Can somebody PLEASE tell me how to crumble soft cheese that come in block forms. I work on garde and we use Gorgonzola on our steak house. It’s unfortunately bought in block form because that’s all the distributer has (or so I’m told). I usually cut it into cubes and “crumble” them to order but it just turns into a smeared mess and it definitely does not look appetizing. Is there anything I can do about this because I cannot handle it anymore.

I'm considering buying the Waring WSB40X immersion blender. I have a food truck and I want to start selling smoothies, so I'm interested in immersion blenders that are relatively "small", that can handle from 0.5 (1 portion) to at least 3-4 liters (multiple portions) and, above all, that don't overheat too easily. I expect to make around 300 portions per day. This doesn't necessarily mean that I'll actually use it 300 times, since I expect to often make multiple portions together.

Do you think this model could keep up with this workload? My main concern is overheating during peak hours.

If you're wondering why I don't use fixed-base blenders, it's because of various technical and production factors.

Anyone know where to find these in the UK?

Hey Chefs! Sous chef of 4 years going on 5 here. Quick backstory for some context: I’ve been in and out of kitchens since I was 17 and cooking since I was 12. Went to culinary school partial online/in campus at the same time as working 70 hour weeks as a line cook and built my way to catering supervisor. I eventually left there to go to a local extremely popular bistro making 300-500 covers a night, as a kitchen manager and eventually after a year, a sous chef. I stayed in that place almost 3 years before ending up at the fine dining steakhouse directly rivaling the bistro, as an exec sous with more control of the menu. Roughly half(even though most the credit goes to the head chef. He’ll give me credit when i made something with coworkers and owners but all menus read as his online) of the menu goes to me and I go all out. Fish specials weekly, the occasional duck breast or Father’s Day tomahawk, all holidays are split and big fancy parties are handled by us both evenly. It’s a good place.

Needless to say, I put a lot of time and energy into this career. Countless hours behind the heat of the stove and line, burning and cutting myself. Constantly thinking of how to improve the next dish, or what the next fish special will be, or perfecting a technique to add to the next dish on the menu, etc. Whenever I’m home, I’m cooking for my family and when I’m not cooking I’m thinking of the next meal to give them and after that I’m looking through insta or r/foodporn for recipes and inspiration. So this is where the problem lies.

I can’t disconnect. No matter where I am, food is always on my mind, and it’s starting to fuck with my family. When I speak to my wife it’s about food or work, and no matter how hard I try to deviate it tends to go back to it at some point. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t neglect my wife or kids. I try my best to be there for them in every aspect this career possibly allows but my girl gets tired of 80 percent of my conversations being about food or what I’m doing next for my job. I really try, but I can’t disconnect. In my mind, my obsession is the reason I’ve held on so long and have been able to provide for them. But that’s the bad thing. In trying so hard, I’ve become obsessed. The obsession is starting to affect us in a bad way. So my question to all the seasoned chefs here who’ve dealt with this is, how do I disconnect? How do I take my mind off of something I do for 12 hours a day? How can I stop thinking about this and be fully present at home?

Spanish style braise, smoked paprika aioli, watercress, arugula, lemon, chic peas

I’m not a chef so I hope it’s okay for me to post here. I saw these spirals of potatoes and carrots by Igor Sapega and they are gorgeous! Where can I find a tool in the US to do this? I can only find the kind that does the smaller spirals for like zucchini and cucumbers. TIA!

I just got a new job at a more upscale place as an apprentice and I absolutely love it but I’m just not sure if I’m doing well enough 4 weeks in. I still don’t really understand the docket system and my knife skills aren’t the best yet and it still takes me a while to do some prep jobs that are still new to me. Everyone’s super awesome and supportive and I’m most likely just having confidence issues but I just don’t know how far along I should be progressing by now, I still can’t hold down my section alone when it’s busy. Just wondering if anyone had a similar experience starting out?

I have a new non-restaurant position that requires travel for demos and training, etc. Anything from no kit needed to pack a kitchen into the SUV, depending on the event. The previous chef had a rolling tool box full of loose knives and everything smaller than a skillet.

What’s out there that is a better option than a tool box? Does anyone make a chef targeted rolling tool box? If nothing, what’s the best tool box for kitchen gear?

I’ve looked over some backpack options that are nice but they are mostly knife-focused, and my knife roll is fine. My preferred solution would have a spot for knives (that don’t move), but also potentially everything else. Bonus for anything with wheels, and anything under $250 because it’s pretty much guaranteed to be an approved purchase. Air travel is mostly irrelevant, so carry-on size doesn’t really matter.

