When a cook has to stock pile his food at a Restaurant.?

Question

I work at a place where at times we got so bissy that the grill cook being me would have to pepare so much fish and meat ahead of time to even keep up with the flow of people they where sitting , that when it got time to serve it ,it was dry over cooked and not freash. I got so mad that we where supose to be this fine dinning place that served freash stuff yet it was not being sold as that. This would happen all the time we only had 3 people on line and the place sat 350 people what was wrong with that picture and we would do 3 turns or sitting of the hole place.

Answer 1

You as a cook should know there are many ways to cook ahead. Of course, there are some things that can be done, but as for the fish, cooking it and leaving it in butter, or a sauce should not be a problem.

As for meats, cook them rare, and then cook them as you need to. There is no reason why food should be overcooked.

I work as a waitress in a NON fine dining restaurant, and I watch the cooks alot. They do parties for 150 people, and they have no problem with food. Keep it moist and covered.

Besides, it sounds like you need a new job, or they need to hire more chefs.

Answer 2

I agree with peaches, you seem under allot of stress I was a cook for years , I will not be in a h**l's Kitchen any longer , get some where else where it is what you want to serve ,not stuff that is garbage , those that go in there pay $$$$ for it they  as well as you deserve better service . just my opinion

Answer 3

Obviously they need more cooks... or better management.

Answer 4

I think you need more practice.  Try this.  Reserve a portion of the grill that is just for keeping things warm.  Cook only a couple or a few meats and fish to something before rare and stack them in this area (keeping the meats and fish separate).  When the order comes in, pull what you need off and finish it off while you start the same item up to replenish your reserve.  Near the end of the evening, you slow down replenishing the reserve and you go back to cooking to order.   When you get a good feel of how much you need, you increase or decrease the amount you pre-cook.  

Another tip is to have the hostess or matre de notify you if there are any large parties or a backlog building.  It is also nice if you could warn them that the kitchen is running slow so they might slow down seating people a bit (it helps sales at the bar).