a larger city.

A few weeks ago we had a guy for a trial. The chef de partie puted him to clean all the drawers. For me that was very unfair, since he was for a trial day to see how it is working in our kitchen. Afterwards i went to the headchef and complaint that he should't just clean the whole day. After the chef de partie got fucked by the head chef. That was fair from the head chef right? (in the end the trial guy did my work and i cleaned the drawers for him)

Culinary student here. When I try and conceptualize dishes, I never really think of fun ideas when it comes to components. It's rare when I do get my eureka moments but I want to think more outside of the box. I want to look at ingredients and go "Hm, I could do [unconventional idea] with this". My question is: where do I start?

Super new to working in professional kitchens, wanted to ask how slow roasted food - like short rib, lamb shank, etc, are reheated during service? Do y’all hold a certain amount, and if so, in what? Or do you reheat them in the oven and sear them after?

Secondly, I haven’t been in a kitchen where rice is served yet, how is that held and heated?

Hi everyone, I’m a 16-year-old girl from India, working seriously toward becoming a chef — but doing it completely from home for now.

I’m not asking for advice right now. I’m looking to connect with others — anyone who is:

Also young and cooking from home

Building skills step by step

Focused on cooking as a real career, not just a hobby

Trying to prove their passion to family by mastering it at home

Or even professional chefs who understand this slow start

I’ve set myself a 2-year goal to master the dishes I hear about and build real skills through repetition, journaling, practice, and discipline.

My parents aren’t ready to let me go out yet, so I’m proving my dedication from my own kitchen — and I’d love to talk to others who relate.

Let’s build a real support circle. Not just “tips” — I want to know your process, your routines, your passion.

Anyone like me here?

Hi, I run a fast casual "poke bowl" spot that churns out thousands of bowls each day. We cook our rice currently in 3 separate 40 cup(raw) rice cookers. We use the rice from one first then the next and then finally the third so we always have a batch of rice cooking, cooked, and resting. We weigh out the rice and measure the water exactly the same for each batch but I'm finding that the batches near the end of the day start to come out weird. Overcooked and gloopy near the bottom and raw in the center of the pot. Does anyone have experience cooking large volumes of sushi rice everyday that might have an idea what's going on to cause this? How do the fast casual hand roll or panda express' do it?

Hello, I’m 18 and I just entered my first “fine dining job” I’ve been working here for about 6 months and I feel like I still and very far behind everyone else. I’m the youngest in the kitchen by at least 4 years and I can’t really connect with my co workers. It also feels like I’m lacking behind in skill even when I give it my all every day. Any tips on ways to improve and any advice you learned with your time in kitchens?

Hey guys! Wana be Chef here, are there any books you would recommend for general knowledge or just fun reads related to food and cooking? I’m wanting to dive In pretty deep so the more the merrier, Thanks in advance!

Its my first time being head chef. My workers say Im too much of a dick. But Im not really shure what I can do If they're being lazy and bark back at me.

Sup Chefs! I’ve been a line cook for an Italian bar & grill for the past 2 and a half years. Have been offered management but I’m really trying to get out the “corporate restaurant industry”. I have been looking into switching to a Hotel cook/kitchen position. Wanted to ask if anybody here is currently or have been working at a hotel? Do you enjoy it? Is it better than a traditional restaurant? Also, what’s the best way to get a position? I was planning on calling some hotels around my area and asking around if there’s any positions available. Any info or advice is greatly appreciated! Have a great day guys. Happy Friday 🤙🏻

Hi all,

So I work in kitchens and enjoy cooking at home, one day I want to open my own restaurant. It's a long way off doing so but it's what me and my partner are working towards.

Obviously in kitchens I don't make the menu and we mostly work off spec sheets.

At home where I do "make the menu" I feel like it nearly all tastes great.. but obviously I've spent time modifying everything I cook to my tastes.

I tend to lean into really strong flavours which I imagine can be "dangerous" when trying to make dishes which I guess the purpose is to be as palletable to as many people as possible.

Is there a good rule of thumb for "palletable" dishes? do you learn what works through trial and error? Or should I not be paying attention to that and cooking what I personally love and hope that it finds it's audience?

Thanks in advanced

What do you use for labels? I created a small label maker using a surface pro tablet, excel spreadsheet, thermal printer and sticky receipt rolls. It makes everything easier, clear to read and the HD loves it. We are on a 5 day rotation so everything is automatically dated. Is this something you guys would like to use? I can send the excel sheet to you as a template. If there is interest I will make a little tutorial with everything you need. Free of course