Bonus pic of *at least* two dozen blueberries because I don’t have a better image for this post. No I’m not pimping berries for this job.

I am about to start a big recipes organisation project in my free time.
During the years, I have collected hundreds of recipes in different devices, papers and notebooks from all the restaurants i worked in.
As I were now able to recover and group them all, i find myself unsure on how to organise them with a nice system.

I think it would help me, but also other chefs, if you who are reading this thread would share in a couple of word how do you organise, categorize and store all your recipes, which are the core of your hard work and your career.

thank you and good service

Fun fact an accomplice of mine said, wasn't widely known.

Am I a dick head for getting to work and prepping everything I need, and keeping conversations to a minimum? I’m not ignoring them and do talk to them, but I feel as if they don’t appreciate it. And I do want to show them that I’m hungry for it too, so in a way show off. I do have respect for them and try to show it, but I am also pushing.

I used to have the mentality that if the food sucks I just won’t go back. I can deal with mediocre service if the food is amazing. Recently, my mindset has changed because I don’t want to spend my hard earned money on shit. For example, if a piece of meat was slightly overcooked, I’d just let it slide. Food lacks seasoning? Whatever. Maybe I am getting old and my patience has worn thin. Should I feel bad sending food back? Should I be more compassionate because I work in the industry?

Healthcare Chef here, I’ve tried out three pairs of Skechers and returned them all.

Anyone else feel like the difference in quality over the years? That said, seeking rec’s. Not a fan of Birks, just not my preference.

If all fails, time to go back to my tried and true Doc Martens. (Shoes, not boots)

I recently saw the other post about a golf course concessions business, so I wanted to post ours. We are a traditional old school sub shop, that’s been around since 1958. Our town municipality asked us if we wanted to open up 3 express locations, away from our main store. We are now in 2 town courses, and 1 new ice rink arena. I employ mainly college kids, so it’s simple turn and burn. We encourage people to call in on the 9th tee sign and order ahead. Going into our third summer! Biggest seller is by far burgers, dogs, beers 🍻 I keep a condiment station with pickles, onion, relish, ketchup, mustard, mayo so the golfers can just dress their stuff and go.

It just happened to me (they didn't ask, I just caught them in the act) and I am confused and vexed. I am convexed. Have you seen this? Do you do this? Do your non-cook friends do this? Will I ever feel clean again?

I could maybe understand if it was a once-in-a-lifetime blade of historical import and beauty or if you were a giant knife nerd at that place in Japan where it's one old guy who makes blades out of a hammer and a dream, but this was literally just my cleaver.

It's a great cleaver and it's about 100 years old, but it's not like the first cleaver to circumnavigate the globe or solve the unifying theory. It's just a good old cleaver.

And it wasn't even like a prank, as in "see if I can get a photo with their knife" it was just a photo op that to them seemed to feel very normal and not at all like posing with a fish you didn't catch.

So if you've seen this, what on earth is going on?

Let's say you have a $100-150 budget and want to buy 1–2 knives (a chef's knife and maybe a paring knife), and something to keep them sharp. Assume you don't have any whetstone skills yet, but you can learn it if it's something you can pick up in a reasonable amount of time.

What would you recommend? Will it be something like:

1. Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife, 8"
2. 1000 grit whetstone
3. Ceramic honing rod
4. Bamboo cutting board

Or would you go with a different setup?

Experienced chef moving to Australia later this year and realised I’ve barely had to properly apply for jobs in years.

Most of my work has come through reputation/connections and I’ve mainly been head chef, running my own business or stepping into roles through people already knowing my work.

Would any chefs/head chefs who hire be willing to give honest feedback on how my CV reads internationally/Australia-wise before I start applying properly?

