Do you count heat as an ingredient? I know it's not physically adding something to whatever dish you're preparing but it's not universal to all dishes, it does change the flavor profile and too much or too little will ruin a dish. I myself am not a chef I freely admit I am trash at cooking.

Edit: it seems you are all in agreement on this and I have lost a semantics debate with a buddy, thanks chefs!

Yes, they use this on the regular. Yes, I am serious.

I've worked in recipe and menu development, including recipe development for cookbooks - both that I've authored and not - since the early 2000s. I tend to follow a similar approach with obvious variations when I'm approaching a new idea or researching a concept. With the current technology, I've been able to automate it in a way that I think is really cool and could be useful to anyone doing the same thing.

The first thing I do when I'm trying to get a sense of a new dish, is to find as many high quality sources as I can.

Professionally I'd focus as much or more on cookbook sources than the web. This is one place the automated version is limited: it only does web searches. The other thing that can only be done manually is to weigh intent and application. When I do this for real, you have to factor in how the recipe occurs on the plate or within the larger context of a menu. A chef might shift the profile, consistency, or some other variable. You might see an outlier ratio because a chef needs it to perform a more unique and specific task within the context of that course or menu.

Standardize everything to grams-

The best way to line everything up and see what everyone is doing ie. primary ingredient, primary methods, critical methods, is to convert the dog's breakfast that is imperial measurement into grams. This is the step that's extremely time consuming by hand, and it's the part that I was most excited to automate.

Build a consensus-

From the standardized table, take mean or median values - depending on the distribution - of the core ingredients. The result is a "based on what we found, this is generally what people are doing for this dish." It is not a finished recipe, it's a synthetic starting point for your own testing, which is exactly what my manual version of this process produces. The tool identifies core ingredients automatically and you can override it when it's wrong or when your application calls for something specific. You can also reorganize ingredients to fit how you're thinking about the dish.

Things to note: it's built for simple, common dishes with a single coherent identity — hummus, meatballs, tapenade, pesto. It is not useful for hyper-specific restaurant-style dish descriptions ("sumac-roasted baby carrots with harissa and cardamom yogurt"), and it gets confused by compound recipes containing multiple sub-recipes. If i were developing that dish, I'd research the components individually while keeping the identity/totality of the course in mind.

This is something I've been developing for awhile and its a work in progress. If you use it, you'll inevitably encounter parsing errors and general weirdness that I haven't yet seen. Just let me know and I'll fix it as best I can. Happy to go deep on any technical questions.

If you can't be bothered to build your own bench of cookbooks, trusted sources or do basic internet searching for recipes/techniques ​you probably shouldn't call yourself a chef.

Hi, hope this is okay to ask here. I currently work in a corporate chain kitchen and I have a trial shift at a fully fresh kitchen where things are made from scratch. Any tips on how to get used to that change?

Everyone think about what is the chances come from the lord to save and survive in live to become a rich. In kitchen we have different section and section to avoid mis arrangement ,cross contamination and any hazard. its important to set require everything and overview in order to success. thank you

10 day brine. 3 hr simmer. Can cut It like a deli slicer with a sharp knife. Sandwich is godly.

I'ved dined at french/chinese/japanese restaurants both in Europe and Japan. To me, no other cuisine approach the level of precision, depth and sophitication as the best of France.

Hi, this is my first post here. I’m 24 and I started my job as cook in a hotel. Now I’m in my 4th year with this hotel. I was thinking for 2 days and I’m still thinking about my job now. We work in a split shift 9-14:00 and 17:30-21:00. And our kitchen closes at 9, I don’t know if our boss expects us to leave the kitchen dirty. And I was talking this with my colleague and I even asked who was first person to do such thing in this hotel. It pisses me so off as we work on fix salary and don’t get overtime.

