Should line cooks EAT FREE?

Question

Should line cooks EAT FREE?

Answer 1

As a restaurant mgr, I have to say yes and no. You don't eat the big ticket items and you hold your employees accountable for the inventory. I could always go back and detemine exactly who used what.  Our employees paid 2.00 per day for a full shift which covered all their drinks and food that was not on the approved list. Everything else was half price.

Answer 2

as an executive chef and restaurant manager I would say yes. but, being a line cook you should know the value of the food and don't eat the steaks or the seafood or the other expensive items, stick to burgers and chicken and such. I was always taught that if you didn't let the chefs eat free they would steal it anyway. if you want to take an item home then you should be willing to pay about 50% for your food and slightly higher if you want more than one meal, but if you are cooking it for yourself you can always throw in a little extra for yourself

Answer 3

Absolutely. If not food will just be stolen anyways. Anthony Bourdain has written some great books about the injustices thrown upon line cooks. This is one of them. Check out his literature though. If you have ever worked in a restaurant, front or back of the house, you will laugh your butt off.

Answer 4

Well yes and no. They work hard yes, but it's not fair if they can eat free and other workers can not. So, if everyone can eat then YES! If everyone can't eat free than no.  

Answer 5

no... unfortunately not... if it is a high scale restaurant where line cooks are required to be more creative the tasting is okay... but tasting is using 1 clean spoon and taking 1 taste no double dipping to make sure the flavor is okay... especially handy in soups and sauces... cooks and all staff should be given meals at a discounted price... but if you look at it from a managers perspective or a mathmatical perspective then it would come out to be this... if a restaurant is open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week, and each day it has 5 line cooks per shift, that is 70 free meals that the managment or owners would be passing out a week which supposing are $10 meals, is $700 lost per week from profit.  It seems insufficient when you think about only yourself, but when you look at it in the bigger perspective it is too much of a loss for a company to take.  You can say, okay well how bout we just get to eat the mistakes, but it has been proven consistently that if you let your employees eat mistakes, you as a manager will notice that the number of mistakes triples because "mistakes" are no longer that, but a way to snag a free meal.  Sorry, if you were looking forward to some free grub.

Answer 6

I thought so...a good cook needs to taste the food in any case to be sure it is seasoned properly.

The manager's face turned red when I calmly told him this was taught in all the great Culinary Schools.  After choking for 30 seconds or so, he screamed, "But that does NOT mean taking a bite out of every steak, pork chop and piece of chicken you send out to the customers!"

My career hopes of being an American Gordon Ramsey were dashed after but three hours into my first shift.

Now I am hoping to be an American "Survivorman"....able to survive on the meagerest of nature's offerings in the most inhospitable of settings....oh, goody!  I just heard a mousetrap clack....got to go get dinner now....mmmm

Answer 7

sure! y not! every job needs its perks!! temps are the only ones who get screwed!