What a Good Crewmember Actually Looks Like
I've worked with hundreds of people in professional kitchens over the past two decades. Some of them were talented. Some were fast. Some could break down a whole fish in under three minutes or turn out perfect brunoise without thinking. But the ones I actually wanted to keep? They weren't always the most skilled. They were the ones who made the kitchen work. There's a version of this job that people imagine before they start. You show up, you cook, you learn some knife skills, maybe you get yelled at a bit, and eventually you become a chef. That's not how it works. The kitchen runs on people who do the things nobody asked them to do. Who see the low mise en place and fill it before service without being told. Who clean as they go not because the head chef is watching but because they understand why it matters. Who show up on time — actually on time, not walking-through-the-door-at-start-time — ready to work. That's it. That's most of it. Skills can be taught. I...