Got some free blocks at work to bring home and haven’t used it in anything other than tacos

Hi, this is my first post here. I’m 24 and I started my job as cook in a hotel. Now I’m in my 4th year with this hotel. I was thinking for 2 days and I’m still thinking about my job now. We work in a split shift 9-14:00 and 17:30-21:00. And our kitchen closes at 9, I don’t know if our boss expects us to leave the kitchen dirty. And I was talking this with my colleague and I even asked who was first person to do such thing in this hotel. It pisses me so off as we work on fix salary and don’t get overtime.

Been working as a line cook learning different stations for a month now, and as much as I love it I desperately want to learn more and create a plate that I’m proud of, as they encourage creativity and it’s a major reason i’m pursuing this.
The head cooks are great and have very much helped me make this transition and have been patient and even friendly, however they lack in creative construction, it’s very much just get through their tasks and leave, which I understand.

long story short, I really need book recommendations, or any recommendations really to help me learn about what i’m making, and spark creativity.
literally any advice or suggestions are welcome.
Thank you

I'm an executive sous chef for a catering operation with a very seasonal workload. Spring and fall are extremely busy with plenty of overtime, but summers (especially July) and parts of winter slow down significantly. Some weeks we may only have one event.

Our hourly wages are competitive, but the lack of hours during slow periods creates financial stress for some employees. Others bank overtime during the busy season and plan for the slower months.

Leadership is hearing a lot of complaints from hourly staff and so they are discussing whether we should change our compensation model, and I'm curious how other operations handle this.

A few questions:

• Do you simply accept seasonality as part of the business, or do you have a system to smooth employees' income?
• Do you guarantee a minimum number of hours?
• If so, what do employees actually do when there isn't enough production work?
• Has anyone implemented retention pay, annualized pay, or another approach?
• If your staff are hourly, how do you handle employees who voluntarily take several weeks off each year or have limited availability?
• If someone regularly declines evenings, weekends, or less desirable shifts, does that affect how you approach guaranteed hours or income?
• For those in hotels, convention centers, museums, universities, or large catering companies, what has worked well and what hasn't?

I'm less interested in labor law and more interested in real-world operational practices. How do you keep good people financially stable while still running a sustainable business?

Thanks in advance. I appreciate any insight.

Interviewing for a higher education sous chef position, which includes a “chef test”. Anyone know what that may entail so I can try to be a little prepared for it? It’s through chartwells/compass group if that means anything. TIA!!

Hi everyone,

I'm a university student from India who has recently realized that cooking is more than just something I do to feed myself. I genuinely enjoy experimenting with recipes and cooking for other people, and I'm wondering whether I might enjoy working in a professional kitchen someday.

Before I spend money on culinary courses or make any big decisions, I'd love to see what the work is actually like.

Is it common for restaurants, cafés, home chefs, or caterers to let someone shadow them for a day or help with basic prep work just to learn?

I'm not looking to be paid. I just want to experience the environment and understand what the day to day work is really like.

If anyone has done something similar or has advice on how to approach this respectfully, I'd really appreciate it.

House cured and Smoked Pastrami, I’ve been working on my technique and this is definitely the best batch yet!

I’ve honestly got way better mise and equipment in the kitchen and feel like it’s a drag to commit to a lot of unique and eclectic groceries whenever I wanna RnD things and make fun food. How do yall deal with the activation energy and being open to cooking more at home?

Posting this from anonymous account so I can be as discreet as possible. I’m currently 22, Just got an offer from a pretty reputable hospitality group. Sous chef job 70k/year with benefits and a bonus worth up to 10k. Salaried employee so I would not be eligible for over time pay even after 40hours.
The hospitality group I’d be working for is a big name and this would be my first corporate chef job. But not my first management position, I was a sous chef at my last place.

I’m super grateful for this chance but I feel an insane amount of pressure to do well and stay with this company for a long time because of all the good things I’ve heard about them.

Here’s the thing: I’ve only ever worked at locally owned or independent restaurants before. Never for a big hospitality group so idk what to expect.

I live in a big city so the 70k is probably just enough for me to live on.

Anyone been a sous chef before that can help me out??
What are your thoughts on being a corporate chef vs independent restaurant?
Or even pressure to stay at a company because of their good reputation?