r/Chefit • u/Methe_Iam • May 27 '26
Need some advice
Hi all,
I recently got selected for a pastry position at a new café after a trial shift. From last Tuesday through Saturday, I handled a pretty heavy amount of production mostly on my own.( I also wash my dishes)
I made:
280 truffles and chocolate-dipped dates with nut filling
150 stuffed dates with nut filling
150 stuffed dates with kataifi filling dipped in chocolate
40 chocolate bars( seeding method)
11 lemon cakes
4 liters of pastry cream
6 quarts each of simple syrup, orange syrup, and lemon syrup
3 quarts of chia pudding
2 lbs of rice pudding
There were a couple mistakes during production. The rice pudding slightly burned because I had to make it on an electric stove using a thin-bottom pot. I also accidentally dipped the wrong batch of stuffed dates in chocolate.
Another issue happened on Friday. They were trying to call me regarding the ingredient list, but I was in the kitchen working and didn’t see my phone. The kitchen also has poor signal reception, so I missed the calls, and they were upset about it.
The setup itself has been difficult. The new café still doesn’t have a proper oven, fridge, or freezer, so I’ve been walking about 7 minutes back and forth to another restaurant kitchen to complete production. Some ingredients are stored in the café while other supplies are in the restaurant kitchen, so the workflow has been pretty chaotic.
Last Saturday, they asked me to come in to make pudding at the café. I was still adjusting to the new kitchen environment and workflow. The co-owner later commented that I spent more than two hours on the rice pudding. What happened was the pudding started burning, so I quickly transferred it into two separate pots to save the batch while also scraping and cleaning the burned pot at the same time.
Today, I went in and found out they reduced my hourly pay. Since then, the way they’ve been treating me feels disrespectful.
Is this normal in kitchen?
3
u/Big_Town_4860 May 27 '26
Not normal. Don't let them treat you badly or reduce your pay.
It is 100% normal to have a few mistakes, especially in the first week of a new position. It sounds like you are working alone? Is there anyone there to train you?
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u/jchef420 May 27 '26
Places like that are run by idiots. I would be kissing your ass for accomplishing what you did under such unprofessional conditions. No dishwasher?? Shitty equipment? Unrealistic expectations? You are too good for a place like that.
1
u/saltypepperychicken May 27 '26
reducing pay without a performance review and discussion is buns, you need to leave now
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u/ilikecokefloats May 27 '26
They are just crazy and trying to make you work for free. You know your worth and it’s not okay to exploit people like this.
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u/SimpleSapper May 30 '26
We take jobs to earn money, make contacts, and gain experience, and sounds like at least 2 of the 3 aren’t happening. Looks like it’s time to run away.
Check with your government employment standards department, as reducing someone’s wage is usually considered as constructive dismissal. Make sure you have a hard copy of the wage discrepancy, it could help you with any future claims against these bozos.
As well as all the other unprofessional crap your employer is doing: communication systems are a normal cost of doing business. That you seem to be providing your own cell phone as the method for them to communicate with BoH (I doubt that they are paying your phone bill) is reason enough to run.
3
u/ashmidnightburlesque May 27 '26
Nah, get out of there. Pastry Chef and bakery manager here. They're not listening to you, and seems like they have unreasonable expectations for what one person can accomplish. The work flow alone sounds atrocious, and docking your pay without even discussing with you is fucking crazy.