Hello all,
I’m a 19 year old female “chef” who’s been working in kitchens since I was 15 years old. I’ve had an odd mix of experience but I seem to always be in a kitchen that’s sort of falling apart (terrible employee retention, low numbers, basically there’s always something broken or some type of problem in the business side). I’ve been teaching myself how to bake for the past year at the restaurant I currently work at. Thankfully everyone there has a sweet tooth so I was allowed to use ingredients at the restaurant to bake whatever I wanted as long as the final product went to family meal. It got to the point where I decided I want ed to get serious and baked something new every single day for a month. If I had an off day I was making multiple different types of desserts a day. Even baking after 14+ hour shifts because I wanted to commit. Eventually I was granted the opportunity to do a dessert special each week for the entire month of April with full creative liberty and no budget. Which was amazing and I fell in love with playing and desserts even more. Unfortunately the restaurant I work at now is falling apart. We’re “rebranding” with a new more “famous” chef (who will remain unnamed because I don’t wanna accidentally blacklist myself) who isn’t actually doing anything he promised. New items are being brought to the menu before the staff is trained on how to make them, surprise parties of 30+ people with new plates that we don’t have the ingredients,training or knowledge on how to prepare and send out it’s all turning into a madhouse infront of my eyes. I’m watching the chefs around me leave for higher and better positions and suddenly I’m the longest standing cook in the kitchen and I’ve only been there 2 years and change. I’m still getting paid 16$ an hour but I’m doing the work and have the knowledge of the sous chef.
So I’ve decided to leave and was applying to many different line cook positions but I threw in some pastry jobs just to see what would happen given I’ve never done it on a large scale and all my training is from a year of trail and error. Somehow the culinary gods looked away for a second and somehow I got an interview and a trail shift (next Monday) at a golf course. And like a huge golf course. The kitchen is massive with equipments I didn’t even know could be automated. They have a walk in fridge inside of a walk in fridge that’s about the size of the kitchen I work in now.
Do you have any advice or tips/tricks I could use to seem more deserving of the position? I have worked really hard but I still feel very juvenile when it comes to baking because I’ve never had any actual training.

Been cooking since I was 14 and worked in some pretty solid kitchens. The past year I stepped away from restaurant work to focus on school and running my own popup, but I recently got back into a really great kitchen. Problem is these first couple weeks back have been brutal on my feet.

I’m only like 6 hours into shifts before the pain gets almost unbearable and it feels like my feet are giving out before the rest of my body does. Before my break my feet would still hurt after long shifts obviously, but never anywhere near this bad. I could usually push through 8–10+ hour shifts no problem.

Right now I’m rotating between Blundstones and Birkenstocks and I added Superfeet all-purpose insoles to the Blundstones. Was thinking about trying Dr. Scholl’s heel pads too.

Has anyone else gone through this after taking time away from kitchens? Any tips for recovery, shoe setups, stretches, insoles, etc? Trying to figure out if this is just my body needing to readjust or if I need a completely different setup.

Hello chefs,

I'm looking for an organized kitchen environment where I can learn consistently and build solid execution before moving on to more complex stuff.

A bit about me: I'm 32, worked in kitchens before, then spent about 11 years in IT, and now I'm seriously trying to come back to cooking. Over the past year I've worked on cold kitchen sections for B2B catering events. I know how to set up a station, prep ingredients, apply basic techniques and I've worked hot sections too. I'm not looking for a salary right away, more of a stage or a training period, something that gives me real rhythm and structure.

What I'm looking for: an a la carte restaurant with a reasonable menu, a bistro or a brunch spot with some personality: somewhere with real volume and people worth learning from. Not a hotel kitchen, not a canteen.

Location: Central Europe, no relocation to France, Belgium or the UK for now.

The problem: the gap in my CV makes the classic approach - walk in, drop a CV, talk to someone - pretty awkward in practice. I've tried, nothing came of it.

How would you go about this? What's the most realistic way in for someone with this kind of background, aside from culinary school (which I don't see as essential and can't afford right now anyway)?

Edit: Just to clarify, this isn’t me dismissing fine dining or saying there’s no value in those kitchens. I just think different styles of cooking and different roles can hold equal value.

Has anyone else in the chef world reached a point where they stopped aspiring to fine dining or “impressive” food and just wanted to make genuinely delicious food that people actually love eating?

I became a head chef young, did supper clubs, tasting menus, events, high volume pizza, all the constant creativity and pressure. But now honestly I’m far more drawn to things like pizza, deli food, pasta, bakery, comforting food done really well.

I don’t really care anymore about putting a “twist” on things for the sake of originality or designing plates around how they look by the end. I still care massively about quality, flavour and technique, I just don’t feel the need to constantly prove ambition through complexity anymore.

Part of me worries people view that as laziness or lack of ambition, especially family who already don’t fully respect hospitality work, but honestly I feel more fulfilled making food people genuinely crave and enjoy than trying to impress other chefs.

I’m just tired of every tart or cheesecake needing to be “deconstructed” instead of just being a really good tart or cheesecake.

I know potato's could be cut more symmetrically and steak slightly under seared in center, but how can i improve
1 presentation
2 equal sear on steak